Unfair/illegal fees-gym membership cancellation

[Anonymous]

https://www.peopleclerk.com/post/how-to-sue-a-gym

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Drive to the gym with your son and talk to someone in person. Usually you have to quit in writing in person (because gyms know you are less likely to quit).

I agree with going in person with your son. But make sure he can produce the email that he sent on his phone. They will likely pretend they didn’t get it. Make sure you have also read the contract to ensure he could really cancel after just the summer. Usually gyms require a year contract (except for Planet Fitness).

Adding in - bring his birth certificate if he is under 18. Pretty sure they cannot hold him to a contract.

[Anonymous]

Life lesson 101: never join a gym with contracts for memberships. You can hire people these days who’ll work on canceling your membership for you.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks everyone, appreciate your responses. Seriously considering suing. Just don’t want these businesses to exploit newly minted adults with their bullshit business practices.

[Anonymous]

Does the gym have a weird/specific way you need to cancel? Have you seen your son's contract? It might say. Maybe emailing is not enough.

When I was a member of Washington Sports Club I needed to send them a certified letter to cancel. Of course, the DC attorney general came after them because of their deceptive practices....

[Anonymous]

How old is your son? If he's old enough to sign a contract, he's old enough to understand the serious nature of doing so. And it isn't as if the gym has one rule for "newly minted adults" and everyone else, so it's not exploiting a particular group. This is a good lesson for your son to always read anything he puts his name to.

[Anonymous]

OP have your son call his bank and tell them he gave his notice make sure he has a written copy you can forward.

Let the credit card company or bank deal with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP have your son call his bank and tell them he gave his notice make sure he has a written copy you can forward.

Let the credit card company or bank deal with it.

That’s not how it works. They’ll just send him to collections which is what OP has already said they are threatening to do. OP needs to read the contract herself, her son’s termination request, and then either follow those requirements or go in person to talk to the manager if the son did follow the termination requirements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any one with unfair experiences with One life fitness, Germantown or any gyms like these?
My son took membership for entire summer and emailed to inform about cancellation per terms & conditions. But they wouldn’t honor it, instead intimidate him with ythreat of forwarding to collection agency etc. Son says they are 100% non responsive when he calls the costumer service, instead they send an email, months later saying they are going to send his account to the collection agency. His friend has the same experience. I am so appalled, should this gym go scot free and keep exploiting this young kids who are obsessed with working on their bodies? Any one in same boat? I am so bent on pursuing a class-action suit.
Request to trolls, of grammar, typos and people with no life, please don’t respond… I already hear your responses. This is for parents of young adults like myself

Oh puhleeze. Get the facts first before going crazy like this. Have you even read the contract? These gyms have concrete, precise contracts drilled to perfection by lawyers. Here's a sample I pulled up on google, first entry:

How do I get out of my one life contract?
In order to cancel your monthly subscription we require a calendar months notice. To provide your notice to cancel you must send an email to the club you are a member of with your name, number and reason for cancellation.

FAQs - The OneLifeFitness Frequently Asked Questions Page...

Get a copy of the contract. Find out exactly what your son did. Get everything lined up. Chances are your son didn't give a calendar month's notice or whatever his specific contract said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP have your son call his bank and tell them he gave his notice make sure he has a written copy you can forward.

Let the credit card company or bank deal with it.

That’s not how it works. They’ll just send him to collections which is what OP has already said they are threatening to do. OP needs to read the contract herself, her son’s termination request, and then either follow those requirements or go in person to talk to the manager if the son did follow the termination requirements.

The hope would be that they make an unauthorized charge after you tell them not to. That gives you damages for small claims court

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any one with unfair experiences with One life fitness, Germantown or any gyms like these?
My son took membership for entire summer and emailed to inform about cancellation per terms & conditions. But they wouldn’t honor it, instead intimidate him with ythreat of forwarding to collection agency etc. Son says they are 100% non responsive when he calls the costumer service, instead they send an email, months later saying they are going to send his account to the collection agency. His friend has the same experience. I am so appalled, should this gym go scot free and keep exploiting this young kids who are obsessed with working on their bodies? Any one in same boat? I am so bent on pursuing a class-action suit.
Request to trolls, of grammar, typos and people with no life, please don’t respond… I already hear your responses. This is for parents of young adults like myself

Oh puhleeze. Get the facts first before going crazy like this. Have you even read the contract? These gyms have concrete, precise contracts drilled to perfection by lawyers. Here's a sample I pulled up on google, first entry:

How do I get out of my one life contract?
In order to cancel your monthly subscription we require a calendar months notice. To provide your notice to cancel you must send an email to the club you are a member of with your name, number and reason for cancellation.

FAQs - The OneLifeFitness Frequently Asked Questions Page...

Get a copy of the contract. Find out exactly what your son did. Get everything lined up. Chances are your son didn't give a calendar month's notice or whatever his specific contract said.

They’re concrete, convoluted, and fail when challenged. They’re designed to intimidate, not hold up in court

[Anonymous]

Agree your son is not giving you the full story.

I've been a member of OneLife for a decade. At times I've cancelled, put my account on hold, and every time, they've been up front and fair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any one with unfair experiences with One life fitness, Germantown or any gyms like these?
My son took membership for entire summer and emailed to inform about cancellation per terms & conditions. But they wouldn’t honor it, instead intimidate him with ythreat of forwarding to collection agency etc. Son says they are 100% non responsive when he calls the costumer service, instead they send an email, months later saying they are going to send his account to the collection agency. His friend has the same experience. I am so appalled, should this gym go scot free and keep exploiting this young kids who are obsessed with working on their bodies? Any one in same boat? I am so bent on pursuing a class-action suit.
Request to trolls, of grammar, typos and people with no life, please don’t respond… I already hear your responses. This is for parents of young adults like myself

Oh puhleeze. Get the facts first before going crazy like this. Have you even read the contract? These gyms have concrete, precise contracts drilled to perfection by lawyers. Here's a sample I pulled up on google, first entry:

How do I get out of my one life contract?
In order to cancel your monthly subscription we require a calendar months notice. To provide your notice to cancel you must send an email to the club you are a member of with your name, number and reason for cancellation.

FAQs - The OneLifeFitness Frequently Asked Questions Page...

Get a copy of the contract. Find out exactly what your son did. Get everything lined up. Chances are your son didn't give a calendar month's notice or whatever his specific contract said.

They’re concrete, convoluted, and fail when challenged. They’re designed to intimidate, not hold up in court

This. A quick Google search shows that most gym chains have settled class action suits for slimy and illegal practices around membership cancellation.

[Anonymous]

I threatened to dispute the charges with my credit card and to post negative reviews online.

I used to work at a gym and we did some VERY shady practices. We’d trot out the signed contract but most of the time the shady things we did weren’t even covered by the contract, we just knew most people would give up.

[Anonymous]

I think that a lot of it depends on who you talk to. some people are reasonable and some aren't.