Talk about practicing in frustration. One of the easiest things to acquire in life is also one of the most difficult to get rid of. It’s a gym membership. When a North Shore woman’s teenage son signed up for a gym membership when a new gym opened and found out he couldn’t cancel, he turned to Newscenter 5 for help. Danvers resident Jennifer (who asked us not to use her last name because she also owns a business on the North Shore) said all she had to do was cancel her $10-a-month gym membership because her son dropped out of school. He says he spent countless hours on it. What’s going on at university. But it was hard work. “Too much work. Too much work,” she said. “Their contract says you show up with a letter, and that’s what we did.” Last summer, Jennifer’s son attended Crunch Fitness, a new gym opening in Danvers. I registered. As a perk of signing up before it opened, I was supposed to get a $9.99 monthly membership. “I was expecting $9.99, but I was charged $17.99 (per month),” Jennifer said. “So I noticed the discrepancy right away.” The discrepancy continued on her monthly credit card statement, with several different names on the bill, including “20128 Crunch Danvers” and “ABC Crunch Fitness.” It was attached. Jennifer turned to her soon-to-be 18-year-old son to find a solution. After talking with his manager, he secured $9.99 a month, but returned on a one-year contract. “That was a little frustrating,” she said. “He didn’t understand that you were locked up until February of 2025. You’re going to college in the summer.” Massachusetts has strong health club membership laws. Yes, it was this law that caused a Boston sports club to be sued by the state. Pandemic. In 2020, the chain closed and staff were laid off, but it still continued to charge members and made cancellations impossible. State law provides many rights to cancel, including if the gym closes or, as in Jennifer’s son’s case, moves more than 40 miles from a company-operated gym. In this case, he attended school in Vermont, far from Crunch Fitness’s base. As per my contract, I tried to write a letter to the manager of Danvers Gym, but was told that no one would receive it because he was away. “I was asked to come back and see the manager,” Jennifer said. “It was the end of the month. He wanted it to be submitted in July before he left for school. The contract also said he could mail the letter, so that’s what they did. “But suddenly I was presented with a collection notice. I received a collection notice in the mail for an unusual amount that didn’t cover the entire contract period,” Jennifer said. “Why would you go to collection without even picking up the phone to try to contact them? ‘Hey, you canceled your membership. I have a question for you.'” News Center 5 reporter Ben Simoneau said. When Danvers showed up at the Crunch, a man named Scott identified himself as the manager. Suddenly, canceling seems much easier. He promised to address the issue, and Jennifer’s son’s membership was eventually revoked. Crunch has received a number of complaints with the Better Business Bureau, some of which relate to the difficulty of canceling. One person wrote: “Despite calling and emailing, it’s very difficult to cancel my membership.” Another posted: “I tried to cancel my membership and no one answered the phone.” “If this is what is happening and we are the only one, hundreds of others… What’s going on?” Jennifer said. NewsCenter 5 reached out to Fitness Holdings Northeast LLC, the ownership group behind this Crunch location, but they did not respond to requests for comment.
Danvers, Massachusetts —
Talk about practicing in frustration. One of the easiest things to acquire in life is also one of the most difficult to get rid of. It’s a gym membership.
When a North Shore woman’s teenage son signed up for a gym membership when a new gym opened and found out he couldn’t cancel, he turned to Newscenter 5 for help.
Danvers resident Jennifer (who asked us not to use her last name because she also owns a business on the North Shore) said all she had to do was cancel her $10-a-month gym membership because her son dropped out of school. He says he spent countless hours on it. What’s going on at university. But it was a lot of work.
“Too much work. Too much work,” she said. “Their contract says you show up with a letter, and that’s what we did.”
Last summer, Jennifer’s son signed up for Crunch Fitness, a new gym opening in Danvers. As a bonus for signing up before it opened, I was supposed to get a $9.99/month membership.
“I was expecting $9.99, but I was charged $17.99 (per month),” Jennifer said. So I noticed the contradiction right away.
Discrepancies continued on her monthly credit card statement, with the charges bearing several different names, including “20128 Crunch Danvers” and “ABC Crunch Fitness.” Jennifer turned to her soon-to-be 18-year-old son to find a solution. After consulting with his manager, he secured $9.99 per month, but returned on a one-year contract.
“I was a little frustrated by that,” she said. “He didn’t understand that you were locked up until February 2025. You’re going to college in the summer.”
Massachusetts has strict health club membership laws, which led to a Boston health club being sued by the state during the pandemic. In 2020, the chain closed and staff were laid off, but it still continued to charge members and made cancellations impossible.
State law provides many rights to cancel, including if the gym closes or, as in Jennifer’s son’s case, moves more than 40 miles from a company-operated gym. In this case, he attended school in Vermont, far from Crunch Fitness’s base. Pursuant to his contract, he attempted to deliver the letter to the manager of the Danvers gym, but was told that he was away and no one would receive it.
“He was told he needed to come back and meet with his manager,” Jennifer said. “It was the end of the month. He wanted to submit it in July before leaving for school.”
The contract also stated that I could send a letter by mail, so when I did that, I suddenly received a demand letter.
“I received a collection notice in the mail for an unusual amount of money. It’s not enough to cover the entire term of the contract,” Jennifer said. “Why would you go to collections and try to contact them instead of answering the phone? ‘Hey, you canceled your membership. I have a question.'”
When NewsCenter 5 reporter Ben Simoneau showed up to Danvers’ Crunch, a man named Scott identified himself as his manager. Suddenly, canceling seems much easier. He promised to address the issue, and Jennifer’s son’s membership was eventually revoked.
Crunch has received a number of complaints with the Better Business Bureau, some of which relate to the difficulty of canceling. One person wrote: “Despite calling and emailing, it’s very difficult to cancel my membership.” “I tried to cancel my membership but no one answered the phone,” another posted.
“If this is happening and we’re just one case, what’s happening to hundreds of other people?” Jennifer said.
NewsCenter 5 reached out to Fitness Holdings Northeast LLC, the ownership group behind this Crunch location, but it did not respond to a request for comment.
