Fitness studio membership cancellation problems - Germany

but i thought this was acceptable all along? i mean, i moved from stuttgart to munich, there was no way in h*ll that i would be using my fitness studio contract in stuttgart? was this only ever tolerated?

anyhow, i am canceling with Fitness Company (Fitness First) simply because I am no longer enjoying going to their gym (they closed one location in Mannheim, now remaining, smaller studio is simply too crowded). i sent in the letter (per Einschreiben) on July 2 and today I was told that the letter still has not been picked up. I have until July 15th to cancel (3 months notice). should I send in another letter? do I need a Einschreiben mit Rückshein? is it enough to do this and be protected from trying to f*ck with my membership?

(2 years later Elf says) no, but it probably could be put into life in germany since not really specific to munich.

Go to the dingy, cramped one and hand the letter over. Have the flunkey behind the counter sign a receipt - legibly. Take a witness along.

Wow, I can't believe FitCom hasn't put their act together after all these years. The internet is full of warnings by people (including myself) not to join them. I was very tempted to forget the problems years ago and join Fitness First again this year, as there is a beautiful Hilton pool they operate not far from me. Somehow I managed to stop myself.

I hope you have Rechtschutzversicherung. They "dare" to send Mahnung through their lawyers for the months you think you have already cancelled/paused. It is not easy to leave them.

Pay any outstanding fees until the end of the membership up front and immediately revoke their direct debit privilege.

Right, my gym has changed the terms of my contract - I had a "global contract" for use in any of their studios worldwide via a corporate deal.
Tonight I try and use another branch and am told that my contract is now a "home branch only" one.

I have received no letter to inform me of this change.

If they refuse to give me back my global contract as errr contracted, can I make use of the Sonderkündigungsrecht (immediate get-out clause) under § 314 BGB?
And should I best do this is writing via registered letter (I hate phoning people, even to shout at them)? Thanks.
My contract is monthly, no fixed term (at least it was in the contract, but seeing as they are ignoring that anyway...).

Phoning or shouting out never helped me really. Because the problem is usually you can't find the right person who can handle your request, these gyms have many sales personnel but almost no customer service personnel. Accounting usually some guy in the back office, probably swamped under all complaints.
I would suggest the registered letter and also going to a lawyer. If it is Fitness Company (or Fitness First as their new name) it is a nightmare to leave them.
Good luck!

It's the nightmare people. I'm going to check if this is a change to all of our corporate contracts too...

By unilaterally changing the contract and reneging on an important feature you could consider this as the offer of a new contract that you do not have to accept. I have done a quick search but couldn't find anything about Wegfall einer zugesicherten Eigenschaft that does not have to do with rental property. You could still go down that road. I think that a quick legal consult with a professional is the best next step, it won't cost you an arm and a leg and will spare you tons of agro. If you have a direct debit cancel it immediately.

As one of the few people who has actually successfully managed to get a written cancellation out of a certain gym chain, here's a tip:

This is good advice.
What is even better is to take 2 identical copies of your letter, get the receptionist to date stamp and countersign them and give you your copy.
Leave and go to your nearest post office.
Photocopy the countersigned and stamped letter and enclose the photocopy with another cancellation letter addressed to HQ (which refers to the branch copy) and send this registered with delivery receipt to HQ.
You have now successfully avoided some of the ways certain companies will try and dodge your letter. Yes it is effort, but with contracts: only believe the paper.