January 10, 2024
Danielle Cerullo/Unsplash
A new law in New Jersey will require gyms to allow online membership cancellations if they also offer online sign-ups.
For New Jersey residents who have continued paying for their monthly gym memberships simply because they don't want to brave the required in-person cancellations, a new state law will make quitting a bit easier.
The new law, set to take effect April 1, requires gyms that offer memberships online to provide online cancellation options, too. Gyms must place their cancellation options prominently on their websites and allow people to cancel within their account profiles or by completing a termination email on the website.
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The law, signed Monday by Gov. Phil Murphy, aims to help the state's gym-goers "avoid entrapment by rigid in-person membership cancellation policies."
"By signing this bill into law, New Jerseyans will be protected from confusing, misleading, and inflexible subscription cancellation policies," Murphy said. "With these new requirements, we can ensure a simplified gym membership cancellation process for consumers and hardworking families can evade the financial burden of perpetual automatic renewals."
Have you ever had a problem trying to cancel your gym membership?
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) January 8, 2024
I just signed legislation requiring gym memberships to have an online cancellation option. We need to protect consumers from predatory renewal policies & ridiculous in-person cancellation requirements.
"I heard so many complaints from consumers who were having trouble canceling their gym memberships, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, that I knew I had to take action," said Assemblyman Paul Moriarty, a cosponsor of the bill. "If a gym can accept new members online, those members should also be able to be cancel online."
Procedures vary from gym to gym, but many recommend in-person cancellations. For example, the chain Retro Fitness requires cancellation forms to be brought to a physical location or mailed, according to Patch. Most Planet Fitness locations require in-person cancellation or a written notification via mail.
Why do gyms often make members jump through hoops to leave?
"Gyms are notoriously hard to quit, because most clubs do not want to allow the member to cancel their contract once they realize the hard work and commitment involved in becoming fit," attorney David Reischer, who focuses on contract disputes, told the Washington Post in 2020. "These contracts are drafted in such a way as to not to allow you to quit without suffering a penalty."
The New Jersey law arrives as the Federal Trade Commission explores a broader "Click to Cancel" proposal, which would expand an existing rule to make it easier for people to cancel memberships and subscriptions.
"The FTC proposes to set requirements that it could enforce to stop more kinds of bad behavior," the FTC wrote in a consumer alert last March. "It also proposes to tell companies to clearly explain to people what they’re buying, make sure they know what they’re agreeing to, and make it as easy to cancel as it was to sign up."
In May, the FTC called for comments from the public outlining difficult policies and procedures they've encountered when trying to cancel memberships or subscriptions.
The New Jersey bill, first introduced in 2022, was primarily sponsored by Senate President Nicholas Scutari, Sen. Gordon Johnson and Assemblymembers Paul Moriarty, Verlina Reynolds-Jackson and Angela McKnight. The chamber's version of the bill was cosponsored by Republican Assemblymembers Aura Dunn, Kim Eulner and Marilyn Piperno.
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