LA WEIGHT LOSS: La Quinta, CA Location Closes, Strands Customers
October 3, 2008 by Sean Kelly
Filed under Business
(Franchise Pick) In what has become an all-too-familiar refrain, a former LA Weight Loss customer has reported that the La Quinta, CA weight loss center closed abruptly, stranding members with neither a weight loss plan nor the products or services that they pre-paid for.
Jody Feingold writes: “Another one bites the dust… La Quinta, CA closed without notice. I paid for my program with the maintenance plan in advance, including the supplements and the LA Lites. I am out over $1000. The owner does not return calls, and neither does the corporate office. How is this not being investigated nationwide!!!”
This brings our unofficial death count to 60 recent reported closings of LA Weight Loss Centers. See the latest list here: LA WEIGHT LOSS CENTER CLOSINGS (updated 10/3/08)
Victims report centers selling thousands of dollars in prepaid services shortly before closing. If this happens to you, report it to your credit card company and State Attorney General (Contact List of State Attorneys General).
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Sean, I’ve been reading your blog on a daily basis for a few days and I am surprised by the incredible amount of “horror stories” you are reporting. I mean, I am surprised that there is so many of them in the franchise industry.
I think blogs like yours and bluemaumau are very good for franchising and more importantly, good for potential franchise buyers.
Sebastien:
Truth is, I hold off on a lot of negative stories. Unfortunately, there are a lot of them out there. The negative gets amplified by people’s natural tendency to get vocal with criticism, but stay quiet when things are going well.
I believe in franchising, and have worked with a couple of hundred companies that I consider fair and pro-franchisee.
The Internet gives an unprecedented opportunity to help prospective franchisees separate the solid opportunities from the weak opportunities from the downright scams and train wrecks.
Exciting stuff… but there is a lot at stake and many millions to be lost from those running some of these schemes…
I appreciate your insights and participation, Sebastien.
Yes! Sebastien! But, by the time the stories hit the Internet on sites like Blue Mau Mau and Franchise Pick, the damage to the franchisees has already been done.
You are right! If these stories act as a warning to potential buyers of franchises, this is a public service. When franchise buyers are not given unit performance statistics of a franchise system in an actual disclosure document, they are buying blind and the risk is often very high and obscured from view as a matter of public policy.
Sean seems to be saying that the successful frasnchisees who are happy out there should also get out on the Internet and express their satisfaction. But, for some reason, we see very little of this on either Franchise Pick or Blue Mau Mau. As Sean says, when things are going well for franchisees, they seem to have no need to vocalize on Internet sites.
The Franchisors themselves don’t push their franchises on these sites because it would be against Regulatory Policy to make any kind of an earnings claim or other claim as to the success of their franchise outside of the disclosure document and the contract. Franchisors do, however, make disguised earnings claims in their Press Releases and on their websites and in printed advertising material but circumvent truth in advertising laws by means of the disclosure document and the contract that allows the franchisors to disclaim everything said and done outside of the signed franchise agreement.
Carol there are states that use the zors advertising as solid evidence of misleading disclosures. I know the state Washington and I am sure California takes the misleading advertisements this way. I talked with a franchise lawyer (several of them.) Press releases from zor can be used also. Wa. and Ca. are not the only states that have tough laws to protect the zees. Laws vary state to state. People need to look up their state laws. A good example is many states are going to insist quarterly FDD’s be available. I know in the state of Wa. it is a law that the sales person give the FDD in person during the first meeting between the zor’s salesperson and the future zee wannabe.
My understanding is they are slowly closing units from now until December to avoid massive refunds.