How to Cancel Your Gym Membership Once and For All

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We all know that paying for a gym contract every month is expensive. Although, it is a great way to stay motivated to work on your physical fitness. But taking the time out for your gym routine every day is hard. And once your new year resolution is fallen by, your wallet is the only thing that gets slimmer. 

There can be quite a number of reasons to quit your gym membership, for example, you could be moving to a new location, you have gotten sick, you have realized that the gym facilities are just not for you, you have bought a new treadmill or any other fitness machine or you simply have found out a gym that’s better than your current one. Gym Industry, however, focuses on making it incredibly easy to join the gym and disturbingly difficult to leave it. So, it is no easy job to cancel your gym membership easily. 

When it comes to inactive gym members, there are those people who keep wasting their money in the hope that they will get around to use their gym membership and then there is another group of people who entirely forget that they are paying for their gym membership every month. If you are one of these people, you need to have an exit strategy. Their slick sales members who continue to convince you to stay and the fine fees on quitting the gym will continue to demotivate you. But here are some ways you can quit your gym and save some money. 

Look at your Contract and Know your Rights 

To know about your contract details and your rights under your gym membership, request a copy of your contract from the management. A gym contract is typically a binding document, and you are advised to keep a copy of that even if you are not planning to finish your gym membership just now.  

These contracts have different terms and conditions of the gym policies written on them. It will help you to figure out different technicalities that you will have to deal with before quitting your gym membership. 

Every gym’s policies differ from the other one, so make sure that you read it thoroughly. In most cases, however, you will have to pay an exit fee which can be 

  • A set fee regardless of your membership duration 
  • An exit fee that decreases with the increasing duration of your contract 
  • An exception from paying the exit fee under special circumstances 

It is possible that you will not understand the terms written in your contract because the wording is often misleading and confusing, in that case do not hesitate to ask your gym’s staff and understand the terms completely. 

Know the Loopholes 

Look for the loopholes in your gym contract that can help you to evade from paying the exit fee. Many gym contracts allow you to legally terminate your gym contract without any penalties if you meet certain conditions/requirements. You can get your contract terminate without any penalty 

  • If you are still in the grace period of your gym contract 
  • If you have gotten sick or got an injury which prevents you from actively exercising in the gym 
  • If the gym no longer offers the services they described to you at the time of signing the contract 
  • If you have moved to a new home that is 25 miles away and you can’t move your membership to another nearby branch 
  • Or in some cases, if you have lost your job or other source of income. 

With the above-mentioned conditions, you will most likely be asked to provide a legal evidence. So make sure that you have the documents ready before you try to cancel your membership. If you have membership of a well-known gym, you can look up at these laws and regulations in detail on the internet as well. 

Look for Alternatives  

Cancelling your gym membership may not always be a good idea. For example, if you have to pay a huge exit fee or you are just taking a small break from your exercise routine. In such cases, there are some alternatives that you could use, for example 

  • Freeze your membership for some time and resume it later (it depends if your gym has a policy for freezing membership or not) 
  • Opt. for a cheaper membership option (if available) 
  • Transfer your membership to a friend or relative 
  • Transfer to another branch that is closer to your home in case you have moved 

Negotiate Your Exit Fees 

You can negotiate your exit fees with you gym’s staff. Another thing you can do is talk directly with the manager of your gym instead of the salesman, you would have a better shot at getting a reasonable response from there. It works for some gym managements but might not work for others. 

But if none of the above works then you can use some backup services like Trim, Truebill, and Gethuman. They can help you in negotiating your exit fee with your gym staff or in cancelling your subscription altogether. These external sources for help don’t even cost you much, usually a $20 or even less sometimes. 

Cancel the Credit Card 

If you can’t muster up the courage to straightforwardly ask the gym staff to cancel your contract, an extreme option is to cancel your credit card. You can ask your credit card company to cease the charge for your gym subscription. It is possible that they will comply with your request to prevent you from cancelling your credit card. Cancelling is not a good idea though, it will affect your credit score badly, so keep this option as your last resort. 

At some point, you might feel like cancelling your gym membership is absurdly difficult, but know that it is possible. It’s better to go through this process as soon as you realize that you no longer need a gym membership as it will save you a lot of money. If you are facing some serious issues with cancelling your membership, it is advised that you consult a lawyer.  

Michael Holding
 

Michael is an outdoor adventurer and a kayaking enthusiast who loves to share his experiences with others. He is the Chief Editor at XgearHub.

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