How to Cancel Your Gym Membership (2024)

From temporarily closed gyms, to new occupancy limits, to mask requirements, the pandemic has changed the way many of us exercise. But even if your local gym is open at this point, you may no longer feel comfortable heading indoors to work out with a bunch of other people, all of yougrunting and gasping and potentially spraying droplets everywhere (can’t imagine why). Unfortunately, if you’ve finally decided to cancel your gym membership—perhaps only until you’ve been vaccinated—you may find that it’s no easy task.

If you’re looking to end your gym membership once and for all, here’s how to accomplish the impossible.

Study your contract

Somewhere, in the recesses of your file cabinets or drawers or inbox, your existing contract sits. Find it immediately and search for any language that pertains to its cancellation policy.

Unfortunately, many gyms still make it very hard on you and will institute clauses such as a requirement of one month’s notice before cancellation. Others require extenuating circ*mstances, like a move, disability, or death, in order to cancel (though, there are exceptions, like if you were misled about your contract’s language or you’re still a very new member). And as Vox notes, with many fitness chains facing bankruptcy and lawsuits right now, they aren’t eager to make it easier on you, pandemic or no.

In order to cancel your contract, you may have to send a letter to your gym by way of certified mail. Certified mail provides proof that they’ve received the letter (other gyms may specifically require in-person or over the phone can cancellations, so read your contract or the gym’s website carefully). Here’s how a couple major gym chains practice their cancellation processes (note: cancellation policies may differ if your gym is a franchise versus a corporate-owned location, as well as by membership level).

Equinox

According to the FAQ section of its website, Equinox allows members who’ve belonged to their gym for longer than one year to cancel at any point, as long as they provide sufficient notice (according to one copy of the contract, it’s 45 days in advance), and do so either “in-club,” via registered or certified mail, or by calling their Concierge line (866-332-6549) or by emailing [emailprotected]. You will have to pay your remaining prorated balance in order to to stop billing.

You may freeze your membership once per contractual year for a minimum of one (1) month and a maximum of three (3) consecutive months in one-month increments for a fee of $30 per month, payable in advance. Monthly members within their first year of membership will be charged regular monthly dues until they meet their one year obligation, after which they will be charged the freeze fee in full.

Planet Fitness

Planet Fitness’s cancellation language for members in the U.S. is as follows:

You can fill out a cancellation form at the front desk of your home club, or send a letter (preferably via certified mail) to your club requesting cancellation. Memberships can’t, unfortunately, be cancelled by email or phone. Please remember that your cancellation request is subject to any obligations of your membership agreement.

This rather vague policy leaves you at the mercy of your particular contract with your local franchisee. And note that the policies differ depending on where you live: In Canada, for example, you only have to cancel and give notice at least a week in advance of the billing period, and if you’ve signed up for a minimum number of months—for example, if you paid a year in advance—and cancel before that period has elapsed up, you’ll be charged $58 for it.

You can get out of cancellation fees if you provide proof of a move 25 miles away from any Planet Fitness location if you’re disabled, or well, you die. “In case of death, your estate must provide written evidence,” the contract reads, so tell your family now!

24 Hour Fitness

This chain—which filed for bankruptcy last June—is less than generous with its cancellation policies. The FAQ section of the website merely offers that you are “not entitled to cancel your membership” during any “commitment terms” or prepaid periods, as stipulated in your contract. And their special COVID-19 FAQ offers no additional relief, beyond vaguely stating:

[Y]ou can

click here

and follow the instructions to submit your request to cancel. You can also mail in your cancel request to P.O. Box 787, Carlsbad, CA 92018, Attn: Cancel Dept.

If you have a basic month-to-month membership with no minimum term, you should need only provide 24 hours (lol) notice (but the chances you have this kind of membership right now seem... low). If you are committed to a year-long membership, you may still have luck canceling, but you could have to pay 50 percent of the remaining contract balance, according to one former 24 Hour Fitness trainer. You can get it out of it, again, through a relocation, disability, death, or military deployment.

Write your letter

If you know the terms of your contract and it requires this type of notification, the next step is to send your certified mail in the form of a letter of intent. What does this entail? Redditor u/krurran recommended a simple template which includes the following (note that it is aimed at Planet Fitness members, so change up the details for your chain of choice):

Name:

Address:

Phone:

Email:

Birth date:

Membership ID:

Last 4 digits of credit card/checking account associated with Planet Fitness account:

Agreement #: If you have it. Check the email they sent to you when you signed up

And, of course, include your need to cancel your membership and any applicable reasons why.

Talk to the manager

Sometimes, you’ll have to talk to a manager in person in order to get your membership canceled—yes, even now. Other times, they’ll magically forget your letter and you’ll have to follow up—so you should do so the moment you get notice that your letter is received. Track down your contract and your confirmation of certified mail delivery, and prepare to battle (just a little).

If you’re a member at a larger gym chain, talk to a higher-up instead of a membership advisor: I once canceled an Equinox membership and confirmed several times with an advisor that I would not get charged (I got charged anyway). I followed up and reached out to a manager and received a refund pretty swiftly.

Dispute the charge

If you’re going to take a shot at this B-, you better not miss.” - Bethenny Frankel, housewife

If your gym is still after you, even after completing every step, dispute the charge with your bank. Ask for a chargeback, cite your reasons why, and the contract language, stating you fulfilled every stipulation. Your bank should reach out on your behalf. Also, ask your bank to not authorize any future transactions from the gym so you can avoid other charges.

Whatever you do, don’t cancel your credit card to solve the problem (they may issue your “missing” payments to a debt collections agency). And try your best to keep copies of everything, including emails—you may need them one day to disentangle yourself once and for all.

This article was originally published in February 2019 by Josh Ocampo and updated on March 2, 2021 by Joel Cunningham to include updated information and to add content surrounding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.