A new Illinois law going into effect in the new year will make it easier for residents to cancel unwanted gym memberships.
Under the terms of HB 4911, which passed the legislature over the summer, Illinois residents who have gym memberships will no longer be required to cancel them in-person or via regular mail.
Instead, residents will be allowed to cancel their memberships either via email or via their gym’s website, according to Illinois State Sen. Javier Cervantes.
“This will prevent automatically renewing payments from sticking with consumers after they have moved and may no longer use the service,” he said in a press release. “We want to modernize business practices and give residents an easier way to cancel their gym subscriptions.”
The bill also codified rules requiring gyms to adhere to the terms of the Automatic Contract Renewal Act, which ensures more transparency with services that feature automatic renewal, according to Cervantes’ office.
An amendment to HB 4911 also made a tweak to how memberships are canceled via mail, changing the practice to certified or registered mail rather than just being delivered. In this fashion, those canceling memberships can be notified when their cancellation has been received.
The bill isn’t the only piece of legislation designed to help consumers with automatically renewing memberships. SB 2764 requires businesses in Illinois to notify customers at least three days prior to an automatic renewal that occurs after a free trial period of 15 days or more, a bill designed to give customers more advance notice of renewals that occur after lengthy free trials.
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Those notifications, according to the bill, must come via the "method in which the consumer is accustomed to interacting with the person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation."
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