Trying to Leave the Gym of Shame
Replies
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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.0 -
3) I am financially unable to pay,
There you are! Like someone said, cancel the card and tell 'em the card company cancelled it.0 -
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.0 -
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
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 rodeo0 -
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.0 -
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:0 -
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.0 -
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.0
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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.0 -
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.0 -
You say it is part of a franchised brand. Complain to the franchise and tell them how bad the gym treated you and how you are going to tell everyone about it every chance you get. Email & call them, but also address them via social media channels since those people often have some influence to keep people happy. They may step in to save face.0
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Most gyms in the UK you can opt out of the contract via a letter from your GP. Go see your Dr claim you've pulled a muscle in your back and now can't use the gym as it's not fit for purpose. State you want to start swimming instead (to help your back). But you are unable to go due to the gym membership causing you financial hardship.
Dr signs the letter - you get to cancel the contract. Job done.0 -
Sorry, but:People came up to me and laughed at my panting, pointed out my sweating, mocked me by saying "is that all you can do" every time got up from a machine. Girls were mockingly panting heavily when we finished a set in class, and I was told several times to go to the back of the class since no one would be able to see themselves in the wall mirror if I was in front.
This reads more like bad fat-shaming fiction more than fact. Sure one of these events could have happened, but all of them within 6 weeks of joining a new gym? Not once, but multiple times the OP was told to "move to the back of the class?" By a class instructor... because the OP was taking up mirror real estate? Is the OP the fitness version of Rosa Parks? C'mon, my trolldar is going off the charts at this point. And now 8.5 months later, the OP up and decides it's time to cancel the contract? Why not 9 months ago? It just doesn't add up.
But in terms of the contract, you can always stop paying as others have said. They may let it go at that point, but odds are if you're under contract, there's no guarantee they'll let it go and they're well within their rights (at least in the US) to enforce the contract you signed. In the US, they'd likely turn your bill over to a debt collector rather than take you to court themselves, and the debt collector may end up taking you to small claims court as part of the debt collection process. Cancelling the credit card will prevent them from automatically billing you (although you could just dispute the charges with your credit card company... that's a lot easier) but it won't get you out of a contract you signed.0 -
Well how do you pay ? Just cancel n block them through your bank or credit card. If you want to take it a step further tell thwm u never signed up n u have 2 id n one was stolen but u have another so it didnt matter. Iean it cant be that hard to get out a contract . Talk to your bank or credit card people .0
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I'm not saying that the stuff at the old gym didn't happen, I'm just saying I am really struggling to believe your story.
I felt the same but then remembered that just a few days ago, a man from the UK described on one of the threads how he was viciously mocked and tormented in response to his facial pics on an online UK dating site. And he is a polite person with an above average appearance! Based on my communications with him, I doubt he did anything to bring that on and I also believe him to be truthful.
So if OP's story in this thread is true, what the HELL is happening in the UK?
To be totally honest not a lot I would think! I'm in the UK and have been a member of my current gym prior to/throughout my weight loss. My gym bud dropped out early into the running and I've attended on my own since. It's an all ladies gym and there's a hella mixed bag of different sizes/shapes going on. I'll state right upfront I'm chronically shy in some settings. Plus my natural ability for falling off things, dropping things on myself, and colliding with folk. All makes for me being a prime gym social outcast.
However, I've met nothing but chatty nice people at the gym. And even with nada interaction with my gym on FB besides initially friending them an eon ago they posted a "woot well done" on an updated pic I posted on there. My previous gym(s) I didn't have quite as good an experience - but at the very worst I was just another number in the roll call of members. I've never known anyone to experience the level of animosity in a gym setting that the OP has described.0 -
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.
I really wish I were as mentally and emotionally focused as you to come back with level-headed responses. I hope it doesn't happen at my new gym (or to anyone else, ever) but I will definitely keep the "Don't say it where I can hear it" line. Thank you for sharing, and I am sorry it has happened to you too
Most gyms in the UK you can opt out of the contract via a letter from your GP.
This actually sounds like a marvellous idea! My GP already has on record some severe pain I have on my left foot's arch. I am wondering whether I should tell him the whole story, or just try to get the letter. I really don't want him to think badly of me and say "if you can walk on it, why can't you go to the gym on it", especially since I am already enrolled in my new place.This reads more like bad fat-shaming fiction more than fact. Sure one of these events could have happened, but all of them within 6 weeks of joining a new gym? Not once, but multiple times the OP was told to "move to the back of the class?" By a class instructor... because the OP was taking up mirror real estate? Is the OP the fitness version of Rosa Parks? C'mon, my trolldar is going off the charts at this point. And now 8.5 months later, the OP up and decides it's time to cancel the contract? Why not 9 months ago? It just doesn't add up.
I think you may have skimmed over/skipped a lot of my post/posts. It was not the class instructor, it was the members who wanted me at the back of the class, so they can look in the mirror when they work out.
And I want to cancel now because I recently moved out of the area and into a new place far away from there. Less than a month ago, I was still living very close to that gym and, as mentioned before, hoped to man up and go back. It also didn't make sense to go to a different gym (in my previous area) since I had already paid for one. I honestly thought -and hoped- one day I would be able to go back. Alas, it didn't happen.
Thank you all for the advise and support (what am I doing at 5:30am replying here? that's how stressed out I am over this situation, damn it) as well as the criticism. I accept it all, and completely understand the disbelief. After all, it was my first reaction as well. I was so very happy to have found that place, went to classes so many times per week at first (Zumba alone was 3 times per week and I really like it), loved the pool, but after the first couple of "incidents" I couldn't pretend it wasn't happening or it was just my imagination. I worked so hard when I was attending (had good results too) and it really made me feel like a complete failure when I finally stopped. You don't know me so you can't possibly imagine how I chastised myself for being "weak" and " a fragile little baby" and "if I can't get over it, I'm not worth a healthy body" and being a "failure". I was so upset for my lack of conviction at the end.
I am not the most confident person in the world (I'm overweight now, you can guess what this does to one's self esteem) but I draw the line at having to give myself a pep talk before going to work out. I am done blaming myself for every single thing that has happened to me that is beyond my realm of control. That's partly what got me into an overweight state in the first place. Yes you can argue that being overweight is within my realm of control. And I accept it and I am doing something about it. I just would like to do it in my new area, at my new gym, with a better environment. 0 -
I'm not saying that the stuff at the old gym didn't happen, I'm just saying I am really struggling to believe your story.
I felt the same but then remembered that just a few days ago, a man from the UK described on one of the threads how he was viciously mocked and tormented in response to his facial pics on an online UK dating site. And he is a polite person with an above average appearance! Based on my communications with him, I doubt he did anything to bring that on and I also believe him to be truthful.
So if OP's story in this thread is true, what the HELL is happening in the UK?
Hey! That was me! They have POF on both sides of the pond hehe
OP - do whatever you need to do in order to get out of that place and go and scope out some more friendly gyms...places where you'll be admired for taking on the challenge of losing weight, not mocked for it.
Best of luck and remember, if you can't beat 'em then REALLY beat 'em!
Get in the hottest shape of your life then re-enrol at b*tch academy...0 -
You have to do something, I actually cancelled my membership with a gym (and emailed the account manager I had set up the membership with) after the minimum period and they sent a debt collection agency after me for not calling them to cancel. Apparently the guy hadn't passed the message along (and he hadn't emailed me back to say I had to cancel a different way).
As I could prove the emails then they apologised and let it go, but they actually went through the guy's emails as well to make sure it was there.
So yeah, a debt agency, after the minimum period had ended. And this was a large franchise gym in the UK, maybe the same one the OP is talking about.0 -
Do NOT cancel the account. It will be set up as a direct debit and will be a credit agreement. If you cancel your account or the DD then all that will happen is you'll get debt collectors after you and get a huge red flag on your credit record. I did the same thing and it really wasn't worth it.0
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