Section 358-I:5 Length of Membership Contract; Automatic Renewal Prohibited; Required Membership Options.
I. No term contract for health club services shall be for a term of more than one year, nor shall any health club term contract contain an automatic renewal clause for a period greater than one month. A contract may provide for a renewal option for continued membership, but any such renewal must be accepted in writing by a buyer and is effective only upon payment of the renewal price. Under no circumstances may a contract for health club services be renewed more than 90 days before the contract's expiration date. The annualized price of the buyer's first term contract or membership option with a seller may not exceed the annualized price of any subsequent term contract or other membership option with the seller by more than 25 percent.
II. Every seller shall offer a month-to-month membership option in addition to any other term contract the seller elects to offer. The availability of month-to-month memberships shall be stated in any written or broadcast advertisement or posting or marketing materials that describe any other membership option the seller offers. No seller shall limit the availability of month-to-month memberships in any manner in which the seller does not also limit the availability of any term contract; nor may a seller accept payment from a buyer or enter into a term contract unless and until the seller has informed the buyer both orally and in writing of the availability of the month-to-month membership. Month-to-month memberships shall offer the same access to health club facilities and services that term contracts offer. A buyer may cancel a month-to-month membership option with 30 days written notice to the seller, provided the original contract obligations have been met, for any reason, and have no further obligation to the seller. The provisions of this paragraph shall apply to a university, college, or educational institution to the extent that it offers health club services to the general public, but shall not apply to a university, college, or educational institution in its offer of health club services to its student body.
III. The annualized price of a month-to-month membership shall not exceed the annualized price of any term contract the seller offers by more than 25 percent.
Source. 1983, 438:1. 1987, 397:8. 1998, 305:7. 2003, 87:2, eff. July 29, 2003.