By: Isaac Linsk, Follow South Jersey Intern
SOUTH JERSEY – Health conscious New Jersey residents have been given increased consumer protection in the gym thanks to a new legislation put in place by Governor Phil Murphy.
The bill streamlines the process for users to cancel their subscriptions for gym memberships and other health club services online in an effort to combat the tricky contract terms gyms and similar establishments will employ in an effort to retain their subscriptions.
In the past, gyms and other fitness centers relied on the specific wording of their enrollment contracts in order to make it difficult for a customer to cancel their membership. Often requiring a notarized form or an in person appearance at the gym in order to cancel, a point of frustration for those who have moved away from their old gyms.
“It shouldn’t be complicated or difficult for consumers to cancel their health club memberships online if they were purchased online,” State Senate President Nicholas Scutari said in a press release from the governor’s office. “This will give them that option.”
The new law, which will go into effect on April 1, 2024 requires gyms operating in the state to make an easily identifiable link or button on their website for customers to terminate their membership. The law also makes it easier for both parties involved in the gym contract to access a copy of said contract.
“Consumers will now be protected against being billed for subscription services they don’t want but have had difficulties canceling,” State Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, a representative from Trenton, stated.
According to the International Health, Raquet, and Sportsclub association (IHRSA), about 10.8 % of all members of a health club or gym join in January. This trend is likely due to the many people seeking out New Year’s resolutions dealing with their own health and fitness at the start of the new year. Despite this, about half of all gym members cancel their membership within six months of enrollment.
Bill A3892 was introduced on May 9th in 2022 but took two years of deliberation and delays before being approved in January, 2024, during the lame-duck period for the legislature.
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