Trying to Leave the Gym of Shame

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  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    Cancel whatever card or account this gym gets its money from and set up a new one. Don't give the bad gym the new account number. Sometimes it's the only way to get out of a contract like that.

    I had to do that with a very large chain (US). It was also an electronically signed contract that I did not receive a copy of.
    I won't get into reasons why I went twice & never returned, the fact is, it's my right.

    My contract was to be paid month to month with no commitments. I paid the first month in advance & when it became evident it was not going to work out, I cancelled the card & got another one.

    They do not have access to the new number & could not continue to charge my account. Heh. When I went to cancel the membership (entire family of 4, by the way) they refused. Then they tried to continue to collect from my account.

    After having read all the bad reviews about this chain including issues with cancelling, I just cancelled my card.
    Done.
  • Lemongrab13
    Lemongrab13 Posts: 206 Member
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    Cancel your card.
    I've done it.
    No issues. At most you'll get an email, but feel free to delete it before you even read it.
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,141 Member
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    You mention using the tube so I guess this is in London. There are so many cheap gyms with no contracts around right now, I'm surprised you chose to pay so much for one.

    I would tell them you are cancelling your contract as they did nothing to help you when you were being harrassed by other gym members when you complained to them about the problems you were experiencing.

    If they are a well known gym they will not want any backlash, tell them you will use Twitter, FB etc to inform people of how you're being treated by them if they continue to tell you to pay for a membership you're not willing to use due to above mentioned situation.

    ETA: you could always record a conversation like you had with them recently over the phone about cancelling at any time and play that back to them?!
  • I_need_moar_musclez
    I_need_moar_musclez Posts: 499 Member
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    I wouldn't call this the gym of shame.

    More the gym of c**ts.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    Unfortunately, it's your responsibility to read a contract in full before signing it and your action of signing it nullifies anything they may have said previously - i.e. about being able to cancel.

    That's another thing. I was not given/shown/sent a contract when I signed up. The one they sent me over email a few weeks ago when I started this procedure is completely new to me. I have never ever seen it before in my life. The whole procedure of enrolling me in the gym lasted 7 minutes, and was done over a computer. I never got a printed version of my contract, or an email about it, or a text, nothing :S The only thing I got was the receipt of the transaction when I paid the enrolment fee and the first month.

    well lesson learned.. read the contract. if they dont give you a contract then ask for one. this is true with anything in life involving exchange of goods and services.

    if i were you i'd chalk it up to a lesson learned, pay out the contract and thank my lucky stars that i didnt learn the lesson in an even costlier way

    just checked the OP's age.. girl you are tool old to just now be learning this!! you definitely got lucky that it wasnt something more expensive
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    Cancel whatever card or account this gym gets its money from and set up a new one. Don't give the bad gym the new account number. Sometimes it's the only way to get out of a contract like that.

    I had to do that with a very large chain (US). It was also an electronically signed contract that I did not receive a copy of.
    I won't get into reasons why I went twice & never returned, the fact is, it's my right.

    My contract was to be paid month to month with no commitments. I paid the first month in advance & when it became evident it was not going to work out, I cancelled the card & got another one.

    They do not have access to the new number & could not continue to charge my account. Heh. When I went to cancel the membership (entire family of 4, by the way) they refused. Then they tried to continue to collect from my account.

    After having read all the bad reviews about this chain including issues with cancelling, I just cancelled my card.
    Done.

    in the US though that can end up on your credit report since you essentially agree to pay a certain amount and dont pay
  • Ebonessa
    Ebonessa Posts: 21 Member
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    You mention using the tube so I guess this is in London. There are so many cheap gyms with no contracts around right now, I'm surprised you chose to pay so much for one.

    When I enrolled at that gym, it was a 90 second walk from my previous place. I moved houses a month ago, so now it is very not within my daily commute.
    well lesson learned.. read the contract. if they dont give you a contract then ask for one. this is true with anything in life involving exchange of goods and services.

    I think there's a misunderstanding here. When I signed online and made the payment, I was told "that's it, you're now a part of this gym" and was given a copy of what I had just signed - what is included in my subscription, and the payment plan&receipt. There was no mention of this contract that was sent to me recently by email, or any other terms and conditions, and I had no reason to believe there would be. As skinnyinnotime said, there are loads of gyms in London where there are no contracts involved - had I been informed of this requirement, I may well not have agreed to the deal.
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
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    You told the management of the particular location you went to ... but did you contact corporate? If you move up the chain they may be more willing to listen. Especially if you threaten bad publicity for them.

    But if the contract includes financial difficulty as a valid reason to cancel, maybe you can try to claim that. Ask the bank to cancel the card for you, or if it's a debit card, open a new account and transfer everything to the new account, then tell the gym you are in financial difficulty and need to cancel. That might work. If not, you may just have to end up paying the last 6 months :crying: But at least you have a gym you like now! :flowerforyou:
  • gary241069
    gary241069 Posts: 255 Member
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    I like to refer you to terms of contract number 4) I am physically incapable of attending.
    You are physically incapable of attending due to stress of being bullied.
  • adamgoleafs87
    adamgoleafs87 Posts: 129 Member
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    Cancel whatever card or account this gym gets its money from and set up a new one. Don't give the bad gym the new account number. Sometimes it's the only way to get out of a contract like that.

    ... this could actually be more trouble than it's worth. They can sue you for breach of contract.

    Mention it as an option to a lawyer in a free consult I suppose. Doing this would risk you having to go through court. But hey, there is a chance they won't bother following through. Depends how much money is on the line and what the company "personality" is like.

    You're not wrong about the possibility of a lawsuit, but I really doubt a corporate gym would bother to go to court over one member's canceled credit card. It is a risk, but if there is no other way, I would totally do it.

    Lawsuit might not happen but it doesn't take much for them to send you to collections and ruin your credit.
  • ukaryote
    ukaryote Posts: 874 Member
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    3) I am financially unable to pay,

    There you are! Like someone said, cancel the card and tell 'em the card company cancelled it.
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
    Options
    Cancel whatever card or account this gym gets its money from and set up a new one. Don't give the bad gym the new account number. Sometimes it's the only way to get out of a contract like that.

    I had to do that with a very large chain (US). It was also an electronically signed contract that I did not receive a copy of.
    I won't get into reasons why I went twice & never returned, the fact is, it's my right.

    My contract was to be paid month to month with no commitments. I paid the first month in advance & when it became evident it was not going to work out, I cancelled the card & got another one.

    They do not have access to the new number & could not continue to charge my account. Heh. When I went to cancel the membership (entire family of 4, by the way) they refused. Then they tried to continue to collect from my account.

    After having read all the bad reviews about this chain including issues with cancelling, I just cancelled my card.
    Done.

    in the US though that can end up on your credit report since you essentially agree to pay a certain amount and dont pay

    Nope. I never said I didn't pay.
    I paid upwards of 400$ to sign up 4 members of my family total. (myself & husband, & 2 young adult children)
    After the initial 1 month (that I already paid for) was up, it was up to me to continue & pay as agreed.
    I did not continue, so they got paid for the first month and the second month (my last).

    It was a 'no commitment' offer. It was not a 'yearly membership'. That's why it was called a 'No Commitment' contract.

    Luckily, I had not gotten around to ending my commitment with my neighborhood gym & just continued on there.
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    Cancel whatever card or account this gym gets its money from and set up a new one. Don't give the bad gym the new account number. Sometimes it's the only way to get out of a contract like that.

    ... this could actually be more trouble than it's worth. They can sue you for breach of contract.

    Mention it as an option to a lawyer in a free consult I suppose. Doing this would risk you having to go through court. But hey, there is a chance they won't bother following through. Depends how much money is on the line and what the company "personality" is like.

    You're not wrong about the possibility of a lawsuit, but I really doubt a corporate gym would bother to go to court over one member's canceled credit card. It is a risk, but if there is no other way, I would totally do it.

    Lawsuit might not happen but it doesn't take much for them to send you to collections and ruin your credit.

    Having an account go into collections does not 'ruin' your credit, at least not here in the US.

    Your credit will certainly take a ding, but it won't be ruined unless you have a history of not paying your accounts, accounts being closed on you, not paying as agreed, multiple 30, 90 & 180 days late etc.

    The overall trend is taken into consideration & your score might be lowered for a time, but you bounce back pretty nicely if you continue in good standing with all of your other accounts.

    Not afraid of the big bad credit wolf :wink:

    Besides, if they get a judgement against you, you can then call the company that ended up with your account & settle with them. Often for a lesser amount than the original debt. You can negotiate for them to take it off of your credit report & report your account as 'paid as agreed'.

    Done.

    ETA: this ain't my first rodeo
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,070 Member
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    I'm tending not to believe this either but,

    Any time I can't cut a business down to size with a phone call or letter I contact 'the judge' at the 'Sunday Mail' - works every time. (I'm UK too).

    ETA: just read the other posts - cancelling the card would result in a CCJ if they follow through so would show up on your credit file for 6 years - honestly, write to the judge.
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    I'm tending not to believe this either but,

    Any time I can't cut a business down to size with a phone call or letter I contact 'the judge' at the 'Sunday Mail' - works every time. (I'm UK too).

    ETA: just read the other posts - cancelling the card would result in a CCJ if they follow through so would show up on your credit file for 6 years - honestly, write to the judge.

    Good point..I'm in the US & this is how it works here. I'm not saying you should run around all cattywampus not honoring your commitments, however, when deal breakers happen, you deal with it & move on.
    I wish you all the best with this OP :drinker:
  • Kate7294
    Kate7294 Posts: 783 Member
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    Cancel whatever card or account this gym gets its money from and set up a new one. Don't give the bad gym the new account number. Sometimes it's the only way to get out of a contract like that.


    This sounds like good advice.
  • therasca1queen
    therasca1queen Posts: 2 Member
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    hang on, so you never saw this contract before? So they don't have your signature on this contract? Tell them that, cancel the card they're getting money from, and just say you can't afford to pay the fees any more.
  • KameHameHaaaa
    KameHameHaaaa Posts: 837 Member
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    I'm actually shocked that some people think that this story isn't real. I guess some people don't realize the severity that some of these animals (yes, animals, NORMAL HUMANS don't treat people this way) take fat shaming. I've been severely fat shamed at two different gyms (ballys, golds. not afraid to name em). I didn't react as emotionally to it because I also spent most my years in bible school and karate being treated poorly for my weight, so by my adult years I couldn't give a f*** what ANIMALS had to say to me. At ballys I had one woman in a zumba class "kindly" tell me that the class I was taking (and had been taking for awhile) was "out of my fitness level"??? And maybe I should take a slower class??? So I "kindly" told her it wasn't my problem if she was insecure about a fat woman moving as fast as her in the class. :) Same with the locker rooms. It got to a point where if I overheard some of the women gossiping about someone else's body at the gym, I'd say out loud "to myself" that it must be so tiring caring so much about a stranger's body to the point where it disgusts you and you feel the need to spread your poison amongst other people. People would tell me to mind my own business. My response? DON'T SAY IT WHERE I CAN HEAR IT. I have no problem standing up for myself and for the people around me who might fall victim to animals torturing those who are trying to better themselves.

    In any case, that was just a rant about how I feel about people fat shaming in a gym because it does happen. It's a real thing, at the gym and everywhere else. As for the contract, there has to be a clause in there somewhere that would get you out of it. If not, you need to tell them you've tried over and over to deal with it but you are being harassed and will take your complaint to corporate if they do not help you themselves.
  • Kaitou
    Kaitou Posts: 50 Member
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    I'm actually shocked that some people think that this story isn't real.

    In any case, that was just a rant about how I feel about people fat shaming in a gym because it does happen. It's a real thing, at the gym and everywhere else. As for the contract, there has to be a clause in there somewhere that would get you out of it. If not, you need to tell them you've tried over and over to deal with it but you are being harassed and will take your complaint to corporate if they do not help you themselves.

    Cosigning this. Fat shaming is a thing that happens to a lot of people, I've seen it happen to family, to friends, seen people be treated like less than dirt, like garbage, because of their size/weight. There is no excuse for it, but it definitely happens. I'm sorry to hear it's happened to you too Kame.

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