How to Cancel a Gym Membership That Won’t Let You Cancel

Gym memberships are the most commonly complained-about subscription cancellation. The barriers are deliberate: certified letter requirements, in-person visits, 30-day notice periods, and aggressive retention calls. But federal and state consumer protection law addresses many of these barriers.

The Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA) and the FTC’s Negative Option Rule (16 CFR Part 425) require sellers offering negative option features (recurring charges) to: • Clearly disclose the terms of the recurring charge before obtaining billing information • Obtain the consumer’s express informed consent • Provide a simple mechanism to cancel If you signed up for your gym membership online or through a digital process, the FTC rule generally requires a simple online cancellation path.

Several states have specific health club statutes: • California: Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1812.80-1812.98 (Health Studio Services Contract Law) — requires written contracts, right to cancel within 5 business days, cancellation rights if facility closes or relocates • New York: N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law §§ 620-627 — 3-day cooling-off period, disability cancellation, facility closure refunds • Texas: Tex. Occ. Code § 702 (Health Spa Act) — 3-day cancellation, relocation cancellation (if you move 25+ miles) • Florida: Fla. Stat. §§ 501.012-501.019 — 3-day cancellation, facility closure refunds These state laws often provide stronger protections than the federal baseline.

Some gyms (notably Planet Fitness) require cancellation by certified letter. If you signed up online or digitally, this requirement may conflict with the FTC Click-to-Cancel rule, which generally requires that cancellation be as easy as sign-up. A written email citing ROSCA and the FTC rule puts the gym on notice of this tension.

A 3-step email sequence is more effective than a single cancellation request: 1. Day 0: Formal cancellation citing ROSCA and your state’s health club law 2. Day 7: Follow-up noting lack of response, naming the regulatory agency 3. Day 14: Final notice with FTC and state AG complaint references The escalation pattern increases the cost of ignoring you at each step.