Bank Concerns Regarding the Pre-Sales Account Form

If your organization is interested in pre-selling memberships, you are required to provide to this office, a completed Health Spa Pre-Sales Account form, a notarized Health Spa Information form for Pre-Sales and a copy of the membership contract to be used at your gym. Copies of these forms may be downloaded here. Please note that the Health Spa Information form for Pre-Sales should be completed by the gym owner, registered agent or other designated health spa personnel and the Health Spa Pre-Sales Account form should be completed by the representative of a local bank.

You should be aware that some bank representatives have had questions and concerns about completing the Health Spa Pre-Sales Account form. We have found that their concerns typically stem from their unfamiliarity with the document and the stipulations of the document. For example, the form requires that all funds that are collected by the health spa during the Pre-Sales must be deposited into the pre-sale escrow or trust account and that each deposit to the escrow account must be identified by the name and address of the individual who purchased the membership. The form further states that there can be no withdrawals from the escrow account at any time until the Attorney General or his designee issues a statement that certifies to the bank or trust company that the health spa is fully operational and available for use, and that the funds in the account shall be released to the health spa, along with any accrued interest. For the most part, it appears that concerned bank representatives either have never seen the form before or are concerned about ensuring that there is little to no liability on the bank’s part during the pre-sale of memberships.

Should your organization attempt to open an escrow account and your bank’s representative has reservations or questions about completing the Health Spa Pre-Sales Account form, please feel free to have the bank contact us. You may also opt to contact us regarding banks that have been used by other gyms for their pre-sale of memberships. Please understand that our dissemination of that information should never be misunderstood to mean we endorse a particular bank or organization. As always, CPD stands ready to assist you, should there be any questions regarding this information.