D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine has filed a lawsuit against a local sports club for reneging on an agreement to cancel gym membership fees during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Washington Sports Club’s parent company, Town Sports International, which failed to abide by promises made to gym members while its facilities were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has neither issued credits to account holders since reopening in late June, nor processed all membership cancelations.
This violation points to the second consumer protection lawsuit Racine’s office has filed against the company seeking to force the Florida-based TSI to follow through on its agreement to credit consumers and process cancelations, along with civil penalties.
“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 statement “The Office of the Attorney General warned the company that we would take necessary action if it did not honor cancellation requests and address charges billed over the COVID-19 closure period. We filed [Thusday’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.”
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, TSI operated six locations in the District under the WSC name—in Columbia Heights, Connecticut Avenue downtown, DuPont Circle, Gallery Place, Georgetown, and Glover Park.
The Gallery Place and Georgetown locations are now permanently closed.
D.C. Attorney General Sues Sports Club Over Pandemic Billing Practices
