VetOfTheSeasPlanet Fitness has a "No Commitment" membership, with a Commitment Length and buyout fee.
Schwim DandyI think they take a ton of heat on it and most employees just don’t even try when you come in to cancel. Two out of three PF accounts in our house were canceled at different times and both times, the person behind the counter didn’t ask a single question, just wiped the account and told us to have a great day.
nocturneWhen we canceled, they did not actually cancel. We got a surprise charge while on vacation, which was just enough to nearly drain the account. When I called they said I had to cancel by sending a letter.
I called my bank instead reported the card missing and left it at that. Never heard from PF again.
Wow, I’m really sorry you went through that but it makes me want to suggest using something like privacy.com for future subscriptions and purchases. You can create virtual cards that you can make merchant locked(so if a scammer got the number, they couldn’t run it), one-time use, and with a total or monthly limit. In this case, you could have simply paused or canceled the card you used for of as you were being told you needed to write a letter. I’ve used it for years in this manner and I’ve never paid a dime for the service, their free tier provides everything I need.