# Gym membership - can't cancel??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 12, 2009, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-membership-cant-cancel/506231 "2009-08-12T22:41:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-membership-cant-cancel/506231/1 "2009-08-12T22:41:39Z")
Writing on behalf of a friend who signed a contract for pay-as-you-go gym membership. They deduct about $10 a month from her checking and she decides after a couple years she doesn’t want to belong to this gym anymore. So NOW she reads her contract and NOW she finds out she can’t cancel except for death, doctor’s note, moving to the Amazon, etc. :eek: Anyone have any experience with this? I told her to call a lawyer! ---
**Author:** ![wierdaaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-membership-cant-cancel/506231/2 "2009-08-12T22:46:29Z")
That’s very, very strange and very, very shady. What “brand” of gym is it? I don’t remember any of my law classes well enough to say if such a contract is even legal, but threatening to involve lawyers might get the gym to cave. Or, why not just tell them you’re moving to France? ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-membership-cant-cancel/506231/3 "2009-08-12T22:54:10Z")
Well she could just close that account and open a new one up, except that most banks will just debit the new account for debits from the old. She’d probally have to switch banks for that to work. Tell her to try looking for a local consumer protection bureau or call her the office of her state’s attorney-general. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-membership-cant-cancel/506231/4 "2009-08-12T23:01:54Z")
I want to know where you find a gym for $10 a month. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-membership-cant-cancel/506231/5 "2009-08-12T23:11:48Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I want to know where you find a gym for $10 a month. Well apparently you can never leave. So The Eagles might be able to help you find such a gym. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-membership-cant-cancel/506231/6 "2009-08-12T23:33:58Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Well she could just close that account and open a new one up, except that most banks will just debit the new account for debits from the old. She’d probally have to switch banks for that to work. > > Tell her to try looking for a local consumer protection bureau or call her the office of her state’s attorney-general. Closing the account wouldn’t work anyway. Her account would go to a collections agency and her credit report be marked. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-membership-cant-cancel/506231/7 "2009-08-12T23:40:54Z")
She can simply break the contract. Then they can sue for breach of contract. Not much consequence in doing so but contacting a lawyer before you do so is always best. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-membership-cant-cancel/506231/8 "2009-08-13T00:07:28Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Writing on behalf of a friend who signed a contract for pay-as-you-go gym membership. They deduct about $10 a month from her checking and she decides after a couple years she doesn’t want to belong to this gym anymore. So NOW she reads her contract and NOW she finds out she can’t cancel except for death, doctor’s note, moving to the Amazon, etc. :eek: Anyone have any experience with this? I told her to call a lawyer! Can she talk her doctor into giving her a note? ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-membership-cant-cancel/506231/9 "2009-08-13T00:15:33Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I want to know where you find a gym for $10 a month. [Planet Fitness](http://www.planetfitness.com/greensboro/) in Greensboro NC. After a $39 enrollment fee. You can get pretty much the same deal in Daly City. Although I now see they are charging an annual fee as well, so it’s more like $13 a month. When I joined (in NC) it was $10 a month for life, with nothing else to pay. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-membership-cant-cancel/506231/10 "2009-08-13T01:02:24Z")
Contracts with gyms generally specify a term; they don’t just go on forever without the possibility of ending it. She needs to do a careful reading of the contract again. (Moral: Read the contract \*before \*you sign it.) If there is no term specified then I agree it is shady. A lawyer would be helpful, although it would probably cost a couple of years’ worth of membership fees… > [@boytyperanma](#): > > She can simply break the contract. Then they can sue for breach of contract. Not much consequence in doing so but contacting a lawyer before you do so is always best. Seems that the problem in trying to break the contract is that the gym does direct debit from her checking so she can’t just stop paying them. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-membership-cant-cancel/506231/11 "2009-08-13T01:47:30Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Seems that the problem in trying to break the contract is that the gym does direct debit from her checking so she can’t just stop paying them. Can’t she cancel the direct debit instruction by telling her bank to stop paying it? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-membership-cant-cancel/506231/12 "2009-08-13T02:17:25Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Can’t she cancel the direct debit instruction by telling her bank to stop paying it? Of course she can. The bank has no obligation to the gym. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-membership-cant-cancel/506231/13 "2009-08-13T03:13:43Z")
Sometimes they give you a 1 week period every year where you can cancel, if you miss that you are stuck for another year. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-membership-cant-cancel/506231/14 "2009-08-13T03:17:04Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > So NOW she reads her contract and NOW she finds out she can’t cancel except for death, doctor’s note, moving to the Amazon, etc. :eek: Anyone have any experience with this? I told her to call a lawyer! If that really is the case, it’s not a valid contract. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-membership-cant-cancel/506231/15 "2009-08-13T03:52:57Z")
I’ve always known people stuck in those kinds of gym contracts to just tell the gym they’re moving. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-membership-cant-cancel/506231/16 "2009-08-13T03:55:13Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Well she could just close that account and open a new one up, except that most banks will just debit the new account for debits from the old. This is not my experience. I have just been dinged $39 by a credit card company because their attempt to collect from the old account was bounced, and the bank did NOT pay it from the new account. When I closed one account and opened the other, I had to tell the bank everyone that was authorized to debit the account so they would pay them from the new account. I forgot my (wife’s) credit card company. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-membership-cant-cancel/506231/17 "2009-08-13T04:07:23Z")
There is no reason to go through special effort to break the contract. She can tell the bank not to pay. She can also call the gym and tell them you are canceling the membership whether they like it or not. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-membership-cant-cancel/506231/18 "2009-08-13T05:08:07Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > You can get pretty much the same deal in Daly City. Although I now see they are charging an annual fee as well, so it’s more like $13 a month. When I joined (in NC) it was $10 a month for life, with nothing else to pay. Yup, I’m actually a member there. Great gym for the price. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-membership-cant-cancel/506231/19 "2009-08-13T05:32:50Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > If that really is the case, it’s not a valid contract. Agreed. This is not a valid contract, and she is free to ignore it. In the unlikely event she does find herself in a courtroom, expect the gym’s lawyer to be laughed at a lot. Is it more likely that she’s misreading this contract? Or did they have a 5-yr old write it? It’s utterly invalid; there is no such thing as a perpetual, uncancellable membership contract. ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-membership-cant-cancel/506231/20 "2009-08-13T05:44:46Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Sometimes they give you a 1 week period every year where you can cancel, if you miss that you are stuck for another year. So it may be better to say it’s not that you are unable to leave, only that they require you fulfill one-year contracts? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gym-membership-cant-cancel/506231.md?page=2)