New York Sports Club and Lucille Roberts gyms—owned by Town Sports International Holdings—have agreed to demands from New York Attorney General Letitia James to reimburse their members for fees charged during the gym franchise’s closure.
All gyms in New York were ordered closed on March 16th by Governor Andrew Cuomo as part of the effort to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus. NYSC members complained that they were still being charged their membership fees weeks after the closures, with a $15 per-month fee to suspend accounts or a $40 cancellation fee. A class-action lawsuit was also filed against the gym over the charging of fees.
In early April, James sent a letter ordering NYSC to stop charging membership dues. The letter was co-signed by the attorneys general for Pennsylvania, Maryland and the District of Columbia, where TSI runs the Philadelphia and Washington Sports Clubs gyms.
After agreeing to freeze memberships, now NYSC will credit members for all fees charged during the closure of its 53 locations in the city and 25 other locations around the state. James said NYSC must also honor all membership cancellation requests submitted by April 30th, without charging cancellation fees or requiring advance notice. NYSC must also contact all consumers who filed complaints with James's office to resolve those individual complaints. The same terms apply to the nine Lucille Roberts gyms in the city and five locations on Long Island.
“This is putting money back in the pockets of New Yorkers who were being illegally charged for unusable gym memberships,” James said in a release Friday. “The commitments we secured from New York Sports Clubs and Lucille Roberts will ensure that members will not be left paying the bill and lifting the weight for NYSC’s financial straits as long as the gyms remain closed. We hope these automatic payment freezes and credits will provide New Yorkers with financial relief, and we will continue to monitor the company to ensure they comply with every commitment made. We urge all New Yorkers to continue filing complaints with our office against companies seeking to take advantage of or unlawfully profit off the coronavirus public health crisis.”
“Please understand we are doing everything in our power to survive the crisis so that we can rehire our 8,000 team members back when the government provides clearance to reopen and conditions are safe,” Town Sports International Holdings said in a letter posted online April 8th.
