Joined a gym - Quandry

[45th Birthday]

I know gym salespeople get a justifiably bad rap. However, I see nothing wrong with this. A national plan, for people who travel frequently to various places, would be more expensive. Assuming there is no limit on the number of times you can "move", all you are doing is changing your address twice a year. Since there is a club near each location, no problem. People move all the time, and in fact they will let you out of your contract if you move to a place without a location within a certain distance (usually pretty far).


You might even be able to change your home address online, or by calling customer service It is probably not dependent on this individual at all.

 

[FUEGO]

I might keep the contract as long as you could nail down that corporate policy allows you to change your "home state" as many times as you need to and don't have to pay a change fee (or if it's tiny then probably still worth it 2x/yr when you go to FL and back north).

We have a nice-sounding gym near us that offers the yoga, spinning, pool w/ lap lanes, free weights, child care and child classes, etc and costs about the same ($25/month per adult, kids free, if we join through a friend's referral friends-n-family deal). Almost worth it but we probably wouldn't use it that much (and the city pool w/ lap lanes is never busy at $3 per admission so we can skip a month or two and it's free).

 

[omni550]

Thanks for all the responses.

I was feeling uncomfortable about this whole deal. I understand that the sales guy (who is also the general manager) might have been 'hooking me up' by selling me a less expensive package (single state vs national)...but he never mentioned that to me beforehand. And after I found out that I'd need to call the my sales guy or the operations manager at the club before I travel (to FL or to visit family/friends in another state) to get my address changed in their system seems a bit much. And that none of this is written down anywhere, is the frosting on this increasingly unpalatable cake. It all makes me uneasy.

I have just written a letter to the main office, which I'll be sending via certified mail, with a cc to my salesman at the club, cancelling my membership and requesting a full refund. In it I state that I want a multi-state/national membership and mistakenly received a single state membership.

I'll keep you posted.

omni

 

[rodi]

Glad to hear you're cancelling it.

How soon will you be on medicare? Most medicare plans come with some form of "silver sneakers" (some call it different things). The plan we just signed my husband up for (he starts medicare in Jan) allows him to use the 24hour fitness near our house... He's super excited about this because it has a pool, steam room, sauna, etc... things he doesn't have now. (He pays to use the rec center pool, currently).

If you're turning 65 in less than 3 years - consider a shorter contract.

 

[mystang52]

Omni -I think you need to be more aggressive, and get that contract canceled, or modified to your wishes, in person. Most (all?) states have a legal window for these contracts, that permit you to cancel within a certain number of days.
Legally/technically, I believe the date of mailing the letter counts as the date you cancelled. But, practically speaking, you may get more of a runaround. Canceling in person is more expedient (even if it may be more stressful).
Just my 2 cents.

 

[omni550]

Glad to hear you're cancelling it.

How soon will you be on medicare? Most medicare plans come with some form of "silver sneakers" (some call it different things). The plan we just signed my husband up for (he starts medicare in Jan) allows him to use the 24hour fitness near our house... He's super excited about this because it has a pool, steam room, sauna, etc... things he doesn't have now. (He pays to use the rec center pool, currently).

If you're turning 65 in less than 3 years - consider a shorter contract.

Rodi,

I just turned 66. I'm on Plan G thru American Continental (part of Aetna). I'll check to see if they offer anything like this.

omni

I just checked: Thru Aetna's program this same gym chain with a month-to-month membership and multi-state access is $37.99/mo plus a $49 initiation fee. So, for a similar 36-month timeframe it would cost me $600 more. Yikes!

 

[rodi]

Yikes, Omni.

For DH it will be FREE. (A price I definitely approve of.)

 

[haha]

Rodi,

I just turned 66. I'm on Plan G thru American Continental (part of Aetna). I'll check to see if they offer anything like this.

omni

I don't know where you live, or what gender you identify with. I do know that health clubs are the pits, pretty much everywhere. In markets where there is lots of supply, the exerciser is often in the driver's seat.

One time that I signed up, I had a very difficult time getting free. The reason? The club owners and managers were in jail for selling steroids through the club, I guess along with the diet drinks and whey powder. The guys were really cool while they were free, but once in jail no one was answering the phone or unlocking the doors.
Maybe there is a local walking group meetup?

Ha

 

[omni550]

Rodi,

Your DH got a sweet deal!

These Aetna offerings are thru a company called GlobalFit (which also serves the employer community, etc.). On their site they say they offer the lowest price, guaranteed. If you get a gym to offer you a written rate that is less, GlobalFit will beat it by 5%.

Based on this^^, I'm guessing the multi-state rate at this gym (without using GlobalFit) would be either the same $37.99 or even a bit more.

omni

Save​

 

[omni550]

I don't know where you live, or what gender you identify with. I do know that health clubs are the pits, pretty much everywhere. In markets where there is lots of supply, the exerciser is often in the driver's seat.

One time that I signed up, I had a very difficult time getting free. The reason? The club owners and managers were in jail for selling steroids through the club, I guess along with the diet drinks and whey powder. The guys were really cool while they were free, but once in jail no one was answering the phone or unlocking the doors.
Maybe there is a local walking group meetup?

Ha

Ha,

I'm a female and I live in SE Michigan (and Florida "in season").

That's a scary story you dealt with.

I walk a 4-mile loop already and as quickly as my legs will carry me as I'm not chatting with anyone.

I'm interested in a gym as I want to tone muscle and do upper-body and core stuff....as well as attend aerobics/Rhumba/yoga and spinning classes.

omni

 

[rodi]

It wasn't that sweet of a deal - it seemed like all the medicare plans we looked at had either Silver Sneakers or Silver Fit - or some variation of those names. I guess it varies by state and zipcode... but even the medicare advantage (HMO) plans had some form of free gym membership for the enrollees... in our area anyway.

 

[omni550]

The rest of the story

I had 2 copies of my letter typed up, signed and in envelopes, ready to go.

I took mystang52's suggestion and went to the club today to meet the sales guy in person. I said, "I'd like to discuss the contract. I know you probably "hooked me up" but I felt blindsided as we hadn't discussed it beforehand and you knew about my traveling lifestyle yet sold me a single-state plan."

I told him I'd like a multi-state plan. He said that'll be another $240/3 yrs. I said fine. He canceled my old contract, refunding to my credit card, then issued me a new contract and charged my credit card the new amount. Easy-peasy.

Now I can rest easy knowing my plan is good at their clubs anywhere in the U.S. and Canada and is not dependent on a couple of people who may/may not be around in a few month's time.

Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts and input!

omni

 

[Katiek]

Glad it worked out and you now have a plan that suits your lifestyle.

 

[mystang52]

Now you can sleep easy.

 

[wolf]

This sounds simple to me.
I would immediately cancel it.

Then I would go back to the manager and see if they offer a different type of membership that would better fit my needs.

If they do, I would get a printed copy of the agreement to take home and read carefully overnight. If I were happy with it, then I'd bring a signed copy back and enjoy the membership.

Without all those conditions, I would keep my distance.

+1