‘It’s a tactic’: Man tries to cancel Planet Fitness membership in person. Then the worker tells him this

A man encountered some resistance upon trying to cancel a Planet Fitness membership and then pressed forward and canceled it, even though it might not have been the most prudent financial move.

Creator Marner (@magicmarner16), whose entire two-video TikTok account is dedicated to this Planet Fitness saga, put up the viral video on Sunday evening, getting more than 1.3 million views just 20 hours after it first went up.

What happened?

The video shows him at a Planet Fitness aiming to cancel his membership.

"I'd like to cancel my Planet Fitness membership," he cheerfully tells the receptionist.

After they establish it's because he doesn't have time to use the membership, she informs him that he's a day late from being able to cancel his annual membership fee.

"I can cancel your membership today, but the annual fee, it will still come out from your checking account," she informs him. After a bit of back and forth, he learns that it will be $49 plus tax. While that's a nominal fee compared to other annual gym memberships, it seems a steep price to pay for being just a day late in acting.

She tells him that while other gyms make customers pay upfront, Planet Fitness is different in that "we give you six to eight weeks to decide whether you want to continue your membership or not."

Marner is eager to sever ties with the gym chain, however. "I'd still like to cancel, though," he says, noting that the worker rolls her eyes at him with that statement.

How hard is it to cancel a Planet Fitness membership?

According to Planet Fitness's site, in a hidden section that requires clicking a "show more" link in the Membership & Billing section to unveil, "While we hate to see you cancel your membership, our cancellation process may vary club to club, so the best first step is to contact your home location to confirm the cancellation policy. For most locations, you can visit your home club in person to cancel your membership or send written notification via mail to your home club requesting to cancel. Some members may also be eligible to cancel their membership online based on their membership type and location of their home club. If you have additional questions, please contact your home club or our Member Services department."

The site continues, "Please note, to stop the billing of your monthly membership on the 17th, the club must receive written notice delivered by the 10th in person or through mail, as it may take up to seven business days for billing changes to take effect. To stop the billing of the annual fee, cancellation must be completed by the 25th of the month prior to the annual fee date. Lastly, if your membership has a minimum term and is canceled prior to end of contract term, a $58 buyout fee is required."

Members dislike this

If that seems antiquated and needlessly complicated in the age of online everything, Redditors on the r/PlanetFitnessMembers forum agree.

One Redditor counseled, "Either come down to the gym you signed up at, say 'I want to cancel' and then you sign the document and that's it. You could also send a letter through certified mail with your name, phone number and reason as to why you were canceling with a signature on the bottom and it gets cancelled out."

But that led one person to respond, "Not being able to cancel online or over the phone is just archaic. Is there an actual purpose to not allowing these cancelation methods other than being able to continue taking inactive members' money?"

Another responded, "It’s literally just to make it harder to cancel. It was a massive pain during the pandemic when you weren’t supposed to leave and businesses were closed."

@magicmarner16 Trying to cancel my planet fitness membership #planetfitness #gymmembership #gym #gymtok ♬ original sound - Marner

What TikTok viewers thought

People coming to the post had opinions.

"It always seems that you’re a day late when you try to cancel," one observed.

Another offered, "Call higher up in corporate. They will cancel it for you."

Someone else weighed in, "Worked at PF, they rarely ever waive fees ESPECIALLY the yearly fee. Employees are unable to waive it, typically requires a [manager's] code."

"It’s outlined pretty clearly the date your contract starts, when the yearly fee comes out and if you wish to cancel, when you have to do it by to avoid the yearly fee," another shared. "It’s all in the contract."

The creator made a follow-up video that extolled the virtues of working out in one's own apartment complex over a Planet Fitness.

The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok comment and to Planet Fitness via email.

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