Laurel Oak Country Club, in Sarasota, Fla., is drawing ire from some members who complain that they aren’t being allowed to cancel their memberships, according to a report in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Laurel Oak CC refused to let Dale Berkowitz give up her membership after her husband died, and kept charging her monthly dues that included a fee for the golf locker he once used. When she stopped paying, the club sued.
According to the report, the club has sued more than a dozen people since 2007, then filed suit against 24 more members last week after they tried to resign and stopped paying.
The members say the long-term commitment is on par with “golf slavery.”
An initial membership costs $27,500, and members are told that the country club promises to buy back “every penny” paid. However, the fine print specifies that a membership transfer is required to stop the bills, and doing that is difficult.
Laurel Oak’s General Manager, Dave Whalen, said in a written statement that the club’s policies are controlled by its members, and that the exit policy balances the desires of those wanting to leave with those of the people who stay.
Whalen also said 86 members with the older memberships left the club in the last 15 months, under a new policy that allows them to buy their way out for an additional $18,000.
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