Can I just stop paying membership fees?
I think you should go their route. I recently cancelled my membership at my YMCA and I had to do essentially the same thing, except for the certified mail part. I don’t think her gym is doing anything unusual, as evidenced by the other answers here. I’ve also had experience trying to get a credit card company to not pay someone, and that turned out to be a huge hassle. I suppose this would depend on the situation and the credit card company, but I think it’s easier for you to do what the gym is asking you.
I tried to do this with an ACH, an automatic bank draft, set up to pay for a monthly YMCA membership. I even went down to the bank and chatted with several employees, and I was told it was “impossible” to stop it from their end. While I doubt this is true, it really doesn’t need to be, since they simply refused to stop the draft. Jump through the hoops.
Considering that many gyms won’t let you cancel a membership without paying the oustanding balance, I don’t see how one trip to the gym and one trip to the post office is that big of a deal. Yes they are making it harder than they have to, but they are a business. It would be unwise for them to make it easy for you to take your money away.
This is how I assume most gyms make money. All you january yahoos sign up, pack the gym for about two or three weeks, and then stop going, but you’re usually locked in for a year. This is why if you’ve never been a gym member (and thus, don’t know if you’re going to use your membership) you should always sign up for a month-to-month contract. YMCA usually offers these, and smaller, more “club” type gyms (ones with racquetball and the like) also usually offer these. The downside is that they often cost more than the $20-30 a month people are usually willing to pay. You will have to cancel according to their policy. They make it somewhat difficult so 1) they can squeeze an extra 30 days of dues from you, and 2) so some people will just say “screw it” and continue paying dues until the contract is up. It really isn’t that terrible. I had to do this with Bally’s — you fill out some forms at the gym, mail it to them (with proof of a new residence that’s more than 50 miles from any existing
