Fitness and Nutrition

Ontario fitness club refuses to cancel membership

  • Last Updated:
  • Sep 8th, 2018 9:13 pm
Member
Jan 17, 2016
212 posts
26 upvotes

Ontario fitness club refuses to cancel membership

I had been a member of Anytime Fitness since 2015 and then I asked the club to cancel my membership in April 2018. I sent them a written request to cancel my membership. However, they said that they would still take another month's payment due to their "30-day cancellation policy". They did take the payment from my chequing bank account, but I called the bank and asked to put a stop payment on that as I thought that the Ontario law prohibits any payments to continue once a membership has been requested to be cancelled. Since I was not on a contract with them (I was on a month-to-month auto-renewal), I thought they were not supposed to bill me that amount.

Today it came to my attention that they still consider my membership as active and continue adding the following amounts to my file:
  • Monthly membership charges
  • NSF charges [that is, they attempt to charge my bank account even though I had revoked the authorization]
  • "Late payment fees"
I called the club manager and he said that the club is entitled by law to continue my membership and accrual of funds on my file until I've settled the "debt" with them.

Does anybody know if what they are doing is legal? Is it true that they can keep my membership active even though I explicitly said I didn't want it to be active?
Can they legally continue attempting to debit my bank account even though I have also verbally removed the authorization?

I'm just wondering how crazy this can go. My file was sent to a collection agency, the amount in question is now about $160, and it doesn't look like they've added a pertinent record to my credit profile. What is my best course of action in this case?

Would sincerely appreciate your answers.
6 replies
Deal Addict
Jun 8, 2005
3160 posts
639 upvotes
Toronto
There's a 2 year period from last contact to when the debt is expunged (e.g. they can no longer collect). Don't pick up the phone or correspond with the collection agency in any way, save the following:

Send a registered letter saying that you dispute the debt to both the gym and the collection agency, and that you do not want to be contacted by them again.

They now have 2 years to sue you to recover the debt. Unlikely this will happen, as a lawyer's time will cost more than the debt is worth.

P.S. Gyms are notorious for this behaviour, including the falsehoods like how they can't stop your monthly billings because you somehow owe them money. Google 'premier fitness toronto' and you'll find stories from the mid-aughts with people going through the same nonsense with other gyms and how they dealt with it.

https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/pr ... rio-306929

gym-membership-has-gone-collections-2153643/
Deal Addict
Oct 31, 2009
3746 posts
1003 upvotes
Toronto
I f'ing hate anytime Fitness - signed up at my local club when they had a referral promo going that said if you refer a new member then you get one year free.

immediately after signing up, my girlfriend signed up which entitled me to have my year for free.

There was some mis-communication regarding the first few payments that I needed to make so I ended up missing them and was continuing to be billed months after that got settled.

I finally went in and asked why I was still being billed since I had a free year and they said that the original agreement was nullified since I missed the first couple of payments.

I was quite pissed off and the manager agreed to still give me my free year after the next payment went through.

2-3 payments later and I went in again to see why I am still getting billed, he says he will check with head office and will get it sorted out.

2-3 payments later i go back in and obviously am very pissed off now and he gives me the same speech. This time he said he will reimburse me for a couple of months and i cool off and give him the benefit of the doubt.

I cant remember how long after that it was but i was still getting billed and went back in, absolutely livid at this point. In the meantime i had been going to a different anytime location frequently while on my way home from work.

This time he says that my account has been transferred to the other location that i have been going to since i was going there more often than i was at his club.

And guess what, now this problem is out of his hands and he says he cant do anything for me !!I

I was ready to bloody kill this guy but kept my cool and just left.

at least the manger at the location was a little sympathetic and gave me 3 months free but i have cancelled my account and will be out of there next month.

i now see a Crunch fitness opening up soon in my local area so i hope this place puts anytime out of business - that would be sweet !!
Deal Guru
Apr 11, 2006
12388 posts
6570 upvotes
Vaughan
What did the agreement that you signed, say about cancellation? Likely 30 days notice?

Did you confirm what the law states regarding your situation before you went ahead and made a mess for yourself or you simply believed it to be the case just because you didn't like it, and don't know what your agreement states regarding cancellations?
Member
Jan 17, 2016
212 posts
26 upvotes
kenchau wrote: What did the agreement that you signed, say about cancellation? Likely 30 days notice?

Did you confirm what the law states regarding your situation before you went ahead and made a mess for yourself or you simply believed it to be the case just because you didn't like it, and don't know what your agreement states regarding cancellations?
I don't care now actually. Let them try to get the money.
Deal Addict
Jun 21, 2016
3116 posts
1093 upvotes
Which anytime fitness? I’ve never had any issues at the two Markham locations.

Whenever I got a membership there it says there is a 30 cancellation policy. That is for month to month. If you sign a contract you have to pay a cancellation fee which is different.
So if you canceled in mid April, you’d be billed for the next month (may-june) t

Did you pay the extra month or did you make a stop payment before they got it? If tried stopping the payment for the extra month then you’re in the wrong.

I doubt they’ll get any money either way
Member
Jan 17, 2016
212 posts
26 upvotes
I'm not in the wrong either way, because, first of all, a so called cancellation fee is morally wrong, and, secondly, even if one agreed to pay the so called cancellation fee, which is clearly a theft and/or a scam, it is not okay to keep adding membership fees after the cancellation request is sent and received.

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