Spike alert
Under controlThe gym you can’t leave
Eleven gym and fitness cases landed on Ajust this week, mostly from people trying to cancel a membership or get back a fee charged when they left.
That pushed health and wellness complaints to 5.2%, the highest share we’ve seen since July.
Where it breaks down:
1. The agreement nobody has.
One Snap Fitness member was asked for their membership agreement so the agent could serve notice. Their reply: “Where would I find this”.
A member of a Queensland martial arts club went one step further: “That’s the problem, I never received a copy of my agreement or a receipt”. Twelve months in, the debits kept coming.
The club said 30 days’ notice was required. The thirteenth month cost $211.16.
2. The free trial with a contract attached.
One Sydney member signed up for a two-week promotional trial and says: “I was forced to sign their agreement before I can join the 2 weeks trial classes”.
The trial was their last visit. The gym is now chasing four weeks’ notice plus a recovery cost: $464.25 all up.
3. The card cancel that isn’t a cancel.
The same member cancelled their credit card. That didn’t end the charges: “after I cancelled my credit card, they still try to charge me for the fees of 4 weeks notice period plus debit recovery cost!”
Between them, that’s $675 in fees for two memberships the members say they had already walked away from.
When Ajust’s agent served a written cancellation notice on Snap Fitness Carlisle for a month-to-month member, the club confirmed the cancellation within two days.
Exactly why it’s always a good idea to check your rights and push back when things don’t seem fair.
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What you can do:
- Get the agreement before you sign and keep it. The notice period and the exit fee live in there, and a gym has a much harder time holding you to terms it never gave you.
- Cancel in writing and keep the confirmation. Cancelling the card doesn’t cancel the contract; it just adds a recovery fee.
- Check your state’s rules. In Queensland you get 48 hours to cancel in writing, and a term that blocks cancellation when you’re seriously ill or injured can be an unfair contract term. If the gym won’t budge, Ajust’s agent serves the notice and chases the confirmation for you.
