Business ProfileforNew York Sports Clubs

On 4/24/2020, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that she has secured commitments from the parent company of New York Sports Clubs (NYSC) and Lucille Roberts to institute a number of policy changes that will provide economic relief to members who were charged dues over the last six weeks, despite a state order that shut down all health clubs and gyms on March 16, 2020 to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). 

Both NYSC and Lucille Roberts have already followed through on a demand by Attorney General James to automatically freeze memberships at no cost to members, and have now pledged to credit members for time the gym is closed, allow members to electronically cancel memberships without penalties or conditions, and resolve all complaints filed with the Office of the Attorney General.

When Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered all gyms and health clubs in New York closed last month, the vast majority responded by freezing memberships at no cost until the clubs reopened, some going even further by promising to automatically credit or refund consumers for days the clubs were closed. NYSC refused to do the same and, instead, continued to charge membership dues — either refusing to honor cancellation and freeze requests or imposing onerous fees and conditions on such requests, even though all clubs were shut down.  

Last month, Attorney General James led a multistate coalition, which also included the attorneys general of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia, in opening an investigation into the billing practices of Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. (TSI) — the parent company of New York Sports Clubs, Lucille Roberts, Philadelphia Sports Clubs, and Washington Sports Clubs, among other health and fitness subsidiaries. On April 3, Attorney General James and the coalition sent TSI a letter demanding immediate changes to its policies, including demanding that TSI implement an automatic and free membership freeze. 

Following extensive negotiations between TSI and the states, TSI has agreed to:

Automatically freeze all New York Sports Clubs and Lucille Roberts memberships, effective as of April 8, 2020, at no cost to members;
Issue credits to members for dues and fees paid for cancellation or freezing of accounts after March 16, 2020, when New York’s executive order directing the closure of health clubs first went into effect;
Honor all cancellation requests submitted by April 30, 2020, without charging cancellation fees or requiring advance notice; and
Contact all consumers who filed complaints with the Office of the Attorney General to resolve those individual complaints.

The states will continue their investigation to ensure TSI honors its commitments and abides by New York’s Health Club Services law and New York’s consumer protection statutes, and to also ensure that the company provides further updates when they become available.

https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2020/attorney-general-james-delivers-financial-relief-new-york-sports-clubs-and

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On 4/03/2020, New York Attorney General Letitia James led a multistate coalition of attorneys general in sending a letter to the parent company of New York Sports Club (NYSC), demanding immediate changes to the unlawful manner in which NYSC has responded to the mandatory closing of gyms and health clubs in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health crisis. 

The letter sent by Attorney General James and a coalition including the attorneys general of Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia to Town Sports International Holdings — the parent company of NYSC, Philadelphia Sports Club, and Washington Sports Club, among other health and fitness subsidiaries — demands that the clubs immediately implement a membership freeze at no cost to members and honor cancellation requests without charging any fees or imposing any conditions (such as advance notice requirements). The letter further demands that the clubs clearly and unambiguously communicate these policies to members.

https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2020/attorney-general-james-demands-new-york-sports-club-stops-ripping-members