D.C.’s Office of the Attorney General is suing the parent company of Washington Sports Clubs, accusing the company of ripping off gym members during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Town Sports International said in April that it would credit gym members accounts during the three months that gym locations were closed under D.C.’s coronavirus restrictions.
Responding to a letter sent by attorneys general in D.C., New York and Pennsylvania, the company had agreed to freeze memberships, credit dues paid while gyms were closed and process requests for cancellations.
But in the new lawsuit, D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine claims that the company has failed to follow through by supplying the promised credits to gym members.
The latest suit comes amid an ongoing lawsuit in the city claiming the company misled members about cancellation policies.
“For the second time, OAG has been forced to file suit against Town Sports International for misleading District consumers about its membership policies,” Racine said in a news release Thursday. “We filed today’s lawsuit to get consumers their money back and the credits they were promised, and to ensure none of them pay for memberships they have canceled.”
Racine encourages gym members to contact banks and credit card companies to stop payments to the company if they’re happening automatically.
If you believe Washington Sports Club has been unlawful with your membership account, you can file a complaint by emailing consumer.protection@dc.gov, or filling out a consumer complaint form online, or by calling (202) 442-9828.
You can see the lawsuit that was filed Thursday on the OAG website.
WTOP has reached out to Town Sports International and is awaiting a response.
