The New Hampshire attorney general’s office filed a lawsuit against a company that provides personal training services inside The Zoo Health Clubs in Concord and around the state, claiming its cancellation practices violate consumer protection laws, and wants the company blocked from operating in New Hampshire.

In the court filing, state lawyers argue that Redwood Personal Training, the New Hampshire arm of a national company called Granite Personal Training, Inc., ensnares customers into long contracts with high payments and then makes it difficult for them to cancel memberships.

Redwood “routinely and systematically violates consumer’s rights in various ways,” according to the complaint.

Stephen Dow, CEO of Granite Personal Training, characterized the suit as a “witch hunt,” singling out his business.

“This is government overreach,” Dow said. “They’re trying to put us out of business, which is going to cost jobs for New Hampshire citizens.”

Dow said Redwood employs 28 people at several of The Zoo’s nine locations across southern New Hampshire, including one on Loudon Road in Concord. Redwood has had over 1,000 clients over the years, he said. The Zoo has about two dozen health clubs in nine other states, and New Hampshire is one of the brand’s largest markets.

Redwood charges a termination fee of 18% of the total contract or $299, whichever is greater, according to the lawsuit. Most of its 135 canceled contracts from January 2022 through March 2024 were valued at more than $2,500.

The company requires payment of that early termination fee before a customer’s membership is canceled, yet memberships aren’t canceled until 30 days after the fee is paid – a fact not disclosed in their contracts, the lawsuit alleged.

Dow said Redwood’s policies are outlined for new customers in their contract agreements and argued those contracts had once been approved by the attorney general’s office.

Redwood’s alleged violations of consumer protection law kept the company from receiving credentials from the state’s Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau for the past three years, said Michael Garrity, spokesperson for the attorney general.

Cancellation requests for Redwood training services are submitted by email, but the lawsuit alleges that unresponsiveness to those requests and questions from customers draws out the process as the company continues to collect monthly payments until the process is finalized, even after the customer has already submitted a request to cancel their contract.

“Redwood’s entire course of conduct when a customer tries to cancel an agreement is an unfair or deceptive act or practice in violation of law,” the attorney general’s office said in a press release.

Attorneys for the state asked a Merrimack County Superior Court judge to permanently ban Redwood from operating in New Hampshire, order restitution to affected customers and award civil penalties and attorney’s fees.

Dow said he’s employing Concord-based McGrath Law Firm to represent Redwood in the suit as he plans to fight back and pursue damages against the attorney general’s office, arguing it has already negatively impacted his business by deterring potential customers.

Charlotte Matherly is the statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly, subscribe to her Capital Beat newsletter and send her an email at cmatherly@cmonitor.com.