My wife recently visited an American Laser Centers location in Skokie, IL.

The American Laser "clinic" manager, Ms.Elizabeth Mazurek, opened up a GE CareCredit card acount in her name without explaining that she was opening a credit account in my name. She claimed she was just doing a credit check. The paperwork did not appear to explicitly indicate that a credit line was being opened either. When I found a credit card had been issued in her name without her explicit consent, and that $4500+ had been charged to that credit line, we became very uncomfortable with American Laser's business practices. W e had not even seen all the awful posts and publicity that this company has generated.

We have repeatedly asked for American Laser to credit the amount and refund the money, and Elizabeth has repeatedly delayed and obfuscated. We have asked in writing to customer service and repeatedly over the phone.

My wife has not used any of American Laser's services, and wish the entire amount plus any interest to be credited immediately.

We have just written a complaint to the credit card company, GE CapitalCredit. We are also in process of filing complaints with the Illinois Attorney General, FTC, and Better Business Bureau.

Any other suggestions?

Since I believe my nightmarish story has now concluded, I thought I would share how I dealt with this company. I won't bother retelling the company's history and business practices as it is widely reported elsewhere.

My wife won the $300 coupon at a local health fair (I don't really have an issue with this practice btw). I was not present at her consultation but she was heavily pressured mostly by coyly demeaning her. "Oh you really must get rid of that unsightly hair, you will be soooo happy" kind of stuff. Then they told her she could come in for monthly treatments at $100/month and asked if she wanted to begin immediately. She agreed and had one treatment. As she was leaving, they asked her to sign a paper and didn't review its contents at all. It was a contract for $6000 of services and they had opened a line of credit.

Now my wife should have known better, but I really didn't think this was a big deal until I started researching this company that evening and then I panicked.

I left a message at the office she visited simply saying "my wife wishes to discontinue the program. We will pay for the one treatment she received. Please call us asap."

So the next day the regional manager calls my wife and says that I threatened them, threats won't work, you signed the papers, etc. Totally unprovoked anger from the regional manager, she was truly crazy. I believe her name was Jen.

So we both went into the local office and tried to discuss the situation with the local manager who had been so very friendly the night before. Jeckyll and Hyde, what do you know. She's now yelling at my wife even though my wife is crying and begging to terminate the program. She gets the regional manager on the phone and the regional manager says the same thing. "NO REFUNDS, YOU SIGNED THE PAPERS, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, I WILL NOT SPEAK TO YOUR HUSBAND, YOU CANNOT THREATEN ME." I've really never experienced anything like it even at a car dealership. So I sat in silence during this and then calmly offered again to pay for the treatment she received and said I couldn't understand how this wasn't a reasonable proposition. Neither of us once threatened them to this point. Of course they then began yelling at me. So then I said I would call a lawyer and the local media and I was quite serious about this. When the local manager said she couldn't understand my problem because their clients were happy, I said she shouldn't be working for a company like this and that she should try googling "American Laser Centers" sometime. I guess you could call these threats and insults - finally.

So then the local manager called us a few hours later and offered a reduced package or a single treatment at $800+. While this is a ridiculous number of course, I didn't see any way around paying it so I agreed to it. She told me again that threats don't work. I guess they are really worried about threats. Terror level RED!

Then of course more shenanigans ensued. No one local or at HQ would return a phone call or email about the status of the refund for a month. So I started playing with their phone system, which is designed to not allow you to talk to a person. In fact, every person I talked to seemed shocked that I had reached them. I'd just started madly hitting # and * and 9 until I ended up in a company directory. I randomly picked someone in the directory, actually spoke to them, then they sent me to customer service land again where my call was dropped. This happened several times, but I just kept trying random people until someone put me in touch with someone named Eva at extension 291 who ultimately issued my refund. I have to say that she was the only one I spoke to that seemed reasonable and acted as if this was totally routine. Turned out that even after a month the local manager had not initiated the refund even though she said it would take no more than a week. I insisted on receiving a document with the refund information on it. In the refund ticket I got from the local manager had entered "The number sounds correct, I was going to enter this later today". Yeah right.

Getting this refund ticket document was another serious trick. Eva went on vacation and said I would have it faxed to me the next day. Didn't happen of course so I called her neighbors (x270, 272, 273, etc.) I spoke to Marketing people, IT people, I didn't care who. They did dumb stuff like hung up before the fax went through and tried to send the fax to my cell phone. I don't know if this was a sign of intention or incompetence.

I really had the feeling the whole way that they were a stonewalling operation of the highest level.

I only have minor complaints about GE/Care Credit. As soon as the refund was issued I called and paid the balance over the phone and requested that they close my account. A few days later I received a letter saying the account was closed, but I still had a balance and had incurred a finance charge. I called to ask why there was still a balance and they said my transaction had been 'voided' and they couldn't explain why. So I did another transaction and this one went through, but now my available credit has gone from $0 (i.e. account is closed) back up to $6500.

Anyway, I'm sorry for the rambling writing style. I'm normally much more deliberate but this is all I had time for.

It goes without saying that you should avoid this company at all costs. You certainly do not want to trust any aspect of your health to a company like this.

My only other advice is to fight fire with fire. I do not like conflict at all, but with a company this low you have to stoop to their level to fight.

Best of luck to those still fighting.

Since I believe my nightmarish story has now concluded, I thought I would share how I dealt with this company. I won't bother retelling the company's history and business practices as it is widely reported elsewhere. My wife won the $300 coupon at a local health fair (I don't really have an issue with this practice btw). I was not present at her consultation but she was heavily pressured mostly by coyly demeaning her. "Oh you really must get rid of that unsightly hair, you will be soooo happy" kind of stuff. Then they told her she could come in for monthly treatments at $100/month and asked if she wanted to begin immediately. She agreed and had one treatment. As she was leaving, they asked her to sign a paper and didn't review its contents at all. It was a contract for $6000 of services and they had opened a line of credit.

Now my wife should have known better, but I really didn't think this was a big deal until I started researching this company that evening and then I panicked. I left a message at the office she visited simply saying "my wife wishes to discontinue the program. We will pay for the one treatment she received. Please call us asap." So the next day the regional manager calls my wife and says that I threatened them, threats won't work, you signed the papers, etc. Totally unprovoked anger from the regional manager, she was truly crazy. I believe her name was Jen.

So we both went into the local office and tried to discuss the situation with the local manager who had been so very friendly the night before. Jeckyll and Hyde, what do you know. She's now yelling at my wife even though my wife is crying and begging to terminate the program. She gets the regional manager on the phone and the regional manager says the same thing. "NO REFUNDS, YOU SIGNED THE PAPERS, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, I WILL NOT SPEAK TO YOUR HUSBAND, YOU CANNOT THREATEN ME." I've really never experienced anything like it even at a car dealership. So I sat in silence during this and then calmly offered again to pay for the treatment she received and said I couldn't understand how this wasn't a reasonable proposition. Neither of us once threatened them to this point. Of course they then began yelling at me. So then I said I would call a lawyer and the local media and I was quite serious about this. When the local manager said she couldn't understand my problem because their clients were happy, I said she shouldn't be working for a company like this and that she should try googling "American Laser Centers" sometime. I guess you could call these threats and insults - finally.

So then the local manager called us a few hours later and offered a reduced package or a single treatment at $800+. While this is a ridiculous number of course, I didn't see any way around paying it so I agreed to it. She told me again that threats don't work. I guess they are really worried about threats. Terror level RED!

Then of course more shenanigans ensued. No one local or at HQ would return a phone call or email about the status of the refund for a month. So I started playing with their phone system, which is designed to not allow you to talk to a person. In fact, every person I talked to seemed shocked that I had reached them. I'd just started madly hitting # and * and 9 until I ended up in a company directory. I randomly picked someone in the directory, actually spoke to them, then they sent me to customer service land again where my call was dropped. This happened several times, but I just kept trying random people until someone put me in touch with someone named Eva at extension 291 who ultimately issued my refund. I have to say that she was the only one I spoke to that seemed reasonable and acted as if this was totally routine. Turned out that even after a month the local manager had not initiated the refund even though she said it would take no more than a week. I insisted on receiving a document with the refund information on it. In the refund ticket I got from the local manager had entered "The number sounds correct, I was going to enter this later today". Yeah right.

Getting this refund ticket document was another serious trick. Eva went on vacation and said I would have it faxed to me the next day. Didn't happen of course so I called her neighbors (x270, 272, 273, etc.) I spoke to Marketing people, IT people, I didn't care who. They did dumb stuff like hung up before the fax went through and tried to send the fax to my cell phone. I don't know if this was a sign of intention or incompetence.

I really had the feeling the whole way that they were a stonewalling operation of the highest level.

I only have minor complaints about GE/Care Credit. As soon as the refund was issued I called and paid the balance over the phone and requested that they close my account. A few days later I received a letter saying the account was closed, but I still had a balance and had incurred a finance charge. I called to ask why there was still a balance and they said my transaction had been 'voided' and they couldn't explain why. So I did another transaction and this one went through, but now my available credit has gone from $0 (i.e. account is closed) back up to $6500.

Anyway, I'm sorry for the rambling writing style. I'm normally much more deliberate but this is all I had time for. It goes without saying that you should avoid this company at all costs. You certainly do not want to trust any aspect of your health to a company like this. My only other advice is to fight fire with fire. I do not like conflict at all, but with a company this low you have to stoop to their level to fight.

Best of luck to those still fighting.

I am a patient at American Laser Centers, I purchased a Vela shape package of 6 at the Carmel, In location one month ago. I first sat down and spoke with the clinic manager Ruthy she seemed very fun and energetic at first but as the consult went by she became very talkative and shuddering her words, at that time I should of known she was lieing to me. I started to get very uncomfortable and just wanted to get out of there. So she sold me on the vela package, MAN she talked so fast I said to myself she should work for a car dealership. After I paid for my package with carecredit she promised me that my abdomen will become completely flat and my flanks will be gone after two tx's. So I believed her, but after 4 tx's I seen no results so I called the clinic on 3-1-08 and spoke with her assistant, so she claimed I can't remember her name, she put me on hold, but I don't think she realized that she did not push the hold button. She spoke with someone regarding my situation she called me a complaining bitch and said this bitch wants her money back. So I did not say anything once she got back on the phone, she told me I'm sorry, but the clinic manager is not here right now, I knew she was lieing because she called ruthy's name. But to make this disturbing complaint short. I called customer service and told them what happened the lady on the phone was shocked and said I will make sure someone get back with you ASAP, but I am still waiting This company is a total rip off and full of it those girls need to be fired and kicked out. All I want is my money back I refuse to go back to the Carmel clinic and any other clinic at American Laser Centers!!!

Just want to let any men who are thinking about getting their back hair removed it doesn't work I paid $2000.00 for my back they have been doing treatments from 6/11/05 to 3/9/08 you can only guess the 100's of treatments I have had. I was told that after 6 treatments most of my back hair will be removed (it wasn't they said because of my nationality I have a lot of back hair which is another lie my back hair was not that thick) Then I have a 2 yr guarantee that I should buy because they said DEFINITELY after the 2 yrs it will be gone. Well it's been 2 yrs later and over 100's of treatments and I still have growth. Yes not as much back hair as I use to have but for 2000.00 and 100's of treatments you'd think it would be gone.