Gym/Fitness Membership Horror Stories - Looking for alternatives

[HerzeleidMeister]

Lately I've seen some real horror stories about gym memberships and places like Planet Fitness or Anytime Fitness taking money out of accounts even after memberships have been canceled and there are others. For this reason, its soured me on using a gym membership for showers. Anyone have any alternatives of places that have individual showers. For personal reasons the shower CANNOT be an open everyone in the world is in the same stall shower.

 

[Van-Tramp]

Community centers and public pools are the only ones that come to mind.

 

[HerzeleidMeister]

I guess maybe some community centers will have individual stalls for the showers? There one near me does not. I've also thought about truck stops as well.

 

[ZoNiE]

Truck stops are your best bet. Buying your fuel there gets you points for free showers and such.
I'm not sure if you can do this in the US, but in Aisa, I can rent a hotel room near the airport for a minimal fee to shower and sometimes enough time for a nap.

Camp grounds may let you use theirs for a fee.

 

[RVTravel]

KOA campgrounds. For Planet Fitness, use a dedicated credit card only for that and cancel the card at the same time as leaving the gym.

 

[Goshawk]

KOA campgrounds. For Planet Fitness, use a dedicated credit card only for that and cancel the card at the same time as leaving the gym.

You can get a disposable credit card at most drug stores. Just switch your current billing to the disposable credit card. After you are done with the gym, you toss the card (never refill it — cause it acts like a debit). That might work.

Some gyms are getting smart about that and will require a credit card, not debit to start or continue membership. YMMV.


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[John61CT]

You can get a disposable credit card at most drug stores. Just switch your current billing to the disposable credit card. After you are done with the gym, you toss the card (never refill it — cause it acts like a debit). That might work.

Some gyms are getting smart about that and will require a credit card, not debit to start or continue membership. YMMV.


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American Express Serve.com card works well.

Can have a total of five unique cards (each can have any name you like) per $1/mo. membership account,

so dedicate one per autopay vendor. When you want to cancel the autopay, just cancel the card, they send you another.

Free funding from a debit card online, but shows as credit card, use anywhere AMEX is accepted.

Can also fund free with cash from any CVS and I think Walmarts, similar to their Bluebird.

 

[Dingfelder]

Truck stops are your best bet. Buying your fuel there gets you points for free showers and such.
I'm not sure if you can do this in the US, but in Aisa, I can rent a hotel room near the airport for a minimal fee to shower and sometimes enough time for a nap.

Camp grounds may let you use theirs for a fee.

Prostitution problems make renting by the hour not kosher, as far as I know, though of course someone somewhere will be doing it.  I worked in franchise hotels and it certainly wasn't available.

 

[Dingfelder]

KOA campgrounds. For Planet Fitness, use a dedicated credit card only for that and cancel the card at the same time as leaving the gym.

Not possible at the Planet Fitness I was checking out, at least.  They insisted on getting your checking account number.  I kid you not.

I told them I wanted to pay via credit card and even that I would pay a year in advance in cash -- no dice.  They wanted that checking account number.

Which I thought was absolutely insane, so I declined.

 

[Dingfelder]

You can get a disposable credit card at most drug stores. Just switch your current billing to the disposable credit card. After you are done with the gym, you toss the card (never refill it — cause it acts like a debit). That might work.

Some gyms are getting smart about that and will require a credit card, not debit to start or continue membership. YMMV.


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I've done this before with magazine subscriptions and other purchases I wanted to be sure were one-time events.  

Just be sure to take your regular bank card off your store account -- or preferably never use it there at all if you want to purchase anything renewable.

A certain gargantuan company was widely derided for continuing magazine subscriptions on any available card you had registered with them.  Last I heard, their response to customer complaints was to keep doing it anyway.

 

[RVTravel]

Not possible at the Planet Fitness I was checking out, at least.  They insisted on getting your checking account number.  I kid you not.

Wow, that is aggressive. Then I would consider opening a second checking account (only if free and allowed) at my bank, limit the cash in it and close it the same way.

 

[Goshawk]

Wow, that is aggressive. Then I would consider opening a second checking account (only if free and allowed) at my bank, limit the cash in it and close it the same way.

Even when you cancel a checking account and close a gym membership you are obligated for a years dues. And will be sent to collection agency and reported to credit bureau services. But this will work if you make the one year payments and cancel renewal, certified mail.


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[RVTravel]

Planet Fitness does not only have contract plans. They have month to month.

 

[Dingfelder]

They still want your checking account though. I sure tried to talk them out of it, but they weren't having it. They'd rather not have a customer than not have access to a checking account.

 

[Deb_A]

OK, this is how you get around the ones that want your bank account. H&R Block has a prepaid debit card that has a routing and account number. You can use it for direct deposits and withdrawals. I know this because I got blacklisted by ChekSystems because of a dispute from a bank that said I owed them money after I closed my account when I did not. I had a client who paid by direct deposit, so I started looking for alternatives. My roommate worked with H&R Block and told me about their card. I used it for two years until my ChekSystems ding cleared. No charge for cash reloads from your bank account, but it's pricey for cash reloads, up to $4.95 depending where you get it done. You can also transfer Amazon Payments and PayPal funds to it. An ATM withdrawal is $3.00, plus whatever the ATM charges, so I always just got cash back on something at a store. There is a small fee for monthly bill pay, but a regular monthly transaction is only 95 cents, so not bad. Expedited payments get pricey, though.

I never had any trouble with mine the whole time I had it. I even had to use it for my SS direct deposits until I could get a bank account, and it worked fine. I just paid my bills online using it as a debit card, or by money order.

 

[RVTravel]

www.silversneakers.com

just found out about this site. It is for 65+ age.

 

[John61CT]

H&R Block for "checking", sounds ideal combined with the Serve multi-card setup above, free loads.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I'm a little confused.  I have a lot of auto-pay withdrawals from my checking account.  I had to authorize the withdrawals.  I can rescind the withdrawal authority at any time (my bank requires 15 work days lead time).  After rescinding the authority the auto-pay party can no longer withdraw from my account.  What am I missing?

 

[RVTravel]

Probably nothing Spaceman. I'd imagine that is all that is really needed. The fitness centers may not like the bad credit situations.

 

[John61CT]

I have never even heard of that before, and would certainly not allow auto-pay from a real bank account. Nor a credit card, since I started using Serve

But then I haven't written a paper check in 22 years, so obviously atypical.