Via Blogging Guide Unsplash/@lis.kay00 TikTok/@crunchfitness TikTok
A woman relocated to Chicago from Madison, Wis., just a few months after the beginning of her supposedly “no-commitment” Crunch Fitness membership. She tried to cancel the membership but got a strange notification from her bank the next month.
In a video with over 445,000 views, TikToker Lissss (@lis.kay00) says she first tried to cancel in person but soon noticed an extra charge from the gym chain on her bank statement. She called Crunch, and a worker told her it was the annual fee.
The Crunch customer service worker explained that the annual fee can’t be refunded but confirmed that they would cancel her membership. While she was disappointed to lose out on the annual fee, she accepted it and tried to move on.
“So I think I’m done with it, right?” the TikToker continues. “About three months later, I’m going through my bank statements. And I notice that money was taken out of my account all three of those months from Crunch Fitness.”
She says she called them back and demanded a refund for the charges after her cancellation. While she couldn’t get ahold of the manager at first, she says she asked the worker on the phone to relay her concern. Eventually, she got in touch with another manager who claimed they finally canceled her membership.
The TikToker thought the saga was finally over when she checked her bank statements again two months later. She couldn’t believe what she read.
Was Crunch Fitness Still Charging Her?
She saw that, despite three cancellation attempts, Crunch Fitness was still charging her monthly.
She called a fourth time and spoke to an assistant general manager, “Chloe,” who assured her she would cancel her membership. When the TikToker asked for a refund, Chloe told her that she probably couldn’t issue one because the general manager, “Josh,” is an “a——.”
A few days later, Lissss noticed a failed charge on the same card from Crunch Fitness, suggesting that the membership wasn’t canceled after all.
“At this point, I’m pissed. I need to speak to a manager ASAP. The Karen in me was starting to come out,” she says. “‘Cause seven months? My patience is wearing very thin.”
She decided to escalate the issue to corporate and reached out to the Venture Fitness number on the Madison Crunch Fitness website. When she reached a customer service worker, they told her they couldn’t help her because the Crunch Fitness location refused to change the incorrect phone number on the website.
She says she had to get creative and reach out to another nearby Crunch Fitness, which was able to put her in touch with Josh. She says Josh promised to cancel the membership and send her a confirmation email. However, she was unsurprised when they didn’t deliver on their promise.
“Still no f—— email,” she exclaims. “How the f— do I cancel this membership? … Do not get a Crunch Fitness membership.”
Why Is It So Hard To Cancel At Crunch Fitness?
Crunch Fitness is a gym franchise, according to PocketGuard, which means that the cancellation policy may vary by location. This may give managers more flexibility to accept or deny requests for refunds after a failed attempt at canceling.
And Lissss isn’t the only gym-goer to have major frustrations when trying to cancel their membership. Commenters on the r/Hamilton subreddit say they’ve also been charged for months after they thought they canceled the membership.
“They kept charging me for a few months after I cancelled before I noticed. Had to threaten with a chargeback for them to cancel and they still charged another month. Eventually got all money back but was a pain,” one said.
Another shared, “No. It took me 2 years to cancel/stop getting charged. It. Just. Kept. Happening.”
The gym chain has been in legal trouble in the past for similar issues. Some ex-members participated in a class-action lawsuit against Crunch in Pennsylvania for automatically renewing and making changes to memberships without proper warning or consent.
Did Crunch Finally Cancel Her Membership?
In the comments of her viral TikTok, viewers suggested ways to push Crunch Fitness to finally honor the cancellation.
“Every time you cancel ANYTHING, make sure you get a confirmation email. Even if you do it over the phone, ask the employee to send you an email saying it was canceled,” one commented.
“As an accountant for a locally owned gym, you can dispute all these charges with your bank,” a second said. “If you have proof of previously made request to cancel you can have the bank block all payment.”
“As someone that used to work for them.. crunch wont cancel that membership unless you raise HELLLL in person its ridiculous and sad,” another added.
In a follow-up video, Lissss shares that she reported Crunch Fitness to the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
“A day or two after that, the manager or director did reach out to me. He asked me about the whole situation,” she explains. The TikToker happily shares that she finally got her money back.
However, that wasn’t the end of the frustration. A week later, she noticed that there was still a balance on the account.
Luckily, the manager removed the balance when she called back. Since posting her follow-up, the TikToker hasn’t shared any additional charges from Crunch Fitness.
BroBible reached out to Lissss via TikTok direct message and comment and to Crunch Fitness via media contact form for further comment. We will update the story when they reply.
