Gym joining fees and the law: what UK fitness businesses need to know about drip pricing

If you run a gym or fitness business in the UK, your pricing is in exactly the area the regulator is looking at right now. This is not a hypothetical risk. One of the first companies the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) chose to investigate under its new powers was a gym, specifically over how its joining fee was shown.

Here is what that means for you, in plain English.

Why gyms are in the spotlight

When the CMA launched its first wave of consumer-protection investigations, it opened a case into Gold's Gym. The specific concern: a one-off joining fee for annual membership that was introduced part-way through the sign-up process and was not included in the advertised membership cost. That investigation is still ongoing.

Gyms were not singled out by accident. Government research found that 60% of gym memberships involved some form of drip pricing, one of the highest rates of any sector. The CMA also sent advisory letters to businesses across the gyms and fitness sector, putting them on notice to review their pricing.

So if your membership pricing involves a joining fee, an admin fee, or any charge that appears only once someone starts signing up, this applies directly to you.

What the rule actually says

Since April 2025, the law has been clear. Whenever you invite someone to buy, including the price you advertise for membership, you must show the total price they will pay, including every mandatory charge, from the outset.

The key word is mandatory. A charge is mandatory if a customer cannot become a member without paying it. And the test the CMA applied to the gym case is simple: if the joining fee is something every new member has to pay, it belongs in the advertised price, not revealed later in the sign-up flow.

The charges that catch gyms out

Walk through your own membership sign-up and look for these:

Joining or registration fees. The classic one. If every new member pays it, advertising '£25 a month' without it is a problem when the real first payment is '£25 plus a £30 joining fee'. The joining fee has to be reflected in the price you show upfront.

Admin or maintenance fees. Some gyms charge an annual maintenance or admin fee on top of the monthly price. If it is unavoidable, it is part of the total cost and needs to be disclosed clearly upfront, not buried in the terms.

Minimum-term commitments shown unclearly. If a membership ties someone into a minimum term, the rules expect you to make the full commitment clear. You can show the total monthly price alongside a clear statement of how many months they are committed for, or the total cost across the whole minimum term.

Pre-ticked add-ons. Towel service, class packages, freeze options. If any of these are pre-selected so a member pays unless they untick them, that is not allowed. Extras have to be genuinely optional and actively chosen.

What good looks like

You do not have to hide your fees or absorb them. You just have to show them upfront. A compliant approach is straightforward: when you advertise membership, show the true cost of joining, including the joining fee and any unavoidable charges, so the first number a prospective member sees is honest. If you have a minimum term, say so clearly next to the price.

Being upfront is not just about avoiding a fine. After the AA was fined £4.2 million over a single £3 booking fee, customers are more aware than ever, and a transparent price is increasingly a competitive advantage, not a disadvantage.

How to check your own gym's pricing

Go to your own website as if you were a prospective member signing up. Ask:

Is the joining fee shown in the price I advertise, or does it appear only once someone starts signing up? Are admin or maintenance fees disclosed before the point of sign-up? If there is a minimum term, is it clearly stated next to the price? Are any extras pre-ticked?

If the joining fee only shows up partway through sign-up, that is precisely the practice the CMA is investigating in the gym sector right now.

Check your gym's site in about a minute

Total Price checks your public pricing journey against these exact rules and gives you a plain-English report with a score and the specific issues to fix. For a gym, that means flagging whether your joining fees, admin charges, and membership terms are shown the way the law now requires.

Your first audit is free. Check your gym's website now

This article is general information about UK price-transparency rules, not legal advice. It reflects the CMA's price transparency guidance (CMA209) and publicly announced investigations as of mid-2026. For advice on your specific situation, consult a qualified professional.