The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a lawsuit against the operators of LA Fitness and several other gym chains, alleging that they make it difficult for consumers to cancel their memberships and related services. The FTC is seeking a court order to stop these practices and obtain refunds for affected customers.
Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, stated: “The FTC’s complaint describes a scenario that too many Americans have experienced – a gym membership that seems impossible to cancel. Tens of thousands of LA Fitness customers reported difficulties – cancellation was often restricted to specific times or required speaking to specific managers who were often not present or available. The FTC will not hesitate to act on behalf of consumers when it believes companies are stifling consumers’ ability to choose which recurring charges they want to keep.”
Fitness International, LLC and Fitness & Sports Clubs, LLC operate LA Fitness along with Esporta Fitness, City Sports Club, and Club Studio. These companies manage over 600 locations across the United States with more than 3.7 million members. Membership fees range from $30 to $299 per month depending on the location and services selected.
According to the FTC’s complaint, LA Fitness uses complicated procedures that make cancelling memberships difficult for consumers. Customers must either visit the gym in person or send a cancellation notice by mail. To begin this process online, users are required to log into their account using information such as their original email address, key tag number, and part of their credit card or bank account number—details some may not easily recall.
Even after accessing the necessary forms online, in-person cancellations could only be processed by one specific employee at each club. This limited cancellation hours mainly to times when most people are at work despite clubs being open up to 19 hours daily throughout the week.
For those attempting cancellation by mail, instructions were unclear about what information should be included in written requests or that written notices could substitute for company forms. Additionally, customers were told mailed requests should be sent via certified or registered mail—adding extra costs.
The complaint also states that LA Fitness did not clearly inform members about how they could individually cancel add-on amenities without affecting their main membership; these services could be cancelled by nearly any staff member but this was not made clear.
Instead of addressing complaints about its cancellation process, LA Fitness reportedly trained staff members to reject escalated requests and deny cancellations submitted via phone or email—insisting all cancellations occur either in person with a designated employee or through mail correspondence. Some customers who tried stopping payments through their banks found themselves rebilled under new account numbers.
The FTC alleges these actions violate both the FTC Act and Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA). The Commission voted unanimously (3-0) to file its complaint in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
As noted by the agency: “The Commission files a complaint when it has ‘reason to believe’ that the named defendants are violating or are about to violate the law and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The case will be decided by the court.”
FTC staff attorneys Serena Mosley-Day, Reid Tepfer, and Edward Hynes from its Southwest Region are handling this matter.
The Federal Trade Commission works nationwide promoting competition while protecting consumers from unfair business practices through education efforts and enforcement actions such as this one.
