Maggie Lu uses a Peloton Tread treadmill during CES 2018 at the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 11, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Ethan Miller | Getty Images
Some Peloton customers are outraged after the company disabled a free run setting on its high-end treadmill, forcing users to pay an additional monthly membership fee, according to reports on social media.
Previously, individuals who had spent more than $ 4,000 on the Peloton Tread + treadmill could select a Just Run setting and exercise without accessing Peloton’s digital exercise content. But after a recent security update, the Just Run feature is gone, several users said on Twitter after receiving an email notification from the company.
Now, Peloton users must pay a monthly membership fee of $ 39 to use their treadmills. And some customers are threatening legal action, Business Insider reports separately, frustrated by the additional fees.
A Peloton spokesperson told CNBC that the company will waive membership fees for all Tread + owners for three months as it works on another update that will bring back the Just Run feature.
The change to the Peloton treadmill settings comes after both versions were recalled in May for security reasons. The company recently announced that it would roll out an automatic software update on the Tread and Tread + machines already on the market that would add a safety lockout feature.
“We understand this is an inconvenience for some and are working on updates to Tread Lock that will allow us to make Tread Lock and Just Run available without a Peloton membership,” the Peloton spokesman said in an email sent statement.
As more consumers leave home and return to an office or the gym, Peloton is changing its approach to reaching new customers. The New York-based company announced Tuesday the launch of a corporate wellness offering that offers affiliate employees subsidized memberships and discounts on devices. Peloton is also reportedly working on a wristband that will measure users’ heart rate in order to bring it to the wearables market.
After rising more than 400% in 2020, Peloton stock is down about 22% since the start of the year.