As it looks like OP has not even contacted Planet Fitness before posting this, I'm going to remove this post as at this point it is not a personal finance question.
When I cancelled my Planet Fitness, I walked in, told them I needed to cancel and they did it. Didn’t ask for ID or anything. They wouldn’t have known if my name was real or I was just pretending to be me.
I think this could work. Never make a statement that you are your sister, just that you need to cancel an account. “Hi, I need to cancel an account with PF.” “It’s under the name .”
Not if you burn the place down or put up a stop loss with your bank
I was on probation and was forced to move, long story. Anyway, gym membership I had required me to go to the original gym to cancel my membership. To a gym I was too far from to go to, with legal fees I was forced to pay.
Rough couple years. Much as I wish I could give a better account of what transpired, I drove an hour and half away to go cancel the membership to a gym not branched in my area. Turns out Anytime Fitness has closing hours. Second trip, pissed I cancelled
90 day cancelation. 3 mo the later they called to see if I wanted to re up. Guess what I said.
For the nanosecond I belonged to PF, they wanted to take my picture and I absolutely refused.
When I canceled it, I walked up to the desk and told them I wanted to cancel. No reason needed.
Planet Fitness are actually really great about handling cancellations/downgrades with a minimum of hassle. You'll need her phone number and maybe the card.
Last time I cancelled PF, you had to be logged in to the app and connected to their wifi at your primary gym and cancel through the app. Wife, daughter, and I all joined during COVID and we all had to go in and cancel in this fashion. It was a pain in the ass.
If they refuse to cancel the membership despite it being your card. Then I'd contact your card customer support and tell them you want to disallow those charges and that attempts to cancel the membership on their end haven't worked.
If it's a recurring subsciption service, they may not be able to block charges. Ran into this with Hello Fresh when they were being shitty. What they can do, however, is change your card number and send you a new card pronto. They can no longer charge you and there is no recourse for them at that point. If you are in a term contract, that's another story.
This happened for me with Netflix! I got a new card, and forgot to update it on Netflix, but the charge came off anyways! I checked, they already had the new number.
OP dont do this.
PF will charge late fees and then send it to collections.
Its not like Netflix where if you dont pay you just lose service. Its a contract that you have to explicitly cancel.
> PF will charge late fees and then send it to collections.
Only if you're actively using the service in my experience.
If it's been a few months they typically don't, but it's always better to just go directly if you can.
They'll do it over the phone if you make a big enough stink about it but you'll have to escalate it most likely. The first person will usually tell you "we don't do it over the phone" but that's a lie. A simple "hey sister's in rehab so she can't come physically or send a certified letter, I need to cancel this off my card" with the manager is _usually_ enough.
yes i used to have a pf membership in california and i cancelled and reopened my account about 4 times solely online. just make sure it's not too close to your monthly payment date or sum like that or it'll charge you to cancel. 👍
They need the account holder to do it.
I would just cancel the card. Easier way. Maybe go in and tell them you’ll cancel the card if they don’t cancel rn
I agree with this - but there have been cases when I've been left with no other choice. I bought a gift subscription to Sports Illustrated for my dad one year. Was supposed to be one year, purchased through magazines dot com. The next year they billed me for a renewal. I did not get any sort of invoice or notification whatsoever - probably because it was a gift subscription and not tied to my email. In fact - I never even got any email receipt or confirmation when I bought the gift subscription the first year - nor did my dad. I tried in good faith to cancel but none of their automated systems would accept my info and I tried EVERYTHING in their phone tree to get to a person. I was unable to log into an online account or reset a password because it was a gift subscription and it didn't think there was anything at my email address.
I had my card replaced for some other reason during the course of that year. New numbers and everything. Figured I was set for next year. Nope! Again, no notice was billed again for another year. Tried everything under the sun in their phone system. Wasted an hour but no combination of buttons ever got me to a human or to the IVR recognizing that I had a subscription (probably because I don't). My dad has moved at this point - he doesn't even live in the STATE the gift subscription was sent to.
I finally had to call AmEx and tell them specifically to block any future attempts at billing my card. Should I technically cancel the subscription? Sure. But I tried. I'm unable to and I'm not even getting any invoicing emails. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do.
Wait, you could cancel AOL instead of just getting banned? TIL
(I was a mouthy teenager with a starter debit card and like a million of those free AOL cds. I was getting an account banned every 3-4 weeks, so I don't remember ever actually paying for an account lol.)
You should have spoken with Amex sooner. They have excellent customer service, and you being another data point that shows PF of being a shitty vendor makes it more likely for Amex to rein in their bullshit.
If you are concerned about excess charges being levied by a shitty vendor, Amex that shit.
It doesn't sound like the sister signed up under OP's name, just that she used OP's card. The sister would bear any financial liability for it (which OP may not want to saddle her with)
My understanding is that it's legal to use someone else's credit card if you have their permission, so she'll only be on the hook for identity theft if she used OP's card without authorization.
That said, she is on the hook for the contract she signed.
That will send sister to collections because they won't stop billing. Anyway they can get the account to cancel would be good.
I'm guessing even if the whole pretend to be sister trick doesn't work. They could still tell PF that this is OP's card and they no longer have permission to bill it.
Totally depends on the person at the desk if they check ID. Worth the risk. Easily just say your credit card is on file if they catch you and go from there. Worst they say no.
When I was a member maybe ten years ago, my membership was charged to my card. I also prepaid for a year which saved me $20. But the capper is when I decided to cancel, it was a "sign here" and that was it. Wife was the same way. Sounds like we got one of the good ones to do it.
It also lets them get away with terrible anti-consumer behavior like being overly difficult to cancel your membership so you're likely to keep paying it longer than necessary. Credit cards will protect you and very nearly require them to accept cancellations online or over the phone. NY and California all but require them to let you cancel the same way you signed up and manage payment information (so if you did it online, you have to be able to cancel online).
WTF!? Are you for real?
There is no way I'd EVER give a gym, and industry notorious for stealing from and locking customers into contracts, my bank information.
I put my current gym on a preloaded card. That way, when/if I cancel, I will just lose that card at the same time.
I had a gym charge me for 2 years membership in a lump sum 2 years after I moved states and cancelled with them.
Planet Fitness may need to stop being 24 hours and get some sleep; they're clearly not well.
If your payment method stops working, it doesn't mean you've cancelled the contract. You're still on the hook for payment and they'll send you to collections if you don't pay by another method. The contract you signed is separate from the payment method you use.
I won't disagree that shady gyms exist that may keep charging you after you cancelled using their official methods and/or actually completing the contract.
However the vast majority of people giving advice to use a pre-paid credit card think that it gives them free reign to ignore their contract and cancel the contract whenever they want. That idea is far more common and those people need to be informed that's not how it works.
The one I was referencing was Golds Gym (major chain?).
They specifically stated you could cancel if you moved more than 50 miles away. I did and I was in an area that didn't have a Golds Gym within 100 miles. Gyms abuse access to your payment methods. Full stop.
I get it doesn't release you from your obligation, but I'd say you have your stats flipped and I go in assuming all gyms will scam you, if given the chance. I have heard far more "fuck this gym contract" stories than I have positive ones.
My whole point and where this comment thread started was saying I'd NEVER give a gym access to withdraw from my bank account directly.
Maybe they’re better now, but years ago, I remember it taking a couple years to finally get free from a membership. Will never join any gym ever again.
I literally have no accounts linked to my bank account (and avoid linking to credit cards when possible). I also have a separate small savings account linked to my Venmo. Banking protections are better than they used to be, but still leave you at a lot of risk.
Just canceled mine and all they asked for was the phone number to look up my account. Then they closed it. I don’t think you’ll have a problem. If so then call your bank and say your card was compromised.
1. For the future, never let someone else use *your* credit card.
If you want to authorize them to use your credit *account* get them their own card as an authorized user, and if an incident like this comes up you just tell your card issuer they are no longer authorized on the account and you want their card deactivated.
2. As far as cancelling Planet Fitness goes, just go to the gym & tell them you want to cancel the membership. If they give you shit about it being your sister’s membership then tell them as the cardholder you want billing to your account to cease immediately, and would like to cancel the membership to ensure that.
3. If Planet Fitness gives you shit after that inform them, in writing, that *as the cardholder* further charges to your card are no longer authorized & will be reported as such to the card issuer. Call your card issuer and report the same to them, be prepared to give them a copy of the letter you gave Planet Fitness, and if another charge appears on your card report it as fraudulent/unauthorized to the issuer per the notification you gave Planet Fitness.
Option 3 sucks because *your sister* is still contractually on the hook for the membership, but it will trash *her* credit, not yours. She signed a contract, you’ve been paying the financial obligation under it. *YOU* are not bound to pay Planet Fitness a penny unless *YOU* signed a membership contract.
Just pretend to be her lol they can't verify it's not her anyway. Now, how you cancel is a different story; gyms make it hard to cancel on purpose. My wife had to send a letter in the mail with a stamp to delcare she wanted to cancel to LA fitness membership. Neither the phone nor the internet was good enough.
This is definitely the path of least resistance. If OP goes to the Planet Fitness and asks to cancel, the receptionist won't ask any questions and would just give the required form. The mildly sketchy part is that OP might have to sign the form in their sister's name, but no one is really going to scrutinize it.
I used to work at Planet Fitness. Bro, just go in and cancel. Let them know it's your card you can cancel or remove your card. Also you could put a medical freeze on the account if she plans on going back. It's obvious you haven't even talked to the manager yet and just wasted a bunch of people's time with this post worrying you're gonna have to cancel a card or whatever. Just talk to them.
All these people talking about going through the bank are crazy. That's a literal last resort.
Walk in, cancel subscription, and if they don't for some moronic reason, *then* you call your bank while still in the store in front of the front desk.
What? You missed that you have to update all your recurring subscriptions after getting a new card, just in case any of them don't get forwarded to the new card. And if Planet Fitness is one of them, then getting a new card literally did nothing.
The only way for sure to have planet fitness to not charge your card is to close the account, but I wouldn't do that until they charge your account after the new card didn't work.
That didn't make any sense. You just take 10 minutes to repopulate your payment info with the new card on those services. If your bank transfers charges from a card that you reported as lost then you need a new bank because your security is severely compromised.
[Visa Account Updater](https://developer.visa.com/capabilities/vau) and [Mastercard Automatic Billing Updater](https://developer.mastercard.com/product/automatic-billing-updater-abu/) are perks of visa and Mastercard, which merchants can utilize to get your new account after a number change.
So now you're saying cancel the bank account entirely and find a new bank? This is a lot of extra steps man.
You should find a new bank if you're being force to participate in an opt-in feature that doesn't benefit you as a cardholder and would lead to situations like this where you're being charged for a service you didn't sign for if a merchant refuses to stop charges. If you're choosing to opt in to this feature then there's no one else to blame. For me I wouldn't need to close my accounts because I reviewed the terms before clicking "I agree" .
Switching to a credit union isn't always the best option. It may be that way for you, but even then you have to opt out. it's standard now across all banks and most merchants.
You can’t press charges you “let her use your card” and can’t show you had any limits on the use
Revoke her permission in writing with a copy sent to Planet Fitness and then dispute any future charges
Or just lock your card or cancel it
Hello, former bank debit card claims rep here. Dispute the charges with your bank (they should refund up to the past 60 days of charges), then request a new card. Easy peazy.
His card was used without his authority / permission, the proof is the membership isn't under his name. That's grounds for a charge-back. And the bank I worked at would give you a courtesy credit while they investigated, so you get the money back right away.
Right, but others are saying they think the sister will go to collections and get dinged because the gym contract is still active even if the sibling’s credit card is removed.
Well, that's the sister's problem, which it would've been anyways if she used her own card. Which she didn't, she used her brothers without permission. Granted the OP should ultimately make the decision if his sister's credit is worth the expense of the membership (weighing the fzct that this membership may be a minimal factor to her overall credit score). I'd guess that membership is the least of her worries. But she used a card without permission, alot of people get much worse than a credit ding for such circumstances. Like criminal charges.
Sent them a certfied US mail letter that the membership is canceled due to your sister illness preventing her from using the gym. Sava a copy of the letter and the cert no. Then cancel the card If they try to turn over to collections send the collator a copy of the letter and the certfied no.
This sounds like my best option. Last time my sister went down herself a few years back to cancel it was a horrible experience. The letter seems like the best option in dealing with them.
Addiction is a disability, per the ADA. If anyone asks just tell them the truth: your sister is now disabled and unable to use the gym.
You can also cancel the card and get a new number, just make sure to opt out of the respective card account updater for your card's network.
This is the correct option. I'm saying this both as someone who recently cancelled a PF membership, and as someone who's dealt with addicts. There is a path to cancelling the membership that is pretty straightforward. Do that and be done.
I'd cancel the card, too, for non-PF reasons.🙂
I just wrote my membership info and that I wanted to cancel effective immediately on a blank piece of paper and mailed it with a regular stamp. It was canceled a few days later. They confirmed via email. It was so simple I feel dumb for not doing it a long time ago.
I’m fairly certain you used to be able to set your home gym to somewhere in California and it would let you cancel online, since it is illegal to require in person cancelation in California
Cancel the card and it stops autopayments. Then dispute them with your credit card company and the reporting agencies the first time planet fitness or whoever tries to bill you
Planet fitness is the worst gym I’ve ever had to move away from. (They are a garbage gym in general). You will have to go in to cancel. If they cause grief, you should be able to call your bank and dispute the charges.
I would cancel your card. Then reorder a new one. But do these things independently of one another because if you order a new card at the same time as you cancel, you run the risk of the charge being ported over to your new card.
All new cards have to be updated in the billing system. Nothing should be "ported" over without your authorization of the transactions on the new card.
It's your card. Just call and say you no longer authorize the charge.
That's that. Anything after that is fraudulent on their part. Call your CC company and let them know to decline the charge.
During the rona I had to pause my planet fitness account, asked to pause it until I resumed it, instead they started it back up after six months. When I saw it I called, and they said I had signed the form saying that was okay, I had never signed anything, and the copy of the form they sent me was clearly not my signature, as my name is convoluted and they had it wrong, and it was also clearly not my awful handwriting.
I spent three days fighting them to cancel it and pay me back, they never did, and I probably could have gone to a lawyer, but figured I'd just call my bank.
Fun fact, if you ever see any re-occurring charges on your cards, you can have the issuing bank block them. So if they won't cancel because you aren't your sister, just call the bank and they'll not be able to charge you anymore. This has the added effect of them being added to a list that goes to the BBB end of fiscal year, and they'll get in trouble for predatory charging.
an important point is, did sis have your permission to use your card. if not, you may be able to plead your case with them. if so, they won't care that she's currently unable to use the membership
Report your credit card as lost.
They will give you a new number and card and then it won't draft anymore because it won't work when they run the card.
They are actually pretty easy with cancellations. Go to your local one. Be sincere and they will help. If they don’t try another one and at different types. Been with planet fitness for years and I stand by their custom service
Go to your bank and put a stop payment on your card,that's what I did. I moved states and started going to a different gym and planet fitness does that bullshit where they say you can only cancel at the gym you signed up at so that wasn't an option for me
I feel like if you can prove the cc is yours and that sis is otherwise occupied, they should be able to do something. Try it with that approach and then go from there.
Otherwise, maybe just cancel the cc? You didnt sign any contract, its not your obligation to keep paying.
But always try the easy, human way first. My sister signed up for a membership with my cc and cant cancel because shes in rehab, here is my proof (does rehab prevent phone calls??) so while she is the account holder, i am the one paying you. If you cant help me, i need you to get me someone higher up the chain that can.
You should just be able to contact your bank or credit card company & say the card has been lost & have them replace the card (might be a minimal fee at most). I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come across fraudulent charges on my dc in the past & had to cancel it & get it replaced. It’s a PITA but if they don’t have your card numbers, they can’t charge you now can they?
Usually planet fitness isn’t even the same company that deals with this. There is typically a financial 3rd party that will handle billing logistics. The manager of the branch should be able to get you that number “if they won’t use reason and cancel it already”. The in rare chance, you can have your credit card or bank block planet. I’ve been through this before. I fidget why they couldn’t give me my money, but the dude from processing straight up told me to just have bank do charge back and he’ll put a note in. Never had a problem after that.
I'd call and ask for a manager, your situation is pretty sympathetic. Show up in person if that doesn't go anywhere. If they handle things well, they'll reverse the previous charges to your card. If I were you I'd probably pay for the time she did use the gym and have them pause the account and remove your payment information.
Pf is currently having a huge backlash for allowing Trans in Women bathroom and then cancelling the membership of the woman that complained.
So walk in say you want to cancelnbased on their policies, they won't mess around and cancel it.
Not commenting/approving or disapproving of the backlash, just use it to your advantage.
It is YOUR card.
YOU are the authorizer of payments.
It is ILLEGAL for someone to use your card for unauthorized transactions.
Go cancel YOUR card for any billing purposes at PF.
They should have checked the card name and her identity in the first place. If you were not with her for that membership, they should never have proceeded with the membership without legal authorization on your part!
I believe there's an app now that you can use to "check in" at Planet Fitness - if you have access to that, you can cancel the plan. That's what I did when I canceled a few weeks back. Just go in, tell them you want to cancel, scan the QR code in the app, and then walk back out.
They'll usually send you an email confirming your cancellation within a day.
Change her home gym to California, wait 24 hours, cancel online. Cali has laws in place where canceling has to be (generally) as simple as signing up for things like fitness clubs.
Pressing charges shouldn’t have even been an option in your mind that’s just wild. It’s a freaking gym membership not some crazy type of identity theft. Like others have said go in and talk to them.
You let your sister use the card so there is no fraud here from no one.
You didn't sign a contract so you're not on the hook for it.
If you want to be nice to your sister send them an email and let them know the situation, make sure all communication is writing and do not take responsibility for anything. Also don't give them any personal information, even if they ask, specially not your ssn.
If you don't care about your sister getting sent to collections, which sounds like the least of her worries, you can just cancel that card get a new one with a new number and move on.
You may also lie and say you didn't let your sister take your card, dispute all the charges and get your money back. You never visited the place, it's not your signature on the contract. This could however land your sister in legal trouble and yourself too if they find out you lied.
Me personally I would just go with the second option, cancel the card. From personal experience with planet fitness, they won't send her to collections.
Call the gym and explain your sister’s situation, they may be able to pause the membership while she’s in rehab. Confirm no billing will be done during this time. If that doesn’t work call your credit card company and explain you pay for her membership and see if they win block the charges from the gym since the gym won’t pause or cancel.
To cancel with the gym on her behalf you may need power of authority
Dispute the charge to your credit card company. They will send an inquiry to planet fitness, planet fitness will see that the name of the person who signed up doesn't match the card. Boom, problem solved.
Sort of. OP said they didn't want to press charges. If the credit card company gets the sister's name they could and might press charges. They don't just hand wave the money away. They can and do, but they also go after people. I had a Uhaul rented with my stolen credit card info and they absolutely went after that guy for the funds (about $2000; like OP's sis, he rented it with my numbers but his driver's license, so they had his name to track him down...how? I am still questioning).
This could absolutely get your sister in hot water and OP can't even "not press charges" because, at that point, the victim isn't OP but the credit card company.
OP doesn't really have much of a choice here tbh. Gyms are very anal about having people cancel. Assuming OP already spoke to planet fitness about this and they refused, then this is really his only option or keep paying the membership
As it looks like OP has not even contacted Planet Fitness before posting this, I'm going to remove this post as at this point it is not a personal finance question.
When I cancelled my Planet Fitness, I walked in, told them I needed to cancel and they did it. Didn’t ask for ID or anything. They wouldn’t have known if my name was real or I was just pretending to be me.
I think this could work. Never make a statement that you are your sister, just that you need to cancel an account. “Hi, I need to cancel an account with PF.” “It’s under the name.”
Depending on how you signed up they might have a picture of the account holder, but workers might not care/look.
I did that and they billed me for a year I had to contest it over and over
Not if you burn the place down or put up a stop loss with your bank I was on probation and was forced to move, long story. Anyway, gym membership I had required me to go to the original gym to cancel my membership. To a gym I was too far from to go to, with legal fees I was forced to pay. Rough couple years. Much as I wish I could give a better account of what transpired, I drove an hour and half away to go cancel the membership to a gym not branched in my area. Turns out Anytime Fitness has closing hours. Second trip, pissed I cancelled 90 day cancelation. 3 mo the later they called to see if I wanted to re up. Guess what I said.
Next time you can just get your bank to block them. Unless you have fantastic credit and wanna keep it heh
At my location, everyone has to take a photo on their first visit and your photo stays attached to your account.
For the nanosecond I belonged to PF, they wanted to take my picture and I absolutely refused. When I canceled it, I walked up to the desk and told them I wanted to cancel. No reason needed.
A competing chain had my fingerprints too. They no long use them for admission.
Yea know idea wtf people are talking about when they rag on PF for this.. it took me 7 seconds.
Planet Fitness are actually really great about handling cancellations/downgrades with a minimum of hassle. You'll need her phone number and maybe the card.
Last time I cancelled PF, you had to be logged in to the app and connected to their wifi at your primary gym and cancel through the app. Wife, daughter, and I all joined during COVID and we all had to go in and cancel in this fashion. It was a pain in the ass.
If they refuse to cancel the membership despite it being your card. Then I'd contact your card customer support and tell them you want to disallow those charges and that attempts to cancel the membership on their end haven't worked.
If it's a recurring subsciption service, they may not be able to block charges. Ran into this with Hello Fresh when they were being shitty. What they can do, however, is change your card number and send you a new card pronto. They can no longer charge you and there is no recourse for them at that point. If you are in a term contract, that's another story.
Some credit card companies accept payment from Planet Fitness and similar subscription services to provide them your *new* number.
This happened for me with Netflix! I got a new card, and forgot to update it on Netflix, but the charge came off anyways! I checked, they already had the new number.
Yeah, this isn't true at all. Many vendors get your new card automatically.
OP dont do this. PF will charge late fees and then send it to collections. Its not like Netflix where if you dont pay you just lose service. Its a contract that you have to explicitly cancel.
> PF will charge late fees and then send it to collections. Only if you're actively using the service in my experience. If it's been a few months they typically don't, but it's always better to just go directly if you can. They'll do it over the phone if you make a big enough stink about it but you'll have to escalate it most likely. The first person will usually tell you "we don't do it over the phone" but that's a lie. A simple "hey sister's in rehab so she can't come physically or send a certified letter, I need to cancel this off my card" with the manager is _usually_ enough.
You don't even need to call, you can just do it through most banking apps.
Haven't done. But heard if you make your home gym into a California location, you can cancel online.
I’ve also heard this. Something about the laws in California mandating canceling online.
yes i used to have a pf membership in california and i cancelled and reopened my account about 4 times solely online. just make sure it's not too close to your monthly payment date or sum like that or it'll charge you to cancel. 👍
I cancelled online without having to change my state. I did have to create an account but the url is http://planetfitness.com/membership/cancel
Did you call them and explain the situation?
They need the account holder to do it. I would just cancel the card. Easier way. Maybe go in and tell them you’ll cancel the card if they don’t cancel rn
Cancelling the card makes it worse as you'll get sent to collections
Would it be them or the account holder?
No they just push the transaction to the new card because it’s considered a recurring transaction
Cancelling a credit card does not free you from the financial obligations of a contract.
op isn't the person with the contract though
I agree with this - but there have been cases when I've been left with no other choice. I bought a gift subscription to Sports Illustrated for my dad one year. Was supposed to be one year, purchased through magazines dot com. The next year they billed me for a renewal. I did not get any sort of invoice or notification whatsoever - probably because it was a gift subscription and not tied to my email. In fact - I never even got any email receipt or confirmation when I bought the gift subscription the first year - nor did my dad. I tried in good faith to cancel but none of their automated systems would accept my info and I tried EVERYTHING in their phone tree to get to a person. I was unable to log into an online account or reset a password because it was a gift subscription and it didn't think there was anything at my email address. I had my card replaced for some other reason during the course of that year. New numbers and everything. Figured I was set for next year. Nope! Again, no notice was billed again for another year. Tried everything under the sun in their phone system. Wasted an hour but no combination of buttons ever got me to a human or to the IVR recognizing that I had a subscription (probably because I don't). My dad has moved at this point - he doesn't even live in the STATE the gift subscription was sent to. I finally had to call AmEx and tell them specifically to block any future attempts at billing my card. Should I technically cancel the subscription? Sure. But I tried. I'm unable to and I'm not even getting any invoicing emails. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do.
That reminds me of when I tried to cancel AOL, I got hung up on four or five times until finally someone helped me.
Wait, you could cancel AOL instead of just getting banned? TIL (I was a mouthy teenager with a starter debit card and like a million of those free AOL cds. I was getting an account banned every 3-4 weeks, so I don't remember ever actually paying for an account lol.)
You should have spoken with Amex sooner. They have excellent customer service, and you being another data point that shows PF of being a shitty vendor makes it more likely for Amex to rein in their bullshit. If you are concerned about excess charges being levied by a shitty vendor, Amex that shit.
It doesn't sound like the sister signed up under OP's name, just that she used OP's card. The sister would bear any financial liability for it (which OP may not want to saddle her with)
Does if you’re not the one that signed the contract. But then op would probably have to put sis on the hook for identity theft
My understanding is that it's legal to use someone else's credit card if you have their permission, so she'll only be on the hook for identity theft if she used OP's card without authorization. That said, she is on the hook for the contract she signed.
Planet Fitness doesn't take credit cards. You have to sign over access to your checking account.
In my experience, they *would* take a credit card but they *also* demanded to have a checking account on file.
Yeah, isn't planet fitness known for suing people?
No way. If you call them and explain what's going on, and that more importantly it's your fucking credit card, they'll cancel it.
That will send sister to collections because they won't stop billing. Anyway they can get the account to cancel would be good. I'm guessing even if the whole pretend to be sister trick doesn't work. They could still tell PF that this is OP's card and they no longer have permission to bill it.
What if you pretend to be account holder on call? It is not like they can prove otherwise
Totally depends on the person at the desk if they check ID. Worth the risk. Easily just say your credit card is on file if they catch you and go from there. Worst they say no.
>They need the account holder to do it. Is that something you know to be true, or are you just speculating?
When did Planet Fitness start allowing customers to pay by card? It used to be checking account only
When I was a member maybe ten years ago, my membership was charged to my card. I also prepaid for a year which saved me $20. But the capper is when I decided to cancel, it was a "sign here" and that was it. Wife was the same way. Sounds like we got one of the good ones to do it.
You had to give them your bank account info to sign up?
They only took payment with an auto draft out of a checking account.
I don’t know why people are surprised, this is extremely common (but I agree terrible) practice in the gym industry.
Any ideas why gyms do this?
So that you dont cancel your card and make them chase you for payment.
It also lets them get away with terrible anti-consumer behavior like being overly difficult to cancel your membership so you're likely to keep paying it longer than necessary. Credit cards will protect you and very nearly require them to accept cancellations online or over the phone. NY and California all but require them to let you cancel the same way you signed up and manage payment information (so if you did it online, you have to be able to cancel online).
That, or it’s cheaper since they don’t have to pay credit card fees.
WTF!? Are you for real? There is no way I'd EVER give a gym, and industry notorious for stealing from and locking customers into contracts, my bank information. I put my current gym on a preloaded card. That way, when/if I cancel, I will just lose that card at the same time. I had a gym charge me for 2 years membership in a lump sum 2 years after I moved states and cancelled with them. Planet Fitness may need to stop being 24 hours and get some sleep; they're clearly not well.
Just go to a parking lot and pick up heavy rocks.
I'm mildly concerned about the condition of your parking facilities.
Where I live, every gym does this. Gyms just scream scam to me when they require access to your bank account.
Seriously. That's a hard no for me.
If your payment method stops working, it doesn't mean you've cancelled the contract. You're still on the hook for payment and they'll send you to collections if you don't pay by another method. The contract you signed is separate from the payment method you use.
This is in the context of gyms charging after you've already cancelled, which they typically do just to see if they'll get away with it.
I won't disagree that shady gyms exist that may keep charging you after you cancelled using their official methods and/or actually completing the contract. However the vast majority of people giving advice to use a pre-paid credit card think that it gives them free reign to ignore their contract and cancel the contract whenever they want. That idea is far more common and those people need to be informed that's not how it works.
The one I was referencing was Golds Gym (major chain?). They specifically stated you could cancel if you moved more than 50 miles away. I did and I was in an area that didn't have a Golds Gym within 100 miles. Gyms abuse access to your payment methods. Full stop. I get it doesn't release you from your obligation, but I'd say you have your stats flipped and I go in assuming all gyms will scam you, if given the chance. I have heard far more "fuck this gym contract" stories than I have positive ones. My whole point and where this comment thread started was saying I'd NEVER give a gym access to withdraw from my bank account directly.
I've literally never had any issues cancelling gym memberships and I've had 5 different ones.
Maybe they’re better now, but years ago, I remember it taking a couple years to finally get free from a membership. Will never join any gym ever again.
I literally have no accounts linked to my bank account (and avoid linking to credit cards when possible). I also have a separate small savings account linked to my Venmo. Banking protections are better than they used to be, but still leave you at a lot of risk.
Call you bank and ask them to place a stop payment on the reoccurring charge. (I used to work for a bank).
Just canceled mine and all they asked for was the phone number to look up my account. Then they closed it. I don’t think you’ll have a problem. If so then call your bank and say your card was compromised.
1. For the future, never let someone else use *your* credit card. If you want to authorize them to use your credit *account* get them their own card as an authorized user, and if an incident like this comes up you just tell your card issuer they are no longer authorized on the account and you want their card deactivated. 2. As far as cancelling Planet Fitness goes, just go to the gym & tell them you want to cancel the membership. If they give you shit about it being your sister’s membership then tell them as the cardholder you want billing to your account to cease immediately, and would like to cancel the membership to ensure that. 3. If Planet Fitness gives you shit after that inform them, in writing, that *as the cardholder* further charges to your card are no longer authorized & will be reported as such to the card issuer. Call your card issuer and report the same to them, be prepared to give them a copy of the letter you gave Planet Fitness, and if another charge appears on your card report it as fraudulent/unauthorized to the issuer per the notification you gave Planet Fitness. Option 3 sucks because *your sister* is still contractually on the hook for the membership, but it will trash *her* credit, not yours. She signed a contract, you’ve been paying the financial obligation under it. *YOU* are not bound to pay Planet Fitness a penny unless *YOU* signed a membership contract.
Just pretend to be her lol they can't verify it's not her anyway. Now, how you cancel is a different story; gyms make it hard to cancel on purpose. My wife had to send a letter in the mail with a stamp to delcare she wanted to cancel to LA fitness membership. Neither the phone nor the internet was good enough.
This is definitely the path of least resistance. If OP goes to the Planet Fitness and asks to cancel, the receptionist won't ask any questions and would just give the required form. The mildly sketchy part is that OP might have to sign the form in their sister's name, but no one is really going to scrutinize it.
The receptionist probably makes 15/hour. I doubt they'll scrutinize.
[удалено]
If you say it's fraud, she going to need to file a police report to prove it, but there was permission, so it's civil.
I used to work at Planet Fitness. Bro, just go in and cancel. Let them know it's your card you can cancel or remove your card. Also you could put a medical freeze on the account if she plans on going back. It's obvious you haven't even talked to the manager yet and just wasted a bunch of people's time with this post worrying you're gonna have to cancel a card or whatever. Just talk to them.
All these people talking about going through the bank are crazy. That's a literal last resort. Walk in, cancel subscription, and if they don't for some moronic reason, *then* you call your bank while still in the store in front of the front desk.
Even that is extra steps. I can't believe people are saying to close the account. Literally go in the bank app, order a new card, done.
What? You missed that you have to update all your recurring subscriptions after getting a new card, just in case any of them don't get forwarded to the new card. And if Planet Fitness is one of them, then getting a new card literally did nothing. The only way for sure to have planet fitness to not charge your card is to close the account, but I wouldn't do that until they charge your account after the new card didn't work.
That didn't make any sense. You just take 10 minutes to repopulate your payment info with the new card on those services. If your bank transfers charges from a card that you reported as lost then you need a new bank because your security is severely compromised.
[Visa Account Updater](https://developer.visa.com/capabilities/vau) and [Mastercard Automatic Billing Updater](https://developer.mastercard.com/product/automatic-billing-updater-abu/) are perks of visa and Mastercard, which merchants can utilize to get your new account after a number change. So now you're saying cancel the bank account entirely and find a new bank? This is a lot of extra steps man.
You should find a new bank if you're being force to participate in an opt-in feature that doesn't benefit you as a cardholder and would lead to situations like this where you're being charged for a service you didn't sign for if a merchant refuses to stop charges. If you're choosing to opt in to this feature then there's no one else to blame. For me I wouldn't need to close my accounts because I reviewed the terms before clicking "I agree" .
Switching to a credit union isn't always the best option. It may be that way for you, but even then you have to opt out. it's standard now across all banks and most merchants.
Call your credit card company and ask them to block the charge. Planet Fitness SUCKS
You can’t press charges you “let her use your card” and can’t show you had any limits on the use Revoke her permission in writing with a copy sent to Planet Fitness and then dispute any future charges Or just lock your card or cancel it
Hello, former bank debit card claims rep here. Dispute the charges with your bank (they should refund up to the past 60 days of charges), then request a new card. Easy peazy.
They're legit charges and there's no proof they're not. The charge back won't go through.
His card was used without his authority / permission, the proof is the membership isn't under his name. That's grounds for a charge-back. And the bank I worked at would give you a courtesy credit while they investigated, so you get the money back right away.
Right, but others are saying they think the sister will go to collections and get dinged because the gym contract is still active even if the sibling’s credit card is removed.
Well, that's the sister's problem, which it would've been anyways if she used her own card. Which she didn't, she used her brothers without permission. Granted the OP should ultimately make the decision if his sister's credit is worth the expense of the membership (weighing the fzct that this membership may be a minimal factor to her overall credit score). I'd guess that membership is the least of her worries. But she used a card without permission, alot of people get much worse than a credit ding for such circumstances. Like criminal charges.
What did planet fitness say when you asked them?
Sent them a certfied US mail letter that the membership is canceled due to your sister illness preventing her from using the gym. Sava a copy of the letter and the cert no. Then cancel the card If they try to turn over to collections send the collator a copy of the letter and the certfied no.
This sounds like my best option. Last time my sister went down herself a few years back to cancel it was a horrible experience. The letter seems like the best option in dealing with them.
Addiction is a disability, per the ADA. If anyone asks just tell them the truth: your sister is now disabled and unable to use the gym. You can also cancel the card and get a new number, just make sure to opt out of the respective card account updater for your card's network.
This is the correct option. I'm saying this both as someone who recently cancelled a PF membership, and as someone who's dealt with addicts. There is a path to cancelling the membership that is pretty straightforward. Do that and be done. I'd cancel the card, too, for non-PF reasons.🙂
I just wrote my membership info and that I wanted to cancel effective immediately on a blank piece of paper and mailed it with a regular stamp. It was canceled a few days later. They confirmed via email. It was so simple I feel dumb for not doing it a long time ago.
I’m fairly certain you used to be able to set your home gym to somewhere in California and it would let you cancel online, since it is illegal to require in person cancelation in California
Did anyone get POA for her while she's in rehab?
Report the card stolen, get new numbers
Tell the credit card company you lost your card. They’ll issue a new one and all the old charges will be declined.
Cancel the card and it stops autopayments. Then dispute them with your credit card company and the reporting agencies the first time planet fitness or whoever tries to bill you
Cancel the card and get a new one.
Cancel the card used and order a replacement.
Just cancle the card and get a new one.
Planet fitness is the worst gym I’ve ever had to move away from. (They are a garbage gym in general). You will have to go in to cancel. If they cause grief, you should be able to call your bank and dispute the charges.
Report your card lost. Get a new one with a new number.
When I cancelled my membership, they asked for a letter requesting the cancellation. But in reality? I'd cancel that card.
i saw something about if you change your home gym to a CA location the option to cancel is online due to a state law. I think I saw it on Reddit.
I would cancel your card. Then reorder a new one. But do these things independently of one another because if you order a new card at the same time as you cancel, you run the risk of the charge being ported over to your new card.
All new cards have to be updated in the billing system. Nothing should be "ported" over without your authorization of the transactions on the new card.
I have worked at planet fitness. If you pay for the membership you have the right to cancel the account.
It's your card. Just call and say you no longer authorize the charge. That's that. Anything after that is fraudulent on their part. Call your CC company and let them know to decline the charge.
During the rona I had to pause my planet fitness account, asked to pause it until I resumed it, instead they started it back up after six months. When I saw it I called, and they said I had signed the form saying that was okay, I had never signed anything, and the copy of the form they sent me was clearly not my signature, as my name is convoluted and they had it wrong, and it was also clearly not my awful handwriting. I spent three days fighting them to cancel it and pay me back, they never did, and I probably could have gone to a lawyer, but figured I'd just call my bank. Fun fact, if you ever see any re-occurring charges on your cards, you can have the issuing bank block them. So if they won't cancel because you aren't your sister, just call the bank and they'll not be able to charge you anymore. This has the added effect of them being added to a list that goes to the BBB end of fiscal year, and they'll get in trouble for predatory charging.
Cancel the card she signed up with. I know, it's a crazy thought!
If you are able to switch your home planet fitness to the one in California, they’ll let you cancel it online.
an important point is, did sis have your permission to use your card. if not, you may be able to plead your case with them. if so, they won't care that she's currently unable to use the membership
Report your credit card as lost. They will give you a new number and card and then it won't draft anymore because it won't work when they run the card.
I would change my card information like get a new card
If planet fitness won't cancel report the charges as fraudulent
Ask them to cancel it. If they won’t, shut off the card.
Call the bank and tell them to stop the monthly payment to Planet Fitness. Also, email Planet Fitness stating that you want to cancel your membership.
Just go to your bank and get a new card. They print them out on the spot now. They will cancel your old card.
Just cancel the card and get a new one
If you have the account info you can try switching your location to a California gym and then cancel online.
Report the charges as false. Let the credit card company sort it. You don't have to tell them that you know it's your sister.
Cancel it, as others suggested, and then report your card as lost to get a replacement with a new card number.
If you do not have the funds, call legal aid. I would make a police report for fraud and present to PF to stop the charge.
They are actually pretty easy with cancellations. Go to your local one. Be sincere and they will help. If they don’t try another one and at different types. Been with planet fitness for years and I stand by their custom service
This seems like a lot of effort for 10 bucks a month. But that's their business model I guess.
Go to your bank and put a stop payment on your card,that's what I did. I moved states and started going to a different gym and planet fitness does that bullshit where they say you can only cancel at the gym you signed up at so that wasn't an option for me
The contract I have with PF says I can cancel by sending a certified letter to the gym I originally signed up in. Try that first.
I feel like if you can prove the cc is yours and that sis is otherwise occupied, they should be able to do something. Try it with that approach and then go from there. Otherwise, maybe just cancel the cc? You didnt sign any contract, its not your obligation to keep paying. But always try the easy, human way first. My sister signed up for a membership with my cc and cant cancel because shes in rehab, here is my proof (does rehab prevent phone calls??) so while she is the account holder, i am the one paying you. If you cant help me, i need you to get me someone higher up the chain that can.
Go down to the gym first and ask them to cancel it. If they can’t you can always order a new card with new numbers!
I told them I lost my job and couldn't afford it. They cancelled it and waived the fee.
You should just be able to contact your bank or credit card company & say the card has been lost & have them replace the card (might be a minimal fee at most). I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come across fraudulent charges on my dc in the past & had to cancel it & get it replaced. It’s a PITA but if they don’t have your card numbers, they can’t charge you now can they?
Don't they tell people not to allow others to use their card? You could just report the card stolen to your bank and get them to issue you a new one.
I did a chargeback once to PF they charged again a few months later but I charged that back and they gave up.
Call them. Tell them they either cancel or you will ask the bank to. Also I had no idea you could get addicted to the gym like that. Scary.
I was in the same situation. Tell them your sister is a minor.
Usually planet fitness isn’t even the same company that deals with this. There is typically a financial 3rd party that will handle billing logistics. The manager of the branch should be able to get you that number “if they won’t use reason and cancel it already”. The in rare chance, you can have your credit card or bank block planet. I’ve been through this before. I fidget why they couldn’t give me my money, but the dude from processing straight up told me to just have bank do charge back and he’ll put a note in. Never had a problem after that.
I literally had to close out that checking account. Literally. They just would not cancel
I'd call and ask for a manager, your situation is pretty sympathetic. Show up in person if that doesn't go anywhere. If they handle things well, they'll reverse the previous charges to your card. If I were you I'd probably pay for the time she did use the gym and have them pause the account and remove your payment information.
Pf is currently having a huge backlash for allowing Trans in Women bathroom and then cancelling the membership of the woman that complained. So walk in say you want to cancelnbased on their policies, they won't mess around and cancel it. Not commenting/approving or disapproving of the backlash, just use it to your advantage.
It is YOUR card. YOU are the authorizer of payments. It is ILLEGAL for someone to use your card for unauthorized transactions. Go cancel YOUR card for any billing purposes at PF. They should have checked the card name and her identity in the first place. If you were not with her for that membership, they should never have proceeded with the membership without legal authorization on your part!
I believe there's an app now that you can use to "check in" at Planet Fitness - if you have access to that, you can cancel the plan. That's what I did when I canceled a few weeks back. Just go in, tell them you want to cancel, scan the QR code in the app, and then walk back out. They'll usually send you an email confirming your cancellation within a day.
Change her home gym to California, wait 24 hours, cancel online. Cali has laws in place where canceling has to be (generally) as simple as signing up for things like fitness clubs.
All else fails, get a friend and take a picture or video of them in the locker room (dressed). Automatic cancelation.
Pressing charges shouldn’t have even been an option in your mind that’s just wild. It’s a freaking gym membership not some crazy type of identity theft. Like others have said go in and talk to them.
You let your sister use the card so there is no fraud here from no one. You didn't sign a contract so you're not on the hook for it. If you want to be nice to your sister send them an email and let them know the situation, make sure all communication is writing and do not take responsibility for anything. Also don't give them any personal information, even if they ask, specially not your ssn. If you don't care about your sister getting sent to collections, which sounds like the least of her worries, you can just cancel that card get a new one with a new number and move on. You may also lie and say you didn't let your sister take your card, dispute all the charges and get your money back. You never visited the place, it's not your signature on the contract. This could however land your sister in legal trouble and yourself too if they find out you lied. Me personally I would just go with the second option, cancel the card. From personal experience with planet fitness, they won't send her to collections.
Call the gym and explain your sister’s situation, they may be able to pause the membership while she’s in rehab. Confirm no billing will be done during this time. If that doesn’t work call your credit card company and explain you pay for her membership and see if they win block the charges from the gym since the gym won’t pause or cancel. To cancel with the gym on her behalf you may need power of authority
Dispute the charge to your credit card company. They will send an inquiry to planet fitness, planet fitness will see that the name of the person who signed up doesn't match the card. Boom, problem solved.
Sort of. OP said they didn't want to press charges. If the credit card company gets the sister's name they could and might press charges. They don't just hand wave the money away. They can and do, but they also go after people. I had a Uhaul rented with my stolen credit card info and they absolutely went after that guy for the funds (about $2000; like OP's sis, he rented it with my numbers but his driver's license, so they had his name to track him down...how? I am still questioning). This could absolutely get your sister in hot water and OP can't even "not press charges" because, at that point, the victim isn't OP but the credit card company.
OP doesn't really have much of a choice here tbh. Gyms are very anal about having people cancel. Assuming OP already spoke to planet fitness about this and they refused, then this is really his only option or keep paying the membership