UPDATE: The owner of A Day of Delight Spa, Petra Lee Thomas, is responding to complaints about people not able to redeem their Groupon gift certificates.
"In the past, without my knowledge or consent, several customers have had issued with their Groupon coupons and scheduled treatments,Thomas said Wednesday.
Thomas added that she will offer a full refund to anyone affected.
EARLIER STORY:
A Stuart day spa is at the center of an investigation by Stuart Police, after more than a dozen people say they have paid for services, but been unable to redeem them.
"A Day of Delight Spa" in Stuart has been accused of selling gift certificates to numerous people, who in turn, struggled for months to book an appointment.
One incident report describes one person could not get an appointment for nearly a year, and could not get in touch with anyone to book her spa sessions.
Others say they’ve booked spa services and showed up for their appointment only to find the doors locked and no one at the spa. Then, they could not get reimbursement.
Other complaints come from employees saying they haven’t been paid on time, or are owed back pay from owner, Petra Thomas.
At this time, Thomas is not facing any criminal charges.
It’s a strange change for the day spa, according to regular customers, who have enjoyed past experiences.
“I’ve been there three, maybe four times since 2004,” said Audra Bell.
But, this year, she said she noticed a significant change in service.
In January, she decided to treat her mother and daughter to a day at the spa.
She spent more than $1,000 on spa services, food and gratuities in advance.
She arrived for their appointment in March with high hopes for a relaxing day. It became anything but delightful.
“We get there and the whole place is on lockdown. There’s nobody there, no lights on, no cars in the parking lot. We’re knocking on doors. I called. I texted,” Bell said.
To this day, Bell says she’s never received a response from Thomas. She was only able to get a refund through her credit card company.
“It was horrible,” Bell said.
The Better Business Bureau has given the business an "F" rating, saying they’ve also received 11 complaints, 8 of which Thomas has not responded to.
“The company has an unsatisfactory record with the better business bureau for not responding to customer complaints,” said Jackie McNeal with Better Business Bureau in Martin County.
McNeal said people can do the following to reduce their risk of losing their money to a business:
* Do your homework. Research the business by contacting the Better Business Bureau, or looking them up on the Better Business Bureau website. Look for any history of complaints.
* Make Gift Certificate purchases with a credit card, not cash.
* If you have trouble redeeming a special deal purchased through Groupon, contact Groupon with your issue, or file a complaint to Groupon through the Better Business Bureau.
Thomas could not be reached for comment Tuesday but released the following statement Wednesday morning:
A Day Of Delight had been in existence for 20 plus years. We pride ourselves on community involvement. Word of mouth referrals and reputation are important to us. In the past, without my knowledge or consent, several customers have had issues with their Groupon coupons and scheduled treatments. We regret this error and apologize for any inconvenience. Full refunds are offered to all affected.
