Gym and fitness services

If you have taken out a membership in site at the gym, you do not have a statutory right of withdrawal.

If you joined up online, you have a 14-day cooling off period to exercise your right of withdrawal. The 14-day cooling off period starts the day after you sign up, even if you do not start using the membership immediately.

If you change your mind and want to cancel the membership, it is a good idea to inform the gym in writing, for example by e-mail. You will then have a written record that you changed your mind and when.

Exceptions to the right of withdrawal

In some cases, the right of withdrawal does not apply. You have no right of withdrawal if the training service is considered a leisure activity and it is performed on a specific day or during a specific period.

Right of withdrawal

What should I do if the company denies my right of withdrawal

Contact the company, preferably in writing. Keep a copy. Ask the company to explain why you do not have a right of withdrawal. Let the company know if you do not agree.

Gyms may offer memberships either with or without a commitment period. Often you will also have an advance notice requirement to cancel the contract. The notice period and the commitment period must be stated in the terms and conditions of the contract.

Notice of cancellation period

The notice period is the amount of time between when you notify your intention to terminate the contract and when the contract will end. Usually when you want to cancel a membership the notice period ends at the end of a calendar month after the minimum notice period.

Example: You have a two-month notice period and want the membership to end on the last day of February. Therefore, you must cancel it by the end of December. If you cancel the membership on January 15th, you will have to pay for both February and March.

Commitment period

Gyms often offer fixed-term memberships with a commitment period. This means that you will be obligated to pay for your membership for a fixed period of time. You are committed to paying for the full commitment period even if you stop using the membership or move.

Maximum 12 months commitment period

Gyms are allowed to have a maximum of 12 months’ membership commitment period. If you have a contract with a longer commitment period, after 12 months you can ask to terminate the contract. This applies even if the terms and conditions state that the commitment period is longer.

You can choose how you want to cancel your membership. The gym must not require you to cancel your membership in a specific way, for example by phone or in person at the gym.

It is a good idea to cancel the contract in writing, for example by sending an email. This gives you proof that you have cancelled it and when you did so.

You do not have a statutory right to freeze or otherwise suspend your membership, for example, if you become ill, are injured or are going away for a while. However, this may be allowed, depending on what the terms and conditions of membership say.

If there is nothing stated in this regard in the terms and conditions, you can ask for your membership to be frozen, but the company is not obligated to do so. You can always try asking the company anyway.

A company may sometimes change what it offers, for example changes to group training schedules or removing machines. The company is allowed to make minor changes. But if there is a major change that is of great importance to you, you may be entitled to a lower price. In some cases, you may also have the right to terminate the contract.

A major change could be, for example, if several classes that were important to you have been removed, or if machines that the gym promised would be available are taken away.

What should you do if there are major changes?

Contact the company and make a complaint, preferably by email. Explain what you are dissatisfied with and what you want the company to do.

Whether the company can change the price depends on the type of agreement you have.

Do you have a fixed-term contract? Then, as a rule, the company cannot change the price. An exception is if the company provides a valid reason for the change and the reason is stated in the contract terms. If the company does not provide a valid reason, you may have the right to terminate the agreement immediately.

Do you have an indefinite-term contract? Then the company can change the price as long as they inform you about it. They must inform you well in advance before the change, so that you have time to cancel the contract if you want to.

Has the gym announced that they are completely closed? For example, if they close for a few weeks for renovations. Then you should not have to pay for that period.

The gym may also offer the possibility to freeze the membership during the period they are closed. Freezing means that the membership is temporarily paused.

If you freeze a membership during a binding period, the binding period is usually extended by the length of the freezing period. What applies depends on the terms of the membership. Ask the company.

If you do not agree with the gym

Do you have to pay despite the closure? Contact the company and complain, preferably via email. Explain what you are dissatisfied with and what your demands are.

Companies may have the right to automatically extend your contract. However, this must be stated in the contract terms.

The company must remind you in writing about the extension well in advance before you need to cancel the contract. If, after the extension, you can cancel and terminate the contract within 3 months, the company does not need to remind you that the contract will be extended.

Does the company extend the contract even though it is not stated in the terms? Or does the company not remind you in time? Then you have the right to terminate the contract immediately.

Further information about automatic contract extensions

What rules applies if you train online? Can you withdraw from the agreement and what should you do if you are not satisfied? What you are entitled to depends, among other things, on what you and the company have agreed upon and how you entered into the agreement.

Right of withdrawal

If you entered the agreement at a distance, for example through a website or an app, you generally have the right to withdraw. This means you can cancel the agreement within 14 days from the day you entered into it.

However, there are some exceptions where you do not have the right to withdraw:

• Leisure activities that take place on a specific date or during a specific period.
• Services that are fully performed within the withdrawal period. You must have expressly consented to the service starting immediately and accepted that the right of withdrawal ends once the service has been fully performed.
• Digital content, such as the purchase of an app where the content is already completed. You must have been given access to the content and expressly consented to the delivery starting, and accepted that the right of withdrawal is then lost.

Compensation

If you have the right of withdrawal but have already used the service, the company may have the right to charge a reasonable fee. To charge such a fee, they must have provided you with the correct information about the right of withdrawal, and you must have requested that the service begin within the withdrawal period.

Right of withdrawal

Termination of Service

If you do not have the right of withdrawal but want to terminate the service, you need to check what is stated in your agreement. What applies if you want to terminate? Are you bound for a certain period? Do you have a specific notice period?

You can terminate the agreement whenever you want, but you generally need to pay for the time you are bound.

Remember to terminate the agreement in writing, for example via email. Save a copy.

You do not get what you were promised

Do you think the service is not good? What you are entitled to depends on what you and the company have agreed upon.

If you do not get what you were promised, you should request that the company correct the error. If the company cannot do this within a reasonable time, you may instead be entitled to a price reduction or to terminate the agreement.

You may also have the right to terminate the agreement if there are major and serious faults with the service.

Complain in writing, for example via email. Save a copy.

A wellness allowance is an employee benefit received as an amount of money that an employer can offer to its employees to pay for fitness/exercise and other wellness activities. It may be, for instance:

• membership fees in a gym
• joining fees
• fishing permits
• lift passes

The Swedish Tax Agency is the government agency responsible for establishing regulations relating to the wellness allowance.

About the wellness allowance on the Swedish Tax Agency’s website (In Swedish)

Your rights

What rights you have regarding the purchase of health care depends on what is stated in the terms of your agreement. If you make a purchase through a health care provider, it can be seen that it is not you who bought something from the company, but that the agreement is instead between your employer and the company. Then other rules apply and you probably have no right of withdrawal, for example.

Have you paid for a membership you can no longer use? In some cases, you may be able to get a refund for the period you cannot use the gym.

If you have paid via credit

If you have paid using some form of credit, such as a credit card or an invoice, you are protected by the Consumer Credit Act. This means that you can make the same claims against your credit provider or bank as against the company. In that case, contact the credit provider and explain that you want to use your right to object under the Consumer Credit Act.

Right to object

Making claims against the bankruptcy estate

If you have not paid via credit, you can turn to the bankruptcy estate to claim a refund for the period you could not use the gym.

The company’s debts are paid according to a specific order. Some debts are prioritized over others. This means you have limited chances of getting your money back.

If you pay by direct debit

If you pay by direct debit every month, you no longer need to pay. You can contact your bank for help with removing the direct debit.

You can file a complaint with the Swedish National Board for Consumer Disputes (ARN) if you and the company cannot reach an agreement.

ARN will assess your case and then recommend how your dispute should be resolved. Most companies follow ARN’s recommendations.

A typical processing time is about six months.

What does it cost to file a complaint with ARN?

It costs 150 SEK to file a complaint with ARN. In your complaint, you can request that the company reimburses you for the cost if ARN rules in your favour.

Requirements for ARN to review your case

• The company has rejected your claims or has not responded within a reasonable time.
• The amount you and the company disagree on is higher than ARN’s value limit for the area the case concerns. You cannot include the fee for filing a complaint with ARN.
• You file the complaint within one year from the first time you complained to the company.

File a complaint on ARN’s website

Need help with your complaint?

Sometimes the municipal consumer advisor can help you file a complaint with ARN.

Search for a consumer advisor (In Swedish)

Resolve the dispute in court

You can also resolve your dispute with the company in court. You need to pay an application fee and may also need to pay court costs.

If you want to draw attention to incorrect or unfair contract terms, you can submit a report to the Swedish Consumer Agency. For example, you can report if a gym does not inform you about automatic contract renewal or your right of withdrawal. You can also report if the company does not accept the way you want to terminate the contract.

The Swedish Consumer Agency does not help you with your individual case, but reports are important for the agency’s supervisory work. The Swedish Consumer Agency checks that companies comply with the rules and can take action against those that do not.

Submit a report to the Swedish Consumer Agency