Consumer Law Group, LLC

Looking to get into shape?  Many health clubs and spas entice new members with advertisements featuring impossible bodies, the message being that you, too, can look like this if only you join.  While many people regularly use and enjoy these facilities, many others have written to the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Consumer Protection with complaints.

Among the most frequent complaints are high pressure sales tactics, misrepresentations about facilities and services, and health clubs that go out of business.  Recognizing the high level of complaints, Connecticut’s Legislature has enacted broad protections for consumers entering into health club contracts.  The legislature has also provided the consumer with broad powers should a health club violate these laws.  In some cases, a consumer can recover triple the amount of the contract, attorney’s fees, and punitive damages if a health club commits a violation. 

One would think that the threat of triple damages, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees would be enough to scare health clubs into obeying the law.  In our experience, though, many health club contracts fail to comply with state law requirements.  Among the major requirements of the laws that may be ignored by Health Clubs are:

• The contract must be in writing.
• The contract must state that it may be cancelled within a three day period.
• The contract must provide that the consumer has the right to cancel the contract upon moving more than twenty-five (25) miles from the health club where there is not a comparable health club within that range that will honor the contract.
• The contract must inform the consumer of certain rights in the event of a medical disability.
• The contract may not be written for a period of more than two years.
• If the health club offers contracts for a period in excess of one year, it must also offer contracts for a one year duration.
• The contract must include a list of the equipment and services available at the health club.