To terminate a contract, many gyms require members to submit a notarized notice of termination letter. This is a letter signed by an official notary. When writing the letter, be sure to include your name, address, email address, and phone number. You will also need to provide your gym account number. “Aside from the terms of the contracts themselves, the sales pitch you get when you sign up can be problematic. For example, gym employees may distort available facilities or classes, or they may engage in high-pressure sales tactics to force you to enter into a longer-term contract. “In my experience, a client is always late with a fitness contract, which means they`ve already signed it,” says Thomas J. Simeone of Simeone & Miller LLP, a Washington, D.C. personal injury resident lawyer with a background in business law. “Gym contracts are often hard to cancel,” he says. “This is no coincidence.
This is something that gyms want to discourage because every day, week or month you stay as a member, you pay more money. “If you`re like me and you`ve been in your gym for a few years, you probably don`t have the original copy. But if you do, look at the termination policy in the contract. January is a hot season for gyms to increase membership, and many are trying to woo potential customers with special promotions such as a free month or cancelled registration fees. However, this agreement may come with fine print that binds you to a legally binding contract of one year or more. These laws vary from state to state, but generally allow a member to terminate the contract prematurely if they move more than 25 miles from the fitness center and the company does not operate any other establishment near their new home. Some gyms allow members to cancel their contracts within three days of signing, others within five days, and smaller gyms may be more forgiving. Yes. This is the model, and it has been for decades. (The boutique fitness model that allows people to pay per class or for packages has turned this upside down a bit in recent years, but a contract is still the main way for most gyms to make money.) Once you`ve had the (often terrible) experience of cancelling a gym membership, it`s wise to think about what you really want with your next gym and how you can make that contract work for you.
“I`ve seen gyms that take two years before a contract can expire,” says Fletcher R. Carpenter, an attorney at Udall Shumway in Arizona. Tell the manager that you want to take the contract home with you to read it before signing where you might feel rushed to go straight to the dotted line. California has a consumer protection law for gym members that dates back to the 1960s. “You`ll see a decades-old story of how much wire he`s had in the past in providing gym memberships. They decided it was the business model they wanted and shrank for as long as possible,” says Ted Mermin, acting executive director of the Berkeley Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice and former deputy state attorney general. “If you see gyms as people who want to make money, you`re going to see different reasons why they might structure their contracts the way they did.” Although contract law is different in each state, under New York State law, a member may terminate its membership “after the Services have become unavailable or substantially available as provided in the Contract due to the permanent cessation of operations or a material change in Seller`s operations.” New York city gyms aren`t allowed to have group classes, so it`s a potential argument that they don`t offer a full service. In the worst-case scenario, you may need to consult a lawyer, depending on the laws of your state.
Usually, you`ll have to pay the full cost of your contract if you want to cancel a gym membership earlier. For example, if you cancel a one-year contract after 6 months, you will usually have to pay for the remaining 6 months. Check your contract for more details to find out how much you`ll have to pay if you cancel earlier. Since gym contracts are usually binding legal documents, it is important to have a copy of them and keep them in a safe place. Your gym should be able to provide you with your contract. Gym chains can also have their membership requirements on their website. Contracts with gyms and gyms, like any other legally binding agreement, are only “illegal” if their terms are unscrupulous or expressly prohibited by law. Federal and state governments have in the past investigated abusive practices in gym membership contracts. Almost every state has specific regulations that set limits on acceptable conditions in gym membership contracts — if an agreement doesn`t meet your state`s specific regulations, it`s likely void and unenforceable. “If you have a medical emergency, talk to a manager about your situation,” Simeone suggests. Maybe you`ve been a member for a while, but you have your herniated disc and the doctor says you can`t exercise anymore.
You have a better chance of getting out of your membership — or putting it on hold — because the gym probably doesn`t want a bad reputation. “In the end, most gyms probably find it problematic and administratively tedious to allow for a cancellation without consequences.