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The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a lawsuit against LA Fitness, accusing the gym chain of making it extremely hard for customers to cancel their memberships.

In a federal complaint filed Wednesday in Los Angeles, the FTC claims that LA Fitness and its parent companies — Fitness International LLC and Fitness & Sports Clubs LLC — used unfair practices to block cancellations.

The lawsuit says these practices led to customers being charged hundreds of millions of dollars in unwanted fees.

"Gym cancellations have been hard for Americans for a very long time," said FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson on Fox Business.

"You had to mail in a form, or go to a physical gym and find a specific manager — who was often not there."

According to the FTC, tens of thousands of LA Fitness members reported problems canceling. Many were told they could only cancel by speaking with a manager during limited hours.

Others were forced to mail cancellation forms, only to be ignored or delayed. Memberships can cost anywhere from $30 to $299 per month, depending on location and services.

FTC Targets Gym Chain for Confusing Membership Cancellation Practices

"This suit is about saving people money and making their lives better," Ferguson said. "It's about stopping unfair business practices that take advantage of customers."

According to Bloomberg, Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, added, "Cancellation was often restricted to specific times or required speaking to specific managers who were not available."

The FTC wants a court order to stop these practices and to return money to affected customers. The agency says this case is part of a larger effort to stop businesses from using confusing cancellation methods to keep charging people.

Jill Hill, president of club operations at Fitness International, pushed back on the lawsuit. "We're disappointed by the FTC's decision," she said. "The claims have no merit, and the law they're using doesn't apply to gyms. We offer all the cancellation options required by state laws and will defend ourselves in court."

The FTC has taken similar action against other companies, including Amazon, Uber, and Adobe, over difficult cancellation processes. A recent FTC rule aimed at simplifying subscription cancellations was blocked by a federal court in July after business groups filed a lawsuit.

LA Fitness currently operates about 600 gyms with roughly 3.7 million members.