Make sure that membership or service contract isn't difficult to cancel - KOMO News

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Mary Walsh reviews fine print she missed when she signed a massage membership contract. KOMO photo


When you join a gym, a cosmetic buying club, or any service that calls for a contract, you often must agree to have monthly payments automatically taken from your account.

But, some contracts can make cancelling a challenge when you decide you've had enough.

Mary Walsh thought regular massage therapy would help relieve the debilitating pain that makes it difficult for her to walk, stand, and even sit very long.

"I have back issues, which are pretty extreme," Walsh explained.

She decided to sign up for a six-month wellness membership at Massage Envy.

Massage Envy is national franchise that offers monthly massages and other treatments at special membership rates. Monthly fees are automatically taken from your account. Your unused massages accrue for later use.

Walsh's six-month membership, at $59.99 a month, started last August. The terms called for the agreement to automatically renew and continue after the initial six month period, unless she gave proper cancellation notice.

"I knew in December that I did not want to extend the contract," said Walsh.

So, she called in December and gave notice that she wanted to cancel at the end of her six month term.

She expected her membership to end in February and the payments to stop. But, there was another automatic deduction on her bank statement the next month. She called to find out why.

"They said, 'Oh, you have to cancel in writing, to prevent ongoing debits,' " Walsh explained.

Walsh forgot to read all the fine print in her contract. She said by the time her written cancellation request was finally accepted and processed, she narrowly missed having yet another monthly payment taken from her account.

"I was just under the window," Walsh explained. "Because they have a 10-day processing period."

Consumer law attorney Sheila O'Sullivan said membership and service contracts in general can be laden with traps.

"Cancellation fees are a biggie," said O'Sullivan.

Contracts that call for recurring monthly fees or dues can be especially challenging.

Before you join a gym that calls for a contract with monthly payments, make sure you won't be stuck paying for a facility you can't use due to limited access, questionable equipment or poorly maintained facilities. Those are common complaints.

Before you sign a home security monitoring contract, dial in to that cancellation code so you don't get stuck.

"For example, we had one home security contract that had a provision: if you didn't cancel within 30 days before the end of the contract, it would renew for five years," O'Sullivan said.

"Do research ahead of time," urged Walsh.

It took Walsh nearly three months to get that extra membership payment returned to her bank account. She learned her lesson.

"Read every word of the contract!" stressed Walsh. "Don't do anything in a hurry."

Walsh is not the only one to complain about Massage Envy's cancellation policies. In fact, the company recently settled two class action lawsuits.

The first suit was filed on behalf of former members who were not able to use their accrued, prepaid massages after they cancelled their memberships.

The second class action suit was filed on behalf of current Massage Envy members to make it easier for them to cancel memberships without losing their unused massages.

The settlement for both lawsuits was finally approved in January of this year. Under the settlement, active ME members in good standing as of June 2016 will automatically receive 60 days after cancellation to use or transfer all accrued unused massages.

The settlement provides for people who cancelled their ME memberships between March 7, 2015 and June 30, 2016 to submit reinstatement requests to receive their unused massages.

As with all class action cases, the settlement language is quite detailed, so if you think you might be affected, read the entire settlement information very carefully.

Since those lawsuits were settled in January, a third class action suit has been filed, accusing Massage Envy of breach of contract by arbitrarily raises fees.

I contacted Massage Envy, LLC at their corporate headquarters. Their public relations representative responded that Massage Envy declines to comment.


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