My Disastrous Experience with Dr. Loder: What Happened When They Shut Down Without Warning

Hello fellow fitness enthusiasts, I've got a warning for you!

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About the Club

I recently stumbled upon the Dr. Loder fitness club in Korolyov, and I was blown away by its massive size and top-notch amenities. Located on Moscow Avenue, this club has been around for at least six years and boasts a premium price tag of around 44,000 rubles for a full-year membership. The evening and morning membership options were slightly more affordable, ranging from 31,000 to 35,000 rubles per year.

As I stepped inside, I was impressed by the club's sleek decor – the walls are clad in eco-friendly leather, a trendy choice even today. The atmosphere is vibrant, beautiful, and spotlessly clean. You'll find a spacious locker room, a massive 5-lane pool, a sauna, a hammam, a well-equipped gym, group fitness classes, kids' fitness programs, and aqua aerobics. The club's total area spans an impressive 5,000 square meters. Its prime location, within walking distance from home, has undoubtedly contributed to its popularity in our neighborhood, where alternatives are scarce.

My husband and I purchased a year-long membership at Dr. Loder in Korolyov back in March 2019. His contract started on June 1st, 2019, but on July 10th, 2019, we received a shock when we arrived at the club to find a notice on the door stating that the club was 'temporarily' closed.

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Dr. Loder club is closed for good Of course, we initially thought the club would reopen soon, maybe they didn't pass some check or maybe something bad happened. But no, the club is closed for good.At the same time, in March, the sales manager was singing a different tune, telling us that the club was super successful, they'd been working in Korolev and Moscow for six years, and there was no way they'd close. Everything was fine and dandy. We later found out from friends who were also affected that in June and July 2019, they were selling club cards at a discount, with prices slashed by up to 50% off the usual membership fee. Customers were buying cards for themselves and their friends, many with delayed activation dates, while the discounts lasted. This tells me that the club owners knew about the impending closure in advance, had it all planned out, and were intentionally trying to milk their customers for as much money as possible before shutting down... On the club's official website, after the closure, they posted a nice announcement about how to resolve any issues, with addresses and phone numbers to call for refunds.

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Dr. LoderBut the phones aren't answering, or they're out of range, and the address listed is a restricted area that you can only access if you've pre-ordered a pass. It's a classic case of a closed loop.

Trying to deal with complaints and requests for a refund to other clubs in the network is pointless. They claim they're a completely different legal entity and aren't responsible for another club's actions. They don't take any responsibility or accept statements. By the way, the legal entities mentioned in the contracts of deceived customers are different: LLC 'Fitness Jubilee', LLC 'Fitness Corporation LTD', LLC 'SK Jubilee', and so on. It's clear that this isn't a coincidence - the scam has been thought out in advance. There are court cases filed against all the mentioned legal entities, which you can check on the Moscow City Court website [link].

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Regarding this topic, I'd like to share some news articles in the media:

About the closure of clubs in the network across Moscow and schemes: [link]

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Dr. Loder About the closure of a club in Korolev: [link]​

HOW TO GET A REFUND

Even in this complicated situation, there's still a chance to return the money for the subscription, whether it's new (unstarted) or started at the time of the club's closure.

If you paid the contract in cash, it's a complicated situation, and you'll need to take your contract and payment receipts to court. Yes, the court will rule in your favor and order your business to pay you the full or remaining subscription fee, penalty, and moral damages if you request it and calculate it correctly. However, the chances of getting your money back from your business are slim, as there's no money on their accounts, and you can only hope for the FSSP to work.

It's a different story if you paid the contract with a credit card. All payment systems have a procedure for disputing transactions (also called a chargeback) and returning your money. You can dispute the payment within 120 days of the transaction! So, don't waste any time.

To initiate this process, the cardholder needs to visit their bank's office with the required documents and write a statement disputing the transaction. You can also do this through your bank's online portal or mobile app by contacting customer support and attaching the necessary documents. You can often find dispute statement templates on your bank's website or in your online account. Sometimes, you'll encounter incompetent bank staff who don't know or pretend not to know about the 'chargeback' procedure. In that case, you need to speak to an administrator and stand your ground. Banks like Tinkoff and Alfa Bank are generally faster and more efficient at handling chargebacks.

The chargeback process takes anywhere from 30 to 120 days, so be patient and wait for the result. I submitted my chargeback request on 03.11.2019, and by the end of December, I had to re-calculate the amount to be refunded. Now, I'm waiting for my revised statement to be reviewed. Hearing about friends who finally got their money back is giving me hope that my request will be approved soon, and I'll update this review with the result!

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UPDATE 23.02.2020:

I wrapped up my chargeback process with Kukuruza card on February 21, 2020, which I used to pay for a subscription. I had the remaining balance credited to my account!

They returned 28,491 rubles out of 31,900 paid, proportionally to the remaining subscription period after the club's closure. Plus, 426 bonus points were added – that's a nice bonus 😊

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Dr. Loder refund for the open subscription​

Documents for disputing the operation at the club's closure:

contract,payment receipts,confirmation of the club's closure (photos, articles, news releases),complaint to the club or a claim for a refund (to confirm that you tried to return the money on your own and by law, but it didn't work out),any additional documents (statements, notifications, receipts, letters, email correspondence copies).​

MORE ON THE COMPLAINT

If you still have a chance to reach out to and meet with the representatives of the closed Loder fitness club, do it as soon as possible. Write a claim for the full or remaining amount with an attached calculation of this amount. Date it, sign it, get the representative's signature and seal, and keep one copy for yourself or take a photo of it.

If the club's phones are already dead and you can't write a statement to terminate the contract and get a refund, write a complaint in two copies, addressed to the company's name and address listed in your contract, and send one copy via registered mail with a notification of delivery and an inventory of contents. Keep all receipts and make copies of them.

When the recipient receives the letter, the post office will issue a notice of delivery with the delivery date, and from that day on, you'll have 10 days to meet the requirements of the business and transfer the money to the account you specified. If the letter isn't received, it'll be returned to you with stamps and a notation indicating that the recipient didn't receive it. Keep that letter too and attach it to your claim. After 10 days, you can confidently head to the bank, bringing all the checks from the post office and the notice of delivery. But it's better to act as quickly as possible and initiate the process first, then provide the additional documents from the post office and attach them to your application.

Sample claim:

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Sample claimYou can find similar sample claims online, use them as a basis, and add whatever you need.

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THE VERDICT

Of course, I don't recommend the Dr. Loder fitness club network - their owners are unscrupulous and close their clubs one by one using the same scheme. If you really want to take the risk, beware and only buy a club card by non-cash payment and preferably with a reliable client-oriented bank card, such as Tinkoff Bank. If the club closes, you might still be able to get your money back through the chargeback procedure.

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By the way, there are two excellent clubs in the Delphin network in Korolev that I highly recommend, and I used to train at one of them for a year. I suggest reading my review of the Delphin fitness club.

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Good luck and great workouts at another club! ?