World Gym Lawsuit Alleges Owners Closed Gyms, Continued Billing Members

Last summer, World Gym members from Plainfield complained after the fitness center abruptly shut down, leaving only a sign posted on the door instructing patrons to use the company's Montgomery branch.

The facility never reopened, and some members reported having trouble cancelling their memberships and recouping payments made in advance.

Now Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is suing owners James Mecha and Diane Vassolo, heads of World-Gym Willowbrook Inc., along with ASF International, a Colorado-based corporation that processed gym payments.

The lawsuit accuses the gym owners of continuing to bill customers after facilities in Plainfield, Elgin and Norridge shut down without notice. According to a release issued Wednesday by Madigan's office, at least $100,000 was charged to customers for membership dues and fees, months after the gyms had closed down.

The suit alleges that members who attempted to cancel their membership were thwarted, receiving no response to their requests or being given false contact information. Others were told they could not cancel their memberships until they paid additional fees, and nearly 150 customers said their accounts were sent to collection agencies for fees incurred after the gyms closed, Madigan said in a release.

“These gym owners closed their World Gym facilities then had the audacity to charge people over $100,000 in membership dues and fees after the gyms were closed,” she said. “The owners also refused to cancel contracts, and when people stopped paying, sent their accounts to a collection agency, again, all after the workout facilities abruptly closed.”

The Plainfield branch, 12337 S. Route 59, shut down in June 2011. At the time, member Kurt Corrigan told Patch he had made advance payments to Mecha, and didn't hold out much hope that he would be reimbursed.

"It's sad that this guy basically took a bunch of money, which [in my case] happened to be new memberships for [my] kids coming back from college," Corrigan said.

In the lawsuit, Madigan's office asks the court to ban Mecha and Vassolo from owning or operating a fitness center or any business that accepts electronic payments from consumers in Illinois.

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