At some gyms, life stops but bills don’t

Shuttered facilities’ policies vary widely

If you’re among the countless

Las Vegans suddenly working from home, there’s a good chance the most exercise you’re getting is walking back and forth to the refrigerator.

You may not be thinking about your health club, but it’s thinking about you.

According to a survey of their websites, most of the major local fitness centers aren’t charging members while they’re closed. What this means to your membership once things return to normal, though, varies from club to club. And that could be important, especially if you’ve suffered a major life change such as unemployment.

Members of 24 Hour Fitness have slammed the chain on social media for continuing to bill its customers despite closing all of its clubs March 16.

According to a letter from CEO

Tony Ueber, “(W)e will suspend all membership billings, including billings for any additional services and fees, effective April 16, if we are

unable to reopen clubs by that time in your area.”

This ensures every member will be billed once during the shutdown. The number of days the clubs are closed will be tacked on to the end of memberships, the letter said. Brenda Labib, a California member, filed a federal lawsuit against the chain with the goal of it becoming a class action.

A survey of some other fitness clubs in the area found that while most are not charging during the shutdown, other policies vary:

At Las Vegas Athletic Clubs, members will receive a credit for dues paid before all nonessential businesses shut down. This goes for what the club says were the “many members” whose monthly payments were processed March 16, the day before the facilities closed.

Life Time Athletic members will have their accounts credited for every day the clubs are closed. Cancellations, which normally must be done in person, can be done via email during the closures. If you were hoping to avoid the 30-day notice, though, you’re out of luck.

EOS Fitness says it has frozen all of its memberships. Members won’t be billed for any days the facilities are closed, and whenever they reopen, dues will be adjusted downward to account for the most recent billing.

Orangetheory Fitness says it automatically suspended membership dues when its studios closed.

If you belong to Anytime Fitness, though, you’ll want to contact your specific club. According to the company’s website, “many” of the clubs are offering to freeze memberships during closures.

Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567. Follow @life_onthecouch on Twitter.