MONTREAL – Complaints against Diamond Spa are mounting at the Office de la protection du consommateur, after another location closed its doors.
“I spent a bundle of money and wasn’t able to get the services I paid for,” said Corinne Waheed.
The West Island resident purchased $1,500 worth of laser hair removal treatments only to find out the Dorval spa is now closed. Several customers told Global News a handwritten note claiming they are “closed for the day” has been up for close to two weeks.
Corinne says she’s tried everything to get her money back but hasn’t been able to reach the owner.
“The place is closed down, the phones are out of service,” said Corinne. “I think it’s fraud, they’re taking your money, they’re putting it in their pockets.”
Corinne and her sister say they’ve both sustained burns during laser hair removal treatments.
“Both my legs were covered in burns,” said Thalie Waheed, who had previously purchased close to $800 in hair removal treatments. “I wish I had taken pictures to show you how bad it was.”
And while the sisters are willing to forgive the spa for the alleged injuries, they can’t handle feeling like fraud victims.
“It’s embarrassing,” said Corinne. “I’m afraid that she’s just taking my money and running away and I’ll never hear about them, they’ll close down they’ll go bankrupt they won’t be able to refund anybody anything.”
According to the Office de la protection du consommateur, 35 customers have filed complaints against Diamond Spa.
“They made a lot of contracts with consumers and unfortunately it doesn’t seem that that company will be able to respect them,” said Jean-Jacques Préaux, media relations officer at the Office de la protection du consommateur.
The consumer protection agency says it sent a letter to Diamond Spa in July, urging them to change their questionable business practices.
“Act differently with the consumer. If they don’t, they might be going to court with the Office de la protection du consommateur,” insisted Préaux.
Global News caught up with the owner on Tuesday at her spa on Taschereau boulevard in Greenfield Park. Sanaz Noroozi denies any wrongdoing and says the Dorval location is under renovations and will open in about 10 days.
“It’s not closed, I’m even paying their taxi to come here,” said Noroozi about her Dorval customers.
But that’s a similar story to what happened with Diamond Spa in Île Perrot and in Delson back in May. Both spas suddenly closed for good, after customers say they were told it would open again.
“I’m sure it’s not reopening because they don’t seem very trustworthy,” said Thalie.
Online sites like Groupon continue to sell discount deals for Diamond Spa. In a written statement Groupon told Global News:
“We’ve confirmed with the merchant that both the Dorval and Taschereau locations are currently open with no intention to close…We will refund customers if they’re having problems booking, regardless of when they purchased.”
Montreal police claim their fraud department has yet to receive any complaints about the company. The consumer protection agency is considering launching a full investigation.
“Something’s gotta be done. How can she continue to be able to operate when nodoby’s happy with what they’re getting?” said Corinne.
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