[11] In December 2014, 32 locations in New York, New Jersey, Denver, and San Francisco Bay Area were acquired by 24 Hour Fitness.

[17][18] Over the preceding ten years, its stock price had fallen from a high of approximately US$37.00 to less than $0.37 on the Pink Sheets, a plunge of over 99% of its value.

On October 1, 2007, Bally announced its emergence from bankruptcy court protection, 100% owned by a hedge fund, Harbinger Capital.

[19] On December 3, 2008, Bally again filed for bankruptcy due to problems arising from the global credit crisis.

[21] Bally Total Fitness has been the subject of controversy over its sales and membership cancellation practices, with some customers claiming they were misled into signing loans with terms up to three years using documents containing uncommonly-used language such as "Retail Installment Contract".

[22] In April 1994, Bally paid $120,000 to settle Federal Trade Commission charges of illegal billing, cancellation, refund, and debt-collection practices.

[23] From 1999 to 2004, over six hundred customers complained to the New York Attorney General's office, leading to an investigation and subsequent agreement by Bally Total Fitness to reform their sales tactics in February 2004.

The court also held that Faber and Meyer did not dilute Bally’s trademark or engage in unfair competition.

The settlement included confidentiality and nondisparagement provisions, so Meyer was forced to decline all media requests for interviews.

In April 2004, Bally disclosed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was investigating its accounting practices, and in February 2005, the U.S. Justice Department joined the probe.

[29][30][31][32] In 2010, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced that the company had mailed over 11,000 fake past-due notices to former members.