Woman cancels her Anytime Fitness membership. They tell her the 2 free months she earned mean she owes more, but she never signed: ‘is this illegal?’

A woman said she ran into an unexpected obstacle while trying to cancel her Anytime Fitness membership, after a staff member allegedly told her that two free months she had earned pushed her contract’s end date back further than she expected. The woman, who posts under the username @jennerfit on TikTok, said the disagreement escalated to the point where she was reportedly asked to leave the gym’s office.

According to her video, Jenner went to the gym to cancel her two-year contract, which she believed was set to expire on January 8, 2026. She said she had already given the required 30-day notice, comparing the process to giving notice before moving out of an apartment.

Once at the gym, she said a staff member told her that her contract did not actually end until March 8, 2026. She said the employee explained that she had received two free months of membership the previous year for going to the gym at least 16 times in December, and that the gym was now adding those two months to the end of her contract.

Franchise says cancellation terms and fees can vary by location

Jenner said in her TikTok video that she disagreed with the gym’s explanation. “That doesn’t make any sense. So you’re making my lease 2 months longer than it actually says, and I have to pay 2 more months?” she said in the video. Such frustrations with gym cancellations are not unique, like when a man considered faking his death to escape his membership. 

She said she works as a property manager and claimed that extending a contract in this way would typically require written consent from the person signing it. She said she did not sign anything agreeing to pay for two extra months in exchange for the free months.

She said the situation became heated, and that the staff member eventually told her to leave his office and said he no longer wanted to speak with her. She said she had her fiancé on the phone during the exchange to try to help clarify the situation, but the employee reportedly repeated that he had already explained it rather than speaking with her fiancé directly.

“So how am I supposed to cancel my gym membership? And it’s $250 to cancel it. Before your thing. It’s just, it’s just the whole thing. Like, is this illegal? Can somebody tell me?” she asked in the video. Billing disputes can arise from misunderstood perks, like this Planet Fitness member who was shocked to learn what she’d been using. 

The experience described in the TikTok video appears to reflect broader complaints about Anytime Fitness’s cancellation process. In a Reddit thread on r/anytimefitness, several users described difficulty canceling their memberships. One commenter, who said they used to work as a personal trainer at an Anytime Fitness location, claimed that cancellations are often delayed and that members may be required to pay half of their remaining membership cost to cancel.

Another Reddit user who said they previously managed an Anytime Fitness location suggested that members wait until their contract shifts to a month-to-month plan before submitting a 30-day cancellation notice, saying this can help avoid additional fees. A separate commenter, who identified themselves as a current gym manager, said cancellation contracts typically include three clauses for early termination and that the buyout fee is “typically $250.”

The original poster of the Reddit thread said in a comment that when they went into their local branch to ask about canceling, they were told no buyout fee exists at all. According to Anytime Fitness’s website, cancellation policies, including any fees, are outlined in the membership agreement signed at each individual location, since locations are independently owned and operated and may have different terms.

The website also states that members who need to pause their membership due to injury or travel need to contact their home club directly, as freeze policies can differ by location. Membership transfers, however, are described as more standardized. Members may transfer their membership to another location without a transfer fee, as long as the move is more than 10 miles from their previous residence, though monthly dues could change depending on the new location.

In the comments section of the TikTok video, a commenter named Brandon wrote, “There is no fee to cancel that is only if you are still in your contract period which by the time it would be up is when your cancel date would be.” Jenner replied, “In the contact it must say ‘reliable for 24 months’ because the only way to be able to continue to charge me out is if that was within.”

Jenner also wrote in the comments, “At our gym the managers that sit in the office get the cancellation fee. I only know that because I applied, got the roll then back out as soon as I had all the deets, ‘your way to get bonuses’.” Brandon responded, “Yeah regardless I wouldn’t be paying a cancelation fee. I used to work for an anytime fitness and we never charged cancelation fees.”

Another commenter, Kimberley Grace Fit, asked, “That’s so weird. Did you sign anything agreeing to the 2 months? I feel like legally you’d have to sign something to extend the date….” She followed up, “Oh sorry haha commented before the end. I don’t think that’s legal. I would double check. You should have just had the two months free if that’s the promo. Unless it stated they were extending your contract and you signed it.”

Jenner replied, “Like why would I say yes to it even. Then it’s not even two months free… they should change it to two free months at the end of your contract if they want to do it that way.” Kimberley Grace Fit wrote back, “Yeah that seems sketchy. I would be following up at a higher level. I can’t see that being legal. Unless we’re just completely in the dark about something. But two free months doesn’t equal extending a contract…. He’s being shady.”