Update, 4/27/20: D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine announced that Washington Sports Club’s parent company will stop charging members while the gyms are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will also credit members for fees they paid while the gyms were closed and honor all cancellation requests submitted by April 30 without charging cancellation fees or requiring advance notice.

Update, 4/9/20: On April 8, 24 days after D.C. closed down all gyms to prevent the spread of coronavirus, Washington Sports Club froze all membership accounts. It alerted members via email that they would be credited with additional days of access equal to the number of days paid for while the clubs were closed. Gym-goers can cancel their memberships by sending a cancellation request via their specific club’s website.

Original:

Jessica Hall has been trying to cancel her membership at Washington Sports Club for a month.

The Montgomery College English teacher decided in early March that she didn’t feel safe going to the gym during the coronavirus outbreak. What ensued was, in her words, “a wild-ass goose chase” to get herself out of her $88-per-month membership contract.

She couldn’t find an option to cancel online, and her multiple emails and calls to specific gym employees and the corporate office went unanswered. When she asked for advice on Facebook, a friend mentioned that the gym, like some others, only accepts in-person cancelations. On its website, the gym says cancelations must begin in person or through certified mail, and suspensions must be requested in person.

But by the time Hall wanted to cancel, Washington Sports Club’s six locations were shut down, along with all other gyms in the city. Washington Sports Club had laid off most of its gym employees, too.

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine’s office has received more than 20 official complaints about Washington Sports Club since the coronavirus outbreak began.

Racine and the attorneys general of New York and Pennsylvania threatened legal action in a letter sent to Washington Sports Club’s parent company, Town Sports International (TSI), on Friday.

The letter demands that TSI stop charging customers monthly dues and cancelation fees during the coronavirus pandemic and cease withholding information about how to cancel memberships. (Read the full letter here.)

“This is a company that comes to the table with some history,” Racine said on Monday as he awaited a formal response from TSI. His office has sued TSI twice before for what he called deceptive and illegal billing practices, first in 2016 and again in 2019.

Racine said he’s had some preliminary discussions with TSI but wants a written response within 10 days or his office “would be inclined to move forward with other means of enforcement.”

“Our patience is not endless on this,” he said.

Town Sports International did not return repeated requests for comment.

This isn’t the first time the city has had issues with TSI. Racine filed suit against the company last year over its cancelation and membership policies. Three years before that, TSI reached a settlement with the Attorney General’s office and agreed to a $20,000 payout to local customers.

At the start of the coronavirus outbreak, chains like Anytime Fitness, VIDA, Balance and Gold’s Gym sent emails directly to their members announcing temporary billing freezes, free membership suspensions and information about virtual classes for those who chose to keep their memberships.

Some gyms also noted that if members voluntarily chose to continue paying fees, that money would be used to pay gym employees. Sport & Health announced that, while the company “in no way expect[s] you to continue paying dues,” any membership fees “will be directly used to support our employees.”

Boutique gyms, which typically operate on smaller margins, are also providing flexible options. Mint Gym has two locations in Northwest D.C. and offers members the option to pause memberships. Class Pass has automatically frozen memberships and is offering virtual classes on a separate pay scale.

The stark contrast between these policies and those at Washington Sports Club have enraged — but not shocked — some members. “They are shady under normal circumstances but their approach during the COVID-19 related closure is unacceptable,” Natalia Barolin wrote in an email. She has been trying to freeze her membership to the Dupont location since March 21, but has not received any direct response.

Meanwhile, Jessica Hall never was able to cancel her membership. She decided her only option was to cancel her credit card. The credit card company is now disputing the membership charge that came in at the beginning of April with the gym.

This story originally appeared on WAMU.