PARKER, Colo. — Scheduling a massage for many helps them relax, but a longtime member of Massage Envy says the last few months have been filled with frustrations with the business in Parker.
Kaitlyn Bishop says she was billed hundreds of dollars and her efforts to freeze her membership during the pandemic went unanswered.
Bishop says she’s been a member of Massage Envy for five years and visited many locations and most recently had a membership with the Parker location.
When the pandemic hit, Massage Envy in Parker was forced to shut down, but Bishop says her bill kept rolling in.
“Every single month I had $65 come out of my account,” she said.
Bishop says she tried to contact the business to freeze her membership to no avail.
“Their phone lines were down and they weren’t answering emails,” Bishop said.
Savings were Bishop’s top priority after she learned her flight attendant job was on the line.
“I couldn’t afford the luxury of having a massage anymore and two I couldn’t even go in and use them,” she said.
She says the business withdrew nearly $700 from her account. When the business re-opened, she says she was told she had thirty days to use up her nine massages.
“How am I supposed to use nine massages in 30 days,” she said.
Frustrated, she reached out to the Massage Envy corporate office in Scottsdale, Arizona and even contacted the attorney general, but she didn’t get results until she contacted Denver7.
“You guys reached out to them and in 24 hours, I got a response from the VP of operations who called me personally and refunded the majority of my membership,” Bishop said.
We reached out to Massage Envy, and they released the following statement:
All Massage Envy locations are independently owned and operated, and each franchised location owner makes independent decisions regarding its billing practices. If members have any questions about their membership, including billing, we encourage them to contact the location to better understand their options and work through a solution. We have forwarded your message to the franchisee, and it is our understanding that the franchisee is in the process of communicating with their member to resolve her concerns.
Denver7 took a closer look at the business on the Better Business Bureau and found that the Massage Envy headquarters located in Scottsdale, AZ, has an “F” rating. Two complaints filed in April were related to billing issues. The website did disclose that BBB did not accredit Massage Envy.
“People really should have the option to be refunded or at least extend the amount of time that they can use the ones (massages) that they built up when their stores were closed,” Bishop said.
Bishop hopes by sharing her story, the company will change its policy and help customers during trying times.
“You are going to lose members that could have stayed with you if you would have dealt with this better,” Bishop said.
Editor's note: Denver7 seeks out audience tips and feedback to help people in need, resolve problems and hold the powerful accountable. If you know of a community need our call center could address, or have a story idea for our investigative team to pursue, please email us at contact7@thedenverchannel.com or call (720) 462-7777. Find more Denver7 stories here.
