ILE PERROT, Que. – When Diamond Spa set up shop in Ile Perrot last year, local residents were thrilled.
Many were seduced by the special packages advertised online and on site at the spa’s four locations.
“I know there’s some people that spent thousands,” said Natalie Sousa, who purchased close to $400 worth of laser hair-removal treatments.
But after only three sessions, without warning, the Ile Perrot spa closed, leaving Sousa and dozens of other customers confused and outraged.
Many don’t want to be identified.
“I was lied to up until last Monday, when I was told by the owner that the spa was going to be reopened,” said one angry customer.
“It’s almost like she’s looking to sell these deals, take the money and disappear,” said another woman who purchased $200 worth of treatments.
Diamond Spa was evicted from their Ile Perrot location last week; apparently the rent hadn’t been paid in months.
The owner finally agreed to meet with Global News at her Dorval location to explain.
“It was not a fraud at all, it was just a business decision,” she said. “I mean whoever is contacting us for a refund or whatever other reason, we’re giving what they’re requesting.”
But according to one customer, that’s not always the case.
“I showed up at the Dorval location and demanded a refund on my Visa that I had paid with and I was told no, we don’t do that,” said the Ile Perrot resident.
Sanaz Noroozi admitted that she made a mistake by not anticipating the business boom.
She is claiming that she’s closing up shop in Ile Perrot to downsize her operations.
But some customers suspect there’s more to this story.
“We’ve heard from several people that it’s not the first time that she opens and closes a business after selling gift certificates” said Sousa.
In fact, another Diamond Spa location in Delson closed recently, leaving customers on the south shore stranded.
But again, the owner claims she’s trying to transfer them to the two remaining locations.
But there’s a catch:
“It’s impossible to get through to Dorval,” said Sousa. “I’ve tried and tried.”
The phone lines are almost always engaged, and messages are rarely returned.
The owner is clearly having a hard time keeping up with her 15,000 clients.
“Yes, not everybody’s happy because we cannot get to the calls but we’re hiring more people to get to our call volumes that we have right now and to be able to accommodate everybody as quickly as possible,” said Noroozi.
While she is certainly feeling the heat from customers, Noroozi is adamantly denying foul play.
“I don’t think I’ve done a crime, I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong, I haven’t harmed anybody.”
Some customers have already filed complaints with Quebec’s Consumer Protection Agency.
“It’s frustrating, it’s unprofessional and I don’t know how she can still run a business in Dorval while doing this to people,” said Sousa.
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