Question for those with gym memberships

[rumguy]

Do you pay for a block of time, or do you have to cancel it...otherwise it keeps billing?

In May I paid (with cash, for god's sake) for what I thought was a one-month membership at a gym. I never got my ID card for some reason, and I never worried about it cuz I was really busy that month and didn't have time to go anyway. So I thought it was over.

I got a call from the billing company that handles all their billing and it turns out I owe a hundred dollars now, and I can't cancel till I pay it off.

This was just a local gym - the billing company is some international outfit that you can't reason with. I can't say - look I never got my card, I never even went even once...let's just call it even...

Nope these huge corporations are beasts that must be fed...they can't be reasoned with.

So - every other gym I've been at you pay for a period of time - and then you renew...this automatic billing shit I've never encountered at a gym - especially considering that I paid in cash...

[rustydog]

1. At my YMCA, the payment is automatic out of my checking acct.

I can cancel at any time.

I don't like buying into the you must belong for a year, or 6-months before you cancel crap.

[Bronco69]

2. Just tell them to go cheney themselves and if they report

you to a credit reporting agency you can write a note on your credit report explaining your side of the story. Personally, I wouldn't worry about it.

[doc03]

3. I belong to a gym that is a subsidiary of a local hospital, they bill my

credit card monthly and I can cancel at any time. Also during June, July and August you can put you membership on hold for 1 to 3 months and come back with no additional fees.