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January 2009
Burning fat and your money?
This is the year to do it. You have finally decided to take the ultimate step, no one will stand in your way and nothing can stop you. You take a deep breath… and sign up for a gym membership. You happily think to yourself that soon, those love handles will all disappear, and you won’t be out of breath at the top of a flight of stairs.
You start by going to the gym at least four times a week and even more when you can. Then, slowly, your willpower begins to fade. You really are too busy and it’s much too cold outside. Let’s just say that you haven’t even really worn in the new running shoes that you bought for yourself back when you thought about making the gym your second home. What can you do about the contract that you signed? Can you get out of it? Can you get your money back? Éducaloi informs you about your rights on these issues.
Breaking your contract
Private gyms – or “physical fitness studios” as the law calls them - have to follow certain rules:
- Contracts can’t be for longer than 1 year;
- Your gym is not allowed to ask you to pay for your membership in one shot if the contract is for more than $100. The contract must indicate that you will pay what you owe in two or more nearly equal instalments;
- The contract must be in writing and you must receive a copy of it.
If any of these rules are not followed, your contract is invalid. You can get your money back - at least for the leftover segment of your membership.
Even if your contract is perfectly valid, you are still allowed to get all of your money back if your membership hasn’t started yet or if you are only registered in one class that hasn’t begun.
Let’s assume that the contract is valid and that your membership has begun. The law allows you to end the contract, at your discretion, if the following conditions are met:
- Less than 1/10 of the duration of your membership has passed (for example, for a 1 year contract, 36 days or less have passed); and
- You send a written notice to the gym stating your intention to end the contract.
When the gym receives your notice, it will have 10 days to give you back part of your money. The law says that the gym has the right to keep 1/10 of the price of your membership.
Obviously, at any time during the contract, you can agree together with your gym to end your contract. And maybe, just maybe, your gym will agree to this, especially if it’s almost New Year’s Day again…
