If you’ve ever tried to cancel a gym membership, you know how unnecessarily difficult it can be.
A certain woman Megan Million on TikToklearned this the hard way when he tried to terminate his Planet Fitness membership. According to gym policyMembers who wish to withdraw from membership must either “visit their home club in person” or “mail written notice of their desire to withdraw to their home club.”
Megan tried to do the former, but still had to fabricate lies about her family to get gym employees to accept her cancellation.
The woman said she felt “forced” to lie about her family’s health and cancel her Planet Fitness gym membership.
“You need to cancel your membership,” she tells the employee at the beginning of the video. I was then asked if I had a “good reason” to cancel.
Aside from the fact that her desire to cancel something she was paying for was sufficient as “just cause,” Megan quickly concocted a story to justify her decision to her employees.
“Basically, my family and I went to Sushi King and the whole family got food poisoning. My dad lost his leg,” she lied.
“So we have to move overseas to Singapore,” she continued. “No one in my family can get a Planet Fitness membership. We must cancel it as soon as possible.”
The employee appeared shocked by Megan’s obviously shocking story and apologized for the family’s hardship.
“It was really bad,” Megan told the workers. “Literally, we have to leave at 2 a.m. tomorrow. Dad’s also having a really bad stomach ache and he’s missing his legs.”
“My sister, she jumped off a cliff too,” Megan added belatedly. “That’s terrible.”
Her wild story at least worked, as Meghan was told by a Planet Fitness employee that her membership had been officially revoked.
The woman wondered why gyms like Planet Fitness were making it so difficult to cancel memberships.
While her made-up story was funny to many online, it is indicative of a larger problem. Many people feel shame or anxiety when their workers are forced to prove why their membership deserves to be revoked. Whether it’s financial hardship, lack of time, or any other reason, it’s completely irrelevant to Jim.
“I love you because this BC Planet Fitness is literally holding me hostage,” one commenter joked.
“I say go to jail in a place like this.” Reddit user confirmed. “I don’t want to ask any more questions, it’s going to make me feel awkward, so I’m going to cancel anything to end the conversation as quickly as possible.”
Planet Fitness isn’t the only gym with cancellation requirements like this, but it appears to be one of the strictest. for example, Equinox request Gym users can cancel their membership in person, by mail, or by email. This option is not offered by Planet Fitness.
These “shady” membership programs promote stigma against exercise and “healthy” lifestyles while profiting from them.
The exercise industry is full of shameful motives and harmful rhetoric, so it’s no surprise that so many people have terrible experiences at the gym.
Only Planet Fitness utilizes “rank alarms.” This will beep loudly when a patron “grunts, drops weights, or judges,” drawing the attention of all gym patrons. Although Jim claims that the purpose of the alarm is to create a “Judgment Free Zone®”, it is hard to believe that the alarm actually does that.
Therefore, between the judgment from members and employees and the difficulty of canceling, many new gym users have decided to distance themselves.
“Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of great gyms locally,” says Life Coach Erin McGough “But let’s look at the facts here: Big gyms are scamming people out of money (and getting away with it). In fact, this has become such a big problem that the FTC has intervened,” he admitted on TikTok. are Propose a formal ban on subscriptions Easy to start, hard to cancel. ”
“Don’t fall for schemes that prey on your weaknesses. Always advocate for yourself and know your rights,” she added.
Gym chains are well aware of the difficulties that “in-person cancellation” requirements pose for members, whether it’s embarrassment, anxiety, or simply finding the time. That’s why they have such demands.
Thankfully, the official ban McGough mentioned actually Adopted in October 2024. Companies are now required to make it possible for consumers to cancel their memberships or subscriptions “as easily as they started.”
There is no need for such lies and outrageous fabrications anymore.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a staff writer with a BA in Social Relations, Policy, and Gender Studies, with a focus on psychology, relationships, personal development, and relationship stories.
