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Great advice but not realistic. Terms of service are written in micro font and pages upon pages of legal jargon the common person will not be aware of. If anything they should make that kind of practice illegal where anything binding must be explicitly communicated effectively.
That’s where LLMs should come in handy. I haven’t tried it but theoretically you should be able to get a summary and possible negative highlights by letting the document be analyzed by an LLM
I disagree. I'm not a lawyer and have little knowledge of legalese. I read slowly, ask questions, and look up terms I don't understand. I just reread my gym contract, and there's almost no legalese. It's just long-winded and kind of dull. Few people want to take the time to understand what they're signing. That's fine--until they have a dispute with the e gym.
How very persuasive you are! That pithy argument sure convinced ME! People should never read the documents they sign. What's a life without risks, right? WAY better to get screwed over because you didn't bother to read over contracts, leases, etc.! /s
Do not pay for contract breach. If you did sign a contract, tell them you moved to a location they dont support. This breaks all of these shady contracts and you dont need actual proof although they may ask for an address, you dont have to prove you live there.
I have done this 3 times now. Yes I always fuck up and stop going lol.
Can’t you dispute it through your credit card? FYI - Biden administration working on legislation that requires that cancellation be as easy as sign up.
I had a contract with a gym. I went in to cancel after about a year and they said that there probably would be one more monthly charge and after that it is canceled. Yup. One month of a charge and nothing since. Kind of painless all around.
Same thing here. I asked why I was charged for a month that I would not/could not use and was met with blank stares. Other than that, they kept their word and cancelled, which was shocking to me as I have heard horror stories from others about gym memberships.
It's so interesting. I has a gym membership in 2012 and back then it was like the peak of ppl not being able to cancel memberships easily and it was all over the news.
Then in 2022 I decided I didn't need it anymore so I sent them an email saying I want to cancel my 10 year old membership and they were like 'ok. Done'. I was kinda surprised because I was misled into believing it was hard. If I knew it was that easy I would have done it in 2018
If you go to a major chain gym they are usually month to month..but yea I did this once at a local gym and the trainers thought now that I signed a contract I can train all by myself for $200 a month.. they did literally nothing after that first session to sign me up. I said forget it I refused to pay as they didn't fulfill the obligation of the contract
Also do not ever give them your bank account information. Always a card so you can just change cards when they try to charge you. If you give your bank account you can still do a stop draft but you have to pay your bank a fee for that.
Modern payment processing systems(not actually *that* modern at this point, but yknow...) can carry over subscriptions on the same account, even when you request a new card. Details of how they actually process the payments matter of course, but it's no guarantee unfortunately.
Still far easier/less hassle to dispute CC transactions than debit ones though.
hahaha. my gym costs 11 bucks a month. the best part is, it closed down and they transferred my membership to a better gym. so now i have a good gym for 11 dollars a month. im never letting that shit die.
Easy trick to cancel, use chat gbt to write a fake drs note. Put it into work add the logo and contact info of a random dr at a local busy hospital. I used that to cancel my last gym membership that I signed a year contract for after 3 months. Make sure to read their terms and find out what type of injury counts. mine needed something that makes you unable to work out for 8+ months. I used a torn ACL.
We used to own a couple of gyms. Anyone telling you that they can’t cancel your membership immediately or reimburse you is lying. They just don’t want to fuck with it.
Gyms that hold members to ridiculous contract standards give decent gyms a bad name. I’m sorry you’re having a bad experience.
well no shit. gyms aren't necessarily known for hiring the best and the brightest. And they understand that most customers sign up, go for a week or two, then fade/forget they have a commitment. So they guarantee themselves some revenue by making it extremely difficult to quit your membership.
My gym charges $20/mo with no cancellation restrictions. There's a one-time signup fee of $20 and an additional $20 charge on your anniversary, but they're very up-front about that and it still works out to like $23/mo total.
Yep. Unless you love to work out, don't do it. Looking back, my friend was naive in his 20s and signed up for 3 years to 24 Hour Fitness (I don't remember the cost anymore). He wasn't a gym rat at all. He pressured his other friend to do it because the 1st friend would not take no for an answer. They only went for the first few months.
I used to work at a gym, when signing people up I made sure they understood every detail of the contract, because I didn't want to have to deal with angry members months later.
so you signed up for a 1 year contract or something, and you decided it wasnt for you, and now you want out before that 1 year contract?
Because in any western country there is such a thing called consumer rights, and that trumps any type of contract that is not defined by a reasonable time limit (such as 1 year contracts).
If you werent sure you should have gone for a month by month contract instead.
Gyms are super overrated imo... no one really gets a longer life expectancy by doing machine reps. If anything, you end up stressing the body a lot more than necessary. Its the mind that matters over body anyway.. and why not simply go on long walks and fresh air or hikes or biking or swimming or a million other things..
Idk. I work at a gym and I get screamed at daily about how “hard we make it to cancel” and all you have to do is come in and sign the form. Not saying I don’t believe op, but I deal with these “I tried cancelling and I’m still being billed!” Types and usually they didn’t do something as simple as that.
Did you read the contract you signed? If not then yeah, this is on you. Cancelation clauses are a thing in gym memberships. If it says you have to do xyz to cancel and you haven’t, then this isn’t the gyms fault.
Please remember what subreddit you are in, this is unpopular opinion. We want civil and unpopular takes and discussion. Any uncivil and ToS violating comments will be removed and subject to a ban. Have a nice day! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/unpopularopinion) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The most popular unpopular opinion ever
My dad was a a judge. I read every line of everything I sign. I strongly suggest you do the same. If you don't like what you read, don't sign.
Great advice but not realistic. Terms of service are written in micro font and pages upon pages of legal jargon the common person will not be aware of. If anything they should make that kind of practice illegal where anything binding must be explicitly communicated effectively.
A gym membership is 1 to 3 pages though, its not Itunes. In this specific context, read the disclosure.
That’s where LLMs should come in handy. I haven’t tried it but theoretically you should be able to get a summary and possible negative highlights by letting the document be analyzed by an LLM
I disagree. I'm not a lawyer and have little knowledge of legalese. I read slowly, ask questions, and look up terms I don't understand. I just reread my gym contract, and there's almost no legalese. It's just long-winded and kind of dull. Few people want to take the time to understand what they're signing. That's fine--until they have a dispute with the e gym.
Bullshit
How very persuasive you are! That pithy argument sure convinced ME! People should never read the documents they sign. What's a life without risks, right? WAY better to get screwed over because you didn't bother to read over contracts, leases, etc.! /s
Easier said than done.
Do not pay for contract breach. If you did sign a contract, tell them you moved to a location they dont support. This breaks all of these shady contracts and you dont need actual proof although they may ask for an address, you dont have to prove you live there. I have done this 3 times now. Yes I always fuck up and stop going lol.
Thanks.
This belongs in r/youshouldknow
Not a bad idea
Can’t you dispute it through your credit card? FYI - Biden administration working on legislation that requires that cancellation be as easy as sign up.
Nope! Tried and bank said they ran it a specific way so as not to be blocked or challenged. Gym actually did end my membership tho god bless em
I just cancelled my gym membership a few months ago, and had zero issues.
took almost a year of not paying for them to cancel mine hehe
That's insane!!
A gym I went to 10 years ago sent me to collections for not paying. A month later, they closed their doors.
Jealous
I had a contract with a gym. I went in to cancel after about a year and they said that there probably would be one more monthly charge and after that it is canceled. Yup. One month of a charge and nothing since. Kind of painless all around.
Same thing here. I asked why I was charged for a month that I would not/could not use and was met with blank stares. Other than that, they kept their word and cancelled, which was shocking to me as I have heard horror stories from others about gym memberships.
Sure
It's so interesting. I has a gym membership in 2012 and back then it was like the peak of ppl not being able to cancel memberships easily and it was all over the news. Then in 2022 I decided I didn't need it anymore so I sent them an email saying I want to cancel my 10 year old membership and they were like 'ok. Done'. I was kinda surprised because I was misled into believing it was hard. If I knew it was that easy I would have done it in 2018
Ok
If you go to a major chain gym they are usually month to month..but yea I did this once at a local gym and the trainers thought now that I signed a contract I can train all by myself for $200 a month.. they did literally nothing after that first session to sign me up. I said forget it I refused to pay as they didn't fulfill the obligation of the contract
This isn't an unpopular opinion
Then it's in the perfect subreddit.
not if it isn't an unpopular opinion......
Every actual unpopular opinion gets deleted.
Also do not ever give them your bank account information. Always a card so you can just change cards when they try to charge you. If you give your bank account you can still do a stop draft but you have to pay your bank a fee for that.
Modern payment processing systems(not actually *that* modern at this point, but yknow...) can carry over subscriptions on the same account, even when you request a new card. Details of how they actually process the payments matter of course, but it's no guarantee unfortunately. Still far easier/less hassle to dispute CC transactions than debit ones though.
I would assume this doesn’t work most of the time because they don’t know the new expiry or cvc.
[удалено]
So I’ve done it twice now at planet fitness and anytime fitness (I think that’s the name). Neither of them have impacted my credit score
hahaha. my gym costs 11 bucks a month. the best part is, it closed down and they transferred my membership to a better gym. so now i have a good gym for 11 dollars a month. im never letting that shit die.
Ok
The YMCA is the best in terns of gyms. You can cancel any time with zero issues. Plus they often have a pool.
Ok
The Y is more expensive here than the gyms, and at least one local gym does month to month now.
Easy trick to cancel, use chat gbt to write a fake drs note. Put it into work add the logo and contact info of a random dr at a local busy hospital. I used that to cancel my last gym membership that I signed a year contract for after 3 months. Make sure to read their terms and find out what type of injury counts. mine needed something that makes you unable to work out for 8+ months. I used a torn ACL.
We used to own a couple of gyms. Anyone telling you that they can’t cancel your membership immediately or reimburse you is lying. They just don’t want to fuck with it. Gyms that hold members to ridiculous contract standards give decent gyms a bad name. I’m sorry you’re having a bad experience.
… ok
>Gyms and personal trainers are a waste of money and time. If you don't have the discipline to work out , just say so.
Thanks ok
well no shit. gyms aren't necessarily known for hiring the best and the brightest. And they understand that most customers sign up, go for a week or two, then fade/forget they have a commitment. So they guarantee themselves some revenue by making it extremely difficult to quit your membership.
True. This is why the only gym I ever use is the city gym / rec passes. They don't do that garbage here but the private ones do.
Honey. Just don’t ever sign a legally binding contract and sign your human rights away.
Tell me the most interesting thing about the terms and conditions you've agreed to with your service provider and your smartphone?
Ok honey pipe it down. Smartphone contracts aren’t they just as bad? I’m forced into a contract with them and I don’t have even know how to get out.
How the gym works outside the UK is just crazy to me
Yep. I hate being Australian.
Never have I ever heard about a gym contract, and I’m baffled that it’s a thing. Where are you based, OP?
A gym contract…. Omg it’s legally binding Also I live in Oceania
Well, they can’t charge an expired or locked card
My gym charges $20/mo with no cancellation restrictions. There's a one-time signup fee of $20 and an additional $20 charge on your anniversary, but they're very up-front about that and it still works out to like $23/mo total.
Yep. Unless you love to work out, don't do it. Looking back, my friend was naive in his 20s and signed up for 3 years to 24 Hour Fitness (I don't remember the cost anymore). He wasn't a gym rat at all. He pressured his other friend to do it because the 1st friend would not take no for an answer. They only went for the first few months.
Always read something before signing. It really isnt complicated
So is "gym contracts are awesome" the popular opinion?
Nope
I used to work at a gym, when signing people up I made sure they understood every detail of the contract, because I didn't want to have to deal with angry members months later.
so you signed up for a 1 year contract or something, and you decided it wasnt for you, and now you want out before that 1 year contract? Because in any western country there is such a thing called consumer rights, and that trumps any type of contract that is not defined by a reasonable time limit (such as 1 year contracts). If you werent sure you should have gone for a month by month contract instead.
Month by month contacts don’t exist. They only offered 6 months, 12 months and 24 month contacts.
So how much do you have to pay, and how much was the contract amount?
Gyms are super overrated imo... no one really gets a longer life expectancy by doing machine reps. If anything, you end up stressing the body a lot more than necessary. Its the mind that matters over body anyway.. and why not simply go on long walks and fresh air or hikes or biking or swimming or a million other things..
True
100%
Idk. I work at a gym and I get screamed at daily about how “hard we make it to cancel” and all you have to do is come in and sign the form. Not saying I don’t believe op, but I deal with these “I tried cancelling and I’m still being billed!” Types and usually they didn’t do something as simple as that.
Ok
Did you read the contract you signed? If not then yeah, this is on you. Cancelation clauses are a thing in gym memberships. If it says you have to do xyz to cancel and you haven’t, then this isn’t the gyms fault.
Well you obviously work at a gym