I Was Deceived Into Signing A Contract For Bi-weekly Fitness Coaching.

I am trying to follow rules of the sub but correct me if needed. Location: U.S.

I recently signed up for a gym that has a third party personal training service. The first consult was free so I made an appointment to see how to get started since it has been a long time and I finally managed my anxiety. The trainer as double booked so we rescheduled, he apologized profusely over text so I decided to give it a try again even though I originally saw it as a sign to not do it.

Anyhow, we met and got some numbers down, did a couple of exercises, I cried because of how out of shape I was. The trainer seemed very understanding (I now know that is how they get you). When it came to signing up I was hesitant because the initial quota was $600/month for 3x/week 30 minute sessions. That amount of money could cover almost two car payments so I immediately said no. They "crunched the numbers" and brought it down to $200/month for once a week 30 minute sessions, paid $100 biweekly with a $49 "refundable" down payment fee.

They put it this way: I put down $49 today and sign the contract, if I decide I do not want it I cancel within 3 days and I get my down payment back. Otherwise in two weeks the first $100 will be taken out of my debit card on file.

I felt really bad saying no so I thought it would be no harm in putting the down payment on a debit card and cancelling it later since the guy was so nice to me despite how bad my starting point was. Well, I read the contract they emailed me and it is set to take $100 every two weeks UNTIL SEPTEMBER 2026. I immediately texted the trainer saying I wanted to cancel so they redirected me to the customer service email. The response I got from them was that the cancellation fee was $500 since it was less than 30 days. I texted and called the trainer multiple times with no response now...

I am beyond frustrated with myself, I never want to set foot in a gym again and just die fat for being so stupid. What can I do? I submitted a dispute with my bank stating the service was cancelled and I did not receive it. I am also thinking of closing that debit card, I was planning to anyways but they have my address so I don't know if they are now going to harass me about it. Please help, any advice is well appreciated.