Business ProfileforGoal's Aesthetics & Plastic Surgery

On September 7, 2022, Atlanta Medical Care, P.C., Atlanta Gross Medical Care, P.C., MG Capital Group, Inc. and My Goals Solutions, Inc. (Respondents) entered into an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance (AVC) with the Attorney General of the State of Georgia. The AVC settles allegations that the Respondents have engaged in unfair or deceptive acts or practices during the course of consumer transactions in trade or commerce, as declared unlawful by O.C.G.A. § 10-1-390 et seq.  

 

Specifically, the Attorney General alleges that Respondents have engaged in the following unlawful, unfair or deceptive acts or practices by, among other things: 

 

1) Including in their contracts with consumers a provision that required the consumer to waive any and all rights to bring any type of litigation before any type of adjudicative body or arbitration or court for any reason including, but not limited to, claims of…fraud, deception or any consumer protection statue. This contractual language purports to limit the operation of the Fair Business Practices Act. 

 

2) Including in their contracts with consumers a provision that prohibits consumers from making any communication that would adversely affect Respondents, and requires consumers, before making any statement that would adversely affect Respondents, first to notify them and to allow them an opportunity to remedy the consumer’s issue. The contract further imposes a hefty, liquidated damages clause if consumers either violate or threatened to violate that provision.
 

3) Failing to adequately disclose to consumers their rescheduling, refund, and cancellation policies.
 

4) Unilaterally changing material terms of the contract after the consumer has incurred a financial obligation, including date of procedure, price, type of procedure, and medical provider without the consumer’s consent and without allowing the consumer an opportunity to obtain a refund.

 

5) Despite their representations in their contract cancellation policies that they rely on the patient to be present and does not book other willing and able patients for that same date and time, overbooking medical procedures and routinely requiring consumers to reschedule those procedures without their consent and without allowing for a refund, often causing the consumer to incur out of pocket losses.

 

6) Taking payment from consumers for goods that are necessary to the success of the medical procedure, but not timely providing the goods to consumers. 
 

7) Holding raffles when not authorized to do so.
 
 

Under terms of the AVC, Atlanta Medical Care, P.C., Atlanta Gross Medical Care, P.C., MG Capital Group, Inc. and My Goals Solutions, Inc. agreed to the following terms: 

 

1) Respondents shall act in full compliance with the Fair Business Practices Act (FBPA) and with the AVC. 

 

2) Respondents shall not make any false, misleading, or deceptive representations concerning the terms of their contracts with consumers, their medical providers, the goods or services that they offer to consumers, or the details (e.g. price, date of procedure or delivery, medical provider, anticipated results, amount of expected pain, etc.) of a particular medical procedure or sale of goods.  

 

3) Respondents shall not by contract, agreement, or otherwise attempt to limit the operation of the FBPA. By way of example, Respondents shall not include a provision in their contracts that would require a consumer to waive the cause of action under the FBPA. 

 

4) Respondents shall not, in their contracts used in the course of selling their goods or services to consumers, include any provision that would:  
 

a. Require a consumer to allow Respondents an opportunity to remedy the consumer’s issue before the consumer may communicate a written, oral, or pictorial review, performance assessment of, or other similar analysis of Respondent’s goods, services, or conduct; or 

b. Assess liquidated damages, attorney’s fees, or costs against the consumer for communicating or expressing an intent to communicate such a review, assessment, or analysis. 

 

5) Disclosures. Before the consumer incurs a financial obligation, Respondents shall: 
 

a. Disclose to the consumer all terms of the contract for the medical procedure; 

b. Clearly and conspicuously disclose all terms of the Respondents’ cancellation and refund policies; 

c. Clearly and conspicuously identify the contract terms that may change after the consumer incurs a financial obligation to Respondents (e.g. date of medical procedure, type of medical procedure, name of medical provider); 

d. Clearly and conspicuously disclose whether and when the consumer will be meeting with a physician prior to and following a medical procedure; and 

e. Clearly and conspicuously disclose if and how the results of the consumer’s medical procedure may vary from the results that Respondents advertise. 

 

6) Provision of Goods. Respondents shall provide all paid-for goods (e.g., post-op supplies, compression clothing, accessories) to consumers on or before the time that Respondents represent to consumers that they will receive the goods. If a consumer does not or cannot receive the goods on or before the represented time, Respondents shall provide the consumer the option to receive a full refund for the missing goods. 

 

7) Provision of medical procedures. If a consumer cannot receive the medical procedure at his or her scheduled time, and the procedure must be rescheduled without the consumer's consent, Respondents shall provide the consumer the option to receive a full refund for the medical procedure. 

 

8) Price Increases. Respondents may not, without the consumer’s consent, increase the price of a medical procedure or a good after the consumer has incurred a financial obligation for that procedure or good. 

 

9) Cancellation and Refund policy. Respondents shall not:  

a. Require any payment, deposit, or fee for the medical procedure or goods the consumer purchases for that procedure (e.g., post-op supplies, compression clothing, accessories) unless the paid amount is fully refundable at the consumer's election if: 

i. Respondents have violated this AVC. 

ii. Respondents cancel or direct the consumer to cancel the medical procedure for any reason. 

iii. Respondents changed the medical procedure or the medical professional performing that procedure without the consumer's consent. 

iv. The consumer cancels the medical procedure due to medical necessity or safety reasons. 

b. Withhold refunds or impose any cancellation fees and amounts that exceed the consumer specific and non-refundable expenses that respondents will have incurred for the consumer’s medical procedure prior to cancellation date. 

 

10) Consumer requests and is eligible for a refund, Respondents shall provide that refund within 30 days. If respondents do not refund a consumer within 30 days, Respondents shall pay the consumer interest equal to 18% per annum until such time that the refund has been made. 

 

11) Respondents shall cease advertising, soliciting or taking payments for, operating, or conducting any “raffle,” as defined by O.C.G.A. unless authorized under O.C.G.A. 

 

12) Respondents shall respond in a timely manner, but in no case later than 10 days, to all inquiries from the Attorney General's office related to the subjects of this AVC. 

 

Respondents agreed to pay: 

1) Court costs in the amount of $145.07; 

2) $58,455.11 in restitution to consumers who filed complaints with the Attorney General; 

3) $119,480 to the Attorney General for civil penalties, attorneys’ fees, and other costs of investigation and litigations or to be placed in or applied to any consumer protection law enforcement fund, etc. 

 

The Assurance of Voluntary Compliance was for settlement purposes only and should not be considered as an admission of guilt or finding of violation of the law.