Washington Sports Club will stop charging membership fees while gyms are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine announced Monday.
The move follows threats of a lawsuit earlier in April if the company didn’t stop charging membership fees during the shutdown of all nonessential businesses.
WSC will credit members for the time gyms have been closed, retroactively freeze memberships as of April 8 and offer free membership cancellations online through its “Contact Us” page, though requests must be submitted by Thursday, April 30.
“We are pleased that members of Washington Sports Club (WSC) are no longer subject to totally unreasonable terms because WSC has now committed to freeze memberships, provide credits, and allow free cancellations,” Racine said in a news release.
“This will help take some financial pressure off District club members during the pandemic and the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) will ensure WSC follows through on its promises. I encourage all District residents who are being treated unfairly by a business to reach out to OAG for help.”
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Racine, along with attorneys general in New York and Pennsylvania, sent a letter in early April to Town Sports International, the parent company of the sports club, demanding it stop charging customers monthly dues and cancellation fees.
“OAG has sued Town Sports International for violating the District’s consumer protection laws in the past, and we are prepared to do so again,” the letter read.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered all gyms and nonessential businesses to close last month.
