The state’s Division of Consumers Affairs has received over 80 complaints about Empire Fitness Club at 605 Washington St. in Hoboken, and 70 of those came after the club suddenly closed on Sept. 8, according to Consumer Affairs Public Information Officer Jeff Lamm.
That day, the gym posted a sign on the door: “Due to a plumbing problem, the gym is closed until 9/10/08 at 3 p.m.”
But it didn’t reopen after that – and according to the state, it won’t.
Lamm said last week that the gym is closed and that the state is intervening of behalf of the consumers to recoup their membership fees.
“We’ve contacted the owner to see if we can resolve this on behalf of the customers,” Lamm said last week.
The state Department of Labor is also looking into the matter, according to an official, and is asking any affected individuals to file a wage claim (see end of story).The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has given the gym an unsatisfactory rating. They report 35 complaints filed about Empire in the past year – many over billing and refunds.
Empire gyms in other parts of the state do not show complaints and have satisfactory ratings.
Who’s the boss?
Empire has had locations in Hoboken and Brooklyn until very recently. According to the state’s database, the owner of Empire Fitness Clubs is TJB, Inc.
Lucille Caputo of Manalapan, N.J. is the reported business owner, according to Lamm, and the state has contacted her about the status of the company. When tried by the Reporter several times last week, the number simply rang with no one picking up.
The state database names Capital Information Services of Colonia, N.J. as an incorporator of the company, but Capital’s offices said last week that that they no longer have any association with the business.
A note placed on the company’s door during the last week of September noted that the gym owed $828 to the local water company and soon would be losing their service.
According to several former members and workers at the gym, an owner of the gym was a man named Thomas Helbig. Helbig used to have a website advising people about running a small business, and boasting about what he has done for Empire. But the site no longer exists.
Now, graffiti outside the gym in Hoboken contains a nasty note to Helbig, as well as his phone number.
“We went to his apartment to get our pay.”
– Roger Perilla
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Former gym members like Robert Henshaw, a senior citizen who paid for the year in advance, are now wondering how they can get their money back.
“We paid for this in January and we still have five months left,” said his wife, Toby Barnwell, last week. She said the annual membership cost over $600 for her husband, a major expense for senior citizens like themselves, but still cheaper than the other gyms.
For help recouping fees, customers can either call their credit card company or call state Consumer Affairs at (973) 504-6200, or file a complaint on the web, www.njconsumeraffairs.gov.
Those who are still being charged each month can also ask their credit card company to stop paying and to change their card number if necessary.
No paycheck
Two employees who say they were hired by Helbig in August to do some painting around the gym said last week that they had filed claims with the state’s Department of Labor because they haven’t been paid yet.
Jhonny Cano and Roger Perilla, both of North Bergen, said neither was given any notice of the closing prior to Sept. 5.
“I don’t know what happened,” Cano said last week.
They said they weren’t very surprised that the place had closed, given their experiences.
“We went to his apartment to get our pay,” Perilla said. “We rang the bell outside. We went upstairs and knocked on the door, but no one answered.”
Perilla said he believes Helbig may have been sleeping overnight in the gym recently. He said he has seen his former boss keeping late hours and wearing the same outfit for days straight.
For help seeking wages, call the Department of Labor at (609) 292-2305 or visit their website, www.nj.gov/labor.
For questions or comments on this story, e-mail tcarroll@hudsonreporter.com.