Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/09/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  It's hard to explain all of this in only 2000 characters but will try to summarize as best as I can. In April 2024, I decided to undergo an abdominal fat reduction treatment called ******* *** from BodyWorks Med Spa & Wellness. The cost was just over 4300$ for 6 treatments, and included a warranty that if you did not see results, you would receive another 6 treatments. I wasn't sure it would work, so I saw the warranty as a bit of peace of mind. I was never told verbally or in writing the details of the warranty, certainly not about the specific "no weight gain" criteria stated in it, and no written information given to me included anything about the warranty. If I had been told this, I would have paid a laser focus on what my weight actually was. Instead I was given the appearance that if you drink 2l of water a day, and maintain somewhat regular physical activity (eg daily walk), "if it doesn't work, we give you 6 more treatments on us". That's what I was essentially told. I upheld my end of the agreement.
  At my follow up appointment yesterday, my weight was noted to be up about 7lbs from before my first treatment.
  Sensing this would likely be viewed negatively by the business, I explained that I had been going to the gym & increasing the weights I did, which could easily account for the increase in my weight over 5 months. 7lbs is not what I consider to be a significant amount of weight gain. Weight varies daily, by 2-3lbs (either way). That's considered normal.
  They told me today that the weight gain meant I did not qualify for the warranty. Basically i'm being fat shamed for gaining 7lbs & being denied the warranty that they say is depended on "no weight gain", that they failed to explicitly say. I feel this company is giving people the illusion of magical weight loss treatments that come with a warranty, fail to properly notify it's potential customers about the specifics of the warranty, & then refuse to grant the warranty simply for gaining a few lbs.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/09/2024

  Body Works Med Spa & Wellness offers non-invasive body contouring services among other things. For one of our devices, ******** ***, we offer a Results Promise. This means that even though every client who does ******** *** treatments enjoys increased muscle mass, if they do not get visible fat reduction as determined by photographs, we re-treat them for free. There are terms and conditions including that the client's weight must remain the same or go down. This is because there are factors within clients' lives that we/our device cannot control. If a client gains weight during their treatments, of course they are not going to get optimal results. 

  We discuss the ******** *** Results Promise during every consultation and it is prominently published and referenced throughout our website. We would never fat-shame anyone - that goes against everything we represent. We do have to objectively consider parameters including weight and photos. Naturally, some people are more sensitive to this process. Unfortunately, a 7 pound weight gain, which shows in the photos as fat (not muscle), disqualifies this client from re-treatment. The treatment record shows that the weight gain took place between the client's last treatment and his follow up appointment. Since we do not see clients during this timeframe, we were not in a position to caution this client.

  We believe there is always room for improvement in business. We are already looking at how to learn from this situation.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/09/2024

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  
   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Their response essentially says "we informed you properly" when they didn't. I wouldn't be writing to you if they had. 

  Throughout all of this, the consultation, the treatments, and the 3 month follow up, I only ever dealt with one person (****). I never saw anyone else in the office during my visits. There is no direct way of contacting the owner if I had concerns about **** at any given time (there's no direct contact information provided to the owner). At the time, I (wrongly) assumed I was being informed properly about what I needed to know. Clearly now, that was NOT the case. 

  As I stated directly in emails to them and here, during my consultation session, I was never directly told that for the warranty to apply one could not gain ANY weight. This is beyond reasonable based on the alone fact that weight fluctuates daily by as much as 5-6 lbs (2-3 lbs either way). 

  This is something I would have remembered, that would have given me much concerns over doing this treatment AT ALL,  or I would have payed a laser eyed focus on my weight had I been explicitly told this. I was NOT.

  This information guide that I was given at my information session makes NO detailed mention of the warranty policy and does NOT specify that individuals can't gain ANY weight at all from the start of treatments to the 3 month follow up period for the warranty to apply. (I would include photos of this however the file size is too large to send and don't know how to make them smaller.) 

  As I stated directly to them in emails I sent them directly, the warranty was put in terms of "drink 2L of water daily, do some exercise weekly (eg walks), and if you don't get results, we treat you again for free". 
  The written material given to me, and what was told me in the consultation effectively now come across as ploys to lure people to pay for this expensive treatment without being properly informed, and then the company refuses to endorse the warranty after the fact. 

  The website was never directly referenced to me nor did I feel I needed to look at anything on it given I had an in-person consultation with an associate and had written information from the company about the procedure. Why would anyone then go to the website after that? I had no reason to at all at that time. 

  It's the companies responsibility to ensure they inform their customer of the details of the warranty when they charge several thousand dollars for these treatments, especially when they reference this warranty to entice potential clients to do this treatment because it has a "safety blanket" that they will retreat you if you don't get results. WRONG. That was NOT done in my case. 

  I wasn't properly informed in person, and the written information I was given did not properly explain the details of the warranty that they allude to in it. 
  That's on the company, not me. 

  Their word means nothing to me now. Too late. The owner hasn't even bothered to directly respond to my emails about all the concerns and flaws about how they conducted the treatments and their failure to properly keep me informed at all times during the treatment. 

  I have nothing else to say to them. 

  Business Response

  Date: 16/09/2024

  There are a few things to address here. I mentioned before that our Results Promise is displayed prominently on our website and we always discuss it during consultations. When this client came in for his follow-up appointment, his technician (who is also the clinic manager) reviewed everything with him. He had no complaints at the time. If he had wanted to speak with the owner, he would have been directed to take one of her business cards that is and always has been displayed at reception, and the manager would have advised the owner as well. Within two days of his follow-up appointment, the client sent the clinic a number of nasty emails about our treatment process and more, which didn't even appear to want a response, and he lodged his complaint with the BBB. We are always willing to discuss client cases in hopes of finding clarity or resolution, but it's difficult to determine the best course of action in this type of situation and we did not get to this before the complaint. If the client had expressed his concerns in a more reasonable manner, we would have found a solution for him. We are also disappointed with this situation and again, we are learning from it. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 18/09/2024

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  
  There are a few things to address here. 

  Once again, the owner fails to admit to any wrongdoing. 

  She further continues to claim I was informed explicitly of the details of the warranty when I have explicitly stated and explained time and again that I was not. Not sure how many times I need to say it for it to be understood... 

  The only associate I ever dealt with or saw, did not inform me of the "no weight gain" policy in the warranty for this treatment at any time during the consultation or the treatments. 

  The written information I was given by the company does not state explicitly that one can't gain any weight for the warranty to apply. What the booklet says about the procedure and warranty is simply one needing to maintain a stable weight. 

  This implies a completely different thing than "no weight gain". It implies a weight gain of a couple lbs would not be a problem. 

  The owner also continues to refer to the details of the warranty being on their website...as if a) I had been explicitly told to review the website (I was not), and b) as if that one should disbelieve what one is told in person by the only employee you ever deal with, and one should disbelieve what one read about the procedure in the booklet provided to one by the company. 

  The information provided by the company not being accurate (eg in person or the booklet), that's on the company, not me. But yes, continue to deny any wrongdoing.  

  Further, as stated in the message sent directly to the company, the measurement of my abdominal circumference of 114cm is grossly inaccurate and a huge error on their part. Again, their wrongdoing, not mine. I don't get any measurements even remotely close to that when properly measuring myself. In fact this very morning, even with my abdomen fully puffed out, I only get 104cm. 

  The abdominal circumference, which they say can play a role in determining effectiveness of the treatments, and which they do before each treatment, was never told to me at each treatment. The way it was put to me prior me starting treatments was that some people liked to know and some didn't, so that left the impression on me that it wasn't information I needed concern myself with explicitly. 

  The follow up meeting was an absolute farce. Barely 5 minutes, no questions asked, no pertinent details reviewed by the employee, and see you later. 

  It didn't seem right to me at the time, but just because I didn't say anything in person doesn't mean I didn't think something was off... I just didn't have enough to go on at that very moment to get into a disagreement with said employee in person, especially when she's in an office by herself. 

  So yeah, after that, the messages I sent directly to the company were heated because i've been essentially lied to, continue to be lied to by the owner/company, and she thinks one should just lay down and throw 4300$ away and not stand up for one self when you've been given shady treatment and refused the very warranty they entice their potential clients with. Right. I don't know a single person that wouldn't react the same way I did if they had the same experience I did. 

  Lastly, if this was a legitimate business, the owner's contact info should already be provided on their website which it isn't. One shouldn't have to seek it out. Clearly if you only deal with one person at a business and they aren't they owner or manager, and you have an issue with them and/or the service they provide, one is going to want to contact the manager/owner of the business. It's not rocket science. 

  I have nothing else to say and will reject any further responses submitted by the company.