7 TIPS for Joining a Gym

It’s one of the top New Year’s resolutions. And you’ve probably chanted the mantra yourself: This is the year I get in shape. The year I lose 15 pounds. The year I join a gym. Before you sign up, though, give your brain a warm-up workout. Know your rights or you won’t lose weight — you’ll lose money.

1. Do I have to commit to a year-long membership?

Health clubs can require you to join for a year and pay a membership fee, but they can’t demand you pay the entire year in advance. If you sign up in the heat of a sales pitch, then go home and develop workout remorse. Massachusetts law gives you a three-day cooling-off period. You have 72 hours after you sign on the dotted line to cancel the membership.

2. Are there any other ways to get out of the contract?

After the three days, state law gives you three other scenarios in which you can cancel:

Moving: You can cancel if you move your residence or place of employment more than 25 miles away from any gym operated by the owner or a similar club that will accept your membership.

Medical: You can cancel if your doctor says you can’t work out because of a significant physical or medical disability.

Major disaster: If you die, you are absolved of your membership.

Otherwise, you’re locked in. So make sure you really, really like the gym (and can afford it) before you sign up to Stairmaster away the next year of your life.

3. So, if I meet the cancellation criteria, what do I do next?

You must provide written notice of the cancellation in person, by certified mail or signature confirmation. Inform the health club you’re canceling under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 93, Section 81. The cancellation must include all contract forms, membership cards and reasonable evidence to prove your reason to cancel. The club must refund your money within 15 days of receiving your cancellation notice, but it can pro rate your refund for the amount of time you did use the facility.

4. What if I’m laid off and can’t pay?
Massachusetts law says you can’t cancel a contract for financial reasons. If you’re in a tough spot, talk to the manager and explain the situation. Perhaps some sort of plan can be “worked out.” But the gym is not required to do it.

5. I want to pay with cash. What if the gym says it only takes credit or debit cards?
We just researched this dilemma for a viewer. Turns out if you want to pay with cash, you can! Massachusetts General Law Chapter 255D, Section 10A, says a merchant can’t discriminate against a cash buyer by requiring credit cards for payments of goods and services. We must say, though, that paying with cash is not the best idea.

6. What if I join a gym and it closes? Or it never opens?

Here’s why paying with a credit card is usually better. If the gym fails, call your credit card company instantly. Explain that you paid for something you did not get and put the charge “in dispute.” Under the federal Fair Credit Billing Act, the bank has to investigate and remove the charge. If you paid with a debit card, call your bank (or the company whose logo is on the debit card) to file your dispute. Remember to tell your bank to cancel all future transactions with this business so that it doesn’t hit your account again. If you don’t get your money back, or if you paid in cash, you’ll need to file a claim against the club’s bond.

7. Bond?

Yup, a bond. And to make a claim, no superstar stunts are required. State law requires new health clubs set up a bond for five years. That’s to compensate members in case they never open, they close unexpectedly or they don’t honor the terms of a customer’s contract. To file, call the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s Office and find out who the bonding company is. Then call the bond company and file your claim.
If you join a gym that just started up, you may want to call the Secretary of State’s Office just to make sure the club actually filed a valid bond. We found there’s no one making sure that this happens. {EXA}

Award-winning investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan is on the air at Boston’s NBC affiliate where she has broken big stories for the past 22 years. She has won 24 Emmys as well as dozens of other regional, national and international honors for her work. (http://www.hankphillippiryan.com). Mary Schwager is a journalist with more than 16 years of experience and is the investigative producer at 7 News. She’s won more than two dozen awards for investigative, consumer and feature reporting and writing, including nine Emmy Awards, seven Edward R. Murrow Awards and three Associated Press honors. She was also a state licensed detective and performed criminal investigations on behalf of the Wisconsin Public Defender’s Office. Find more of Mary’s articles at the Boston Examiner. Ryan and Schwager can be contacted at hryan@whdh.com and mschwager@whdh.com.