Work Out World To Refund Thousands Who Were Wrongfully Charged

BOSTON — Work Out World has agreed to issue thousands of members of the now-defunct Boston Sports Clubs refunds after they were charged for gym memberships without their consent, Attorney General Maura Healey said Tuesday.

Work Out World has agreed to provide full refunds and pay $62,500 in penalties to resolve claims that the gym purchased BSC memberships and charged over 3,100 members without their consent following BSC's closure and bankruptcy during the COVID-19 pandemic, Healey said.

According to the AG's complaint, BSC did not obtain written consent from consumers to transfer their gym memberships to WOW, as required by Massachusetts's Health Club Act. Upon receipt of the memberships, WOW did not confirm that consumers had consented to the transfer.

Massachusetts state laws prohibit the assignment of a contract from one health club to another without the written consent of the buyer.

WOW also sent misleading emails to consumers about their membership status and improperly charged consumers for memberships that they did not agree to, Healey added.

"At a time when consumers were being strung along by BSC, Work Out World created another hassle for consumers by forcing them to either pay for or cancel gym memberships they never signed up for," Healey said. "Today's settlement secures full refunds for thousands of consumers who were impacted by Work Out World's unlawful practices."

The attorney general's office said they first became aware of the membership transfers through an ongoing investigation with BSC.

In November 2020, Healey sued BSC after the company charged consumers for membership dues when the gyms were closed, repeatedly failed to honor consumers' membership cancellation requests, and refused to refund impacted consumers as it originally promised. In March 2021, the AG's Office secured $127,000 in refunds for hundreds of BSC members through the company's bankruptcy process.

Under the terms of the AG's settlement, WOW is required to void any membership contracts obtained from BSC for their Waltham and Canton locations and provide full refunds to any of these consumers who were wrongfully charged membership fees after their accounts were transferred without their consent, according to the statement from the attorney general's office.

Failure to comply with the terms of the settlement could trigger an additional penalty of $62,500, but WOW has already begun to distribute the refunds, and all remaining consumers will be refunded automatically, the AG's office said.

The lawsuit against BSC and the remaining defendants, including New TSI Holdings, Inc. and former CEO Patrick Walsh, remains ongoing, Healey said.

Members with questions about their refunds can contact WOW's Member Services at 781-785-0168 or contact the AG's Office at 617-727-8400.