Page 79 - The Connections Bernards-Ridge Edition February, 2013

FEBRUARY 2013 THE BERNARDS-RIDGE CONNECTION PAGE 79
DIS ABATO &
BOUCKENOOGHE LLC
-ATTORNEYS AT LAW-
4 H ILLTOP ROAD
MENDHAM, NEW JERSEY
07945
973.813.2525
www.disabatolaw.com
DON’T LEAVE YOUR WALLET AT THE GYM
By: David J. DiSabato, Esq., DiSabato & Bouckenooghe LLC
If you think cutting back on carbs is
tough, just try quitting your gym! Every
year, countless people resolve to join a
health club and to get in shape. Six
months later, though, nearly fifty-percent
have abandoned their goals and walked
away from their membership contracts.
Way back in the “Pump You Up!” days
of the 1980s, health club membership
contracts were notoriously onerous and
almost impossible to escape. Luckily for
New Jersey residents, our State now has
some strong, consumer-friendly laws that
regulate health club contracts and pro-
tect well-intentioned gym goers. Here’s
what you should know about health club
contracts:
First, there’s no longer any such thing as
a “lifetime” contract. Since the enact-
ment of the New Jersey Health Club
Services Act in 1987, gyms cannot sell
you a contract that obligates you for
more than three years. There are still a
few so-called “lifetime” contracts that
pre-date the law, but they’re rarer than
an old vibrating belt machine these days.
This is particularly true after the mass sale
of Bally fitness centers to LA Fitness in
2011, which left so many Bally lifetime
members out in the cold.
Second, you have three days to consider
and cancel your new gym contract if you
want to. New Jersey law provides an
unqualified three-day right of rescission
for health club contracts. This means
that, even after you sign the contract and
go home, you still have three days to
cancel it without penalty. You must can-
cel in writing and there are some other
hoops to jump through, but the process
must be disclosed in the contract itself.
This right of rescission allows you to go
home and sleep on your decision for a
few days, which is never a bad idea.
Third, if you move away from your health
club, you may be able to cancel the con-
tract. New Jersey law allows you to cancel
your membership if you change your per-
manent residence to a location more than
25 miles away from the gym or an affili-
ated gym. If you do move, ask your home
club for a directory of affiliated facilities. If
there isn’t one within 25 miles of your
new residence, you’ll be entitled to a pro-
rated refund of the contract price. This is
something college kids and recent grads
should keep in mind as they’re moving
around. There’s no sense paying for a
gym that you’re no longer near.
Finally, if your health club closes for thir-
ty days or more, you can either extend
your contract at no charge or opt for a
prorated refund of the lost time. This part
of the law could have been important to
those Bally members whose facilities
unceremoniously closed early last year in
connection with the sale to LA Fitness.
They didn’t get much of a workout star-
ing through the window at an empty
gym, and they could have used their
refunds to join new clubs.
If your resolutions this year included join-
ing a gym, good luck to you! If you’re still
there after a few months, you’ve already
beaten the odds, so keep up the good
work! If, on the other hand, you’ve
walked away from your dreams of having
six-pack abs worthy of “Jersey Shore,”
don’t also walk away from your rights
under your membership contract. And
remember…there’s always next year!
DiSabato & Bouckenooghe LLC is a con-
sumer protection law firm located in
Mendham, New Jersey. For questions or to
learn more, go to www.disabatolaw.com.
www.theconnectionsnj.com