I would strongly recommend getting the membership terms in writing before joining this gym, because my experience was very different from what I was told during the sign-up process.
On my very first day, I was given a tour and explicitly told that the gym had no contracts, meaning we could "leave" whenever we wanted. I was also told something along the lines of "we don't have any secret fees." Those were major reasons I chose this gym.
About three months later, I was charged an $80 "reup" fee, which is essentially a yearly fee. I had never been told about this during the sign-up process. I was also charged multiple $25 late fees. I keep most of my money in savings and transfer money to checking when I need to pay something, so I intended to manually make my payment through the app. Instead, the gym automatically attempted to charge my card at a specific time and immediately assessed a late fee when the payment didn't go through. To his credit, the manager, Rick, waived one of these fees for me, but I ultimately still had to pay one during the roughly six months I was a member.
What really frustrated me was what happened when I decided to leave. Because I had specifically been told there was no contract and that I could leave whenever I wanted, I stopped paying and moved to another gym. I assumed the membership would simply be canceled or the payment would eventually stop being attempted.
Instead, the monthly charges continued accumulating, along with additional fees for nonpayment. After about three months, I went in to ask why I was apparently being charged around $150 despite not using the gym. I was told that my membership was still active because I hadn't physically come in to cancel it.
I then asked a very simple question: If my membership was supposedly still active, was I allowed to use the gym during those months? The answer was immediately no because of the unpaid balance.
That's where I have a serious problem with the policy. I was being told that I had an active membership and owed monthly dues, while simultaneously being denied access to the gym because I hadn't paid those dues. I wasn't receiving the service I was supposedly being charged for.
I also didn't appreciate the way my questions were repeatedly reframed by the manager as though I had received a service and was simply refusing to pay for it. From my perspective, I stopped using the gym because I relied on what I was explicitly told at signup: that there was no contract and that I could leave whenever I wanted. I now owe over $100 because I relied on that representation.
I understand that Rick personally doesn't create the gym's policies, and he did waive one fee for me. But as the manager, he is also the person representing those policies to customers, and my experience was that the actual membership terms were substantially different from what I was told when I signed up.
For me, the biggest issue isn't even the amount of money. It's the lack of transparency. If there is an annual/reup fee, say so upfront. If members have to formally cancel in person, say so upfront. If failing to pay results in accumulating membership charges and fees while simultaneously losing access to the gym, explain that clearly before someone signs up.
I chose this gym specifically because I was told it was straightforward and cost-friendly. After my experience, I don't feel that description was accurate. Get every membership term in writing before signing up. read more
