SF Shops Refused to Honor Pre-Paid Packages

NBC BAY AREA RESPONDS

A foot massage is usually relaxing experience.

But this small indulgence for the toes has triggered a large headache for several San Francisco residents.

Joshua Zerkel says he spent $168 about a year ago prepaying for massages at Relax Feet on Valencia Street. Paying up front made sense because he got a discount.

“It was a pretty good deal,” he said. ”I thought, ‘I’ll use this.’”

But back in April, Joshua discovered that the stack of gift cards he’d bought were suddenly worthless.

 “When I called them up to use them, they told me that they were no longer valid,” he explained.  “They had changed ownership, and they would no longer honor these.”

Relax Feet had become 620 Massage, and Joshua was told it was under new management.

“It’s essentially the same story,” said Greg Myers.

Myers and his wife, Lonnie Lebin, also bought prepaid massages from Relax Feet on Noriega Street. That location became Sweet & Smile Massage, which also refused to honor prepaid purchases.

 “We’re out $140,” Lebin said.

MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS

NBC Bay Area Responds logged five complaints about former Relax Feet locations. Many other complaints are posted on various social media forums.

Relax Feet had several locations in San Francisco. All recently closed or changed names, leaving customers like Zerkel, Myers and Lebin in a lurch.

So, we began asking questions.

Santa Clara University law professor Anna Han told us businesses are supposed to take into account liabilities like prepaid purchases when companies change hands. Someone’s on the hook, either the new management or the old, she said.

We called, wrote and even visited the massage parlors in person to ask for an explanation. But we never received a response.

MURKY PAPER TRAIL

Next, we requested state records.

The Articles of Organization – basically a business’s birth certificate – told us that the location Loni and Greg used has new management.

But, the shop Zerkel used, now called 620 Massage, was registered by the same "manager" who filed paperwork for the old business, Relax Feet, eight years ago.

Even that doesn’t tell us the whole story.

Although state records show when ownership changes occur, the actual names of business owners aren’t required in public records.

 “You can’t really get to the true owners,” Han said.

LEGAL OPTIONS

Han says getting to those who are financially responsible will probably require a lawsuit.

“Consumers can try to get a court to look through the sale,” she said. “To look past the technical transaction and hold the previous owners liable.”

Coincidentally, Han says she recently faced a similar situation with a different company.

“I purchased a package myself in an Oakland massage place,” she said. “Particularly, having sort of experienced this myself, I would say don’t buy any long term packages. Don’t spend a lot of money on packages.”

After Zerkel called NBC Bay Area Responds and we began asking questions, 620 Massage updated its website with an “announcement.”

It read, “A prepaid package holder will be able use it at 620 Massage locations. Even though we are not related to Relax Feet, we also consider you as our important customer.”

 “I’m really surprised,” Zerkel said. “I’ve called numerous times – as have other people – and there was no recourse for us.”

The announcement that 620 Massage will honor Relax Feet gift cards is good news for Zerkel. But not Greg and Lonnie.

'JUST HONOR IT'

Their former Relax Feet location isn’t budging. Han says Greg and his wife will probably have to sue.

Lonnie, a retired schoolteacher, offers the owner an easier solution:  “Just honor it,” she said. “This is San Francisco, we honor things here.”

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