Planet Fitness Keeps Charging Late Fees Even Though My Bank Info Is Correct – Is This Legal?

Yesterday I got a text from Planet Fitness saying my account was past due and to pay now to avoid late fees. When I checked the app, it already showed a $40.50 balance. My normal membership is $25.50, so the $15 late fee had already been added.

My checking account is set up as the primary payment method, and a credit card is listed as backup. I double-checked the routing and account number in the app against my bank app and everything is correct.

I tried calling and got hung up on, so I went into the gym in person. The employee looked over my routing and account number twice and said everything in their system matched what I showed him. He then checked my payment history and said this has apparently happened almost every month except for two months since I’ve had the membership.

The manager came over and after looking at everything told me the issue was that my checking account number ends in “50” and that it “needs to end in 00.” I asked how that makes sense because this same checking account works for all my other automatic payments, including credit cards and my Capital One auto loan. I’ve never had an issue with it anywhere else.

I also asked why, if the primary payment fails, the system wouldn’t just charge the normal $25.50 to the backup card instead of adding a $15 late fee first and then charging $40.50. She didn’t really have an answer. I ended up canceling the membership.

After I posted about this locally, several other people said they’ve had similar issues with late fees being added even though their bank info was correct.

My question is:

Is it legal for a company to repeatedly add late fees like this when the payment information on file is accurate? And if this is happening to a lot of people, would this fall under any kind of unfair billing practice?

Location: Alabama