Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia

CLose your bank account so they cannot charge you anymore. Then see a lawyer to properly void the contract. As a minor at the time, you may be able to void the contract.

Whatever your age, you have (or should have) learned a valuable lesson in contracts. You don't sign a contract and then think you can just change your mind and think you can get out of it by just telling the other party. The minute you sign, you are generally bound by the contract and its terms. You may or may not have trouble getting out of this one (being 17 is not always a defense), but either way, that will be no excuse in the future.

I know you were a minor when you signed up, but you may have "ratified" the contract by continuing to use it for a few months after you turned 18. However, you will have to have it reviewed by a lawyer to see whether voidability is an option.

I agree with Attorney Ashman. Close your bank account NOW. The next thing you do is read your contract. There are rules in there governing cancellation. Generally, you cannot cancel unless you become medically disabled, move more than so many miles from the gym or the gym closes and there are no gyms in the area which will honor your contract. Georgia may have other grounds - I have not researched the issue lately, but whatever is in the statute and contract will govern,

Gym contracts are ALWAYS a bad idea. Its even worse to let some organization draft funds from your bank account or credit card whenever they feel like it. NO MORE AUTO-DRAFTS. For anything. Forever.

If you can void the contract because you were a minor, then have a lawyer send them a letter to that effect. If the contract is not voidable, then try to settle the debt. I don't know how many months you had left on the contract, but debts can always be settled. One thing to watch for is that the gym may have sold the right to collect to a factoring company and you may have to deal with them, not the gym. Another thing is that you may have to closely read the contract as it might contain an auto-renew clause which means that if not properly cancelled, then the contract will automatically renew. And don't rely on the gum-chewing idiot that signed you up for advice about how to cancel. Read the contract and do what it says - if notice has to be made via certified mail to the corporate office, then do that. Don't just drop off a form at the gym. Many of the gyms are chains and notice has to be made at the corporate office.

I hope that you have indeed learned a valuable but expensive lesson. Before signing any document, read it. If you don't understand it, then see if you can take a copy to a lawyer and pay the lawyer a reasonable fee to look it over. If the company you are dealing with doesn't like it, then run away. You don't want to do business there anyway. Contracts to avoid - cell phone contracts and gym memberships! If you are really interested in fitness at a gym, that's great - but find a place that lets you pay as you go with NO contracts.