Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott says a gym attempted to mislead customers into paying past due membership fees they did not owe.
The AG's office reported that Bally Total Fitness Corp. mailed more than 11,000 misleading "past due" notices between summer 2009 and March 2010 to former members in attempt to encourage them to rejoin the gym.
More than 1,000 Texans made payments to Bally after receiving the past due notices.
But company representatives who were contacted by past members about the notices acknowledged that the notices were not a collection effort, but rather an attempt to get former members to renew their memberships, the AG's office said.
The attorney general is seeking civil penalties of up to $20,000 for each violation.
More: Sample of Fraudulent "Past Due" Notice, Lawsuit Against Bally Total Fitness Corp, Attorney General of Texas Web site
