New York Sports Club in Sunnyside (Google Maps)
April 3, 2020 By Allie Griffin
The State Attorney General Letitia James is demanding New York Sports Club (NYSC) to stop charging its members while its gyms are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The gym has continued to charge membership dues and refused to honor cancellation requests — imposing fees and conditions on cancellation and freeze requests even though all gyms closed following Governor Andrew Cuomo’s executive order last month, James said.
James penned a letter, with a multi-state coalition of attorney generals, to the parent company of NYSC demanding that it immediately implement a membership freeze at no cost to members and honor cancellation requests without charging any fees or imposing any conditions.
NYSC’s conduct violates New York’s Health Club Services law, as well as New York’s consumer protection statutes, she said.
“While the closure of all New York Sports Club facilities may have also placed a strain on the company, its financial straits do not relieve NYSC of its obligation to follow the law,” James said in a statement. “New Yorkers have enough to worry about and should not be forced to pay for services NYSC is no longer providing. ”
The sports club must also clearly notify its members of the changes, she said.
“If NYSC refuses to do the right thing voluntarily, I will not hesitate to take every legal step necessary to protect New Yorkers from NYSC’s unlawful conduct and get their money back.”
The Office of the Attorney General urges all NYSC members who have been unlawfully charged dues or fees by NYSC to file a complaint with the office’s Consumer Frauds and Protection Bureau.
