After a four-year-long case, the New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced a $600,000 settlement with luxury fitness company Equinox Group over its membership cancellation process.
According to an investigation by the attorney general’s office, the Equinox Group, which has over 40 clubs in New York, has made it difficult for members to cancel their memberships. The organization has been ordered to pay penalties as well as change its subscription practices and offer refunds to subscribers who were unable to cancel their memberships.
“New Yorkers should be able to cancel a membership they no longer use or want without breaking a sweat,” said James in a statement. “As a result of my office’s settlement, New Yorkers can now cancel their membership with Equinox, SoulCycle, or any of Equinox Group’s brands much faster.”
The settlement, which was announced on May 30, found that Equinox Group has an overcomplicated and time-consuming process in place for membership cancellation. Subscription terms were found to be unclear by James’ office due to their placement in fine print disclosures and a complex terms and conditions page. The company also did not include a “post-purchase acknowledgement” and failed to obtain consent for automatic purchase renewals.
Under the settlement the fitness company with over 100 clubs globally must provide “a cost-effective, timely, and easy-to-use cancellation mechanism” to its members, the AG said. It must also clearly provide cancellation information, improve policy disclosures, and get consent for renewals.
New Yorkers who subscribed or attempted to cancel their subscription to Equinox and its other services between Feb. 9, 2021, and May 19, 2025, are eligible for up to $100 in restitution. Those who filed complaints with the Equinox Group, the state attorney general’s office, the Federal Trade Commission= or the Better Business Bureau will be given refunds up to $250.
This settlement echoes similar cases James has pursued in the past. In 2023, James sued SiriusXM, the satellite radio service, which was found by the New York Supreme Court last November to have forced its users to “undergo a long and burdensome process to cancel their subscriptions.”
