Calgary gym member out $1,500 after thief grabs keys from service desk, steals car

Laurie Bamfordwas absolutely shocked when a trip to the gymresulted in his car getting stolen, then trashed before being recovered by police. Nowhe wants to see the gym take more responsibility for the damage.

Bamfordis a platinum member at Gold's Gym on Country Hills Blvd. N.E. On Jan. 25, he went to use the VIP section of the gym, an area which you need a key fob to access.

"The guy at reception said that I needed to provide something of my own in exchange for the fob to get into the members' area. I gave him my car keys, went and continued my workout. Came back out and he said that my keys had been stolen," Bamford told CBC News.

When he checked outside, sure enough, his car was gone.

The gym's policy

At the time of the incident, keys and other personal items left in exchange for the fobs were hung on hooks on a post behind the gym's reception desk. It's apolicy that is now under review, says Gold's Gym owner Kelly Maclachlan.

"Apparently, what happened was the guy jumped up on the counter and stretched his body along, grabbed the first set of keys off the fob area and then split. So, we caught that on camera. So because of that we've obviously taken them off the columns and we've got them under the desk," Maclachlantold CBC News.

Upon visiting the gym,CBCNews saw the items were not being kept under the counter by staff members working, but instead on a nearby counter.

Maclachlansays there have been other changes made at the gym, however, to avoid future problems. They've added additional security cameras. They've also changed their drop-in policy to no longer accept drop-ins unless they come with a regular member and they have ID.

"Drop-ins seem to be the people who do it. They come in pairs and they pay a drop-in [fee] and they come in and they go to work," he said.

Maclachlan is also considering other means of taking collateral from customers.

"What do we take from the members to give them their fob or their towel without ruining their life?"

'I was absolutely shattered'

Bamford looks back at the Jan. 25 incident and is still upset.

"I was absolutely shattered,"Bamfordsaid.

Bamfordestimates this ordeal hascost himroughly $1,500 and the repairs aren't yet complete. Those costs have included a week of a car rental to get to work, as well as getting the car from the impound lot after police recovered it, and aset of tires, among other things.

There's a reasonable prospect of the gym being liable for the damage to this fella's car.- Chadwick Newcombe, civil litigator with Kahane Law Office

Maclachlan did contribute to the repairs for the car. He had it towed to a garage, owned by a friend, and paid for the tires to be put on, as well as an additional week of a car rental.

"We tried to do what we could for the poor guy. But regardless of how much it is, it's not insured and he should have insurance. But we felt really bad about what had happened. He gave us the keys at his own risk,"Maclachlansaid.

Bamford, having just moved to Canada in May, said he was short on funds upon his arrivaland couldn't afford comprehensive insurance, so unfortunately he's not had any of the damage covered. He has since upped his policy.

"I'm upset with the gym more than anything. To me, I think they should be held responsible. They had my keys, I gave it to them to look after, and they just lost [them]," Bamford added.

What does the law say?

Civil litigator Chadwick Newcombe with Kahane Law Office said he doesn't think the courts would find Bamford at fault due to not having theft insurance. Instead, he said, in a lawsuit the concept of a bailment relationship would be invoked wherein one party delivers into the care of someone else property that they own.

"And in that case, the big question's going to be whether or not the people who were entrusted with his car keys took reasonable steps to ensure that they were safe from exactly this sort of thing happening," Newcombesaid in an interview.

"At the end of the day, the gym said, 'Give us something to hold as security,' and they accepted his car keys and then they didn't adequately protect his car keys and his car was lost as a result. So it seems to me, based on the information we have available, there's a reasonable prospect of the gym being liable for the damage to this fella's car."

Newcombe said this legal relationship can apply to virtually any relationship where someone else is entrusted with your possessions, whether it be taking your clothes to the dry-cleaner or when renting storage lockers.

At this point,Bamford said he's been focused on getting his car back in working order so he can continue getting to work finding a lawyer hasn't been on his radar.

But the gym hasoffered Bamford a free year membership, which he has taken them up on, saying, "it's better than nothing."