Hi there. If you have a membership with this company it probably means you have signed a contract when you became a member. Contractual terms are binding once you have agreed to them. This means that you are legally obligated to fulfil them. Because of this, you will have to look to the terms of the contract you signed with the company to decide whether you can cancel your membership. Usually with memberships which require you to pay ongoing fees there are penalties involved in cancellation. These penalties might be significant. The circumstances in which you can cancel will be set out in the terms of your contract so it is worth having a close look.

Even though your contract is binding and could involve a penalty for cancellation, there may be circumstances in which you can be released from it without paying onerous fees. In Australia consumers are protected from unfair practices by companies. The law that protects consumers is known as the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). The ACL protects consumers in certain circumstances, including:

• when the contract was entered into as a result of some misrepresentation or unfair pressure on you by the company; or
  
• If the terms of the contract were hidden, unfair or onerous.