In the past, gym contracts have been known to be notoriously difficult to cancel. Many gyms have a minimum contract period, but stick a couple of months’ notice on the end, turning your six month contract into eight months. But the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has now stepped in, giving gym members more rights to cancel.
Three of Britain’s biggest gyms have agreed to make changes recommended by OFT, to allow people to cancel their contracts when their situations changes. Fitness First, David Lloyd and Bannatyne Fitness are the three who are marking the way for gym membership.
The new rules will help people who have lost their job, moved house, or have suffered an injury and cannot attend for medical reasons. Members will need to prove their circumstances have changed, but a letter from a Doctor or Job Centre should be sufficient.
Obviously you will get the odd person who signed up to a gym and attended a few times a week to start with, but this has since dropped off to once a month if that. This person will still be expected to honour their contract as their circumstances haven’t changed, only their attitude.
Speaking of the changes to gym membership contracts, Cavendish Elithorn from the OFT, said: “We were concerned that contracts could unfairly lock people in if their circumstances changed, forcing them to continue paying even if they had lost their job.”
The three gyms in question have also offered shorter contracts and the ability to switch between contracts. Members can now join for one month, four months or a year at Fitness First.
Have you joined a gym recently? Did you find the contract complicated and couldn’t see a way out of it? Do you welcome the changes by the OFT and should other gyms follow suit?
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