Complaint Review: Happy Nails & Spa Fashion Valley Mall - San Diego California

Greetings! My younger sister and I went to Happy Nails & Spa last night, December 27, 2007 at 6pm. Before our arrival we called 411 to find out of any nail salons in the fashion valley are and were told that Happy Nails & Spa was actually located right in the mall. We call them and asked if they took checks because I lost my wallet the prior week and only had my check book, temporary drivers license, passport and employee i.d. I had no debit card or cash on me. The young lady said sure we accept checks.

We arrived at Happy Nails and asked for a Spa pedicure and a full set. The spa pedicure we requested was 35 dollars which we FOUND TO BE OVERPRICED COMPARED TO MOST NAIL SALONS. We stayed and got our nails done because we already were there and most places would be closed by the time we got there because they were out of the area. Anyhow, my full set was 33 because I wanted a French manicure and my sister's was 25 dollars because she just wanted color. To my knowledge and experience at nail salons a full set includes the cleaning of your cuticles, your nails soaked in water and acrylic.

Well the guy started to apply the acrylic to our nails before he even cleaned them and we asked why he isn't cleaning our nails he said that that would be $10 more dollars, so we asked where the pricing says that and he couldn't show us. At this time most of the employees started talking loud and laughing at us because we were asking to look at pricing. We continued with our services, but were a little bit uncomfortable.

Our nails looked nice, as nice as any other nail shop but here is the problem. OUR BILL CAME TO $159!! How??? We were told that a massage and exfoliation was $15 more on each pedicure and hand massage was $10 more for each full set/ manicure. Also they put designs on our foot and applied gel on my sister's nails and we did not ask for all of this. We wrote down a SIMPLE Spa Pedicure and Full set (with French tips for me). This should have been no more than $80 including tips for the both of us.

We were pretty disappointed and tried telling the manager in which she argued with us and told us it's too late we already received the services. We said we did not know that they tacked on extra money for every little thing they were doing along the way that we did not even ask for. So, I didn't continue to argue with her, just was going to take a loss and report them to this site and the Better Business Bureau.

So I gave her my check, she took it and for some reason my check did not verify through telecheck which doesn't mean I don't have the money in my account because I called my bank in front of her they confirmed there was more than enough money there and that I did report a lost debit card and they were sending me one. She asked them why telecheck wasn't verifying my check and my bank which I work for, Union Bank of CA told her that they don't know, that telechecks fails to approve checks for many reasons and that they would need to ask telecheck.

She tried calling them and their offices were closes. At this point I tried calling my father to come down but he was very far and it would take him a couple of hours to come. I told her that I didn't have any other method of payment and that I could give her the $75 that my younger sister had with her. She refused to keep my check and to take my sister's money and called the Mall Security on me. She kept saying my check bounced and I kept explaining to her my check has not bounced, a bounced check is when you actually submit a check and it comes back NSF and that has not happened yet, my check was just not simply going through Telecheck. I also explained that people can clear through telecheck and still bounce a check if they don't have the funds available in their account when they submit the check to the bank for payment.

The mall security agreed with me and told her that they can't do anything. I told he r that I am giving her a check which by law it is ILLEGAL for me to submit knowing that there is no money in there and that I work for the financial institution which I showed her my badge and if it bounced I owe them the money anyway. She refused to take it and said that she will have me arrested and she called the San Diego Police Department.

They came and tried explaining to her that they can't do anything and that she may do a citizen's arrest but they really don't think it\'s that serious because I haven't bounced the check yet or refuse to pay.

Here is my thing. IF THEY VERIFY THROUGH TELECHECK THEN THEY SHOULD DEMAND PAYMENT UP FRONT OR NOT TAKE CHECKS AT ALL! ALSO, BECUASE OF THE NATURE OF THEIR BUSINESS THEY SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT IF SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS THAT IT IS A CRISK THEY TAKE. IN MY CASE, I WAS TOTALLY INSULTED AND SCRUTINIZED. I WAS CHARGED FOR SERVICES I DID NOT AUTHORIZE AND HAD TO WAIT FOR MY FATHER TO CAOME AND PAY THEM THEIR MONEY SO I WOULD NOT GET A CITIZEN'S ARREST, ALTHOUGHT THE OFFICERS TOLD ME AOUTSIDE THAT THEY WOULD HAVE LET ME GO BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY IT WAS AN EXAGERRATED SITUATION, SILLY, AND THAT THAPPY NAILS HNEED TO FIX THEIR SYSTEM.

I HIGHLY DON'T RECOMMEND GIVING YOUR MONEY TO THIS BUSINESS. I AM SURE THEIR OUR PWOPLE WHO PROBABLY THINK THEY ARE GOOD EWHICH IS WHY THEY ARE TILL IN BUSINES BUT TRUST ME THEY ARE OVERPRICED, THEY DONT CLEARLY LIST THEIR PRICING, THEY PROIVDE UNAUTHORIZED SERVICES AND MOCK CUSTOMERS. WHAT HAPPENED TO ME CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE AND I HOPE THAT MY REPORT ON THEM IS TAKEN SERIOUSLY AND THAT THEY ARE SECRETLY SHOPPED!!!THEY ARE DOING SHADY BUSIENSS!!!

Aregache

lemon grove, California

U.S.A.