Joining a gym via health insurance?

[Pluperfect]

So to cancel, you tell them you're going to cancel, and then the only credit card they have for you no longer exists. Makes it kind of hard for them to keep charging it.

Maybe that's why some of them don't let you use a credit card and accept only bank drafts.

I try to avoid blaming the victim in some of these horror stories, but sometimes it's hard not to roll my eyes. You may not like the fact that Gym X requires you to either show up in person or send a letter in the mail to cancel your contract 30 days in advance, but no matter how ridiculous and onerous you find it, you agreed to do that. So don't be surprised if they continue withdrawing your dues if all you did was call them to cancel.

As much as I hate gym membership shenanigans, I'm not a huge fan of aggrieved members who don't follow the rules and then complain about maltreatment.

I just remembered that I signed up at a Workout Anytime location using Renew Active the other day and they asked for the routing number and account number for my checking account, even though I wasn't going to be paying anything. They said they needed to have it on file.

This is a hipster location, with only weights and no classes, and I'm sure they don't get a lot of geezers like me signing up with Renew Active, so maybe they don't actually need the account information for those memberships. Who knows. But I'm a lot more comfortable giving a credit card (where I can dispute charges) than my bank account number.

I said I didn't have my account information, and they were surprised. I guess people have this on their phones? I have a flip phone, which they knew because I had to use one of their personal smartphones to do the sign-up process. (Living without a smartphone is not for sissies.)

They suggested I call my bank, and I said no, my bank just pisses me off every time I call them, but I offered to get the numbers when I got home and call back. They let me in that day and I got an email that welcomed me to the gym, so I assumed my membership went through without the bank info. And when I went back another day, I took my bank info with me just in case they really did need it, but my key tag worked no problem.

 

[Time2]

I once went into a Gold's Gym to ask about membership, they gave me a contract, I said, I'll take it home to read, they took it away from me and said that's not possible, we don't allow it! I didn't join.

 

[karen1972]

My BF has one thru BCBS and it works similar to Pluperfect's description.

He actively goes to 3 different gyms thru the program, the only restriction is you can't go to more than 1 gym per day. One is nicer and newer, one has classes, one has tennis courts.

I had seen the program and when he wanted to sign up for O2 at $49/month I was like let me look.. and sure enough it was covered in the plan, so for $29/month he can go there and another one that was close to his work so he has options and a discount.

 

[athena53]

I just remembered that I signed up at a Workout Anytime location using Renew Active the other day and they asked for the routing number and account number for my checking account, even though I wasn't going to be paying anything. They said they needed to have it on file.

I'd have a big problem with that excuse. If they're not using it to debit my account, they don't need it. PF insisted on deducting it from my bank account- I guess they wanted to save credit card processing fees. I was concerned about whether they would stop deducting the payment when I terminated my membership but since THEY initiated the termination they were very efficient about it.

 

[badatmath]

Yeah it was my understanding (maybe wrong) that most only do bank drafts now. And I will write a letter to cancel, but they have to actually hold up their end and cancel and not "lose it" or whatever. But oddly this thread has rather made me remember why I am not really interested in a gym rather than reminding me of the obvious perks of dealing with my insurance company. Hmm.

 

[jazz4cash]

Second that..........Planet Fitness. $10 a month, $49 once a year fee, cancel anytime you like.



Mike

Mine is $10/mo plus $29
annual but PF doesn’t have pools or courts if that’s what you want. It’s a great value.

 

[Pluperfect]

My BF has one thru BCBS and it works similar to Pluperfect's description.

He actively goes to 3 different gyms thru the program, the only restriction is you can't go to more than 1 gym per day.

For $29 a month when just one of them would be $49, I'd say that's an acceptable restriction.

However, I'll note that I haven't encountered a similar restriction with Renew Active. I routinely go to two different gyms in a day with no issues. I did ask at one how to handle it if I come to the gym and then leave and then come back that same day, and they said Renew Active would be charged only once even if I scan in twice in the same day. But I have no way of verifying that. Now that I think about it, at this same place I went for a yoga class that got cancelled and I said that's the only reason I came, and how do I "undo" that scan so my insurance company doesn't have to pay for it. The guy asked why I cared--it's just an insurance company. Sigh.

I'd have a big problem with that excuse. If they're not using it to debit my account, they don't need it.

I think they just didn't understand; there's a space for the bank information so obviously they have to fill it in, or at least I wouldn't be surprised if that's what a 25-year-old front desk person at a meathead gym thinks.

Club Pilates sells retail stuff, and they have a requirement that you have yoga socks and conveniently have them for sale for $17 if you forget yours. I'm guessing I've joined a dozen Club Pilates locations and a minority of them have asked for a credit card. I was going to say they've asked only when I signed up in person, but I now remember that one of them was over the phone; I rattled off my card number and the woman said, "Do you have that memorized??" Yes, I do.

But oddly this thread has rather made me remember why I am not really interested in a gym rather than reminding me of the obvious perks of dealing with my insurance company. Hmm.

The only thing I do at gyms is yoga; I don't lift weights or use any machines or swim. And I like yoga classes at YMCAs in particular because they're usually populated by schlubs and old people, so it's a very chill atmosphere. Chill to the point that I sometimes wonder how much training the instructor has, but I'm there mainly to have someone guide me through the poses.

I like the ritual of going to a class. I'm the same way with movies--I still see movies only in theaters. So being able to go to classes for free is very appealing (although it's not actually free--as I said above, to get a Plan G supplement with gym memberships, I couldn't get a low-cost high-deductible Plan G supplement, but I accept the trade-off AND I view getting the plan where I don't have to think about deductibles as a gift to myself, as someone on this forum once described it).