Corporate chain 24 Hour Fitness has received an onslaught of angry comments on social media after making it seemingly impossible for members to cancel their contracts during the escalating coronavirus pandemic.

You should be freezing our payments till you guys reopen not extending memberships. What If someone doesn’t have money to pay for it cause they can’t go to work now what? You guys are just gonna start over drafting their accts? That’s not cool!!!! — Meezy Taught You (@TheBoobieWatchr) March 18, 2020

The company has routed phone calls to a recorded message explaining that its call centers have been closed and all inquiries should be done through the company’s website.

24 Hour Fitness has more than 430 clubs in 14 states from California to Texas to New York.


The company has not responded to a request for comment through the gym’s online portal.

Other gyms are allowing member to freeze or cancel their memberships online, such as LA Fitness. Gold’s Gym has told customers through its Facebook page that it’s freezing monthly payments until facilities reopen.

Frustrations started after the company announced on March 16 that its gyms would be closed in response to the outbreak but didn’t give members an option to freeze or cancel payments. Instead, the company said it would “extend” memberships.

“Please be assured that your membership will be extended for the same period that our clubs will be temporarily closed,” CEO Tony Ueber said in a email to members.


It’s unclear exactly how this extension will work, especially for those who pay monthly. The company has responded to complaints on social media with limited explanations, such as this one:

Hi Lola - Monthly members will receive access in the future for the same amount of time the club was closed. For example, for a two-week closure, you would receive two weeks of access in the future. — 24 Hour Fitness (@24hourfitness) March 19, 2020

It’s also unclear to what extent the company is using the membership dues it continues to collect in order to pay workers and how much, if any, of its staff has been laid off.

What is clear is that many gym members would like to see charges to their accounts stop immediately. Efforts to slow the spread of the virus have left many out of work and scrambling to lower their monthly bills.


More than 750 comments have been posted on the company’s Facebook post notifying members of its decision to temporarily close.