After gyms closed, members assumed all accounts would be frozen, and that they would get a refund for gym membership fees. Predictably, that was not the case, as the reaction time of many gyms was and is rather slow, especially when it comes to gym contracts. Slower than members appreciated.
If your gym charged you membership fees, you do have options. Read over your membership contract, visit your gym’s website or social media pages to see if others have asked similar questions, and reach out to customer service to hear what they have to say. If none of that works, you can take serious legal steps. But first, read below to see if your gym will be refunding or crediting you for the wrongful charges.
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Gold’s Gym wants you to fill out a form. And pay a fee.
Gold’s Gym announced on April 16 that they are permanently closing about 30 company-owned locations in St. Louis, Alabama, and Colorado Springs due to coronavirus.
Membership Fees: 12-month contract ($15.99/bi-weekly); Monthly no contract ($15.99/bi-weekly); Annual contract ($399.99)
Membership Status: Company-owned gyms have frozen membership dues, as are many locally-owned franchise gyms.
To Cancel: At Gold’s Gym, you are required to turn in a contract cancellation form 30 days prior to when you wish to end your membership. Even now. Don’t be surprised if you are billed until that 30-day period has passed. If you are in the middle of your contract, you may have to pay a $90 fee to break it.
Related: Gyms Close, Offer Free Workouts During Coronavirus
Planet Fitness is being sued for charging for March.
Planet Fitness is facing a lot of backlash from members after billing them for the month of March. They are one of the many gyms being sued at the moment for membership charges amid coronavirus.
Membership Fees: Monthly membership ($15/mo); 12-month commitment ($10/mo); All-access ($19.99/mo); No cancellation fees.
Membership Status: Although members were charged their March membership dues, Planet Fitness said that they’ll credit time lost once their closed gyms reopen. All memberships and dues have been frozen, but if you have any questions you can best reach them through their contact us page.
To Cancel: Unfortunately, membership cancellations cannot be done over the phone or via email. But, some members have been able to cancel via Facebook Messenger. If that doesn’t work for you, your other option is going to be writing out your intent to cancel on a piece of paper. With a pen. And sending it through snail mail to your local club.
TIP: If you are a USAA member, pay only $25 for full access to more than 10,000 fitness centers, including Planet Fitness and select YMCA locations, across the U.S.
24 Hour Fitness makes it easy to cancel…or do they?
Effective April 16, 24 Hour Fitness has suspended all membership billings, including all billings for additional services and fees. If you were charged between March 17 through April 15, you will receive the exact credit for those days closed. These changes came after receiving backlash for continuing to charge members after 24 Hour Fitness had to close their doors.
Membership Fees: All plans have an annual $49.99 fee. Single gym ($29.99/mo); 300+ gym access ($29.99/mo) or annual $481.13; 400+ gym access ($44.99/mo) or annually $688.89.
Membership Status: 24 Hour Fitness will credit its members for the number of days clubs are closed.
To Cancel: You may have a hard time getting ahold of customer service, so if you want to cancel your membership, go to their website, click on the link, follow the instructions, and submit. This seems easy, but who knows? If you’ve had a different experience, please let us know in the comments.
TIP: If you’re a member at Costco, you can get close to a 50% discount when you sign up for a two-year membership at 24 Hour Fitness. Contact your local 24 Hour Fitness about pricing when we get let out of our houses.
Crunch Fitness made you pay for March but is easy to cancel.
Because Crunch Fitness is both corporately and independently owned, billing uses may vary. They hope to resolve everything once gyms reopen.
Membership Fees: All members pay an annual fee of $39. Monthly base ($9.95/mo); Annual base ($119.40/yr). No cancellation fees.
Membership Status: As of April 1, all North American Crunch locations have suspended billing during the closure. If you’re billed in error, Crunch will credit you the amount while they work on freezing the billing systems.
To Cancel: Crunch hopes you don’t cancel your membership, but if you do want to cancel your membership now, they ask you to send a letter or email to your gym with your name, address, email, and membership number along with your request to cancel. You can find your gym’s address using the Crunch Fitness locations page.
If you bought Personal Training sessions before the closures, the sessions’ expiration dates will be extended once they reopen.
Equinox froze fees and will refund…eventually.
Membership Fees: One club ($169/mo); All clubs ($230/mo); No cancellation fees.
Membership Status: Equinox is automatically freezing memberships and will credit members for canceled services/classes, eventually.
Contract: According to Equinox all membership cancellations must be done in person with a club manager, by mail, or through their Member Administration department. Since you can’t go in person, you can give them a call at (866) 332-6549 or email them at memadmin@equinox.com.
LA Fitness wants you to do paperwork and use snail mail.
Membership Fees: Monthly membership ($30.99/mo) and a $39.99 annual fee.
Membership Status: LA Fitness is automatically extending memberships to cover the time that clubs are closed. LA Fitness has frozen all accounts and billing, so they are telling members they don’t need to worry about canceling.
To Cancel: However, if you won’t be going back after they reopen, they advise you to go to your online account, select ‘Cancellation Form’ from Account Options, print, and send to the address on the form. If you’re worried about missing personal training sessions due to coronavirus, LA Fitness says they are rolling those over as well.
OrangeTheory is waiving cancellation fees and suspending dues.
OrangeTheory and other online-savvy fitness organizations are doing better than some in this new world of working and working out from home.
Membership Fees: Four sessions per month ($59/mo); Eight sessions per month ($99/mo); Unlimited sessions ($159/mo).
Membership Status: Membership dues have been automatically suspended.
To Cancel: Normally session packages are good for a full year after the purchase date. To cancel your Orange Theory membership, they ask you to fill out the cancellation request form and visit your nearest location. Since visiting (or going outside for that matter) isn’t really an option right now, you can choose snail mail or e-mail. Typically, there is a cost associated with requesting a hold or freeze on your account, but for the time being, they are waving that fee.
Peloton is offering reruns, and you can still cancel.
Even after all non-essential businesses were told to close, Peloton had still been showing live classes from a closed location in New York. Unfortunately, one of their employees tested positive for COVID-19 and they ended the offering to protect their other employees. They are now offering pre-recorded sessions for members to follow along from home.
Membership Fees: Monthly subscription is $39/mo. To become a member of the Peloton Pack it’s $3K for the first year and $500/annually thereafter. No cancellation fees.
TIP: Certain health insurance plans will give you $300 or more as a part of your fitness reimbursement. Ask your provider to see if you’re covered.
SoulCycle is refunding unused classes and lengthening expiration dates.
SoulCycle operates on the pay-by-class model and is arguably one of the most expensive group fitness classes you can take in the U.S. SoulCycle’s policy states that if you don’t use the classes within the expiration date, you lose them. Due to coronavirus, SoulCycle will reimburse you for any unused, canceled classes and is freezing expiration dates on all class series through April 30.
Membership Fees: Pay per class, $20 for the first (expires in 30 days), $30 to $40 for any of the following classes. Bundles of five to 50 classes expire 3 – 12 months after purchase.
The April 30, 2020 freeze date is expected to be extended as stay-at-home orders continue to be pushed back in the U.S.
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