Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
This settlement is closed!
Please see what other class action settlements you might qualify to claim cash from in our Open Settlements directory!
Members who paid annual renewal fees for a 24 Hour Fitness membership may qualify for refunds and lower fees, thanks to a class action settlement.
The settlement resolves allegations that 24 Hour Fitness offered members lifetime renewals for an annual fee that would not change, then later raised that fee on some members.
The plaintiffs claim that 24 Hour Fitness USA Inc. offered a membership plan in which, if the member prepaid one to three years’ worth of membership, they could maintain the membership indefinitely by paying the same annual renewal fee every year.
These annual fees were allegedly supposed to remain the same for the rest of the member’s life, as long as they wanted to remain a member.
But with a change in ownership, the plaintiffs say, 24 Hour Fitness began to alert members that it would raise their annual renewal fees, in some cases to as much as double or triple the previous rates.
Fine print in the membership agreement supposedly allowed 24 Hour Fitness to raise the fee. But the plaintiffs say the company promised them that the agreements were “just paperwork” and didn’t matter, and that 24 Hour Fitness would never increase the fees.
This settlement results from two consolidated lawsuits. Plaintiffs Kevin O’Shea, Mark Vitcov, Rod Morris filed their 24 Hour Fitness class action lawsuit in April 2016. They were followed one month later by plaintiff Russell Marchewka, who claimed his renewal fees would nearly double. The claims were consolidated into a single action and joined by additional plaintiffs Michael Losquadro and Dipti Shah.
24 Hour Fitness maintains that nothing about the way it administered these fees was wrong. The company says it agreed to this settlement to avoid the risk and expense of further litigation.
The parties reached the current 24 Hour Fitness settlement and submitted it for preliminary court approval by November 2017. The settlement provides different benefits depending on whether the Class Member submits a Claim Form.
Those who do submit a Claim Form are generally eligible to continue their 24 Hour Fitness membership by continuing to pay their original fee amount. Those who do not submit a form will benefit from limitations on how 24 Hour Fitness may increase their annual renewal fees.
Claim Forms may be submitted online or by mail. Printed Claim Forms were supplied with the settlement notice mailed to known Class Members.
The Claim Form and declaration for this settlement also applies to another settlement brought by the Orange County and Contra Costa County’s District Attorney’s offices, referenced in the settlement website as the Government Settlement. Both settlements require Class Members to submit a Claim Form and declaration by the Feb. 26 deadline.
Class Members can object to the settlement or exclude themselves from it by submitting a written request no later than Feb. 26, 2018.
Who’s Eligible
The settlement Class covers persons who, according to 24 Hour Fitness’s records, enrolled in or updated a 24 Hour Fitness Prepaid Membership on or after April 1, 2006 and were still enrolled in a prepaid membership as of April 1, 2015.
Potential Award
Refunds and Reduced Fees
The available benefits are very detailed, depending on the individual Class Member’s situation. Consult the settlement website for full details.
Generally, Class Members who submit a Claim Form will be allowed to continue their memberships by paying the annual renewal fee at its initial amount, whether or not their fees have been increased. Those whose fee has increased may get the fee reinstated at its initial amount and may receive a refund for any fee amounts they paid over and above the initial fee amount. Those whose memberships were cancelled after they received notice of a fee increase can get their memberships reinstated at the original fee amount.
Class Members who do not submit a claim form may see their annual renewal fees increased, but 24 Hour Fitness will be restricted in when and how much it can raise those fees. The restrictions vary depending on the type of membership. Those whose fees have already increased may receive a discount on future fees. Those whose memberships were cancelled may be able to reinstate them at a reduced amount.
Proof of Purchase
To submit a Claim Form and declaration online, Class Members must provide either the claimant ID number provided in their settlement notice or their prepaid membership agreement number.
Claim Form
NOTE: If you do not qualify for this settlement do NOT file a claim.
Remember: you are submitting your claim under penalty of perjury. You are also harming other eligible Class Members by submitting a fraudulent claim. If you’re unsure if you qualify, please read the FAQ section of the Settlement Administrator’s website to ensure you meet all standards (Top Class Actions is not a Settlement Administrator). If you don’t qualify for this settlement, check out our database of other open class action settlements you may be eligible for.
Claim Form Deadline
2/26/2018
Case Name
In re: 24 Hour Fitness Prepaid Memberships Litigation, Case No. 4:16-cv-01668, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. This caption include consolidated cases 3:16-cv-01668-JSW and 3:16-cv-02359-JSW.
Final Hearing
6/1/2018
UPDATE: The 24 Hour Fitness Prepaid Membership Class Action Settlement was granted final approval on June 8, 2018. Let Top Class Actions know when you receive a check in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.
Settlement Website
www.PrepaidMembershipSettlement.com
Claims Administrator
24 Hour Fitness USA Inc.
Prepaid Memberships Settlement – 5753
c/o Rust Consulting
P.O. Box 2616
Faribault, MN 55021-9616
1-888-773-8392
Class Counsel
Rafey S. Balabanian
Eve-Lynn Rapp
EDELSON PC
Timothy N. Mathews
Catherine Pratsinakis
CHIMICLES & TIKELLIS LLP
Kristen L. Sagafi
TYCKO & ZAVAREEI LLP
Gordon M. Fauth, Jr.
FINKELSTEIN THOMPSON LLP
Defense Counsel
Elizabeth L. Deeley
Christopher W. Keegan
Austin L. Klar
KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association
LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
©2008 – 2024 Top Class Actions® LLC
Various Trademarks held by their respective owners
This website is not intended for viewing or usage by European Union citizens.
204 thoughts on24 Hour Fitness Prepaid Membership Class Action Settlement
I signed up in 2001. In my original contract WHICH I STILL HAVE it states that they cannot change my annual fee of $21.99/ YEAR of ALL club membership unless i miss my payment date. Which I never did! They tried to cancel my membership in 2009 due to lack of payment but i paid in person at my local gym. Then they realized “oh our accounting issue” but they had to have me resign. They never provided the new contract. Supposedly under this new “reinstatement” which I was told was just a signature or their reinstatement… Was actually a new contract. They tried to say I signed the new contract while I was giving birth to my son. They took an old signature & put it on a new dated contract as I had proof I was in hospital for 5 days with delivery & surgery. Last thing on my mind was messing with 24hr!
They sent a notice of increasing my annual from $22/mo to $70. I said NO WAY. I was guaranteed in writing I was grandfathered! I paid my 22 & they accepted. Went 3x/wk no question. Went back week later denied entry. I’m like wth? They canceled it. 1st in most states they cannot accept partial payment without notification of termination… got zero & they have my address & contact on file. 2, accepting payment by payee is acceptance of terms if bereft of disclosure which again, none received at time of payment, in person, or other which meant they had to accept what they took for my payment in full without any of the above. So they owe me a crap ton! I paid 1k upfront to get that 21.99 annual price & they ain’t taking it from me without a fight! My attourney referred me to this suit. I filled out form and called. I want what i paid for back & this is far too long to wait!
The Court granted final approval of the settlement on June 8, 2018. A copy of the Court’s final approval order can be found HERE. If no appeals to the Court’s final approval order are lodged, Settlement Class Members who have already paid an Increased Annual Renewal Amount and who submitted a timely Valid Claim Form and Declaration Under Penalty of Perjury will be mailed a reimbursement check to the address provided on their Claim Form on or before August 23, 2018. If your mailing address has changed, you must provide the Settlement Administrator with an updated address before July 18, 2018.
Thanks for the update Jonathan! Been trying to find info on the decision for weeks. Just finished paying another year of my (increased) membership on 6-13 and hoping to recover that with my original promised renewal fee next year.
Today is the final hearing. Has anyone heard anything? I can’t wait to go back to my old rate of $29 a year and get reimbursed for the additional fees they charged me for many years.
I’m wondering the same. I tried going to the settlement’s website (www.prepaidmembershipsettlement.com), but it’s not working.
It looks like the judge approved the settlement. Don’t know the timeline for the reimbursement of additional fees and reinstating the old rates.
According to the Prepaid Membership Settlement website, refunds of overpayments will occur within 45 days of the final settlement.
The settlement has not yet been granted final approval.
Is another hearing set, and if so, when? My annual fee is due at the end of this month and I am wondering what I am supposed to pay. If I have to pay the doubled fee, will I be reimbursed for that as well f the settlement is approved? It is frustrating that there are no updates that we can see anywhere.
How do you know the final approval was not granted?
Court documents and docket information is available to the public.
The June 8th “Order on Motion for Settlement” seems to indicate the judge signed the order. Hope that is true since I’m not a lawyer and I have no access to the actual court documents.
The Court granted final approval of the settlement on June 8, 2018. A copy of the Court’s final approval order can be found HERE. If no appeals to the Court’s final approval order are lodged, Settlement Class Members who have already paid an Increased Annual Renewal Amount and who submitted a timely Valid Claim Form and Declaration Under Penalty of Perjury will be mailed a reimbursement check to the address provided on their Claim Form on or before August 23, 2018.
Here’s the link:
https://prepaidmembershipsettlement.com/Home/portalid/0?portalid=0?portalid=0
Please note that after final approval, there is a 30 day period in which appeals can be filed. Appeals will delay any payouts.
Funny how those rats can lie with no consequences to a large amount of people. How is that not a criminal offence? There is also no way 24hr fitness management did not know. Come on! The same sales pitch was going on all over the place seems like. I’ve been complaining for years! Ever since they started funny business with raising fees and changing gym categories for milking new fees out of old members. They claim that time changed and old fees no longer make sense. I want to see once a family stating the same to the bank about their arm mortgage and getting old contract unwound..because it no longer makes sense…or a 29 % Apr on a car a kid gets tricked into…but no, people don’t get to do this..oh but 24 hr fitness does! Lump sum of cash when they open the memberships…common sense thereafter..must be nice to be a corporation!
I have one of those so called life time membership $29.00 a year for life and now they want $74.00 dollars a year it’s do 1/30 2024 I don’t think I want to pay them the new charges I was told it would be for life and I guess it’s all a lie. What do you think.
The deadline was unfair to be set so early.
This left many existing 24 Hour Fitness members unable to submit their claim forms and declarations.
With the final hearing set on June 1, 2018, there is ample time for more claim forms and declarations to be submitted.
24 Hour Fitness needs to confirm that more claim forms and declarations can be submitted and to effectively inform their members of this class action settlement.
I agree… this is BS! In addition!, get this! – I enrolled for a lifetime membership when I was 16 (in my 40’s now)… the membership was for basic 24 hr fitness.. and in my area they have closed them all… So, I’m forced to either not go or pay the upgrade of another 20 bucks a month to go to the gym!!????? Can you say.. another lawsuit is coming …
Seriously, that too! We were all signed up for all existing gyms. Should be valid lifetime if lifetime for all clubs was the deal. Otherwise, what’s to stop them renaming all l9cations into superduperpooper and charge 100 upgrade? Bs
Are you sure that you were not mailed information regarding the lawsuit and possibly overlooked it as junk mail? I almost did. I wish it was a blanket ruling for everyone with a bogus contract. It’s a shame that 24/hr fitness tried this scam in the first place.
This class action doesn’t cover all the Arizona residents because 24 sold all gyms to la fitness. Sure we can get the difference we had to pay in the past, but it does not cover the future. This is not fair and I am going to the hearing in June in Oakland to state how unfair the settlement is. All Arizona residents should be able to get their annual rate back for life!
I signed up for a lifetime membership many many years ago and was paying about $35 dollars a year. About 3-4 years ago 24 hour fitness tried to charge me an additional $60-90 dollars a year and I told them it was the principle and I refused because it wasn’t the dollar amount but the fact I had purchased a lifetime membership. I would like to know what’s the best course of action. Thank you.
There was a claim form and declaration deadline on February 26, 2018, but I feel as if this were a very short deadline considering many Settlement Class individuals were not quickly informed of this deadline.
There is a reinstatement option on the claim form and declaration PDF. However you will need to call or visit 24 Hour Fitness in order to obtain your Membership Number which is used to receive a claim form.
Good Luck!
I received the claims form in the mail, I did not know about the law suit against 24 HR, I paid the full amount in advance for a 3 years membership and I was paying once a year $ 79.00 then 3 years ago it when up to $119 year. I mail it back , I haven’t received any notification.
I guess 24 hour fitness does not learn their lesson! I went in 24 hour fitness because my son was interested in the membership and i was gong to gift it to him so i went in with him to get a membership. We were asked that who did he work for and he responded that for UPS, they said that that was a great thing that because he worked for ups that they were going to give us the “Special Low Fee of $39.99 and that that all fee’s were going be waived, that that was the perk because of UPS. The sales person persuaded us to join as many many people as possible so that we could all take advantage of this “great” deal. so instead f only one membership i bought 5 and asked them so i will never be charged more that $40.00 a month for each and they said no as long as I agreed a automatic monthly withdraw, so they took my debit card information. 3 months later i lost my card and ordered a new one from the bank and went to 24 hour fitness to update the payment information and they informed me that it was gong to be $80.00 per person because they were charging the annual fee, I only had the membership for 3 months and they were already charging a annual fee! I told the lady there that i was not going to pay for that, that the fee’s should have been waved as promise when i decided to enroll 5 persons instead of one and she asked to come in and speak to the manager the following day, which is where i will be going today. What a disappointment!
I have mailed in my claim form but I do not know how to verify that it has been received. Is there a way to do that? Do I just enter my claimant ID number?
What about the people who signed up for the month to month membership with the same type contract. I signed up with 24hr and was suppose to get the same membership fees for life but they continue to raise my fees also. Will you be able to add month to month memberships to this class action?
I currently have an open case with the Oregon Department of Justice against the 24 Hour Fitness located in Beaverton, Oregon at the Beaverton Round/City Center and the Murray Blvd locations. What did they do? These two gyms are the “Best Buy Stores” of 24/Hour Fitness.
1. They swindled me by claiming that there was “no sign up fees” I joined on December 31st, 2016, “if I joined before January 2017. I paid $71.00 for a “first and last months” membership dues. Then around my birthday in March 2017…..yeap….they took out “that membership fee”, $49.00 taken out of my bank, by auto pay.
2. They use “slight of hand” while you “are getting” the “tour”…..by passing the customer from one person in the sales department to another in the sales department…..they wear you down, and then “slip in’ things like singing up for “auto pay’ when you didn’t want it. In February I “almost paid the bill twice” because I didn’t know that I was hooked up to “auto pay”……they took the information off of my “debit card” and used it to “sign me up”..
3. They treat people they think are senior citizens “badly”. I am not a senior, I am in my 50’s, but the staff repeatedly “judges” the members and fits them into categories: The started becoming abusive after they figured I was “just another senior” getting that “free Medicaid’ “paying for my membership”. Its as if they want to angry people so they will quit, and the gym is still getting paid for them to be there etc.
4. They “jumped on me twice” at the front counter of each location. Both for the same topic, “they wanted money at the counter”….the first time the bitch behind the counter–(who has a history at other gyms)–didn’t look at MY due date, and wanted to high pressure me to pay in advance by 12 days.
5. The second money stunt at the counter happened when after disconnecting them from my debit card….(the gym was constantly closed down with no benefit to me) and I paid in cash for a few months….and then it happened. I went to enter gym number two, and the jumped all over me, in a violent way–saying that they ONLY took a debit or credit card for payments now. They were abusive and threatening and I saw them take cash for food items from other members.
24 Hour Fitness is EVIL. Owned an operated by Satan–stay away.
@Happy Mermaid – I couldn’t agree with you more.
I initially signed up via 3 year plan in 2001. After the first three years, I was paying $99/year. I thought it was awesome. Didn’t worry about not forcing myself to go to the gym “to get my monies worth.”
Then finally in 2015, a “manager” by the name of Miya Frank “helped” me. My original membership was good for “sport” clubs (which at the time of signing up was second to the highest level). Then 24 hour decided to open “super sport” clubs – in a way degrading my membership. Long story short, a super sport opened up with 3 miles from my house. I hop in and Miya says I’ll sign you up so you can use this facility all the while keeping my original $99/year membership safe. I was reassured over and over that it was completely untouched and not to worry. I even read the contract and pointed out to her that it seemed she was writing up a new contract – new membership number given. She told me not to worry and that’s just paperwork. When I became injured and decided to pull out from the “super sport” and revert back to my original plan I come to find out that my plan had been terminated by Miya Frank at time of “new” contract signing.
Contact corporate to explain situation…all they said was they couldn’t do anything since they no longer offer the $99/year renewal membership. Really? They can easily reactivate my original one.
Stay away. 24 hour fitness is a joke and run by typical “sleazy salesmen and women”. They don’t care about your fitness, health, or well being. They’re only after money.