ComplaintsforDeka Lash

• Initial Complaint

  07/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Back in early May. I looked at my account and notice ******************** charged my account without my knowledge. I had not had a appt for awhile. I reached out to the company and asked for a full refund for the unauthorized charged. I was told although I cancelled my appt 5 days in advance i would be charged, although it was more than enough time. They refused to give me a refund. I express with the company that I was unhappy with the service and do not plan on coming back. I do not want a stupid credit but a full refund for the unauthorized charge that they did without my permission. I filed a dispute with the bank and the bank sided with me after further investigation and reviewing all the documents. Deka Lash has now reported me to a debt collection agency for a different amount and I have not even stepped foot in this place. They were unethical and dishonest. I would like for my information removed along with any false debt from all debt collectors database. My next step is a lawsuit with this ridiculous company if it's not resolved.

  Business response

  07/10/2023

  In reality, after review, the credit card company sided with the merchant and issued a credit back to the merchant's account on 5/30/2023 in the amount of $42.50. However, the client re-issued a dispute in the same amount causing another deduction from the merchant account on 6/10/2023. As a result, it was decided to send the account to an outside collection agency as stipulated and agreed upon by the client in her signed agreement which is attached to this response. Please refer to item #6 of the agreement regarding contested fees and payments. The additional amount that the client is referring to likely is due to the fees (per disputed transaction) that she agreed to pay in the event she contested payments, plus the original amount that she owes. 

  Customer response

  07/10/2023

  I only filed one dispute. It was filed May 8, 2023 and it was resolved July 1, 2023. The credit for this claim did not become permanent until July 1,2023. The bank sided with me and there was no other claim made. The last and only time I was serviced by Deka Lash was in March and I have not gone back because I was unhappy with the service and skills. There was no purchase nor a dispute filed on June 10, 2023. The bank was still investigating the fraudulent charge that the merchant made that I found in May on my account. How can I filed multiple disputes when I only was service once and only had two total charges to my account one that I did authorize and one that I didn't. Therefore the bank removed it. This company is refusing to accept that the bank investigated one charge and found that the merchant made an unauthorized charge to my account. Therefore they've gone around the bank to collection agency with a false claim. 

  Business response

  07/11/2023

  The $42.50 was not charged fraudulently and was authorized per the client's signed agreement (attached again for reference). We are a beauty salon that provides lash extension services to paying clients. As a condition of receiving beauty services in *********, all customers are required to consent (in writing) to give us proper and adequate notice if an appointment needs to be canceled. Customers also agree to be charged 50% of the appointment cost if they do not give us at least 12 hours notice when canceling an appointment.

  The client, who had been a customer since 3/26/2023, signed a consent form dated the same. Please note section #5 specifically, which clearly outlines our Cancellation Policy. Please also note the client's initials signed immediately after this section and her full signature at the end of the document, further indicating she agreed to and understood the terms of being a customer in *********.
  
  On 4/7/2023, the client scheduled an appointment for 4/8/2023 at noon. On 4/8, the client arrived on time for her appointment. However, after a few brief minutes of conversation with the stylist who was scheduled to complete the service, the client decided she no longer wanted to go through with the appointment and asked the stylist to cancel the scheduled appointment. The stylist informed the client that per policy, she would incur 50% of the appointment cost ($42.50) as a "Late Cancellation" fee.
  
  On 5/5/2023, the client emailed ********* inquiring about the $42.50 transaction. Our email reply (attached to this response), sent 5/8/2023, provided the same explanation for the transaction communicated to the cardholder in the salon on 4/8. As a reminder, a copy of her signed consent form was also attached to our email reply.
  
  As a salon, we understand that clients sometimes overlook salon policies, so it was decided by management, as a one-time courtesy, to apply what had been charged as a valid Late Cancellation fee of $42.50 to a future service of the client's choosing. As you will verify, this concession was offered in our email reply to the client on 5/8. Even though ********* was authorized to charge the client for canceling her appointment on 4/8 minutes after arriving for it, the salon still attempted to be understanding by issuing the amount as a credit for future use. So while the client's claim in her original BBB complaint is partially correct that she canceled her appointment, she did so several minutes after arriving for it. As a result, and per policy, she was charged 50% of the appointment cost.

  However, the client declined the salon's offer of a credit as a solution and instead issued a chargeback with her bank for return of the fee. The salon submitted a rebuttal for the client's credit card dispute along with proper documentation substantiating authorization to charge a Late Cancellation fee. On 5/30/2023, the salon received a credit reversal from the bank for the client's chargeback stating that the charge was valid and authorized. However, as previously mentioned in our first reply to this BBB complaint, the dispute was re-opened, and funds were again debited from the salon's account on 6/10/2023. To avoid further back and forth with the bank, it was decided by the salon not to submit another rebuttal and to submit the client's account to an outside collection agency, which the client also agreed to in her signed agreement. The salon's decision not to contest the second dispute prompted the funds to be deposited back into the client's account, perhaps giving her the perception that the bank "sided" with her when in reality, the salon had decided not to pursue and submitted the account to an outside agency to handle. 

  It is not a false claim that the client made an appointment, showed up for it, and then decided to leave minutes after she arrived without completing the service. The client was in breach of policy, as indicated in her signed agreement, which is what the client was charged for. To claim that it was unauthorized, fraudulent, or that the salon has issued a "false claim" just to send her to a collection agency is simply untrue. 

  In summary, ********* is part of the service-related industry. Our stylists' compensation depends on customers honoring their appointments. The stylist scheduled to complete the service on 4/8 could not schedule another appointment in the client's spot on such short notice. Per policy, the client was issued a 50% "Late Cancellation Fee." This fee was charged to the client's **** card per policy and per her signed consent. However, the client seemingly did not want to take responsibility for this, so she issued a chargeback which ********* chose not to pursue a second time. As such, her Deka Lash account was sent to a collection agency. Once the debt and additional fees are paid, the client's name will be permanently removed from the collection agency. As an aside, the client's customer account at ******************** still shows a credit on file for $42.50, and the salon still intends to honor it. Thank you.
  

  
  

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