A leading gym operator in the United States is the target of a new short report. The Thursday report from Bear Cave lays out a case that Planet Fitness has issues with overbilling, uncancellable memberships and is lying about the locations of its gyms.
What Happened: With over 2,000 locations in the United States, Planet Fitness (NYSE: PLNT) is the leading franchisor of low-cost gyms.
“At 40x forward earnings, investors believe the franchise network is healthy and has room to grow. The Bear Cave doesn’t,” an email report from Bear Cave and author Edwin Dorsey reads.
Dorsey said he used Freedom of Information Act requests to uncover hundreds of complaints against the gym chain by customers. A pattern of cancellation attempts being ignored was among the issues found in the investigation, he said.
Benzinga has contacted Planet Fitness for comment on the allegations in the short report.
“Every year millions of Planet Fitness members attempt to cancel their memberships,” Dorsey said.
The report says Planet Fitness relies on beginners and could see high cancellations as a result, but doesn’t make …
