How Should Your Gym Handle Disputes?

When your gym sends a member to the collections process, the member may decide to dispute the claim. This happens to us at Aldous & Associates, as gym members write to our office to dispute the debt we previously contacted them about. When this happens, we send a scanned copy of the member’s dispute to your gym.

At that point, what should your gym do? Here are the next steps we recommend after a member dispute.

1. Review the Account

Start by looking up the member the dispute references. Look into the member’s account to see the history of the member with the gym, as well as the problems that led to the member’s account being sent to third-party collections. Review the claims the members made within the dispute and see if what the member is saying has any merit.

The results will probably be on a case-by-case basis, as your gym may weigh the member’s history with the gym, the reason for the delinquency and other relevant information into the decision, even if the dispute is invalid. At this point, your gym has the option to:

• Forgive the debt
• Ask the member directly for the debt to be repaid in order for the member to be reinstated
• Send the person back to the third-party collections process

You can let the member know your decision in regard to the claim or hand it back to Aldous to contact the member.

2. Continue With the Third-Party Collections Process

If, after reviewing the member’s dispute, you determine that the debt is valid, send Aldous the contract to continue with the collections process. Aldous can follow up with the member to let them know the dispute was denied and that they are responsible for paying the debt. Make sure to send us any additional information or documentation the member asks for in order to prove the debt is valid. Aldous can carry out our gentle yet effective methods of collecting outstanding gym debts.

3. Contact Us About Invalid Debt

If your review of the dispute leads you to conclude that the member is correct and the debt is not valid, let us know at Aldous & Associates. In this case, we can stop our third-party collections process, which we are happy to do. We always aim to bring the member back to the gym and help restore the relationship whenever possible. In cases when we don’t receive a response from the gym regarding the dispute, we have to close the account.

Rely on Our Debt Collections Processes

At Aldous & Associates, we have effective gym collections processes that are not too pushy but instead focus on maintaining the gym’s reputation and restoring member relationships. Part of our process involves knowing when to let the gym take the lead with its members. One such occasion is when the member makes a dispute in response to being contacted about outstanding debts. When this happens, we stop the collections process right away and revert back to your gym to decide whether or not there is merit to the member’s claim. This method helps the member be heard and gives you the valuable chance to restore the relationship whenever possible.