After a monthlong investigation into fitness clubs, state regulators said Wednesday they found many Boston-area gyms were misrepresenting prices and misleading consumers.
All 15 clubs examined had failed to display membership prices and fees “clearly and conspicuously,” as mandated by state law, according to the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation.
Comments
Here are links to the underlying data from the state Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation.
http://storify.com/stevegarfield/massachusetts-health-clubs-must-post-prices-by-sta
Boston Sports Clubs - all locations - notorious for this, particularly the " disenrollement fees, fines and penalties ". Join at leisure, regret at length.
Bravo to state officials for shining a light on these unfair sleazy practices. Cambridge Atheltic Club should be ashamed. $199 termination fee?! and the clients don't even know about a lot of these charges unless they specifically ask? Sleazy.
My gym was taken over last year by Blast Fitness/Work Out World and it has been turned into a cess pool. Dust bunnies float freely across the floor of the weight room. The showers and bathrooms could probably be designated as EPA disaster sites. On top of that they have established a women's only work-out room in clear violation of state anti-discrimination laws which prohibit unequal facilities for different classes of people. We all pay the same membership fees and yet I have to stand around and wait for a machine to free up while the exact same machine sits a few feet away and I'm not allowed to use it. These laws were put into place to protect women who were once terribly discriminated against by gyms, but men are entitled to the same protections.