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Review content:
FOX 31 Investigates: Burned 'At The Beach'\r
Heidi Hemmat KDVR Investigative Reporter \r
10:01 PM MST, November 25, 2009\r
DENVER, Colo. - All they wanted was a tan. Instead, hundreds of Coloradans say they got tricked into signing ironclad contracts.\r
Kevin Lanoha and his wife, Bridget, say lying ""At the Beach"" salespeople talked them into signing a $45 a month membership which -store employees said- could be canceled at anytime.\r
""It was absolutely clear, I could cancel at any time,"" says Kevin. But they were really signing a one year contract that they could not break.\r
""I was angry, and frustrated,"" Kevin, who is also a lawyer, told us. ""It's a pretty bold scam...I'm still actually quite shocked by it.""\r
And the Lanoha's are not alone.\r
Hundreds of customers from across the country have filed complaints against the tanning superstore. The Better Business Bureau in Oklahoma City, where ""At the Beach"" is based, gives the company an ""F"" rating. Colorado's BBB gives the company a ""D minus.""\r
Customers claim they got duped into believing what the salespeople were saying, instead of reading the fine print on the contract.\r
""I totally feel like I was duped,"" another customer, Sean White, told us. ""No one reads the six-point font and the two page-long contract.""\r
""It's called deceptive advertising,"" Kevin Lanoha says.\r
The contract Kevin and many of the others signed says it cannot be broken unless you move 25 miles from an ""At The Beach"" location. It also says any verbal agreement is not legally binding.\r
Another customer we spoke with, Jordan Shore, still couldn't get out of her $2,000 contract, even after she got accepted to attend college in Australia. She even provided proof to At the Beach's corporate office.\r
""I'm not even going to be in the country, so I'm obviously not going to be using it, but I'm still paying $50 a month,"" Shore said.\r
Hoyl Belt, who identified himself as a spokesperson for ""At the Beach,"" says they are aware of the complaints. He insists you can cancel if you move 25 miles away, and he says recently the company made it possible for customers to buy out their contract, by paying 50% of the balance due.\r
Belt says the new ""buyout"" option is spelled out on their new contract form. And, he says, their employees are not deceiving their customers.\r
""We secret shop our stores at an expense of thousands of dollars a month to ensure information is being handled right,"" Belt told us.\r
But when we went into ""At the Beach"" undercover, I was assured I could cancel my 12 month contract at anytime.\r
""You can cancel whenever you want to,"" the employee said. The salesperson never mentioned the ""buyout"" or that I'd have to move away to do it.\r
A former ""At the Beach"" employee, who wanted to remain anonymous, told us she was trained to tell people they could cancel at anytime even though she soon figured out it wasn't true.\r
""I felt really bad for the customers. Every time they signed a membership it was like they were signing their whole credit card over to the company.""\r
At the Beach customers who feel they've been 'burned' don't have to take it lying down.\r
They can contact the Colorado Attorney General to file a formal complaint at 1-800-222-4444 or email stop.fraud@state.co.us.\r
Cons: Total Scam - Stay Away
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