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American Laser Center Complaint - Scared and SCARRED! Beware!! - Laser Hair Removal
Laser Hair Removal - Complaint
WEST SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS -- Scarred and Scared
BEWARE!!!!!!
I was so happy when I received a phone call from American Laser Centers stating that I had won $300 worth of laser hair removal. I went in the next day to “just to talk” with someone about my winnings and this conniving woman told me that if I didn't purchase one of their packages right there and then, that the offer was going to be null and void. I felt cornered and unsure of this major financial commitment seeing how I was still in school, so I wanted to go home to talk it over with my mother. She assured me that the procedure was quick, painless, and will be worth the investment for never having to shave again. I told her that even with the $300 I "won" I could never afford the total she showed me. As a favor, she told me that she would give me an additional discount to knock the price down to $1000 and she would sign me up for the Customer Care Credit Card so I wouldn't have to pay it all up front. I found out that anyone who fills out there name, address, and phone number will “win” which I was never told. Although, I was told that there was a doctor that oversees the office. Later, I found out that he comes a few times a year to keep up appearances, but really the company pays them for their status to make it look more legitimate. Unfortunately I found all this out later and I did sign the papers but if I would have known what was to come, I would have started running far away from there.
I started going to treatments and I could tell right away that the staff had no idea what they were doing. It seemed as though staff members were coming and going quite regularly, while the conniving woman I mentioned was always coming and going from Dunkin Donuts. Whenever I was in the office, I was usually waiting anywhere from ten to forty minutes for my treatment. I had to sit in the waiting room on more than one occasion listening to her personal and unprofessional phone calls. When the phone calls were professional she would make it sound like it was "so busy" in the office when it wasn't. Numerous times, I would come in for an appointment and they would tell me that they only had time to treat one of my areas because of booking and time issues. One time, I waited in the waiting room for so long that she offered me three Micro-derm Abrasion treatments because I wanted to leave. Nice gesture I guess, but I just wanted what I paid for. The next time I went in for my appointment, this one staff member was taking too long on a patient so the manager started to reprimand her in front of me to the point where this staff member (Jodi) began to cry.
I was surprised by their unprofessionalism, but in my opinion these were minor problems. In the beginning, my actual treatments were pretty "average". The process took anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and the laser didn't hurt. As I was approaching my 4th and 5th treatment and I was still not noticing any hair loss, they told me that they were going to do "double passes" with the laser (meaning that they would go over the treated area twice with the laser). When that didn't work and I still wasn't really seeing much hair loss, I was told that I was going to have a “double pass” with the stronger laser. A staff member named Luna treated me that day and she was very rude and also unprofessional. She was in a hurry and basically told me that she need to turn the laser up to a higher temperature because I wasn't seeing results. The laser felt hot on my skin but she told me that I just had to deal with it if I wanted to have all the hair gone. But finally she turn down the setting and she finished my treatment at a lower temperature.
Yesterday on January 18th, 2008, I want to my appointment unaware of what was to come. Another new and seemingly friendly staff member greeted me and began my treatment. Right away, the laser was hot! Actually, I even jumped and experienced muscle spasms from the laser hurting me from being so hot. I asked her to turn down the setting and she said that that was the setting from my last appointment. I told her that it was too hot and in all my other treatments except for the last, it never was that hot. She began to tell me how well "trained" she was and all the hours of experience she had doing this. I told her my experience from my last treatment and how it was too hot and she had to turn it down and that I wanted her to do the same. She told me that that was the reason why I wasn't seeing hair loss, because it wasn't hot enough. When she got to my stomach, I pleaded with her to really turn it down because it hurt so bad. She told me that my skin wasn't even turning red and she had plenty of gel to cool the skin. Once she started to do the “double pass” on that same part, I demanded for her to turn it down. I told her how much it was hurting and she told me that it was because she was going over my hip bone (which wasn't even part of my treatment). She even suggested that the reason why I was being so sensitive was because, "Sometimes around ones cycle, your skin gets more sensitive." Well, that wasn't true in my case. When she started to do my back, I had to tell her again that I was in pain. She told me to, "try not to think about it!"
That is pretty hard to do when I was getting burned. It may be because of the protective glasses she was wearing, but she should have seen that my skin was red! Perhaps, because she did notice what she was doing to me, she did turn the setting down. While she finished up, I told her how sore the area was and how none of my other treatments were like that. I couldn't wait to get out of there. I needed to go home to put ice on my skin. As I was driving home, it hurt to press my back against the drivers seat. As I was looking as these red marks, I realized that the whole time I was sitting there getting burned. I felt so violated! I waited until my mother got home so that she could look at my back and sure enough, there were burn marks in that area too that were in the shape of the laser device. My mother took pictures so that I could see and I was so upset. I called and left a message and I am still waiting for someone to call me back. I also called the main corporate number and of course, there was no answer so I had to leave a message. I will never set foot into another American Laser Centers office.
I am certainly too afraid to finish my treatments and since I still have no hair loss, I would like my money back. I understand that I signed a paper saying that they don't give refunds but under these circumstances, I had no idea that I had to be burned to get the hair loss. That was not in the contract. I have pictures of the MULTIPLE burns, if anyone would like to see them. I do not want to have to sue and I am not asking for any pain and suffering compensation. I would just like my money back. I don't think that it too much to ask, especially when I will having scarring from this and who knows what other possible internal injuries (God forbid). I am a school teacher who just wanted to feel better about herself. I would have never even had this procedure done if I didn't "win" $300. I want to get my story heard so that this doesn't happen to anyone else.
BEWARE!!!!!!
I was so happy when I received a phone call from American Laser Centers stating that I had won $300 worth of laser hair removal. I went in the next day to “just to talk” with someone about my winnings and this conniving woman told me that if I didn't purchase one of their packages right there and then, that the offer was going to be null and void. I felt cornered and unsure of this major financial commitment seeing how I was still in school, so I wanted to go home to talk it over with my mother. She assured me that the procedure was quick, painless, and will be worth the investment for never having to shave again. I told her that even with the $300 I "won" I could never afford the total she showed me. As a favor, she told me that she would give me an additional discount to knock the price down to $1000 and she would sign me up for the Customer Care Credit Card so I wouldn't have to pay it all up front. I found out that anyone who fills out there name, address, and phone number will “win” which I was never told. Although, I was told that there was a doctor that oversees the office. Later, I found out that he comes a few times a year to keep up appearances, but really the company pays them for their status to make it look more legitimate. Unfortunately I found all this out later and I did sign the papers but if I would have known what was to come, I would have started running far away from there.
I started going to treatments and I could tell right away that the staff had no idea what they were doing. It seemed as though staff members were coming and going quite regularly, while the conniving woman I mentioned was always coming and going from Dunkin Donuts. Whenever I was in the office, I was usually waiting anywhere from ten to forty minutes for my treatment. I had to sit in the waiting room on more than one occasion listening to her personal and unprofessional phone calls. When the phone calls were professional she would make it sound like it was "so busy" in the office when it wasn't. Numerous times, I would come in for an appointment and they would tell me that they only had time to treat one of my areas because of booking and time issues. One time, I waited in the waiting room for so long that she offered me three Micro-derm Abrasion treatments because I wanted to leave. Nice gesture I guess, but I just wanted what I paid for. The next time I went in for my appointment, this one staff member was taking too long on a patient so the manager started to reprimand her in front of me to the point where this staff member (Jodi) began to cry.
I was surprised by their unprofessionalism, but in my opinion these were minor problems. In the beginning, my actual treatments were pretty "average". The process took anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and the laser didn't hurt. As I was approaching my 4th and 5th treatment and I was still not noticing any hair loss, they told me that they were going to do "double passes" with the laser (meaning that they would go over the treated area twice with the laser). When that didn't work and I still wasn't really seeing much hair loss, I was told that I was going to have a “double pass” with the stronger laser. A staff member named Luna treated me that day and she was very rude and also unprofessional. She was in a hurry and basically told me that she need to turn the laser up to a higher temperature because I wasn't seeing results. The laser felt hot on my skin but she told me that I just had to deal with it if I wanted to have all the hair gone. But finally she turn down the setting and she finished my treatment at a lower temperature.
Yesterday on January 18th, 2008, I want to my appointment unaware of what was to come. Another new and seemingly friendly staff member greeted me and began my treatment. Right away, the laser was hot! Actually, I even jumped and experienced muscle spasms from the laser hurting me from being so hot. I asked her to turn down the setting and she said that that was the setting from my last appointment. I told her that it was too hot and in all my other treatments except for the last, it never was that hot. She began to tell me how well "trained" she was and all the hours of experience she had doing this. I told her my experience from my last treatment and how it was too hot and she had to turn it down and that I wanted her to do the same. She told me that that was the reason why I wasn't seeing hair loss, because it wasn't hot enough. When she got to my stomach, I pleaded with her to really turn it down because it hurt so bad. She told me that my skin wasn't even turning red and she had plenty of gel to cool the skin. Once she started to do the “double pass” on that same part, I demanded for her to turn it down. I told her how much it was hurting and she told me that it was because she was going over my hip bone (which wasn't even part of my treatment). She even suggested that the reason why I was being so sensitive was because, "Sometimes around ones cycle, your skin gets more sensitive." Well, that wasn't true in my case. When she started to do my back, I had to tell her again that I was in pain. She told me to, "try not to think about it!"
That is pretty hard to do when I was getting burned. It may be because of the protective glasses she was wearing, but she should have seen that my skin was red! Perhaps, because she did notice what she was doing to me, she did turn the setting down. While she finished up, I told her how sore the area was and how none of my other treatments were like that. I couldn't wait to get out of there. I needed to go home to put ice on my skin. As I was driving home, it hurt to press my back against the drivers seat. As I was looking as these red marks, I realized that the whole time I was sitting there getting burned. I felt so violated! I waited until my mother got home so that she could look at my back and sure enough, there were burn marks in that area too that were in the shape of the laser device. My mother took pictures so that I could see and I was so upset. I called and left a message and I am still waiting for someone to call me back. I also called the main corporate number and of course, there was no answer so I had to leave a message. I will never set foot into another American Laser Centers office.
I am certainly too afraid to finish my treatments and since I still have no hair loss, I would like my money back. I understand that I signed a paper saying that they don't give refunds but under these circumstances, I had no idea that I had to be burned to get the hair loss. That was not in the contract. I have pictures of the MULTIPLE burns, if anyone would like to see them. I do not want to have to sue and I am not asking for any pain and suffering compensation. I would just like my money back. I don't think that it too much to ask, especially when I will having scarring from this and who knows what other possible internal injuries (God forbid). I am a school teacher who just wanted to feel better about herself. I would have never even had this procedure done if I didn't "win" $300. I want to get my story heard so that this doesn't happen to anyone else.
Comments:
Posted by jktshff1 on 2008-01-20:
You just learned a few hard lessons. If you don't understand, DON'T sign, "must sign now" DON'T sign, If you sense something wrong..it usually is.
Good Luck and stay away from the "enter our contest" plea's, especially if it concerns your body.
Good Luck and stay away from the "enter our contest" plea's, especially if it concerns your body.
Posted by madconsumer on 2008-01-20:
hair loss = hair falling out.
hair growth reduction = no new hair growing.
laser hair removal is not for everyone. sounds like you had experienced a poorly operated salon.
hair growth reduction = no new hair growing.
laser hair removal is not for everyone. sounds like you had experienced a poorly operated salon.
Posted by DebtorBasher on 2008-01-20:
Is this a contest you actually entered....or they just called and told you that you won? If you didn't enter...you didn't win and telling you if you didn't sign NOW the offer is no longer any good is just a way to pressure you into signing a contract. One thing to remember in the future, even if you sign a contract, you USUALLY have something like 36 hours or so to cancel when there is proof of being pressured into signing. They took advantage of you, I don't know how old you are, being student, but they may have taken advantage of your age as well. One thing people have to be careful of, is "What" they are entering. Especially at places like Home and Garden shows, Auto shows etc. Every booth will have you sign up for a "give away"...this is ONLY a way for them to get your contact information to try and sell you their services. I've entered all kinds of contests as a hobby and won many things, trips, money, rooms of furniture and I knew they were legit contests that I entered...even with this kind of hobby I NEVER enter anything at these kind of shows. The little box you see at your local drug stores for a free cruise...I guarantee they will contact you with the same scam this hair removal place did. Where they tell you you won XXX dollars TOWARDS a cruise, and they will ask for your credit card info then you end up paying anyway. Another one would be the "Free Tan" drawings...same thing. You have to be careful what you enter and if you DIDN'T enter, you didn't win. I had someone call me and tell me that my name was drawn and I won the grand prize, a Satellite dish. I asked what contest was that, that I entered and won...they couldn't give me the answer, only that they call "the winners" because their company has many contest across the States...I told them to pick another entry from the contest and give the grand prize to that person. THEN my brother said he got the same call, the same day. Then we realized it was from the Home and Garden show,and that's when I stopped signing up at those places. They said it was for free installation of my new satellite and a certain amount off the dish...LOL...free my butt!
Posted by Dcrane on 2008-01-20:
I have considered going there after getting the same incentive. However, I felt a bit leary about it since it is not located within a dermatologists office.
While I am not a litigious person, I strongly recommend that you consult an attorney about this issue in an effort to protect others from being injured by these poorly trained individuals. You should not suffer while trying to make a minor improvement.
While I am not a litigious person, I strongly recommend that you consult an attorney about this issue in an effort to protect others from being injured by these poorly trained individuals. You should not suffer while trying to make a minor improvement.
Posted by Starlord on 2008-01-20:
I agree with Basher. I used to sell waterless cookware, and we would go downtown during lunch hour and get young women who might be interested in the 'hope chest' idea to fill out cards for a 'drawing.' A few weeks later, we would select a card, call the girl and tell her she won like third prize and make an appointment to deliver her 'prize'. Then we would ask if she would like to look at some nice things while we were there. We would show up with a plastic bag that held a set of six cheap tumblers that cost us less than a dollar. If she said okay to looking at stuff, we had two big cases, one of waterless cookware and one of china, flatware, crystal, etc. I preferred to set up a dinner party for more mature people, where I would bring the food and have the couple invite two other couples. They knew from the get-go that their dinner would be prepared with the cookware we were trying to sell them. I got some pretty good orders that way, and it seemed more honest to me.
Posted by AZKatie on 2008-05-26:
I totally had a similar experience they told me I won money of a treatment but the money didn't cover much at all, they didn't help me get rid of any hair, it all grew back and then some!!! I was so frustrated I started researching places and went to Laser for Less in Chandler AZ instead and actually got to sit down with the manager of the salon who did my free consultation, she also asked me a lot of questions as to my medications I was taking and my tanning habbits, she too a close look at my skin my hair and told me the truth, that laser hair removal is not always permenant and that I will most likely see a reduction after 6-8 sessions but to keep the result I will need follow up treatments probably 2-4 times a year, she also suggested I take a hormonal test to see if my levels are normal, she then did a free test patch, showed me pricing and let me leave with no pressure to buy anything! Probably the best experience I have ever had. Since then I have done 3 treatments on my face for $145 each time, I have seen a huge improvement and I am so happy, also after 6 full treatments Laser for Less offers any extra ones at half price for life!!! I just hope that more laser places start being honest and just explain how it all works, if the technology isn't perfect that is ok but be honest about it! I will never get laser treatment from any oner else except Laser for Less! They are honest and care about their clients!!
Posted by akamommyx6 on 2009-02-18:
I also was "choosen" as a winner in a contest I entered for $300.00 prize. I went in to "talk" to someone about my prize and I signed up for a package for my eyes. 2 days after I signed up I realized i wasnt going to be able to afford it so I called to cancel my contract. I was told it would take 8-10 weeks to issue me a refund. I really have no idea why it would take that long but alright. I have been waiting 5 months for my refund. Evey time I call I get told their policy has changed or that they will expedit my refund and still nothing. I got told today that they have no power to expedit anyones refund. And also that their policy has changed and now it takes up to 16 weeks to process a refund. 16 WEEKS COME ON!!!!!! This is ridiculous. I have contacted my credit card company and they say because it is over 60 days since the inital date they cant do anything. I am so frustrated. I am paying on this balance on my card. DONT SIGN UP WITH THEM!!!!!!
Posted by sizzle on 2010-06-13:
i get laser hair removal done and it does hurt. it is very painful, worse than anything else i have ever felt. but they are right, the higher the laser is turned up, the better the results. although too high can create problems. and the skin does temporarily turn red. just saying.
Posted by Skye on 2010-06-13:
Sizzle, is your NIC any indication of what happened to your skin, after a laser treatment?
JUST KIDDING.
JUST KIDDING.
Posted by Justice-4-All2 on 2010-06-13:
Skye+100...you beat me to that punchline!
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