Customers Fight To Get Money Back After American Laser Skincare Closes
SOMERVILLE (CBS) – A national chain of medical spas abruptly shut their doors in November with no notice to customers. Now customers of the nine Massachusetts locations say they are out thousands of dollars and no one is telling them how to get their money back.
Cathy, of Medford, has a stack full of receipts and brochures for work she paid for at American Laser Skincare's Davis Square location.
"I still have $500 worth of services that are paid for that weren't received," she told WBZ-TV.
But a couple weeks ago, the doors closed and a sign went up informing customers that American Laser Skincare had shut down all of its more than 100 locations across the country.
No one called Cathy and now she and other customers are looking for refunds for expensive service packages that include Botox and Laser treatments.
Cathy told WBZ she emailed the manager of the Somerville site but still got no answers.
"She gave me a number which gets me nowhere and told me that her and anyone else who worked there, they had no idea what was happening either," she said.
Donna lost even more money. She is a longtime customer who still had $3000 to $4000 worth of pre-paid treatments remaining.
American Laser Skincare had nine Massachusetts locations in Boston, Somerville, Braintree, Peabody, North Andover, Framingham, Attleboro, Worcester and West Springfield.
The company's website offers only a statement saying, "we are taking steps to try to find alternative providers for you as quickly as possible…we ask for your patience."
American Laser Skincare used to operate under a different name but filed for bankruptcy in 2011. Now the company blames a weak economy and an investment deal that fell through for its financial problems.
"I think they just closed their doors and left people hanging," Donna said.
Experts say it can be hard to re-coup money from a company that's closed its doors. The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office is encouraging customers who have lost money to call their consumer complaint hotline at (617) 727-8400.
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