How to cancel your Planet Fitness contract (2026): notice, fees, and what to do if they keep debiting you

Last checked: 28 October 2026

Who this guide is for

This guide is for anyone in South Africa with a membership at Planet Fitness (planetfitness.co.za), including JustGym where Planet Fitness's own terms say JustGym is covered by the same rules. That includes 12- and 24-month contracts, memberships that have already rolled onto month-to-month, medical-aid and rewards memberships (Discovery Vitality, Momentum Multiply, Bonitas, and similar), and people who think they've already cancelled but still see PF GYMFEE, PF LEVYFEE, or PLANETFS on a bank statement.

It is about the South African chain only. The American Planet Fitness (a different company) publishes a buy-out fee and medical and relocation rules that do not apply here. Do not follow US cancellation advice for a planetfitness.co.za contract.

It explains, in plain language, what Planet Fitness's own published terms say, what the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) adds, and how to use your bank and the ombuds if things go wrong. Every key claim links to a public source so you can check it yourself.

Disclaimer

This is general information, not legal or financial advice. We are not attorneys and we are not linked to Planet Fitness, any bank, or any ombud. Your own signed membership agreement, any campaign terms that applied when you joined, and your bank's rules are what actually govern your situation. Gym terms change, so check the linked sources before you act. If a large amount of money is at stake, or you're facing legal action or a handover to debt collectors, get advice from an attorney, a Legal Aid South Africa office, or the free bodies listed below.

Month-to-month vs fixed-term: what's the difference?

First work out which kind of membership you have. It's on your membership application form, in your joining email, or you can ask your home club or Customer Service.

Sources: Planet Fitness terms and conditions, "Monthly membership fee increase" and "Termination of a membership"; Planet Fitness contact page, "Can I cancel my membership?" and "Can I freeze my membership?"; March 2026 public student campaign, on the same terms page.

Just joined? There's a cooling-off period. The standard terms say you can terminate during the cool-off period, which is five business days of the signature date, with no penalty. Any successful payments are refunded after 21 working days. (Termination of a membership)

⚠️ The standard clause does not say whether the day you signed counts as day one, and it does not say the notice must be in writing. Some campaign terms do require written notice, and some say online joins get longer. The Sanlam Reality and Bonitas Black Friday 2025 terms, still on the terms page, say 5 business days for in-club agreements and 7 days for online agreements, which they attribute to section 16 of the CPA. The March 2026 student campaign instead ties a five-business-day cool-off to section 16, requires written cancellation, and says refunds are processed within 15 business days, less non-refundable fees such as an access tag that is not returned. The current Black Friday terms also require cooling-off notice in writing, and say the access-tag fee is refunded only if the tag is returned. If you joined online or on a named promotion, ask which cooling-off rule applies to your agreement and get the answer in writing. (Campaign clauses on the terms page; Black Friday terms, clauses 7 and 8)

On a medical aid or rewards plan? Cancelling the benefit with Discovery, Momentum, Bonitas, or the scheme does not by itself cancel the gym contract. Partner terms on Planet Fitness's site say that if the partner membership is cancelled or lapses, the discount falls away and you are charged the retail rate for the rest of the contract. You still have to cancel with Planet Fitness. Medical-aid partner memberships cannot be frozen. (Contact page, freeze answer; CompCare and WCMAS clauses on the terms page)

Have dependants or a Buddy Tag? A dependant's free access ends on their 18th birthday. (Club rules, clause 1.16) ⚠️ The published terms do not say that linked dependants are cancelled automatically when you cancel. Name them in your notice. Buddy Tag and Elevate are separate add-ons with their own fees, below.

Exact steps to cancel

1. Find your details. You'll need your membership number, ID number, home club, membership type (fixed-term or already month-to-month, and whether it is a medical-aid or rewards membership), and the bank account the debit order comes off. If you can, find your original contract or joining email so you know the start date and the end of the fixed term.
2. Check your timing.
   • Inside the first 5 business days after you signed: use the cooling-off route and say so in the notice. Ask for the refund of successful payments.
   • Still inside the fixed term: give 20 business days' written notice under section 14 of the CPA, and ask for any early-cancellation penalty in writing, with the calculation. Weekends and public holidays don't count as business days.
   • Fixed term already over: give one calendar month's formal notice. ⚠️ Planet Fitness does not publish a cut-off day. It does not say "by the 20th", the way Virgin Active does. "One full calendar month" usually means notice you send in October only ends the membership at the end of November. Send it as early in the month as you can, and do not treat the membership as ended until they confirm the date.

3. Cancel in writing, and phone as well. Planet Fitness's public FAQ says: if you wish to cancel, contact Customer Service on 0861 496 463. (Contact page) The terms require formal or written notice, but the FAQ does not give an email address or say that reception must stamp a form. A published address for written notice does exist: Planet Fitness's own CompCare benefit terms say month-to-month cancellation is "one full calendar month's written notice (via email to: [email protected])". The Balance medical-scheme benefit guide gives the same email and the same one-calendar-month notice. (CompCare clause on the terms page; Balance Planet Fitness benefit guide)

   Our recommendation: phone 0861 496 463, ask for a reference number, and email [email protected] from the address they have on file. If you can, also hand a copy to your home club and ask them to note the date. ⚠️ We could not find a published list of club cancellation email addresses, or a statement that the CompCare email is the inbox for every membership type. Keep the sent email either way. 4. Ask for written confirmation. Ask for the effective cancellation date, any penalty and how it was calculated, the last debit date, and confirmation that dependants and add-ons (Buddy Tag, Elevate) are included. The contract can only be acted on if they actually receive the notice. If you have not had confirmation within about 5 business days, follow up in writing and quote the reference number. 5. Save everything. Keep the sent email, screenshots, the confirmation, the names of anyone you spoke to, and call reference numbers. You will need these if you have to dispute a debit later. 6. Pay what's legitimately owed up to the cancellation date. Under CPA section 14 you still owe amounts due up to the cancellation date. If you are inside the fixed term, that can include the early-cancellation penalty once it is properly calculated. You keep access until the effective date if your account is in good standing. ⚠️ The terms do not say whether an annual levy that falls inside the notice period is still payable. The levy is a separate debit, equal to one month's fee, usually in July or December, or split across the year. Student and pensioner memberships, and JustGym memberships signed after September 2015, are excluded. (Annual levy on the terms page) 7. Only once cancellation is confirmed, ask your bank to stop (suspend) the mandate for future debits (see below). Don't use this step instead of cancelling.

The contact page lists call-centre hours of 08:00 to 17:00 on weekdays, closed on weekends and public holidays. The same page's chat prompt gives slightly different live hours (07:30 to 18:00, and 17:00 on Fridays). Use the published operating hours as the safer figure. Head office, from the terms-document letterhead and the privacy policy: 6th floor, Atrium on 5th, Sandton City, PO Box 652152, Benmore 2010, tel 011 327 1808. (Contact page; privacy policy, section 16)

Copy-paste cancellation email

To: [email protected]
Subject: Membership cancellation – [Full name], membership no. [number]

Dear Planet Fitness Customer Service,

Please accept this email as my formal written notice to cancel my Planet Fitness membership.

• Full name: [Full name]
• ID number: [ID number]
• Membership number: [number]
• Home club: [club]
• Membership type: [for example, 12-month from DD/MM/YYYY, now month-to-month / Discovery Vitality / JustGym]
• Linked dependants, Buddy Tag, or Elevate to cancel (if any): [names]

[Cooling-off: I signed on DD/MM/YYYY. This notice is within five business days of that date. Please cancel with no penalty and refund every successful payment.]

[Month-to-month, fixed term already over: I give one full calendar month's written notice. Please confirm the last day of membership.]

[Still inside the fixed term: I give 20 business days' written notice, as allowed by section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act. Please cancel with effect from [date 20 business days from today]. If you charge an early cancellation penalty, set out the amount and how it was calculated under regulation 5.]

Please confirm in writing, within 5 business days:

1. that you have received this notice;
2. my effective cancellation date;
3. any final amount due, and if a cancellation fee applies, how it was calculated; and
4. that no further debit orders will be collected after the final amount.

Kind regards,
[Full name]
[Cell number]

Tip: send it from the email address Planet Fitness has on file, and BCC yourself. Then phone 0861 496 463 and ask them to match the email to your membership.

Fees and notice, explained simply

Month-to-month (fixed term already over): the published terms do not add an early-cancellation penalty if you give one calendar month's formal notice. You should expect to pay for that notice month. Get the effective date confirmed. There is no published "cancel by the 20th and stop at month-end" rule.

Fixed-term, still inside the commitment period: you can cancel. Planet Fitness's standard clause says you "will be liable for an early cancellation penalty." It does not publish a rand amount or a formula such as "two months' fees". Campaign terms describe it as a reasonable penalty under the CPA. The March 2026 student campaign says you may cancel on 20 business days' written notice, and that a reasonable penalty "may apply, calculated in accordance with CPA Regulation 44 and Planet Fitness Business Rules." ⚠️ Regulation 44 is not the cancellation-penalty test. The regulation that lists what makes a penalty "reasonable" is regulation 5. Other Planet Fitness campaigns (the Sanlam Reality and Bonitas Black Friday 2025 terms) do cite regulation 5. The Business Rules, and "clause 3.4" of the membership agreement referred to in the Direct Rewards promo, are not published on the website. Ask for the figure and the calculation in writing, and compare it with regulation 5 below. (Terms page)

Fixed-term, after the commitment period: you are on month-to-month. Give one calendar month's written notice. The standard terms do not mention an early-cancellation fee at that point.

Elevate or Buddy Tag, if you added them: these are optional paid add-ons. If you cancel the add-on during the fixed membership term, a two-month cancellation settlement fee applies. Once the membership is out of its minimum term and running month-to-month, you can cancel the add-on on one full calendar month's written notice, with no settlement fee. That two-month fee is for the add-on, not a published fee for the underlying gym membership. (Elevate and Buddy Tag terms)

Annual fee increase: the monthly fee increases on your membership anniversary at CPI or 10%, whichever is higher. Specified medical-aid benefits increase on 1 January instead. Unless you notify them in writing that you do not want to continue, the membership carries on month-to-month at the increased rate after the fixed term. ⚠️ The standard terms do not give a separate "cancel because of the increase" right. You use the ordinary notice rules above. (Monthly membership fee increase)

Freeze instead of cancelling? The contact page says selective active memberships can be frozen on request by the main member at any time. During the freeze, the member and their dependants have no access. The freeze ends automatically unless you contact them to keep it frozen or to cancel. Medical-aid partner memberships cannot be frozen. ⚠️ Planet Fitness does not publish a freeze fee, a maximum freeze length, or whether fees are still debited while you are frozen. Confirm those three points in writing before you rely on a freeze. ⚠️ We could not find a published clause that lets you cancel early, with no penalty, for illness, injury, or relocation. Do not rely on the American chain's medical or relocation rules. If you have a serious reason, send the documents anyway and ask for a written decision. The CPA penalty rules below are what you use if the fee looks too high.

What the CPA says (section 14, plain English)

Section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act applies to fixed-term agreements with consumers (individuals, and some small businesses).

• You can cancel a fixed-term agreement at any time, for any reason, by giving 20 business days' notice in writing or another recorded form.
• You still owe anything due under the agreement up to the cancellation date.
• The supplier may charge a "reasonable cancellation penalty". Regulation 5(2) lists what decides "reasonable", including how much is still owed, how long the contract was meant to run, how much notice you gave, and normal practice in the industry. Regulation 5(3) says the penalty can't be so big that it cancels out your right to cancel.
• Before a fixed-term agreement ends, the supplier must remind you it's expiring (the Act says between 40 and 80 business days before). Planet Fitness's own terms say they will contact you at least 40 business days before the end. If you do nothing, the agreement continues month-to-month, which you can then cancel.
• The Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (CGSO) has said gym cancellation penalties can reflect discounts or goods you received for signing a long contract. In one dispute it also found that future lost profit shouldn't be built into the penalty. That's an ombud view, not a court ruling, but it's useful if a fee looks excessive.

Sources: CPA Regulations, reg. 5 (via National Consumer Commission); CGSO Advisory Note 12 (2021), section 7.1 "Gyms/Wellness/Health Clubs" (SAFLII); SEESA summary of cancellation-penalty restrictions; CPA plain-language summary (Department of Tourism).

Still being debited? DebiCheck and bank steps

First, a key point: stopping the debit order at your bank does not cancel your contract. Both PASA (the Payments Association of South Africa) and the banks say so. If you only block the debit, Planet Fitness can still treat you as in arrears. So cancel with Planet Fitness first, then deal with the bank.

On a statement, Planet Fitness says the abbreviated names are PF GYMFEE, PF LEVYFEE, and PLANETFS. Debit dates offered at sign-up are the 1st, 15th, and 25th. The contact page says the debit is for that month, not in advance. If a debit fails for lack of funds, Planet Fitness says it may double-debit you on the next month's run, or re-present the instruction when money is available. A second debit is not automatically a mistake. Compare it with your cancellation date before you dispute it. (Contact page, debit-order answer)

1. Check what kind of debit it is. Look in your banking app. A DebiCheck debit is one you approved electronically. Older debits may be EFT or registered mandate debits.

2. Go to Planet Fitness first. PASA advises taking an incorrect debit up with the company that took the money before going to your bank. Send your cancellation confirmation and ask for a refund of anything taken after your effective cancellation date.

3. Stop future debits. Once you've cancelled, ask your bank (app, branch, or call centre) to suspend/stop the mandate. For DebiCheck, banks like Capitec say you can suspend the mandate to stop future collections.

4. Dispute a wrong debit, and watch the 60-day limit. Since 13 April 2026, the time you have to dispute a debit order is 60 calendar days from the day after the debit went off. Before that it was a much longer window. This applies to EFT, DebiCheck, and registered-mandate debits (PASA FAQ, April 2026).

• DebiCheck debits can usually only be reversed by the bank if the amount differs from what you approved, it went off on a different date, or it's a re-submitted (representment) collection. A DebiCheck debit that matches your approved mandate generally can't be reversed just by disputing it. Then it's a dispute with Planet Fitness, and the escalation ladder below applies (FNB/RMB Collections terms, cl. 35; Capitec: types of debit orders).
• Banks warn that disputing a valid debit can have consequences: arrears, handover to debt collectors, and damage to your credit record. Only dispute debits you genuinely believe are wrong.

Sources: PASA Debit Order FAQ; PASA Debit Order Dispute Enhancements FAQ (2026); FNB DebiCheck FAQ; Capitec.

Escalation ladder

Work up the ladder one step at a time, and keep copies of everything.

1. Customer Service and your home club, in writing. Phone 0861 496 463, then email [email protected]. Restate your cancellation date and what you want, for example "refund R___ debited on DD/MM; confirm no further debits".
2. Head office. 6th floor, Atrium on 5th, Sandton City / PO Box 652152, Benmore 2010 / 011 327 1808. Send the same complaint in writing and attach everything from step 1. The privacy-policy address [email protected] is for personal-information complaints, not the membership cancellation desk.
3. Your bank for the debit itself: suspend the mandate and lodge a dispute within 60 days if it qualifies. If your bank handles it badly, use the bank's own complaints process, then the National Financial Ombud Scheme (NFO): 0860 800 900, [email protected], nfosa.co.za.
4. Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (CGSO) for the contract or cancellation-fee dispute with the gym. It's free and you don't need a lawyer. You must have tried the supplier first. Call 0860 000 272, email [email protected], WhatsApp 081 335 3005, or use the online complaint form via cgso.org.za. The CGSO aims to resolve complaints within 60 business days. Its recommendations aren't binding (CGSO FAQ).
5. National Consumer Commission (NCC) if the CGSO process ends without a resolution: 012 065 1940, [email protected], thencc.org.za/complaints. Note on the form that the matter has already been through the CGSO.
6. Legal help for larger amounts or a debt-collector handover: Legal Aid SA, a university law clinic, or a private attorney.

Related guides

• How to cancel a Virgin Active membership
• Coming soon: Zone Fitness and Viva Gym. Each will follow the same format: what the contract says, how to cancel, and what to do about debit orders.

Sources (last checked 28 October 2026)

• Planet Fitness SA – Terms and conditions (standard termination, fee increase, annual levy, Elevate and Buddy Tag, CompCare email, campaign cooling-off and penalty clauses) — https://www.planetfitness.co.za/terms-conditions/
• Planet Fitness SA – compiled website terms PDF (27 May 2026), including the head-office letterhead — https://www.planetfitness.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/20260527-Website-Terms-and-Conditions.pdf
• Planet Fitness SA – Contact us (cancel, freeze, debit dates, statement names, hours) — https://www.planetfitness.co.za/contact-us/
• Planet Fitness SA – Black Friday terms (cooling-off in writing; fixed term and one calendar month's notice) — https://www.planetfitness.co.za/black-friday-terms-and-conditions/
• Planet Fitness SA – Club rules and regulations (dependant access ends at 18) — https://www.planetfitness.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/A1-Rules-Regulations.pdf
• Planet Fitness SA – Privacy policy (head-office telephone and information officer) — https://www.planetfitness.co.za/privacy-policy/
• Balance – Planet Fitness benefit guide (one calendar month's notice by email) — https://www.balancesa.co.za/wcm/medical-schemes/balance/assets/benefit-guides/planet-fitness-benefit-guide.pdf
• CPA Regulations (reg. 5) via NCC — https://thencc.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/CPA-REGS.pdf
• CPA plain-language summary (Dept. of Tourism) — https://tkp.tourism.gov.za/Page/Legislation/Consumer%20Protection%20Act%2068%20of%202008.pdf
• CGSO Advisory Note 12 (2021) on cancellation penalties — https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACGSO/2021/12.html
• SEESA – Restrictions on cancellation penalties — https://www.seesa.co.za/blog/restrictions-on-cancellation-penalties/
• PASA Debit Order FAQ — https://pasa.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Debit-Order-FAQ.pdf
• PASA Debit Order Dispute Enhancements FAQ (2026) — https://pasa.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/PASA_DODE_FAQ_v3.pdf
• FNB DebiCheck FAQ — https://www.fnb.co.za/downloads/security-center/DebiCheck-FAQ.pdf
• FNB/RMB Collections Terms of Use (DebiCheck disputes, cl. 35) — https://www.online.fnb.co.za/rhelp_0_15/OBE_SA_Downloads/assets/docs/FRB_Collections_Terms_of_Use_SA.pdf
• Capitec – Types of debit orders — https://www.capitecbank.co.za/personal/transact/types-of-debit-orders/
• CGSO – Home / Contact / FAQ — https://www.cgso.org.za/ · https://www.cgso.org.za/contact/ · https://www.cgso.org.za/frequently-asked-questions/
• NCC – Complaints / Contact — https://thencc.org.za/complaints/ · https://thencc.org.za/contact-us/
• National Financial Ombud Scheme – Complaints process — https://nfosa.co.za/complaints-process/