LANSING, Mich. (WXYZ) — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued a cease and desist order Friday to a Lansing gym and its owner for alleged violation of the state's Consumer Protection Act.
The AG's Department says they have received more than 20 complaints against Go Workout Frandor with several grievances mentioning interactions with owner Steve Millenbach.
In 2018, the women-only gym allegedly sought memberships during eviction proceedings. The gym had relocated from the Frandor Shopping Center to a smaller hotel room, where customers were "expected to share limited equipment and a pool with male and female hotel guests."
Millenbach and Go Workout failed to refund customers who paid advanced membership fees, expecting to have access to the now-closed gym.
Nessel says she will file a lawsuit seeking financial relief under the Michigan Consumer Protection Act on behalf of the affected customers unless Millenbach responds by Feb. 11.
“We count on companies to uphold their end of the law,” Nessel said. “And when they don’t, we stand ready to protect Michigan consumers.”
Go Workout Frandor is alleged to have violated the Michigan Consumer Protection Act by:
- Advertising or representing goods or services with intent not to dispose of those goods or services as advertised or represented.
- Causing a probability of confusion or of misunderstanding as to the legal rights, obligations, or remedies of a party to a transaction.
- Representing or implying that the subject of a consumer transaction will be provided promptly, or at a specified time, or within a reasonable time, if the merchant knows or has reason to know it will not be so provided.
- Failing to reveal a material fact, the omission of which tends to mislead or deceive the consumer, and which fact could not reasonably be known by the consumer.
- Failing, in a consumer transaction that is rescinded, canceled, or otherwise terminated in accordance with the terms of an agreement, advertisement, representation, or provision of law, to promptly restore to the person or persons entitled to it a deposit, down payment, or other payment, or in the case of property traded in but not available, the greater of the agreed value or the fair market value of the property, or to cancel within a specified time or an otherwise reasonable time an acquired security interest.
- Making a representation of fact or statement of fact material to the transaction such that a person reasonably believes the represented or suggested state of affairs to be other than it actually is.
- Failing to reveal facts that are material to the transaction in light of representations of fact made in a positive manner.
