Contract trap · Subscription
Cancellation channel restricted
Sign-up is online in one click, but cancellation requires calling during business hours, speaking to a 'retention specialist', live chat, visiting a location in person to hand a form to a specific manager, or sending a signed letter by certified/registered mail (sometimes to a specific address) that takes effect only when 'received and processed'; emails and online requests are expressly not accepted.
- Severity
- Serious
- How often it turns up
- Common
- Holds up?
- Often void
- Clause phrases
- 24
What it looks like in a contract
Redline matches these phrases against your document verbatim. Drafters rarely invent new wording — they copy it, which is why the same sentences turn up across unrelated contracts.
In English-language contracts
- to cancel, call
- cancellations must be made by telephone
- speak with a customer service representative
- in person at your home club
- cancellation cannot be processed online
- during normal business hours
- a member services agent will assist you
- by certified mail
- registered mail, return receipt requested
- cancellation must be in writing
- effective upon receipt
- emails will not be accepted
In Russian-language contracts
- отказ от подписки возможен только по телефону
- обратиться в клуб лично
- расторжение только в отделе продаж
- при личном визите
- в рабочее время клуба
- заявление подается лично администратору
- отключение через оператора контакт-центра
- заказным письмом с уведомлением о вручении
- только в письменной форме
- с момента получения исполнителем письменного заявления
- электронные обращения не рассматриваются
- собственноручно подписанное заявление
Check your own contract
Paste a clause, a page or the whole document. Nothing leaves your browser: the matching runs here, on this page, against the phrases above.
Why it bites
Hold queues, limited hours and scripted retention pitches cause abandonment (578k abandoned SiriusXM calls); gyms open 19 hours a day accepted cancellations only in narrow weekday windows or by certified mail; letters get 'lost' and billing continues during mail and processing delays.
Is it enforceable where you are
The same clause can be routine in one country and void in another. What follows is what the law says where you are — not advice on your particular contract.
In the US, ROSCA and state automatic-renewal laws such as California's ARL apply; in the EU, Directive 93/13 Annex 1(h) and national reminder rules (Germany §309 Nr. 9 BGB, France's loi Chatel) govern renewal.
United States
Cancellation must be at least as easy as sign-up under ROSCA / FTC Act §5 enforcement: phone-only cancellation with retention tactics cost Vonage a $100M settlement (2022); certified-mail / in-person-only cancellation is alleged in FTC v. Fitness International (LA Fitness) — complaint filed Aug 2025, pending, not a finding. California and NY require online cancellation for online sign-ups.
- Cited
- FTC Act §5
- FTC v. Fitness International
- ROSCA
European Union
Germany §312k BGB (since 1 Jul 2022): online-concluded consumer contracts need a 'Kündigungsbutton'; France 'résiliation en trois clics' (since 1 Jun 2023); Netherlands: cancellation the same way as sign-up; elsewhere hindering cancellation is an aggressive practice under UCPD and UCTD Annex 1(q).
- Cited
- §312k BGB
- UCPD
- UCTD
United Kingdom
CMA principle 4: exiting should be at least as easy as signing up; DMCC Act 2024 unfair-practices rules cover obstructive cancellation now, and the subscription regime will require an 'easy exit' in a single communication.
- Cited
- CMA
- DMCC Act 2024
Russia
From 1 Mar 2026 (376-ФЗ, ст. 16.1 ЗоЗПП) the provider must accept refusal in electronic form and stop charging; ст. 16 п. 2 пп. 13 ЗоЗПП voids clauses limiting how the consumer may exercise rights; Роспотребнадзор nonetheless recommends sending претензии заказным письмом for proof.
- Cited
- 376-ФЗ
- ст. 16 п. 2 пп. 13 ЗоЗПП
- ст. 16.1 ЗоЗПП
Where this has actually happened
Regulator actions, court rulings and the contracts they were fought over.
- FTC v. Vonage ($100M refunds; cancellation only via live retention agent during limited hours, 2022)
- NY AG v. SiriusXM (phone/chat-only cancellation, avg 11.5 min by phone, 578k abandoned calls; suit Dec 2023, settlement 2024)
- FTC v. Fitness International / LA Fitness (in-person during limited weekday hours or certified/registered mail only; Aug 2025)
- FTC v. Care.com ($8.5M; no simple way to cancel paid memberships, 2024)
- Planet Fitness (cancellation historically only in person or by letter; multiple US class actions on continued billing, 2020-2026)
What to do
In order, from the thing that takes a minute to the thing that takes a letter.
- Cancel through whatever channel exists and simultaneously send written notice (email plus tracked letter) stating the effective date
- Record the call reference
- Demand cancellation 'in the same medium' citing ROSCA/CA ARL (US), DMCC/CMA (UK), 376-ФЗ (RU — electronic refusal must be accepted)
- Dispute post-cancellation charges with the card issuer.
Traps that travel with it
Drafters who use one of these usually use several.