Farmingdale Synergy Fitness Named in Settlement with Attorney General

BY: ALEX COSTELLO

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced a settlement with nine Synergy Fitness health clubs located in New York City and Nassau County, including two on Long Island, to resolve his investigation of their compliance with the state’s Health Club Services Law.

Three of the settling health clubs are no longer in operation. Of those still in operation, one is located at 410 Conklin Street in Farmingdale. Another is located at 190 Broadway in Garden City.

The clubs will also have to provide restitution to consumers who can demonstrate that since Jan. 1, 2014, they paid for health club services after cancelling their membership. Consumers who seek restitution should contact the club with which they contracted or file a complaint online with the Attorney General’s office or call 1-800-771-7755 by Dec. 1.

The office received numerous consumer complaints against Synergy alleging the health clubs improperly billed consumers for memberships, misrepresented and unfairly applied their cancellation policies, charged fees that were not part of the contract and were unresponsive to consumer complaints. The health clubs agreed to modify their contracts to comply with New York State law and to pay $60,000 in penalties and fines.

The complaints the office received from consumers about Synergy included allegations that Synergy billed them without their consent or after the expiration or cancellation of their membership term; Synergy’s collection agent harassed them seeking collection on contracts that were cancelled years earlier; Synergy misrepresented their cancellation policies and failed to honor consumers’ valid cancellation requests; and that Synergy added fees not provided for in their Membership Agreement.

In addition, Synergy’s Membership Agreement contained provisions and terms that permitted automatic renewals without the consent of the consumer and failed to use the language mandated by statute for notice of cancellation without penalty in violation of the Health Club law. Synergy also failed to post notices informing customers whether the facility filed a bond with the Secretary of State and how the consumer may obtain proof of the club’s compliance with the law.

Under the terms of the settlement, in addition to complying with the terms of the Health Club law, the Synergy Clubs agreed to, among other things, permit consumers to cancel membership by providing reasonable notice to Synergy according to the terms of the contract; verify all outstanding balances before they are sent for collection to a third party and transmitting proof of any outstanding balances to the third party collection agency; and to cease and desist from engaging in harassing debt collection practices or in any collection activity, including referring to a debt collector, for any services provided after a contract has been cancelled.

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