I signed a tanning contract to begin on 4-1-08. I was obligated for $89.00/month for 3 months, then the contract could be cancelled as long as it was in writing and ten days before the next billing period (which it was).
On 7-2-08 my bank account was withdrawn $89.00 by Rio Tan. I called them on 7-3-08 and spoke to a very apologetic employee that informed me this sometimes happens. He promised to reverse the charge and delete my debit card info so I would not get charged again. The $89.00 credit was posted to my account on 7-10-08, and therefore, I assumed all is well.
On 8-2-08 I was charged again. I called Rio Tan on 8-5-08, but this time was told I would have to speak to the manager (owner) to get it resolved. After dozens of call I finally got a hold of the manager on 8-7-08. I explained the situation to him and asked if I needed to come back in to re-submit a cancellation form. I was told "No, that's not neccessary; I will take care of it." He also told me that my information had not been erased as promised, but he would do it and I could expect the refund in 2-5 days.
I waited a week and called the manager back to let him know the credit still hadn't posted. He told me to wait until the following Monday and call back if it still wasn't there. The credit never posted and I was unable to reach the manager.
On 8-26-08 I called one last time and an employee said the manager was there, put me on hold after asking who it was (by this time they knew me by name), and then got back on the line and said the manager was with another customer and would call me back. He never did... Surprise, surprise.
The next day I went to my bank and filed a withdrawal dispute request to have the charge reversed myself. I also submitted a stop payment for any charges being withdrawn by Rio Tan. I sent a certified letter along with copies of these forms to the manager of Rio Tan, which he received on 8-29-08 per the mail receipt I receivced back.
I hadn't heard anything from him regarding my letter, so again I assumed all is well. Then on 9-22-08 I received a call from a collection agency seeking $89.00 for monies due to Rio Tan. After laughing and asking the lady if she was kidding, I explained to her the situation and told her I didn't owe the money. She contacted the manager at Rio tan and called me back. Apparently, his story is now that he has no record of the cancellation form I signed in June. This is the first time I had heard this.
My sister called him the same day to tell him that she knows for a fact I cancelled my contract because she was there. We cancelled our contracts at the same time. His response was pretty much too bad, so sad. He didn't care because it wasn't in his computer.
So, my boss (who is an attorney) sent a certified letter to Rio Tan explaining that (basically) because the July charges were willfully reversed by Rio Tan that they acknowledged the contract to be cancelled, among other things. This letter was sent today so I'll to come back to give an update.
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