Money back after gym chain kept charging during shutdown

Thousands of former gym members in Massachusetts are getting refunds after being charged during a lockdown. Courts said the chain’s CEO broke rules by billing people in April 2020, even though all locations were closed. Customers tried canceling in every way possible—calls, emails, messages—but the company barely replied. Many kept seeing charges after requesting cancellations, which made the situation worse.The state will return nearly $4 million to about 47, 000 people. Each person should get roughly $85 back. The gym, once a big name with over 30 spots in two states, filed for bankruptcy in late 2020. It shut down several locations suddenly before reappearing under a new name. Now, only three locations remain in Boston, far fewer than before. This case shows how companies sometimes ignore rules when money is involved. Customers trusted the gym to follow the law, but the opposite happened. The refunds prove that unfair charges don’t always go unnoticed.