Massage Envy Morris Plains / And In General Business Practices / Communication Problems Morris Plains New Jersey

I signed up at a clinic in NJ when I was visiting my mom and needed a massage. I was told that if I joined there I would have no problem using and managing my account in TX where I live - well that's a lie. I had fulfilled my 6 month obligation and had been on the month to month membership for 6 or 7 months when my credit card was replaced by my bank. I tried calling the massage envy where I joined in NJ and kept getting a message that the phone number was disconnected / no longer in service. This went on for a week. No big deal, I figure I will update my information when I went in for my massage in TX that week.

Went in 20 minutes early only to find out that they can't update my billing info - only the NJ location can because that's where I signed up. So I told them about the number being disconnected. They try calling and sure enough they get the same message. They call the corporate office who tells them they have no idea if that location is still in business or not.

By this time, it's time for my scheduled massage. I ask them if we can finish taking care of everything after my massage - I see my therapist sitting there waiting for me. They then tell me that my account is suspended and I can't use the pre-paid massages in my account until I can straighten everything out with the NJ office - well how to do that since no one can contact them? So I would have to pay the full non member price for the massage. Well. that's not going to happen as I was really just doing all of these massages to use up my pre-paids so that I can cancel my account with losing $200 in massages.

So next the manager finds out the name of the regional developer of the NJ location - and gives me their number and tells me I can call them and take care of all of this. I also ask for the corporate number. I call and leave a message at both locations. Don't get a response, but it's Friday afternoon, so I call back on Monday - again messages are left and no resonses. I also submit email / message contacts via the corporate Massage Envy website since they indicate that this is their preferred method of contact. I hear nothing from this either. I try calling the NJ clinic again and still a disconnected phone message. At this point I am fed up and have wasted a good amount of time and energy trying to rectify something that should have been quite easy if the membership was really as portable as I was lead to believe. All with the frustrating result of no responses. I hear back from the local ME manager and she has gotten no responses either. So I choose to cancel my contract, knowing that I would lose a couple of hundred dollars of pre-paid services just to be done with this whole experience. According to the paperwork I have, I must cancel it in writing to the clinic I signed up at. I do so and don't hear anything, but at this point I figure they are out of business and my cancellation letter has just gone with their other correspondence to the regional developer person. This was May 11, 2009.

Today (July 23, 2009) I receive a letter from them stating my account is past due and I owe them $315.65. Assuming they are charging me 3 months of membership + sales tax + 3 $10 late fees, that's still more than $96 over the amount that could be due according to their own agreement. They also said that they have called me numerous times, but upon pulling all incoming phone records, I have no phone calls from either the TX or NJ clinics, developer or corporate office showing. They also have a valid email address for me as I receive all sorts of junk on a regular basis, even after requesting to be unsubscribed. I called the location immediately upon receiving this "bill" and was told the manager was out and they have no idea when she'll be in again. I have already written and faxed a response of the letter to the manager and copied the Better Business Bureau on it. Perhaps they hope by increasing people's stress levels with these business practices we'll come running back in for a stress busting massage.

Anne
, Texas
U.S.A.