Recommendation for cancelling a golds gym membership?

Submitted by carlyslayjedsen t3_y84nmp in rva

I no longer live in the area and forgot to cancel before I moved away. I recall them making it notoriously difficult to cancel and that you have to do it in person but that may have changed. I realize I got myself into this mess by not cancelling before I moved but here I am.

I’m thinking I’ll tell them I’ll be moving back in early 2023 and that if they don’t give me an option to cancel then I’ll pick another gym when I move back there… what do you think?

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ChiliTrees t1_isxypjx wrote

I think they’ll probably be happy to keep taking your money until you “move back”, so that might not work.

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Ultimate_Decoy t1_isy2kyp wrote

Their little "must cancel in person" is a bunch of pile of horse shit. My girlfriend had a membership with them. We tried to go in and cancel, they told us they can't do it there then gave us a card to email their manager or something. We then emailed her whom then told us to email and request a cancelling through a separate group whom manages their payment processing.

After a shit ton of back and forth, I had to politely (I was losing my shit at this point and was barely able to hold myself back) ask them to cancel the membership or we were going to freeze the payment and use the emails as proof of us formally requesting a cancellation. They finally sent us the estimate of how much we had to pay in fees for canceling before the contract completed. We paid and wiped our hands of them. Not sure if this is typical, but this was the shit show we had to go through with them.

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WontArnett t1_isxyw08 wrote

Be prepared to pay a bunch in “cancellation fees” or whatever.

Gyms suck that way— they always make you “pay out the rest of your contract”.

Planet Fitness claims month to month, and they still scrounged up some bs fee they’d charge me to cancel.

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bruxalle t1_isy55h4 wrote

I canceled during the height of COVID when I lost my job. They told me they canceled and continued to charge me. Had to file a claim with my bank to stop it. Took quite a while to get it straightened and a huge headache.

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SnooHesitations926 t1_isxz01h wrote

You might be able to freeze your membership and resume it at a later date

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WillyVT143 t1_isybgxq wrote

Send them a certified letter with a delivery receipt stating you are canceling your membership with 30 days notice. Pay via a credit card and dispute any charges subsequent to the 30 day notice period via the credit card company. Provide your letter and the delivery receipt to the credit card company when disputing the charges.

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t_rex_reflex t1_isy1uyl wrote

Call them and talk to them over the phone to discuss your options. They had me send an email to the manager stating that I lived over 40 miles away and they discontinued charging me. THis was for the Gayton location. Good luck!

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Kkoder t1_isyd54k wrote

I tried canceling over the phone. I was told to come in for an in-person review. I came in. They said there was no manager available despite clearly having a manager in the office. I filled out the cancellation paperwork and left a note. I called a week later and they said they had received no paperwork and that I wouldn't be able to cancel. I finally said "You can cancel my membership or you'll be hearing from my lawyer next. I have photographs proving your employees took my cancellation paperwork. This feels like fraud."

I received a cancellation email less than five minutes later.

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DeadM3dic t1_isysypp wrote

I got out of a gold's gym contract years ago because my doctor wrote a note saying that I couldn't work out anymore due to a back injury.

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CoffeexCup t1_isy1mzf wrote

Close the account that it drafts from and never look back.

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carlyslayjedsen OP t1_isy1ril wrote

I believe they go so far as to send collections after you…

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RVABMWguy t1_isyg1mi wrote

I went this route. They will try. I just ignored the collections calls and letters. It never showed up on my credit negatively. I know a number of other people who have done this exact same thing and none of those friends ever had it negatively affect them either.

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jonomm t1_isymldo wrote

I tried going that route, they just send you a collections letter.

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sizzlemeet t1_isytcpm wrote

this is what i ended up doing. said i wanted to cancel, and closed the bank account associated with it. they didn’t send collections after me. they did spend a few months emailing me in an attempt to get like $80, and i’d reply each time that i canceled.

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molluskich t1_isywwxs wrote

I had to do this to cancel my gold's membership. They sent my account to collections for a few hundred dollars. I sent them a sternly worded letter asking for all the stuff they have to provide to verify the debt. I offered them a dollar lol. Never heard back after that, nothing on my credit report, and this was almost ten years ago.

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AHippieDude t1_isy7mos wrote

Look at your contract. It may have a clause where if you move a certain distance from the gym then you can cancel it. If not try to call and see what they'll do. Regretfully gym membership contracts are almost entirely their sided though

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theokuser t1_iszhuug wrote

They made me do this year's ago. Had been signed up in Mechanicsville and moved to West end decided to cancel.

First trip over they said only when a manager was in. Made the drive another day and when I asked for a manager they said it wasn't needed and cancelled it on the spot.

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Crazy4Rabies t1_isy9p0u wrote

Not Golds, but I was a member of a planet fitness that had a similar policy. I was able to fax them a form (seriously, they said fax not email) that cancelled it for me after calling them and berating them. It may be possible to go to another Golds near where you live now and see if that works? They're a bunch of bastards either way

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frandlyneighbor t1_isyiuhd wrote

I needed to cancel during the thick of COVID, and refused to come in since I was caring for someone with pulmonary fibrosis. They accepted a hand written letter- signed, dated and mailed to them. I made a copy of the letter, and still had to call and harass them to make sure they received it and that my membership was successfully canceled. The hassle they put me through will keep me from ever stepping through their doors ever again, but I'll gladly keep my sticker in my window in case I need to use the parking lot in the fan location 😂🤣

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ripleyajm t1_iszdizg wrote

You gotta contact your bank and shut the charges down. Either that or close your accounts or credit cards. Golds is all over the legal advice subreddit for being absolutely terrible about this. They’re notorious for copying your signature to other contracts you didn’t sign.

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rvamama804 t1_iszfo2t wrote

If they refuse just do a stop payment through the bank. The Y does this too, I'm a big fan of theirs but I even had to do it to them once.

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AdventureGirlRosie t1_it06797 wrote

I would tell them you are moving away and need to cancel your payment. Do not offer them any further details about when/if you are moving back.

Follow up by filing a stop payment order with your bank if you can.

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orcawhales t1_it0lpw1 wrote

my fiancé had a membership to equinox in new york. they have a policy where if you move 200 miles away you can get out of it. she sent a letter from her parents house saying she moved back home.

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gregginrva t1_it3bhq1 wrote

I stopped the automatic draw from my bank account. Got a few calls, then a few letters, then a call from a collection agency. I told them they could call me and send me letters till the end of time and they would never get a dime out of me. Never heard from them again.

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E1M8S4K8F t1_it4cbvy wrote

I was on month to month. Canceled during Covid. Was told I had to come in. Wrote a strongly worded email that essentially said I enjoyed their services but would no longer be using them this was my official cancelation I wouldn’t be coming into their establishment and if another charge showed up on my credit card statement they would be getting a chargeback. Didn’t hear back and never got billed again.

I think I’m about to rejoin.

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