How to cancel a gym membership

Krasnoludek · 23 June 2008 at 4:00PM

Hi

I tried to cancel mine with LA Fitness and so did my sister in law, they chased her until she paid, I just kept mine going then finished it at the end of the 12 months. Beware though you need to give them a months notice or they will levy a cancellation charge, I wrote to them in Feb saying I was cancelling in April and asked for written receipt and confirmation of my letter and they did

Sorry but they are a pain in the rear

K x

mrbaldasari · 12 December 2008 at 4:34AM

Well, just realized that this is a UK forum, but if there are any US folks (like me) reading this, I was told, I needed to send a cancellation letter by certified mail. Took me two letters, but was able to get out of a Gold's membership. I used https://www.onlinecertifiedmail.com to send the letters... beats the heck outta standing in line at the post office.
Mr B.

no1gymbunny · 1 February 2009 at 7:30PM

I joined LA Fitness in December 07 on a year's membership. In about April 08 I left as I couldn't justify the expense. I just rang and said I'd got a new job with a gym on-site (which was true) and they said that's fine. I then went onto join Fitspace. No contract - a grea, no frills gym. If you want to leave, just cancel the DD - sorted.

MartinSW2 · 20 March 2009 at 10:32AM

You must cancel this in writing! Do not be fooled by what ever they tell you on the phone. DO NOT STOP YOUR DIRECT DEBIT until you have a written confirmation that they have cancelled.
I was out of my one year contract period, and yet they still chased me via Debt Collection Agencies. Luckily I had responded and sent my card back, but I was still stung for three months membership plus fees.
These are really not nice people to do business with - I'd suggest to anyone thinking of joining to look at your contract carefully and make sure you know what you are signing!!

kelly1010 · 23 July 2009 at 4:06PM

I cancelled my gym membership by getting a fake doctors note from doccynotes.com
they had to cancel, worked a treat.

Kel x

angel_underneath · 7 June 2011 at 6:33PM

Hi all, i took out a gym membership with change ur shape, due to damaging my back can no longer use the gym. i cancelled the direct debit wrote several letters and they replyed with " THIS CONTRACT CANNOT BE CANCELLED". It has now gone to a debt collection agency. So regardless i'm still having to pay even though i'm genually to unwell to go.

foundmannchanckeel · 10 June 2011 at 3:38PM

Hi All. I have also taken out a gym membership with LA Fitness. I've been a member since December 2010 and in that time have used it approximately once a month due to lack of classes and over crowding. It seems all this club cares about is getting people signed up which is fair enough, I myself work in Sales and know that these people have targets to meet but it doesnt however mean that once the person has signed and paid that they should then be ignored and forgotten about.
There are many things wrong with this gym. The're isn't enough equiptment to accomodate the increased amount of members, the air conditioning units have been broken for about 5 months and there's been 2 occassions where members have found human faeces in public areas of the gym other than the toilets, which is absolutely disgusting and shows that this gym doesn't give a hoot about its reputation or it's member's wellbeing. I've also recently become aware of the way some the staff treat members of the gym, the sales and reception staff are rude and the manager is an absolute disgrace and very unprofessional. This is not an exaggeration at all. I heard her being so rude to a young woman the other day that it has made me feel really uncomfortable and I definitely do not want to go back to the gym and be in her presence.
I know that when I joined the gym its was on a 12 month contract and I had to pay a deposit of £40 and set up a direct debit for the future months. However I did not actually sign anywhere other than a receipt for the deposit and direct debit. Not once was I shown a contract or asked to sign any other papers. I have since then asked sales staff about the membership process and slyly asked if people are supposed to sign a contract and they have all said yes.

Does this mean that If i were to cancel my membership early, they could not fine or dispute it because I haven't signed a contract?

I dont want to just cancel my direct debit incase they report me to debt collectors or black list me.

jenniewb · 11 June 2011 at 4:07AM

foundmannchanckeel wrote: »

Hi All. I have also taken out a gym membership with LA Fitness. I've been a member since December 2010 and in that time have used it approximately once a month due to lack of classes and over crowding. It seems all this club cares about is getting people signed up which is fair enough, I myself work in Sales and know that these people have targets to meet but it doesnt however mean that once the person has signed and paid that they should then be ignored and forgotten about.
There are many things wrong with this gym. The're isn't enough equiptment to accomodate the increased amount of members, the air conditioning units have been broken for about 5 months and there's been 2 occassions where members have found human faeces in public areas of the gym other than the toilets, which is absolutely disgusting and shows that this gym doesn't give a hoot about its reputation or it's member's wellbeing. I've also recently become aware of the way some the staff treat members of the gym, the sales and reception staff are rude and the manager is an absolute disgrace and very unprofessional. This is not an exaggeration at all. I heard her being so rude to a young woman the other day that it has made me feel really uncomfortable and I definitely do not want to go back to the gym and be in her presence.
I know that when I joined the gym its was on a 12 month contract and I had to pay a deposit of £40 and set up a direct debit for the future months. However I did not actually sign anywhere other than a receipt for the deposit and direct debit. Not once was I shown a contract or asked to sign any other papers. I have since then asked sales staff about the membership process and slyly asked if people are supposed to sign a contract and they have all said yes.

Does this mean that If i were to cancel my membership early, they could not fine or dispute it because I haven't signed a contract?

I dont want to just cancel my direct debit incase they report me to debt collectors or black list me.

I was going to post that I had experienced similar when I was a member (and used several of the gyms across London) but human faeces?!!! OMG THAT is GROSS!

I'd go complain to head office, ask for your membership to be cut and then go to Trading Standards, Consumer Rights and anywhere else you can think if you do have problems! I know its gross but if you do see anything else like that, take pictures, get witnesses and names and details so when you do complain you have more punch.

I would have thought under the circumstances the company would apologise profoundly and let you go but I think they'd probably try it on.

Agree though with the staff thing, there were some gyms where the staff were professional and did a great job, but many others where the staff were just beyond a joke rude and yet despite complaining (to head office, which seemed to make a dent in their brassyness) they'd be back to normal within a few weeks/months.

Do complain though- just wondering if your showers also had mould creeping up the corners or the walls too? Couldn't find a single LA that didn't have this...attribute in all the time I was a member! Still, made me make an effort to know what not to look for with my next membership!

jenniewb · 11 June 2011 at 4:11AM

angel_underneath wrote: »

Hi all, i took out a gym membership with change ur shape, due to damaging my back can no longer use the gym. i cancelled the direct debit wrote several letters and they replyed with " THIS CONTRACT CANNOT BE CANCELLED". It has now gone to a debt collection agency. So regardless i'm still having to pay even though i'm genually to unwell to go.

I'd advise you to go to the CAB, take thr full contract with you (small print included) and see if there is any way they can help you.

DanLDN · 15 July 2011 at 8:50PM

Hi guys, I have transferred membership from an ex- work colleague to myself. During the transfer process (over the phone) LA-F did not inform me that i'm signing a 2 year contract, after this I did not receive any contracts nor did I sign any documents. I want to leave LA-F, but customer service department have told me that I'm still liable to pay it in full, even if I have not signed a single piece of paper. Is it correct, or can I just cancel my direct debit?

How to cancel a gym membership

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