Complaint Review: Harbin Hot Springs

Harbin Hot springs has a reputation for being ultra-sleazy and disreputable on many levels, going by various testimonials on the internet, so I guess I should have been better prepared for what transpired over the weekend. Let me start by saying the place is a low-grade pick up joint, filled to brim with rapidly aging and pot-bellied white males all looking to get lucky with women one fourth their age - the textbook definition of 'diry old men'. I heard several women complain about the rampant sexual harassment that went on there all the time. Harbin today is essentially a graveyard for jaded, predatory quasi-hippies with not much going on life. I also noticed that for a so-called 'non-profit' everything was exorbitantly priced, way beyond what I've paid at similar places. I'm quite sure the books are being cooked and it's high time someone investigated.

The first thing I was told at the front desk, upon questioning the receptionist about a billing glitch was that 'this place is in dire need of organization' and 'on some days it feels like a miracle that we're actually functioning'. I then returned a gate-clicker for which I had been charged a $50.00 deposit and was told that it would be credited back to the same card. Upon returning to LA, and checking my online bank statement I saw the debit but no credit on the account. I called Harbin reception and was told they would investigate and get back to me. After a week, someone named Rosemary, who I discovered was the manager, called to say there was nothing they could do as there was no way to confirm that they hadn't paid the money back to me, since they did not maintain records. I clearly told her that the entire statement was online and all my transactions at Harbin during those few days had shown up on the same card including the fifty dollar debit - but there was no credit whatsoever. In spite of that, she kept repeating 'they had no way of knowing that the money HAD NOT been paid into another account, since they did not keep records. When I asked her whose responsibility it was to keep records, she remained silent. I have a record for evey transaction I make. Surely a large entiy like Harbin should be able to maintain basic records or at the very least behave like rational, thinking human beings.

In any case, I do not care about losing the fify dollars. I spent over five hundred bucks in the few days I ws there. I expected some basic human decency and consideration. I DO care about being defrauded in such a blatant and obvious manner. Either they're a bunch of frauds or the managerial staff at Harbin has an abysmally low IQ. They also have a terrible reputation on the internet. Many people have expressed their displeasure at the way this sleaze-pit was operated.

I aim to make his public through various blogs, newspapers (I am a columnist), the Better Business Bureau, various consumer redressal forums and California Dept of Consumer Affairs. It's high time these jokers were taken to task. Let's get real folks - the hippie era is now officially DEAD.