Beachwood Hair Clinic PRP Posted $4,000 Charge When I Had NOTHING Done Beachwood, Ohio

I worked there with Tiffany.  My opinion which is the SAME opinion of the BBB (F RATING) and MANY others if you google Tiffany Masiello-Helt is that this "BUSINESS" should be SHUT DOWN and I PRAY no other hairless people get taken ADVANTAGE of by this woman.  98% Success rate...YEAH RIGHT.  They are horrible heartless liars and scammers

ORC 109:4-3-10 states:

It shall be a deceptive act or practice in connection with a consumer transaction for a supplier to:

(A) Make any representations, claims, or assertions of fact, whether orally or in writing, which would cause a reasonable consumer to believe such statements are true ...; or

(B) Fail, upon the written request of the attorney general or the attorney general's representative, to produce within a reasonable time period specified, written substantiating documentation, tests, studies, reports, or other data in the possession of the supplier at or prior to the time that representations, claims, or assertions are made about the supplier or the supplier's goods or services.

Admittedly, I did not carefully read the documents that were put in front of me for my signature. What I believed to be a credit APPLICATION was apparently authorization for a transaction. (I have never been given a copy of the paperwork.) This is no way excuses the gross misrepresentations made by Ms. Helt about PRP therapy.

To the OP, did you indeed sign anything other than the credit application?  If so, did you sign things obligating yourself to follow through an use the services/products signed for?

This basically comes down to the simple facts of what you signed and what those signed documents obligate you to.
Grey matter like sales pressure and tactics really don't count for much. What's pressure in hindsight to you is merely sales tactics and doing-her-job to her.

The time to do research is prior to signing anything obligating you to anything.  Now, if you deny signing anything obligatory, then I guess the both of you all have a fight on your hands.

Of course, I was excited as I sat in their office! The sales presentation indicated that this was the "silver bullet" solution to my hair loss! Had I been able to substantiate their claims via ANY independent studies, I would have gone through with the procedure.

Instead, here is what the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (a non-profit medical association of over 850 physicians specializing in hair loss) says:  "No advertised claims of PRP efficacy in promoting hair growth can be made because there has been no FDA approval that would allow such claims to be made. Advertised claims of PRP efficacy in promoting hair growth may be a violation of FDA protocol regarding medical claims."

Dr. Robert Jones, one of the pioneers of the therapy in the U.S., "is no longer offering PRP treatments as he has not seen satisfactory results for his trial patients."  (See drrobertjones.com.)

Within one hour of leaving Ms. Helt's office (I have the time-stamped e-mail), I both phoned and e-mailed with instructions to CANCEL the appointment and DESTROY the credit application.

In Ms. Helt's rebuttal, she states that the medical supply company would not even process the kit order until the following Tuesday. WHY DIDN'T SHE CANCEL THE ORDER BEFORE THEN? She had several days to do so.

I have never seen the kit nor the invoice for it. I do, however, have quotes from several medical supply companies for PRP kits. The price averages about $200. If Ms. Helt is being charged $1,750 for a single kit, she needs to change medical supply companies!!!

I have Ms. Helt's business card. It says NOTHING about lasers -- just that PRP is "safe, painless, fast, permanent." (I do acknowledge that, at the consultation, I was told that follow-up laser therapy would be provided for a year.)

I happen to be a senior project manager in the research field. I have NEVER heard of anyone being charged to be a "guinea pig." Either the procedure/medications are provided free of charge, or, in many cases, the client/patient is COMPENSATED for his participation. (I challenge every reader to look at the websites of clinical research organizations and find a study where the patient must pay to be experimented upon!)

Ms. Helt, however, insisted that the only segment of this therapy that was actually part of the "study" were the "botanicals." She advised me that everything else had already been given the FDA Stamp of Approval. (This is the reason I was willing to pay for the therapy.) Her assistant told me that the botanicals were merely "pond scum," and I was, incidentally, never issued said "pond scum."

As for the $250 pre-procedure workup, the hair count and density test were performed even before the sales presentation began. These tests were, in fact, used as part of the sales tactics -- i.e., time is of the essence because once the hair follicles are dead, all hope is lost! The "full digital workup" on the "computerized digital imaging machine" involved a couple of photos taken by an office assistant. This "full digital workup" took less than five minutes.

I absolutely acknowledge being excited about the therapy -- until I started doing my homework. The more I read, the more convinced I became that the process had been grossly misrepresented.

If you want to believe Ms. Helt's claims that she treats ALL of her clients with "care and respect and professionalism," you will NOT want to read the other Ripoff Reports, contact the Better Business Bureau, or search for Beachwood Hair Clinic on the Attorney General's website.

I, too, am a professional businesswoman in a stressful industry. My company is more than sixty years old, and you will not find a single complaint registered against us with any agency.

This is the FIRST TIME I have ever felt inclined to write a review of this nature, to log a complaint with the BBB, to contact the Attorney General's office, or to consider litigation (despite the fact that I have siblings who are attorneys). I have never before encountered a company with which I could not amicably resolve a dispute. This situation is so egregious, though, that I feel an obligation to move forward with whatever means are available to find a remedy.

It goes against every fiber of my being to be contentious, and it would still be my earnest desire to find a solution that is mutually acceptable.

This is Tiffany Masiello-Helt, General Manager of Beachwood Hair Clinic, Inc.  I have been with this company for 17 years.  I think it is appalling that Diane would attack my character personally and I feel the need to respond.

I treat ALL of my clients with care and respect and professionalism. There have been thousands over the 17 years that will attest to my true character.

It is true that on July 8th, Diane came in for a Hair and Scalp evaluation to discuss our methods of treatment for her hair loss. I will answer each of her statements.

Diane was told the treatment is an FDA approved hair loss therapy. In the consultation, it was explained to her that the PRP is being used in conjunction with our Low Level Laser Therapy treatment program. Low Level Laser therapy has been approved by the FDA for hair growth.

The Hairmax method is approved for men and the MP3 90 is approved for women. We use the same exact technology as both, therefore treating men AND women. The PRP is FDA approved for soft tissue injection. The ad she responded to in the paper clearly states that we are doing a physician supervised study on the PRP.

It is true that our method of PRP is only performed once. Other places may run their programs differently; however, our method only requires one procedure followed by our hair loss treatment program.

The $4,000.00 procedure does include (a) our Platelet Rich Plasma procedure by Dr. Kenneth Arsham, board certified plastic surgeon; (b) One year of our 12 month laser therapy program including all consultations with our therapists, the entire product line and before during and after photos; and (c) I would offer her a complete money back guarantee on the entire program should this not work for her.

Diane decided that this was a great solution for her program. She agreed she wanted to use our 24 month same as cash financing option. She filled out the credit application - I have a document that is signed and dated by her. She asked if she would be able to do her procedure on the following Thursday. I told her I was not sure but would check for her, as  I wasn't sure of the Dr.'s schedule and or if I could get her procedure kit ordered or delivered in time.

She sat in my office while I made a call to Dr. Arsham's scheduler who can attest to the fact she was sitting here awaiting an appointment, and they agreed to squeeze her in as she wanted it done as soon as possible. I then made a phone call to our medical supply company, who will also attest to the fact she was here with me waiting for an answer, to see if I could have a kit for her in time. They said I could but would have to pay overnight shipping on it as it was already Friday and the order would not process until Tuesday and she wanted her procedure to be done on Thursday the 14th.

We then had to go ahead and do her pre-procedure work up that day so she could start her botanicals which need to be taken 5 days in advance of procedure. She then signed the Purchase Verification Receipt requesting to be funded the money. She also signed the Purchase Acknowledgement requesting 24 months same as cash. I have all of these signed documents in my files.

We proceeded to complete her pre-procedure work up with hair count, density test, and full digital work up on our computerized digital imaging machine. She received her pre and post procedure instructions and the botanicals needed for before blood extraction.

We filled out her appointment cards and she left the office thanking us immensely as she was so excited.

I did not hear again from Diane until the next day after she had gone home and discussed it with her husband who wanted to research it. I have documented email correspondence between Diane and I. In the emails she is thanking me for being so patient with her as what she really wanted was a 5 year guarantee on her growth. I also agreed to that. She states, "I really think he might be inclined to give me the the green light if the guarantee would also apply at five years post-procedure. Is that possible? Is there anything I left out? Thanks for your patience with me." I agreed to her terms.

A week later, she started claiming all these lies about me and what transpired. We refunded her $2,000.00 of the initial fee - $250.00 for her pre-procedure work up and $1,750.00 for her kit. The rest that she did not utilize was in fact refunded.

I stand 100% behind my company, my professionalism and how this matter was handled.