Guardian News and Media/London

For those yet to act on a new year’s resolution to join a gym, the best advice may be to sit tight for a few more weeks.

Lengthy contracts with conditions that make it almost impossible to bail out early could be a thing of the past after a crackdown by the Office of Fair Trading.

At the end of what is always the busiest month of the year for gyms, the OFT is expected to announce that it will outlaw contracts that last longer than 12 months or do not contain a get-out clause for members who, for example, lose their job or sustain an injury.

The move follows a year-long investigation into a number of gym chains, believed to include LA Fitness, Fitness First and Bannatyne’s.

The OFT is also understood to be looking at debt collectors that some reports say use aggressive practices in chasing
money owed to gym groups.

“Memberships of gyms and health and fitness clubs soar each January,” said the OFT’s Cavendish Elithorn, who is leading the investigation. “People can initially be enthusiastic about a new fit and healthy lifestyle, but then find they can’t go as often as they’d intended, or their circumstances change.

“We are investigating a number of companies that operate fitness club chains or provide management services to gyms over concerns about unfair terms or business practices. These include tying consumers into lengthy terms with limited rights to cancel should their circumstances change, and using misleading debt collection practices.”

This time last year LA Fitness caused a storm of protest after an article in the Guardian told the story of seven-months-pregnant Hannah, a reader from Billericay in Essex, who wrote to the paper after her husband lost his job, leaving the couple living on benefits.

Hannah and her husband, who were about to move 12 miles away from their nearest gym, had been LA Fitness members for seven years and asked the gym chain to reconsider their two-year contract. But the gym insisted the couple pay the remaining 15 months, a total of £780.

A protest by thousands on Twitter helped persuade the company to back down, and raised further questions about the fairness of long-term gym contracts.

Some gym chains have made changes to their contracts since the investigation started; the OFT warned it will take to court any that do not comply.