Notice periods and automatic renewal of memberships
A membership that rolls on automatically after a year is convenient for a gym and a familiar source of irritation for a consumer. Dutch legislation is clear about it: a membership may well roll on tacitly, but a consumer must then be able to end it at short notice.
That hits your system directly, because it decides how you set up your membership types, what goes into your terms and conditions and how you handle cancellation. Below is the outline, plus what to do with it in practice. This is general information and no substitute for legal advice; always have your terms reviewed by somebody who specialises in them.
In short
- An initial contract period of a year is allowed; you may fix that period.
- If it then rolls on tacitly, a notice period of at most one month applies as a rule.
- If somebody could sign up online, cancelling should be possible online too.
- Fix this in your membership types, so your system enforces it rather than your front desk staff.
What the rules say in outline
You may agree an initial period with a consumer, in the fitness sector usually a year. During that period somebody is committed, and that is exactly what justifies an annual membership with a lower monthly price.
If the membership then renews tacitly, its character changes. From that point a consumer must be able to end it with a notice period no longer than a month. A second fixed annual period that quietly follows on will not hold up.
Alongside that runs the idea that cancelling should be as easy as signing up. If somebody joined online in three clicks, a registered letter is no fair counterpart.
What that means for your membership types
In practice it comes down to having two phases in one membership. Phase one is the fixed period at the price you charge for it. Phase two starts as soon as that period ends: the same service, but cancellable monthly.
Many systems only know a term and a notice period, which leaves you tracking that second phase by hand. Make sure your membership type knows the difference itself, or the question of whether somebody is still committed will land at the front desk every time.
Let your system enforce it
The way this goes wrong is familiar: a member emails that they want to stop, somebody writes it on a note, and three weeks later the collection runs anyway. Now you have an angry customer, a reversal and an argument you cannot win.
So record cancellation in the same place the collection comes from. In REQUR members cancel in the app or portal, the collection stops on the right date by itself, and your reporting shows how many cancellations came in over a month. That last figure is also your earliest signal that something is shifting.
And your terms and conditions
Your terms have to say the same thing your system does. State the initial period, state what happens afterwards, state the notice period and state the ways somebody can cancel. A term that is stricter than what is allowed can be set aside as unreasonable, and then you fall back on the statutory rule.
While you are at it, review your freeze policy and your clause on passing reversal costs on. Those are the two other places where terms and practice tend to drift apart in this sector.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. An initial fixed period of a year is allowed and is the basis for the lower monthly price you charge for it. The point is what happens afterwards: a tacit renewal has to stay cancellable at short notice.
As a rule at most one month. A longer period after tacit renewal will not hold up against a consumer. Have your exact wording reviewed by a lawyer, because the details depend on your contract form.
If somebody could sign up online, cancelling should be possible online too. In REQUR members do that in the app or portal and the collection stops automatically on the right date, so no more notes at the front desk.
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