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Northside business offers to help day spa customers left in the lurch

WaxingtheCity.jpg
Posted at 5:12 PM, Jan 31, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-31 17:14:03-05

INDIANAPOLIS — A northside business is offering to honor gift cards for customers left in the lurch after a day spa's sudden closure.

Philipe’s Day Spa, 4635 E. 82nd St., suddenly closed its doors this month.

Waxing the City owner Nicole Black saw our story and offered to help any consumers with unused gift cards.

“I’ve always taught my team to give back to the community when possible and I feel bad for those clients left with no options,” Black said.

Waxing the City, 3855 E. 96 St. Suite D, offers full body waxing services to both men and women, as well as offer lash and brow tinting.

Clients of Philipe's Day Spa with unused gift cards are urged to email Waxing the City studio manager Sarah Wicker at indianapolisIN@waxingthecity.com.

PREVIOUS | Day spa closes suddenly

No one answered the phone at the spa Wednesday morning, and the Facebook page is no longer available.

A sign posted on the door offered contact information for Pure Beauty district manager Mikel Pasquale, however the phone number was not working and Pasquale has not returned an email.

The business is registered to Brian Luborsky in Ontario, however, Call 6 Investigates was unable to reach Luborsky.

State licensing records show the spa has had a cosmetology/beauty culture salon license since at least 2003.

Customer Audie Gilmer uses the spa regularly, and has $190 in gift cards still left to use at the facility.

Gilmer and other consumers contacted Call 6 Investigates asking what they can do to get their money back.

The Better Business Bureau says an option is to send the company a letter asking for a refund, because their mail may still be forwarded.

You can also try filing a dispute with your bank.

"Go back to the credit card company and ask if you can have credit back on that purchase, that would be one thing, and see if they've done anything at all to satisfy the obligations that they have ," Tim Maniscalo, CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Central Indiana, said in a previous interview with RTV6.

According to the Fair Credit Billing Act , you can dispute a charge when you pay for goods or services you didn’t accept or that weren’t delivered as agreed.

Another option is to file a complaint with the Indiana Attorney General’s office.

The Attorney General’s Office Consumer Protection Division also provided the following tips:

  • If the payment was made recently, the consumer can alert their credit card company or bank that the charges should be reversed because the business is not going to perform the paid for services. A consumer should take this step as soon as they have reason to think they are not going to receive the services or product.
  • While the Office of the Indiana Attorney General Consumer Protection Division can provide mediation services and may be able to pursue an action against the company, we cannot act as an individual’s attorney and therefore it may be advisable for a consumer to retain their own legal counsel. Consumers can also pursue small claims cases if the disputed amount is under $6,000. There are resources available on how to pursue small claims cases pro se on the Indiana Supreme Court’s website.
  • Contact other rating agencies such as the Better Business Bureau in your area. Certain companies have agreed to be bound by the terms of arbitration through a process with the Better Business Bureau.

Call 6 Investigates did not find any bankruptcy filings for Philipe’s Day Spa.

If a company files for bankruptcy, the court typically decides who receives a company’s assets.

Under Chapter 7 bankruptcy law, the money gained from selling the company’s assets goes first to back taxes, secured creditors and employees, according to the BBB.

Depending upon how much the shuttered company owes you, you can also file a suit in small claims court.

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