Harmony Heals

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
I came to Harmony Heals for help with some personal issuesAfter an initial meeting (in the presence of my partner) explaining my financial situation as well as my treatment needs to the owner, *** ***, we all agreed to tailor a treatment plan for meAfter this initial meeting, all of my contact with Harmony Heals was through *** and, at times, his assistant *** *** scheduled me for several therapy session with therapists that I did not want as well as a monitoring program I had repeatedly expressed to him that I didn't wantWhen I said this to ***, stating my financial situation as well as my wishes not to receive extraneous therapy sessions, I was told that I was the "sick person" and should leave decisions about my treatment up to Harmony HealsI was shocked and tried to explain my position that Harmony Heals had no right to impel me to purchase something I did not want, but he continued to bully me, making it clear that I did not have a say in the matter, which is absolutely absurdAs sessions are charged in full, even I chose not to show up, I had no choice but to attend these unnecessary sessions (they had my credit card on file and were free to charge it as they pleased)About a week into my treatment, I was bullied into paying for a dietitian employed by Harmony Heals, with *** threatening to withhold treatment if I chose not toWhile I was able to cancel my sessions with this dietitian after the initial assessment, the fact that I was forced, again, to pay for sessions I had specifically said I didn't want left me feeling helplessMy time at Harmony became more and more uncomfortable as the weeks passedI actively avoided *** because, as the bullying worsened, the place I came to for help and healing had become unsafeA place where my voice and my needs didn't matter.
The situation that resulted in the charges I have disputed happened when I lost my job and immediately informed Harmony Heals that I could not continue paying for the monitoring program as well as sessions with a specific therapistAt this point, I was informed that the charges to my credit card had been made the day prior and were non-refundableMy partner approached *** and explained my financial situation, as well as the fact that the mission of Harmony Heals is to help people, not treat them like ATMsAfter receiving this phone call, *** called me in a rage and made it very clear that he was not going to refund the moneyHe then said, "Because your boyfriend is in the treatment world, I'm going to do you a favor," and offered me a $credit towards future sessions at HarmonyI immediately told him that I was not comfortable speaking with him over this matter and suggested he discuss this with my partner (with whom he had started the conversation) he refused and yelled (yes, he *yelled*) that he didn't need to need to speak to anybody and that I was lucky he was offering this much to meI told him that his actions (the yelling and the bullying) made me uncomfortable and that I could not talk to him like thatI contacted him a few minutes later by text, telling him that I didn't accept his offer (I was, at that point, terrified of setting foot in his business ever again) and to cancel all of my future sessions - After ***'s behavior, I was too frightened to return to Harmony HealsI asked for my invoice a few days later and was stonewalled by *** ***It took no less than phone calls to get her to send a correct version of my invoice - the whole process took almost two weeksThe final act of disrespect in an experience I had put all of my finances and emotional efforts behind.
In understand that, technically, Harmony Heals has a good argument regarding it's right to keep my moneyHowever, I'd like to bring up the flagrantly predatory nature of ***'s business practices, especially since I am not the only person he has done this toHarmony Heals is a counseling center that professes to treat people who are in pain and seeking helpAs a result, these people are often very emotionally vulnerable and easily bullied - *** recognized this and took full advantage of it to scam me as well as other clientsI believe the threats and the harassment I experienced with *** with respect to my treatment are unethical and motivated by the prospect of financial gain rather that my own well beingAnyone involved in mental health treatment knows that, when you treat a client, you are dealing with a human life, not a business transactionAbuse of any kind will invariably have a dramatic impact on the life of the patientUnfortunately, the impact that my interaction with *** *** has was devastatingThe money issue aside, I am traumatized by the fact that a place I came to for help used my vulnerability as a means to make a profitThis is WRONG and both Harmony Heals and its clients, both current and potential, should be made aware of this.
Regards,
*** ***

This response is in reference to Complaint ID #[redacted].
This is an unfortunate circumstance where the client had an unexpected financial hardship and is upset that we did not amend our policy in her favor. In order for our small business to operate when we reduce our rates for so many clients, we must maintain strict no-refund policies for our monitoring service and we have a cancellation policy of 24 hours for all other services. If we did not maintain these policies and returned money for services every time a client’s financial situation changed or a client simply did not show up for their appointment, we would soon be out of business. This client was not charged $1000 per month for the monitoring service, though that is our regular monthly fee. We gave her a 20% discount, bringing the fee down to $800 per month for this service. The client continued receiving services the week that she lost her job. It was not until several days later that the client chose to cancel the monitoring service. She originally stated that she wanted to continue therapy, so we offered her a $500 credit towards future therapy sessions even though this client signed a non-refundable service agreement for our Monitoring Program. She initially accepted this offer. However, several days later she contacted us stating that she did not want to continue at Harmony and threated to lodge a complaint if we did not refund her money, which clearly she has done. The client did dispute the charge, and the bank was provided proof of the legitimacy of the charge. The bank did not issue a refund to the client because the client signed a clearly stated no-refund policy. As for the therapy charges the client is referring to, the client did receive these services. We have documentation in the client’s chart detailing these sessions; however, this information cannot be shared publicly.
Peace & Harmony,
[redacted],
Executive Assistant
949.391.5499
HARMONY HEALS
Holistic Counseling Center
23173 La Cadena Drive
Laguna Hills, CA 92653
[email protected]
http://www.harmonyheals.com
Ph: 949.837.2751 – Toll-free: 877.HELP 115
Fx: 949.600.7113 – Toll-free fax: 888.511.5443

Review: I began receiving therapy from Harmony Heals in January of 2014. My sessions were increased to include a monitoring service (basically, a service that allows me to "check in" with a member of support staff every day) in May of 2014. I lost my job at the end of May and, since I had no income, I could no longer afford the service (it costs about $1000/month). I called on June 3rd requesting that the service be discontinued and my credit card not charged. However, I was informed that the charges for the next month of monitoring, as well as the charges for the coming week of therapy had already been charged the previous day and could not be reversed. I went to the owner and explained my situation and he refused to refund my money, even though he knew I could not afford the charges. I never received the monitoring nor the therapy that I paid the owner $1020 for. My next step was to file a dispute with my credit card company explaining the situation. Unfortunately, however, the owner falsely claimed that I did receive the disputed services and now I am left with the burden of providing proof that I did not receive therapy (which, due to the intangible nature of therapy and monitoring, is almost impossible to prove). It is a terrible and predatory business practice to keep money for services that were not rendered, even if the credit card had already been charged. The purpose of this company is to help individuals in need, not to unfairly cheat them out of what little money they have. I want a refund for the $1020 charges on my credit card and I wish never to do business with Harmony Heals again.Desired Settlement: I would like the final two charges from Harmony Heals ($800 and $220) refunded to my credit card.

Business

Response:

This response is in reference to Complaint ID #[redacted].

This is an unfortunate circumstance where the client had an unexpected financial hardship and is upset that we did not amend our policy in her favor. In order for our small business to operate when we reduce our rates for so many clients, we must maintain strict no-refund policies for our monitoring service and we have a cancellation policy of 24 hours for all other services. If we did not maintain these policies and returned money for services every time a client’s financial situation changed or a client simply did not show up for their appointment, we would soon be out of business. This client was not charged $1000 per month for the monitoring service, though that is our regular monthly fee. We gave her a 20% discount, bringing the fee down to $800 per month for this service. The client continued receiving services the week that she lost her job. It was not until several days later that the client chose to cancel the monitoring service. She originally stated that she wanted to continue therapy, so we offered her a $500 credit towards future therapy sessions even though this client signed a non-refundable service agreement for our Monitoring Program. She initially accepted this offer. However, several days later she contacted us stating that she did not want to continue at Harmony and threated to lodge a complaint if we did not refund her money, which clearly she has done. The client did dispute the charge, and the bank was provided proof of the legitimacy of the charge. The bank did not issue a refund to the client because the client signed a clearly stated no-refund policy. As for the therapy charges the client is referring to, the client did receive these services. We have documentation in the client’s chart detailing these sessions; however, this information cannot be shared publicly.

Peace & Harmony,

[redacted],

Executive Assistant

949.391.5499

HARMONY HEALS

Holistic Counseling Center

23173 La Cadena Drive

Laguna Hills, CA 92653

[email protected]

http://www.harmonyheals.com

Ph: 949.837.2751 – Toll-free: 877.HELP 115

Fx: 949.600.7113 – Toll-free fax: 888.511.5443

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.