Attorney General James Secures $600,000 from Fitness Company Equinox for its Hard-to-Cancel Memberships

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced a settlement with Equinox Group, LLC (Equinox Group), which offers fitness services under Equinox, Equinox+, and SoulCycle, for making it hard for New Yorkers to cancel their membership. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that Equinox Group failed to clearly disclose its subscription terms, provide consumers with the subscription acknowledgment required by New York law, and offer cost-effective and easy-to-use online cancellation mechanisms. As a result of today’s settlement, Equinox Group must pay $600,000 in penalties, change its subscription practices, and offer refunds to subscribers who tried to cancel their membership but could not.

“New Yorkers should be able to cancel a membership they no longer use or want without breaking a sweat,” said Attorney General James. “The Equinox Group made it challenging for customers to end their membership, costing them time and money. 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.”

New York law requires subscription terms to be clearly disclosed to customers, including the minimum term, the fact that the subscription renews, and the cancellation policy. Businesses must also obtain affirmative consent for automatic renewals, provide a post-purchase acknowledgment, and offer a cost effective, timely, and easy-to-use cancellation mechanism.

The OAG found that Equinox’s subscription terms were not clear and appeared in fine print disclosures or within a hard-to-understand terms and conditions document. Equinox also did not obtain informed affirmative consent from subscribers and did not provide them with a post-purchase acknowledgment. In addition, Equinox’s cancellation process was complex, difficult, and time-consuming. 

This settlement requires Equinox Group to pay $600,000 in penalties and provide refunds of up to $250 to eligible New York subscribers who filed complaints with the Equinox Group, Federal Trade Commission, Better Business Bureau, or the Office of the Attorney General of the State of New York between February 9, 2021 and December 31, 2024.

New York subscribers to Equinox gyms, SoulCycle, and Equinox+ online fitness classes who meet eligibility requirements may be eligible for up to $100 in restitution. New York Equinox Group customers who first became subscribers or attempted to cancel their subscription between February 9, 2021 and December 31, 2024 must email Equinox Group by August 2, 2025. SoulCycle subscribers should email NewYorkAGclaims@soul-cycle.com . Equinox Gym and Equinox+ subscribers should email NewYorkAGclaims@equinox.com. Subscriber restitution requests must include their name, and the phone number or email address associated with their account.

In addition to paying penalties and restitution, Equinox Group must improve its disclosures, obtain informed affirmative consent from subscribers, and provide customers with an acknowledgment including cancellation information. The settlement also requires Equinox Group to clearly and conspicuously disclose cancellation information in the subscription agreement and on an easily accessible website page for each brand.

This settlement is the latest in Attorney General James’ efforts to help customers with hard-to-cancel subscriptions. In December 2023, Attorney General James sued SiriusXM for trapping customers into unwanted subscriptions and in November 2024, a court found that SiriusXM violated the law by forcing customers to undergo a long and burdensome process to cancel their subscriptions.

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Gena Feist and Laura Mumm, and former Assistant Attorney General Hanna Baek, under the supervision of Deputy Bureau Chief Clark Russell and Bureau Chief Kim Berger of the Bureau of Internet and Technology. The Bureau of Internet and Technology is a part of the Division for Economic Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Chris D’Angelo and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy