Unreasonable condition to cancel gym membership?

Questioner

As of November 8, 2022 (date of signing agreement), I am a member of a gym. I have a membership with unlimited sports, and 1 year membership. This can be cancelled as follows: 'Membership, fixed for 1 year, is entered into with effect from the 1st of the month, date of agreement, for a period of 1 year, with a notice period of 1 month before the end of the agreed year.' Is this a reasonable condition? I have cancelled in writing as of November 25, 2023, but am now stuck with it for another year..... I signed the condition as stated, but if a condition is unreasonable, like this one in my opinion, is it legally valid?

Lawyer

It is understandable that this situation can be frustrating. It appears that this is a fixed-term contract of one year, with a mandatory notice period of one month before the end of that year. From a legal perspective, this is unfortunately often a valid condition. Many gyms and other service-oriented sectors work with similar contracts. According to Dutch law, companies are allowed to offer fixed-term contracts, as long as they clearly communicate the rules and conditions that apply to the contract. However, there are some exceptions where such contracts may be unreasonable or unlawful. This is often the case where the terms of the contract are heavily in favour of the organisation and unfairly disadvantage the consumer. To assess your specific situation, you should consult a lawyer or attorney to review the details of the contract and assess whether it could potentially fall under the definition of "unreasonable terms." Be aware that this may require time, effort, and money. -------------- Stichting Rechtswinkel.nl is a national organization with students and volunteers. The above advice is based on limited information and may be incomplete or even incorrect for your situation. Always consult a lawyer or attorney for your further steps. Read disclaimer: https://rechtswinkel.nl/disclaimer I would like to invite you to rate the above answer so that we can learn from your response.