ComplaintsforHello Sugar

• Initial Complaint

  05/18/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Last time I received a service from this business was July 22nd, 2022. At this appointment, an esthetician suggested I join their membership. She said it would be a ONE TIME FEE, that would then allow me to receive services at a discounted rate. It was NEVER disclosed to me that I was agreeing to a monthly payment with the company and I never signed anything that day agreeing to such. Attached is text proof from the regional director herself that they only recently started using consent forms for memberships.They have since charged me $52 per month and it only stopped because the card they had on file expired. That comes to about $468 in charges that I never received a single service for. When I confronted the company, they put me in touch with regional director *********************. She offered me a $300 "courtesy refund" and a free service. I told her I would prefer to get my money back in full because I am moving and wouldn't have time to receive the service. Because I pushed back, she decided to redact her offer and now is offering me nothing. This has happened to others as well, which is clear in yelp reviews. This business needs to be held accountable.

  Business response

  06/21/2023

  Good afternoon and thank you for reaching out to us regarding the filed complaint.  Unfortunately, I am only learning about this now that it's been closed.  I did learn that ****************** filed a complaint with **** and responded promptly to an inquiry from the ***************** and the attorney General's office.

  Please allow this communication to serve as response to the attached complaint made by ************************
  
  ****************** was first seen in one of our salons in July 2022.  She made last minute cancellation or no showed her first two appointments on July 12 and 15th and was made aware of our cancellation policy.  She attended her third appointment on the 22nd and used a one time promo for new clients in the amount of $20.  Our membership program was discussed with her at that time sharing how we could help her save 20% for ongoing services.  She returned August 17th and requested to use a groupon.  Our company policy is to offe first timer clients either one promo or a groupon. We honored the groupon because of her verbalizing her frustration and we again offered her a membership to save money moving forward as a client.   She agreed to membership, paid a one-time $9 start-up fee, and agreed to keep a credit card on file for monthly billing. She was given the option of billing on the 1st or 15th of each month.  She chose the 1st.  She returned with a second groupon which she demanded we take for payment regardless of being advised two prior appointments of our company policy on September 14. Our young employee, not being seasoned in de-escalation strategies, accepted a third promotional/groupon from ****************** and discussed the incident with management.  ****************** was advised we would no longer honor groupons or promos from her and she would need to pay full price or could use membership benefits for further discounts again.  She agreed again to membership discounts and chose the 1st as her billing date while offering a credit card to keep on file for billing.  She cancelled/no showed her next appointment scheduled October 19th stating she would reach out to reschedule.
  
  On Sunday May 14, the client contacted our off-site reception team by text after receiving a notification her monthly membership payment was overdue and her credit card declined. Our ******** locations are out of the office/closed both Sundays and Mondays. I reached out to the client during business hours on Tuesday 5/16/23 at 8:23a.  After hearing that she felt mislead, I offered a courtesy to refund $300, a complimentary brow shape, and to use her one non expired voucher for service.  She declined my offer and stated I would hear from ***** Fargo and the better business bureau multiple times.  When all attempts to best explain company policies, offer solutions, and deescalate the situation failed, I ended communication and advised her that I would be happy to respond to her bank once she processed a dispute. She did complete our required cancellation form for membership and will not be billed further.
  
  Please do not hesitate to reach out if I may offer further assistance.
  
  Best, ***********************

  Regional Manager Hello Sugar ********

*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. ↩