People who belonged to a gym at the "Frandor" shopping center in Lansing were ticked off when they were told they'd have to start driving to Owosso.
"I was a member here for three years,” Andrew Brewer, a member of Fitness U.S, said “I was active here three days a week. And when I saw this happened, I just couldn't believe it."
Andrew is just one of many members of Fitness U.S. left out in the cold after the gym abruptly closed its doors last week. Members say management didn't let anybody know beforehand.
"They just had a little scribbly sign on the window here saying it was closed up," Sanford Watts, a member said.
The sign also said you can still workout at another location 29 miles away in Owosso.
"There's no way,” Brewer said. “It's not even worth it. Especially you see how bad the weather is right now you don't even want to drive around here let alone drive to Owosso."
They're still getting charged even though they're not making the drive. Lauren paid $400 for a two-year-membership. She's still got a year and a half left on her contract and she wants out.
"I tried making phone calls yesterday and nobody was answering,” Lauren Hall-Tate, a member said. “The owner wouldn't answer his phone and his voicemail was full."
The owner of both Fitness U.S. and Powerhouse in Owosso is Roberto Larrivey. He still hasn't told his customers why the gym closed.
"We're just kind of grabbing in the dark,” Watts said, Trying to get a hold of the situation here."
We spoke over the phone with the landlord for Fitness U.S. Michael Corr. He says Larrivey hasn't paid his rent in six months, In fact they filed suit against him back in October hoping to get that 30 thousand dollars that he owes them. And Michael also told me that Larrivey knew the doors were going to be closing soon and he should have told his customers what was going on."
"If something is going down or business is slow, you can at least talk to your consumers,” Brewer said. “End it on a friendly note. You don't have to just end it like this."
A representative from the Owosso gym declined to be on camera but did tell me they're working on canceling memberships and getting refunds for those who paid in full.
"Now I can't get it taken off without going through these people and now I gotta find them," Keith Guyer, a member said.
The owner’s attorney reached out to us this afternoon. He told us he is available to speak next week. We’ll keep this story updated for you.
