THIS IS EAGLERIDER AS A COMPANY, NOTING TO DO WITH GLADSTONE.... AT ALL…read more
EAGLERIDER -- A MEMBERSHIP THAT YOU CAN PAY FOR, BUT MAY NOT BE ABLE TO USE.
I have been an EagleRider member and have faithfully paid approximately $55 per month, building a membership value of roughly $3,500.
The problem? EagleRider continues to collect my $55 every month while the availability of locations where I can actually use the membership has been shrinking. In Oregon, there are currently no EagleRider locations available to me that allow me to reasonably use the membership I have been paying into.
When I asked EagleRider to cancel my membership because the service I purchased is no longer meaningfully available to me, their response was essentially:
"You should have read the agreement."
Seriously?
That response says a great deal about the company's attitude toward its customers.
I understand contracts. I understand terms and conditions. I also understand that businesses have contractual rights. But a contract should not become a shield against fundamental changes in the availability, accessibility, or practical value of the service being purchased.
EagleRider's own current membership information says that Club benefits are available at "Participating Locations" and that members can use their credits at participating locations worldwide.
So here is my question:
What exactly is a customer supposed to do when the locations needed to use the membership disappear, but the monthly charges continue?
I am not asking for something unreasonable. I am asking EagleRider to recognize that I have paid thousands of dollars into a membership that has lost significant practical value because of the reduction in available locations.
Instead, EagleRider's position appears to be:
"Keep paying us $55 a month. Whether you can actually use what you're paying for is your problem."
That is an extraordinarily poor way to treat a loyal customer.
There are legitimate legal and consumer-protection concepts that may be relevant here, including material change in circumstances, failure of consideration, unconscionability, good-faith performance of contracts, and potentially unfair or deceptive business practices, depending upon the actual membership agreement, representations made when I enrolled, and the circumstances surrounding the reduction in available locations.
I am not claiming that EagleRider has necessarily violated the law. I am saying that "you should have read the agreement" is not an adequate answer to a legitimate customer complaint involving thousands of dollars of paid membership value and a significant reduction in the ability to use the service.
A company that values its customers would look at the situation and say:
"We understand that the service has become substantially less useful to you. Let's find a reasonable solution."
Instead, EagleRider appears to be hiding behind the fine print.
That's not customer service.
That's not loyalty.
And frankly, that's not the EagleRider experience I thought I was buying.
If EagleRider wants to continue charging me $55 every month, I expect them to provide a meaningful opportunity to use the membership I have paid for.
If they cannot do that, then I believe the reasonable and ethical solution is to allow me to terminate the membership and provide an appropriate resolution for the approximately $3,500 in membership value I have accumulated.
I would strongly encourage anyone considering an EagleRider membership to look beyond the monthly price and ask a much more important question:
"Where, exactly, can I use this membership--and what happens to my money if those locations disappear?"
Because apparently, according to EagleRider, the answer is:
You keep paying.
They keep collecting.
And you should have read the agreement.
