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Committee backs bill to clarify electronic opt-in for fitness-club automatic renewals
Summary
A Senate committee approved an amendment and favorably reported legislation that would require fitness facilities to obtain an explicit customer opt-in for automatic renewals and to disclose the electronic notification methods (email, text, portal).
A bill aimed at reducing surprise automatic renewals for fitness-club contracts won committee approval after sponsors added clarifying language about what counts as an "electronic" notice and emphasized customer choice.
Committee staff and sponsor described the measure as aligning South Carolina with other states by requiring the customer to opt in to automatic renewal at the time the contract is executed and to have the contract clearly identify how electronic notices will be delivered (portal, email or text). The amendment clarifies that the opt-in provision must explicitly state the electronic communication mode and that the customer—not the facility—chooses whether to receive electronic notice.
Senators offered real-world anecdotes about difficulty cancelling subscriptions and discussed consumer-protection considerations; Consumer Affairs representatives had testified previously in hearings. The committee adopted the amendment and voted to report the bill favorably as amended.
Next step: the bill advances out of committee; sponsors signaled they will continue to refine definitions for clarity.
