Yesterday Boris Johnson announced that all gyms in the UK have been forced to shut as a preventative measure to help stop the spread of coronavirus.
As well as leaving many gym-goers devastated, the move has also left many questioning whether or not they will still be charged for membership, with some asking if they should freeze or cancel their direct debits.
We have looked into what all of the mainstream gyms are saying, and it’s good news for those with memberships, as the majority have vouched to freeze memberships free of charge, and will not be taking further direct debit payments while the ban is in place.
Here’s what each gym is saying about membership costs and what they’re doing during the coronavirus pandemic.
PureGym
PureGym says: “Following government instruction, we have closed our gyms temporarily. There is nothing for you to do as your payments have been stopped. We'll email all members soon with full details.
“We're still here for our members. That's why next week we're bringing you PureGym Home: an exciting range of workouts, on-demand classes and ideas for nutrition and wellbeing through our app.”
The Gym Group
The Gym Group says: “We want to reassure all our members that you won’t pay for your membership whilst your gym is closed. We have frozen all membership payments. There may be a delay for some members whilst their bank processes the freeze request. The value of the remainder of your current monthly subscription will be deducted from the 1st payment taken after we re-open your gym. Whilst the gyms are closed we’re planning to provide our members with exercise content they can use outside or at home.”
David Lloyd
David Lloyd says: “These times are unprecedented and while the club is closed, we will not debit your account with any membership fees from the start of April. Your membership will remain dormant and no further fees will be taken until the Club re-opens. We will find a way to credit you for the remaining days in March and will communicate this detail soon. We know you will have more questions but please bear with us.”
Bannatyne’s
Bannatyne’s says: “In relation to your membership, we will action the following changes on your behalf. You do not need to do anything. We will freeze your membership free of charge with immediate effect and not debit your account further, credit you back with the remaining days from March, when we reopen.
“Anyone who has already paid to freeze their membership, we will credit the amount back to you when we reopen. Annual payers will have the period of closure credited to the end of their membership. Inevitably, there will be a delay in dealing with the volume of queries but be rest assured, we will endeavour to address these, in the shortest possible time frame.”
Virgin Active
Viirgin Active says: “During the time the clubs are closed we will be automatically freezing all Virgin Active memberships at all clubs, with no fee to pay until the clubs re-open. We will automatically reinstate club memberships when the clubs re-open.
“We will credit your membership account with any freeze fees you have already paid relating to the period of closure, and will also credit you with any pro-rata membership fees already paid for the period from 21 to 31 March. This credit will be applied automatically once your club re-opens and your membership is active. There is no need for you to do anything - we will take care of all the administration of this. Your membership will be reinstated when your club re-opens or (if later) when your current freeze period ends.
JD Sports Gym
JD Gyms says: “WE WILL NOT TAKE ANY DIRECT DEBITS DURING THE CLOSURE. There is no need to cancel your Direct Debit, or your membership.
“We are automatically pausing all memberships in bulk, no payments will be taken whilst the gyms are closed. If you have paid recently, you won’t lose out, we will give you back the ‘time owed’ when we re-open.”
DW Sports Fitness
DW Sports Fitness says: “We will not be requesting any direct debit at the end of this month. We will automatically freeze your account free of charge. No direct debits will be taken during the closure period.”
Xercise4Less
Xercise4Less says: "We value your custom and want you to know we are taking swift action to freeze all gym membership payments, meaning you’ll not pay while our gyms are closed."
Total Fitness
No update as of yet.
