Everybody seems to have a story about the inexplicable charge that keeps appearing on a credit card, or the gym membership that just won't die -- long after motivation to hit the weights has.

But trying to extricate yourself from deals like these can be frustrating, even when you have every right to terminate them. Perhaps the most infamous is the guy trying to cancel his AOL account. But these are more than annoyances; over time, $21.99 a month for a service you no longer use can seriously dent your bank account.

Here's some advice from the experts about how to cancel some of the subscriptions and memberships that have proved to be the most difficult to shed, plus some guerrilla tactics to try if things get ugly.

Cell phone contracts

People have many reasons to drop their cell-phone contract, says Popken: dissatisfaction, finding a much better deal elsewhere, or simply not wanting a phone anymore. But companies make them pay to break the contract, usually to the tune of $175 or $200. That's exorbitant, he says. "It's pretty obvious that that $175 is not to open up space on the airwaves."

But you've signed a contract. You're over a barrel. What can you do? Here are a few ideas:

• Put your contract on the block at Celltradeusa.com. This is a legal online auction for cell phone contracts. "Basically it's an entire transfer of contract," Popken says. The downside, according to Consumerist.com, is that you've got to pay $20 to actually trade, and you sometimes need to offer perks and inducements to lure someone to buy your contract.

• If you're unhappy and you know it … If you're unhappy with the service, says Popken, you could simply tell the carrier that the service is not up to par, which is a legitimate excuse for getting out of the contract. But getting out may take a while. Contact the company and say that if you're not released from your contract because of your dissatisfaction, you'll complain to the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, the Better Business Bureau and the state attorney general's office in the state where the company is incorporated. Then begin to do so, and create a paper trail. Companies don't like that, Popken says. Once, after a goof by his cell phone company and much ensuing argument, Popken finally asked a customer service representative for the address of company headquarters so he could write a complaint. The representative immediately knocked $400 off of his bill, he says.

• Give your phone a vacation. Some users report telling their cell carrier that they were leaving the country for an extended period, and the carrier allowed them to put their cell phone in "vacation" mode for as long as six months -– so they could toss it in a drawer and not use it -- and reduced the monthly fee for that period to just $5 a month (which beats a $200 termination fee).

Then there are what Popken calls "the black-hat workarounds" (as suggested by a former customer service rep for a cell-phone company) that you can employ to get out of that contract without paying that onerous termination fee:

• Die. This one, Popken concedes, requires a bit of commitment. Death will usually get you out of the contract with no penalty. Of course, a company demands a death certificate or death notice.

• Join the military. Actually, even that's not enough. But sending a copy of your deployment orders should do the trick.

• Move (or say you're moving). Tell the company you're moving to a place that doesn't have cell coverage -- "for example, Cambodia," suggests Popken, helpfully. The company will want some kind of documentation of the new address, he says, "But they don't have the means to follow up." (You don't have to be as exotic as Cambodia: Study the coverage map and say you're moving there.)

Escape from AOL

Amazingly, it's all but impossible to cancel your account online using AOL, say Taylor and others. (Taylor relates his experience here.) His path to success? Calling instead -- try 1-800-827-6364 -- and then hanging tough, both in terms of wait time and as someone from AOL asked him repeatedly why he was canceling.

Remember that although AOL has recently announced that it would offer free content, if you've been paying for AOL as your service provider, that won't change.

Gym memberships

• Cozy up to your contract. "No. 1, you want to read over your contract. You want to know what you signed," says Brooke Correia, a spokeswoman for the Boston-based International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, a nonprofit, international industry trade association. The cancellation process should be laid out there. The contract should also say if there's an "exit fee" for breaking the contract.

• Know your state's laws, Part I. In most states, there's a "cooling-off period" in which you can back out of a gym membership, Correia says. "In most states, it's three days," she says. And in some states, such as California, as the cost of a membership rises, the more time you have to reconsider. So a membership that's more than $2,501 can be canceled within 45 days.

• Know the laws, Part II. Consumer-protection laws often allow you to be removed from your contract if you move too far from an affiliated club (in Washington state it's 25 miles), or the gym moves a certain distance away (10 miles), or you're incapacitated for a prolonged period.

• Cancel in writing. Even if the gym says you can do it in person, put it in writing. And do it with 30 days notice, if possible. Keep a copy of the letter.

• Pay more, lessen the headache. Consider paying a little more for a month-to-month membership. "Most clubs offer them now, and it really gives you a lot of freedom to decide on your own time, 'Well, this isn't the right place for me,'" Correia says.

• Be responsible. Stories abound on the Web of clients having such frustrating gym-cancellation experiences that they simply close their bank accounts or cancel their credit cards to deprive the gym of money. That only invites trouble down the line: debt collectors and a besmirched credit rating. At some point, recognize that you signed a contract. Deal with the problem.

That mysterious recurring charge

"The most annoying charges that Complaints.com consumers post complaints about are charges that they don't even recognize, which are worse on the frustration scale generally than having trouble canceling a service that at least a consumer knows he signed up for," says Matthew Smith, president of the consumer Web site.

For example, the top two frustrating mystery charges, according to Smith's site, are "BAC TRAVELADV" and "TWX."

The first is actually Travelers Advantage, a travel savings and convenience program affiliated with Bank of America. It is an opt-in program, a spokeswoman said, so that people who have been billed for it "somehow or other agreed to try it out; these things don't just magically appear." If you've enrolled and didn't mean to, or you don't want the membership to continue, there should be a toll-free number for Travelers Advantage on your credit card statement. Or e-mail the company and explain that you'd like to terminate your membership.

An AOL*TWX designation (TWX is the stock ticker symbol for AOL parent Time Warner) doesn't offer much insight into what the charge is for, since Time Warner offers many services, said a spokeswoman. Customers with questions can call (800) 827-6364.

Often what happens with these curious charges, says Sheila Adkins, director of public affairs for the Council of Better Business Bureaus, is that consumers sign up for free trial memberships -- a service, a magazine -- that then become full-fledged subscriptions if consumers don't explicitly cancel them. "They're banking on most consumers not remembering to tell them," Adkins says of the companies.

Amazingly, even if you haven't given these companies your financial info, sometimes they can get your credit card number anyway from another company that sells its mailing list. "Then in that case, if you don't respond, they could start charging your credit card account," she says. "I'm not sure if it's legal in all states, but it's done."

What do you do if you see one of these mysterious charges, or some other charge you don't recognize, on your bill?

• Identify the culprit. First, type the acronym into a search engine and find out what it is, suggests Complaints.com's Smith.

• Start calling. Next, contact both the company in question and your credit card company. If the charge smells funny, "Contact your credit card company to dispute your charges," Adkins advises. "Most credit card companies will give you 60 days to dispute the charges." A company then must provide some proof that you've agreed to this charge, either through a receipt or a contract you've signed.

• Stop the problem. Also, contact the company to find out when you signed up for the service or membership and try to cancel the subscription. "Get beyond the first person on the phone, if you can," Adkins advises.

Getting Satisfaction

• Use honey, not vinegar. "Be nice, be personable. Just talk about the facts," says Complaints.com's Smith. "Talk about your relationship to their product -- have you enjoyed using it, have you not enjoyed it, or not using it."

• Get a name and a number. A good habit to get in, when calling to address a grievance, is to get a name and a "case number" or "file number" as soon as possible. Say that you simply want the representative's name so that you can speak to him/her again, if you get disconnected, says Lorna Rankin, of GetHuman.com, a Web site dedicated to helping consumers with problems reach human beings at companies.

• Aim high. If you're not getting the satisfaction you want, politely but firmly ask to speak to a Level II or Tier II supervisor, Rankin advises. "Sometimes when you ask to speak to a supervisor, they won't let you," she says. If that happens, challenge them on that denial. They'll often back off, she says.

• An ounce of prevention … Finally, remember that the best way out of a snafu is not to get into one. Don't sign up for what you don't understand. Know that there's no free lunch. And read any contract's fine print. People "hate the fine print, but that's where all the details are," says the Better Business Bureaus' Adkins.