Complaint Review: Massage envy - Internet Internet

2-2010 I saw an ad for ME on the Internet for a 1 hour massage $39.   Made appt for a cranial massage as my head and neck had hurt for weeks.  The massage was a waste of time (10 min to change, 10 min consulting and only 40 min actual treatment).  As I was leaving the hard sales pitch began.  I was told if I don't join for a year the cost was $79 that day not the advertised $39.  The lady told me what most people do is join and pay $39 then cancel my membership before my first appt as a member.  Long story short I tried to cancel the next week and they told me I could not.  After in depth research I found they had a loophole if a doctor wrote a note you could cancel your contract.  Apparently they needed to talk to my doctor and when he refused and I refused them permission they said the note was not sufficient.

3-2010 The credit card I gave ME expired so when I was sent a new one I hoped the one on file would be declined.  No such luck, so I began the process of initiating a Class Action Lawsuit.  The law firm I chose had just won a major settlement and they were all over my complaint with ME.  I forwarded them countless stories I found on the web that brought me to tears, such as wife died and ME wont cancel her membership husband so distraught he didn't notice the charges for almost a year then told he could not get abrefund for the months his wife was deceased.  Member groped by therapist who was arrested eventually and ME wont do the right thing and let member out of contract.  

4-2010. Attorneys asked if I would represent the class action, I was 100% on board and had plenty of time and I wasn't looking for money and was well aware some Class Action Suits result in the company suing the person suing them.

5-2010 I began to feel like the $69 I was being charged by ME was fraudulent since I would never go back to them and my lawsuit was not moving very fast the monthly charges added up.  I called VISA and explained everything to them.  So VISA recommended we cancel the Credit Card because It was compromised it cost $5 to do this.  Don't report it stolen because as a courtesy they may let any auto payments carry over to a new card.....repeat report the card compromised, and unfortunately you won't get any charges reversed but you will stop ME from taking anymore money.  Works on credit cards or debits.  Iabout this time my attorney advised me ME had an attorney who is top notch in the US and he sent a settlement offer to let me out of my contract if I agreed not to talk about ME or post negative things about the franchise.  I declined but when i looked up the franchise attorney I saw he has gained notoriety for franchise owners because he has successfully defended so many suits against ME.  I didn't sign the settlement offer, I thankfully stopped the charges with VISA's help.  Let me advise everyone they call to try and collect money ever so often with threats of sending me to collections but I also leaned its an in house collector and they can't really do anything short of suing me and I know they are smarter then that.  It would cost thousands to sue.  

My advice is to cut your losses now and be done with these ruthless owners of the ME franchises.  That in fact was my class action was never filed with the court, ME claims they are indecent franchises and the complaints made do against a few employees not the franchise as a whole.