Paul Tassin  |  May 30, 2016

Category: Consumer News

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massage envy class actionIn a new class action lawsuit, a group of plaintiffs claim Massage Envy Franchising LLC systematically denies prepaid massages to its customers.

Six former Massage Envy customers from Florida and Texas say the Arizona-based company requires customers to forfeit any prepaid (but unused) massages upon the end of their monthly memberships.

The company does this despite a provision in its membership agreement for refund of membership dues paid for any services that went unredeemed, the plaintiffs allege. They say other terms in the agreement require active membership in order to redeem any prepaid services.

According to the Massage Envy class action lawsuit, the company operates over 700 franchise locations that provide massage services through a prepaid membership model. A monthly membership of $59 entitles members to one massage per month. Massages that go unused in one month “roll over” so that they can be used in a later month, according to the lawsuit.

However, customers who terminate their memberships or allow their accounts to fall into arrears are required to forfeit any massages already paid for but not yet used, the plaintiffs say.

Each of the named plaintiffs claim to have forfeited at least one prepaid massage due to the company’s practices. They allegedly purchased and maintained Massage Envy memberships for several months or years, then terminated those memberships sometime in 2015.

Plaintiff Jeanette Rawls says she lost four prepaid massages when she finally terminated her membership after almost seven years of membership. Plaintiff Alex Zennaro says terminating his own contract resulted in forfeiture of fourteen prepaid massages.

The plaintiffs argue these forfeitures constitute a breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and that it unjustly enriches Massage Envy at its customers’ expense. They also say these forfeitures are effectively liquidated damages penalties, which themselves are unfair business practices and violate the public policy of every U.S. state.

This Massage Envy class action lawsuit comes hot on the heels of a highly similar class action lawsuit alleging violations of California consumer protection law and seeking to represent Massage Envy customers in California.

In this newer lawsuit, the six named plaintiffs propose to represent a plaintiff Class consisting of everyone in the U.S. who lost at least one 50-minute monthly massage when their Massage Envy membership was cancelled, terminated or not renewed between Mar. 7, 2015 and June 30, 2016.

The plaintiffs are seeking restitution of the payment that the plaintiffs and future Class Members made for massages they never got to use, or alternatively a court order requiring Massage Envy to let them receive all their prepaid massages. They are also asking for an award of attorneys’ fees and costs of litigation.

The plaintiffs are represented by Joshua H. Eggnatz, Michael J. Pascucci and Benjamin M. Lopatin of Eggnatz, Lopatin & Pascucci LLP.

The Massage Envy Forfeiture Scheme Class Action Lawsuit is Michele Bandell, et al. v. Massage Envy Franchising LLC, Case No. 16-cv-1236, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

UPDATE: A class action settlement agreement has been reached! Instructions for how to file a claim can be found here.

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16 thoughts onMassage Envy Class Action Alleges Unfair Forfeiture Scheme

  1. Tonesha says:

    This is what is happening to me. They wont let me use all my points that I have already paid for unless i unfreeze my account and give them more money. I have been sick for months and wasn’t able to use mine. Now i don’t have a job to continue to pay them. That’s the reason I froze my account. WHAT am I to do?

  2. Top Class Actions says:

    UPDATE: A class action settlement agreement has been reached! Instructions for how to file a claim can be found here.

  3. april benenati says:

    It has for a fact ripped me off in Nevada Scamers. Ill never go there again.

  4. Sharron says:

    This happened to me and then I didn’t use all my credits and canceled my membership. They still continued to charge my credit card and j didn’t have any massages left in there books.

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