ComplaintsforTerra Organic Spa

• Initial Complaint

  04/04/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  During Covid a$200 gift certificate was purchased to support local business Terraorganics spa. Owners RAchel M****** company was not open for many months during CoVID. When I attempted to redeem the gift certificate the owner Rachel M****** told me I could not use it as it was expired. The gift certificate was purchased in Nov 2020. I was not aware of expiration date until I was told by employee Kim of Terraorganics Spa. She said owner had extended many times for people but Rachel owner would not extend for me. I looked on website and Instagram and her site stated that they were extending gift certificates without an end date and they were only not extending certificates due on 2020. Mine was 2021. I explained due to having Covid multiple times and sick family members as well as deaths and taking care of an ill mother in law, I was not comfortable coming to small room for massage until after complete vaccinations/boosters and after holiday surge completed. Rachel owner did not care. I informed her of CARD ACT of 2009 and legislation S.3467-B/A.4629-c that restricts business from placing expirations on gift certificates. She currently has accepted $200 purchase and has not provided any services and will not. I This is horrible business Etiquette at a time when consumers were trying to help out small businesses to keep them afloat during Covid. Very unethical in my opinion

  Business response

  04/14/2022

   Thank you for the opportunity to respond.  The CARD ACT of 2009 protects consumers against predatory gift cards that function like a credit card and have fees and interest. We have never issued gift cards. S.3467-B/A.4629-C was signed by Governor Hochul and went into effect in December 2021. The gift certificate given to **** was issued and expired prior to this date. The customer who purchased the gift certificate for **** made that purchase with the knowledge of our policies. They are communicated on our website. Our policies at the time of purchase and expiration are within the law at that present time. The expiration date is on the gift certificate. When **** called the spa initially, she confirmed that date herself when speaking with our receptionist. She asked to have further confirmation from the owner. Our receptionist reached out to me for that confirmation that was then shared with ****. I shared with **** through email that we have been greatly affected by our temporary closure and by the changes to our practice that the pandemic has caused. We cannot extend further without harm to our business. Her emailed reply has been attached. Her communication in this email is threatening. **** has included an Instagram post from May 2020 which stated that we were extending gift certificate expiration's due to covid-19. We also provided this information to our clients through email and on our website. While not required to, we extended all gift certificates that expired in 2020 to the end of that year. While we were closed due to the governor’s requirement for part of 2020, we were open and operating at the time that the gift certificate was purchased, November 2020. If **** was uncomfortable using the gift certificate, she could have communicated that with the person who gave it to her. She also had the option of giving it to someone else who would have enjoyed using it. We want gift certificates to be used and appreciated by the recipient. The person who gives a gift certificate chooses us to provide care for someone special in their life.Unused gift certificates create an issue with small businesses as we must account for them as income in our taxes each year. That is why most small businesses have had the policy of a one-year expiration. I have reached out to other small business owners, the Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business Administration and Governor Hochul. **** has chosen to use her influence and what she calls support of small business in a most inappropriate manner. We have had great flexibility and have met the challenge of operating with the safety of our staff and clients at the center of our practice. We have done our best under unprecedented times. Rachel M******Terra Organic Spa201 Highbridge StreetFayetteville, N.Y.13066

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