[TedDoesntTalk]

This behavior is everywhere in the gym industry. It is so bad that the last time I joined a gym, I paid for a year up front with a physical check. I told them i don’t have credit or debit cards (lie) and can only pay by check.

At the end of the year, I walked away and never got any letters about paying a renewal or anything.

[RankingMember]

This is the only way to do gym memberships with peace of mind right now. Gym membership cancellation practices are in desperate need of regulation.

[TedDoesntTalk]

A lot of people will say "paying by check is such a hassle! I don't even have checks! It's so 1980s!" But you know what? It's a lot less of a hassle than canceling your membership when paying by credit/debit card.

And if you don't have checks for your checking account, you can get order them online from walmart.com for $10 + shipping. Or, if you still use a bank that has a local branch, you can go into the branch and ask for a single printed check. They cost a couple of bucks.

[Bluecobra]

> Gym membership cancellation practices are in desperate need of regulation.

Agreed, and I also hate being stuck in 12-month contracts as well. I will never join a gym that makes me sign a long term commitment like that. The last local gym I joined was pretty cool about this. They had higher month to month prices and discounted longer term memberships. Gives you a chance to see how you like it after a few months.

[adrr]

I used to buy prepaid memberships to 24 hour fitness from Costco. Same with magazines like economist , just bought a prepaid digit subscription. Most places sell prepaid memberships because of the gifting aspect.

[TedDoesntTalk]

Great idea! For magazines, you can also subscribe through Amazon and manage the subscription with Amazon. They make single-click unsubscribe easy.

[artursapek]

Crypto would be good for this use case :)