Westlake Recovery

Complaint # [redacted] Second Response to [redacted] Thank you for allowing us to respond to your complaintThere seems to be some confusion around your belief of whether the client is entitled to a refund for terminating his contractSince the client did violate his contract which can be proven with sworn testimony by our staff, on-site surveillance camera information as well as your testimony that the client violated his contract (by walking out of the house without receiving permission to be gone for a hour time period) we are not able to provide him with a refund Since the facts are that the client violated his contract are very straight forward and easy to prove, you acknowledge that the client violated his contract and you also acknowledge that the contract stated that refunds are not provided, it seems as though this response should be sufficient to address your questions of whether a refund is possible The house rules and contract are very straight forward, which states, “If I violate any house rules resulting in my membership being terminated, or decide to no longer participate as a Member of the house, I will forfeit all membership fees for that period of time.” You had mentioned in your complaint that, the client violated the house rules that “occurred on October 2, when [redacted] left the facility as it was not a healthy environment for him.” Yet your complaint does not state anything our company did that had made it an unhealthy environment, it simply states, “This simply was not a good fit for ***”It could be understandable if the environment was not healthy for a client that refunds would be providedHowever, this was not the case at allThe client simply decided that he no longer wanted to remain in a sober living environmentYou have also had two opportunities to address any issues our company has not provided which violated our end of the agreement and have not provided any evidence at all other than your opinion that we should provide the client with a refund The client never received any permission to be absent from the sober house for more than hours, which he signed and agreed to as is listed in house rule # 27, “_______ I will ask permission from the house manager at least three days ahead of time if I will not be sleeping at the house and understand that if I am absent from the house for more than hours and had not asked the House Manager for permission will lead to my eviction*(T)” Again, you stated in your complaint that “on October 2, [redacted] left the facility”You did not provide any evidence that the client had received any permission for being absent from the house for more than hoursInstead you mentioned that you had only notified the house owner (not house manager) that the client would be leavingThe client had left without receiving permission or notifying anyone that he was leaving and then asked to be refunded for leaving the house, when he clearly signed a contract which states, “If I decide to no longer participate as a Member of the house, I will forfeit all membership fees.” Our men's recovery house has been recognized as the most upscale, highest quality living environment in Texas and one of the best in the nationIt can be verified by factual proof that our sober living environment provides more services, support and structure in the most upscale house in TexasOur house is not for everyoneUnfortunately, there are people that the only thing they want to do is relapse and there are those who believe they are entitled to a refund for relapsing, violating house rules or choosing to no longer participate as a member (as stated above) You presented a accusation that you believe our house places money above the best interest of clientsThis is not only extremely but can be proven with facts to not be trueOur web-site states that we provide the most affordable highest quality sober living environment in the nation and if not we will pay anyone $1,Although, you may wish you could prove this not to be true, you have provided no evidence as suchThere are approximately 72,sober homes in the U.SWe are not the top 1,or top 100, our house is the only house anywhere in the nation that provides the highest quality services at the most affordable rateThis can be proven by our location, house property value, cost of services, outside companies that provide our services and our success rate for sobrietyWe have only had one member during the last months relapse and had zero members during the first months we opened relapseThese statistics are unheard of for sober living or even for upscale treatment centers It is very confusing as to why you believe the client who violated his contract is entitled to any refundsAlthough, it is understandable to be disappointed that the client chose to no longer continue on with his sobriety, these are the actions that the client chose to make and does not reflect anything our company has not done to honor the contract we agreed to

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:7/28/ [redacted] DisputeResolution Specialist BetterBusiness Bureau DearMs [redacted] : Thefollowing responds to your note, received last Friday (July 25, 2014) inreference to Revdex.com complaint # [redacted] Please note that the response fromWestlake Recovery to our initial complaint was not helpful to our efforts torecover the $9,paid to Westlake Recovery for services that were notrenderedWe do not consider this incident to closed or resolvedAnd since weinitially filed the Revdex.com complaint, it might be important to note that WestlakeRecovery has lost its Level certification from the Texas Recovery Oriented HousingNetwork (TROHN)Wepaid Westlake Recovery $9,so our son, (the client) could stay six months atthe facilityHe left after two nights when it became clear that the program atWestlake Recovery was misrepresented and would not help him in his recoveryefforts [redacted] ***, the owner of Westlake Recovery, refused to refund themoney because, as he stated in his response that with no "financialconsequences it would simply be too easy for our clients to give up and returnto their former lives of addictionIn this case the client simply lacked thecommitment required." Theclient in question did not have a "lackof commitment." Indeed, the client left Westlake Recovery and went directlyto and immediately checked into another certified recovery facility locatednear AustinNow more than days after checking into that recovery facility,he is still in that recovery program and expects to be in the program at leastfive more months with no intention of leavingThese facts can be readily verified and we will be happy to supplyinformation that clearly contradicts [redacted] ***'s assertion that this clientsuffered a "failure." Wewould like to think that any business that wants to be known as a "betterbusiness" would not force clients to pay thousands of dollars for servicesnot renderedAt the most basic level, we paid more than $9,up front forour son to stay at Westlake Recovery home for six monthsHe stayed preciselytwo nights(Although the owner of Westlake Recovery said in his response toour Revdex.com complaint # [redacted] that our son "arrived at our house onSunday" the fact of the matter is that he arrived on Saturday, June 21.The owner's presentation of "facts" is often vague and oftenincorrect.) Althoughhe casually dismisses all our assertion made in our initial complaint # [redacted] and often provides non-responsive statements, we continue to stand by the assertions made in our initial complaint Theresponse by the owner of Westlake Recovery to our lengthy Better BusinessBureau complaint # [redacted] would be laughable if the matter wasn't so serious,but it is a serious matter since he is refusing to refund our $9,plus aboutan additional $10,in combined funds to two other families who had clientsleave at about the same time for similar reasons Inhis response to our Revdex.com complaint # [redacted] , the owner of Westlake Recovery claimsthat we misstated the factsThis assertion comes from someone who systematicallymisstates facts--big and small--on the company's website and in personForexample, a big misstatement of fact is that the owner of Westlake Recovery claimsin the bio on the Westlake Recovery website that he is a Peer CertifiedRecovery CoachHowever, he is notWerecently checked with [redacted] , who is the ExecutiveDirector/Certification Coordinator at the Texas Association of AddictionProfessions (TAAP) who said, that in reality, the owner of Westlake Recovery isnot a Peer Certified Recovery Coach.And then one of the smaller misstatements of facts is in the Features sectionof the website which describes a pool table, air hockey table, etcbeinglocated in a "sports enthusiast man cave" In reality, the man cave isa plain old unadorned garageThistype of misrepresentation is rampant on the Westlake Recovery website which isused to attract the interest of people who are desperately looking for a safeand structured place for their loved ones Inaddition to the earlier misrepresentation we described in Revdex.com complaint# [redacted] , we now point out that in his response, the owner of WestlakeRecovery claims that the "bus route is a minute bike ride from ourhouse." In fact, there is no route in AustinWe suppose that he meantto say route 171, as it seems to be the closest bus stop Whilehe asserts in the Revdex.com response that it is a three minute bike ride to thenearest bus stop, the website states: "Yes,although our house is located in one of the most affluent areas in Austin,there are two bus stops that are less than a minute bicycle ride from thehouse (#171, mins; #333, mins)...so which of [redacted] ***’s comments is true?What he says on the website or in the Revdex.com response? However,more importantly than debating which claim is true and which is not, it shouldbe pointed out there is no service at the #stop between 8:am to 1:15p.mand only offers return service between 4:p.mto 6:p.m(www.capmetro.org/schedulemap.aspx)Certainly it is not convenient (or even practical) to use this bus route toattend any AA or NA meetingsThewebsite talks about the "or more" restaurants that are approvedfor reimbursementThat was the number the owner cited when we made thein-person visit and dropped off the client on Saturday, June In hisresponse to this particular Revdex.com complaint, he now claims there are approvedrestaurants!?! Does anyone really believe he increased the number of approved restaurantsthat provide reimbursable health conscious meals from to in the one monthafter the client departed???? Andthe owner of Westlake Recovery stated in his response to this particular Revdex.comcomplaint that that the person who made the initial complaint did not visit thefacilityThat is wrongShe didvisit the facility on Monday, June when she went to take the client from WestlakeRecovery to the Benchmark facilityShe had called the owner ( [redacted] ***) andasked him to meet her at Westlake RecoveryBut he did not show upNevertheless,the person who filed the complaint did go into the facility to help the clientmove his belongings outShe personally witnessed another client sleeping inhis bed past a.mThis was a client that the owner had previously described personallyto me as one who had been in the facility for several months alreadySo theimplication in the owner's response that the sleeping client was new to thehouse and without employment was not correctAnd at any rate, he was sleepingin bed past the a.mwould seem to violate some of those house rules that theowner so often references Thecomplainant walked through and observed quite a bit and eventually went withthe client to list the garage door retrieve the client’s bicycle which wasparked next to a motorcycle in the "man cave." Theseexamples of the owner's stretching and bending the truth should provide anumber of reasons to discredit his response to Revdex.com complaint # [redacted] Thebottom line is, we paid for a six month stayThe client stayed for only twonights--not because of lack of commitment, but because Westlake Recovery didnot offer the "structure and support" he felt he needed(Contrary tothe owner of Westlake Recovery’s assertion, the client continues to demonstratehis commitment to recoveryIndeed, in the owner of Westlake Recovery’sresponse, he said the client left “before taking advantage of any of ourprograms” is an indication that the client did not cause Westlake Recovery toincur any costs, yet the owner refuses to refund the $9,because of hisarbitrary “financial consequences” rule.) A business that claims it issupported by the Revdex.com should not rip off customers to thetune of thousands of dollars for services not renderedWecontinue to demand that Westlake Recovery refund the $9,we paid for thesix-month stay that was terminated after two days once numerousmisrepresentations began to surface Regards, [redacted] ***

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: Wrong: our son never received $for the computer and it was not years old; he left the $he was given But none of that matters: the point is the client took advantage of him--talked him into leaving to get the computer knowing that he could not return by curfew and what the consequences would be far better than our sonOur son was taken advantage of and punished for it No, I was not told about the rules was not told about the rules and I was not told about the chores; we were promised "luxurious rehab." Checkout their web site The reality was anything but "luxurious." But the most egregious offense is that this facility claimed to have experience with Bipolar Disorder and would helpNot trueAnyone with experience would have known to call the family after just one sleepless nightAnyone with experience with Bipolar Disorder would have known that coming down from a manic episode was the wrong time to introduce chanting and hypnotism; our son told us 'they [were] trying to control my mind We visited with [redacted] doctor and monitored his meds for two days and our son was fine; anyone with the experience they claimed to have would have known how to handle the situation better than Westlake did It is simply wrong to set people up for failure, kick them out and keep their money This facility claims to be "highly successful." I would like to know how many people get kicked out Let's face it: once they have all of their money up front, where's their 'dog in it?' What incentive do they have to actually do the things they promised There was no help; Westlake did not assume any responsibility; they just expected the family to put pressure on our son to keep from getting kicked out I don't mind paying for the violations; I don't mind paying for the 10-day stay I do mind paying $for what proved to be misrepresentation--they are not equipped to handle Bipolar Disorder I don't mind paying the violations; I don't mind paying for the time my son was there I do mind paying $for a 10-day stay [redacted] ***

Complaint: [redacted] Concerning Revdex.com Complaint # [redacted] , we reject theresponse from Westlake Recovery for reasons detailed below: The client in question (***) was not evicted from Westlake Recovery, he actuallyleft around 9:am on Monday, June on his own accord and within hours ofhis arrival because it was clear to him (and to his parents and to severalother families who withdrew their loved ones at about the same time) that thestructure and support of the program promised by Westlake Recovery was lacking.In our second letter to the Revdex.com regarding Revdex.com Complaint# [redacted] , we detailed a number of misrepresentations about Westlake Recovery’sprogram, convenience and meal program that were made on the website but, in reality,not readily accessibleHowever, the most significant misrepresentation byWestlake Recovery, is that the owner is a Peer Certified Recovery CoachAspointed out in our July 29, communication to the Revdex.com, werecently checked with [redacted] , who is the ExecutiveDirector/Certification Coordinator at the Texas Association of AddictionProfessions (TAAP) who said, that in reality, the owner of Westlake Recovery isnot a Peer Certified Recovery CoachThe responses from Westlake Recovery to our initial complaint filed in June and our July follwere not helpfulto our efforts to recover the $9,paid to Westlake Recovery for servicesthat were not renderedWe do notconsider this incident to be closed or resolvedWe paid Westlake Recovery$9,up front so our son, (the client) could stay six months at the facility.He left after two nights when it became clear that the program at WestlakeRecovery was misrepresented and would not help him in his recovery effortsTheowner of Westlake Recovery, refused to refund the money because, as he statedin his response that with no "financial consequences it would simply betoo easy for our clients to give up and return to their former lives ofaddiction.” In his previous response, the owner of Westlake recovery said: “Inthis case the client simply lacked the commitment required." The client inquestion did not have a "lackof commitment." Indeed, the client left Westlake Recovery and wentdirectly to and immediately checked into another certified recovery facilitylocated near AustinNow more than days after checking into that recoveryfacility, he is still in that recovery program and expects to be in the programat least five more months with no intention of leavingThese facts can be readily verified and we will be happy to supplyinformation that clearly contradicts the owner’s dismissive assertion that thisclient suffered a "failure." The owner of Westlake Recovery has now changedtactics in his most recent Revdex.com responseInstead of keeping our money as a“financial consequence,” he now claims the client was evicted for violation ofnumerous house rules Before addressing the supposed houserule violations, it is important to point out that the contact language thatthe owner of the referenced in his Revdex.com response is now different than thecontract language provided at the time the client was admittedSpecifically,the owner of Westlake Recovery has now inserted the language: “or decide to nolonger participate as a Member of the house” into the contract he is citing.This new clause was not in the version of the contract made available in June Now onto the specific house ruleviolations the owner is claiming as the reasons to not return our money to us.It was not disruptive behaviorIt was not bringing illegal drugs into thehouse or using themIt was not for staying out past curfew during the timewhile he was at the facility, Instead the owner states the three similar ruleviolations stem from the fact that the client did not stay at least daysHowever,it became clear to the client (and to his parents and to several others whodecided to withdraw they love ones at about the same time), that because of themisrepresented support, structure, convenience and meal programs, that stayingwould actually be detrimental to recovery Theowner of Westlake Recovery wants to claim that client left withoutnotificationHowever, that is incorrectThe owner was sent an e-mail onMonday, June indicating that the client was leaving because of numerousmisrepresentations(See the notes highlighted in blue below for informationalpurposes.) We also called before a.mon Monday, June to notify the ownerof our intention to withdraw our sonWe asked the owner to meet us at hisWestlake Recovery propertyHe did not show upThe surveillance cameras,referenced by the owner, should also prove that the client’s mother and theclient met with the house manager to discuss the client’s departure Theowner of Westlake Recovery states that the client in question (***) was evictedafter receiving verbal or written notices, which he did not receiveNor couldhe, because as stated, the client left within hours to go to anotherfacility that provided the structure and support that was lacking at WestlakeRecoveryWe would like to think that any businessthat wants to be known as a "better business" would not force clientsto pay thousands of dollars for services not renderedWhile the owner of Westlake Recovery thanksus for our time “with this matter and having put it behind us,” we want to beclear that the issue is “not behind us.” It remains clearly forefront as wecontinue to demand that Westlake Recovery refund the $9,we paid for thesix-month stay that was terminated after two days once numerous misrepresentations(as described in detail in the two previous Revdex.com complaints) began to surface June 23, ***: This is official notification that we are rescinding theactivity we commenced at about p.mon Saturday, June At that time, we believed, based on what is published onyour website and discussed in person, that your recovery house was organized ina way that would help our son, ***, in his recovery effortsHowever, basedupon an in-person experience of hours or so, it is now our belief thatWestlake Recovery House does not and will not meet our expectations(And itappears that we are not the only family that has reached this conclusion.) We can provide specifics where the reality falls shortof what is indicated/expected in a reasonable program, includingmisrepresentation on the website about the health conscious meal program,reasonable access to services and house supervisionBut rather than dispute or litigate, we want to simplyterminate, settle for costs incurred and moved on so that [redacted] can receive theassistance he is interested inOn Saturday, June 21, we provided you a cashiers' checkfor $with the expectation that [redacted] would, in turn, receive a highquality housing situation/program for six months that would support hisrecoveryHowever, after hours, it is our opinion that Westlake RecoveryHouse will not create an environment that will produce a successful outcomeAs result, and as a fair-minded effort to resolvethis transaction, we would like to terminate the relationship with WestlakeRecovery House, pay Westlake Recovery House a fair amount based on servicesrendered to date and seek reimbursement for the services and time that will notutilizedWe propose that of the $9,we provided WestlakeRecovery House on Saturday afternoon (June 21, 2014), that we pay for the $350background check that Westlake Recovery performed, and that we pay $for eachthe two nights (2) that [redacted] stayed at your facilityAs those represent the expenses incurred by WestlakeRecovery, we are seeking an immediate refund of $8,Let us know if you have any questions or concernsRespectfully, [redacted] & [redacted] *** ***: Yesterday (Monday, June 23) my wife, ***,called you to meet at your house when she arrived from [redacted] You did not showup or respondI also emailed you to let you know that dueto numerous misrepresentations—and more importantly, conditions that would notsupport ***’s recovery—we decided to take [redacted] out of Westlake RecoveryHouseI received no response from my emailOur son was in the recovery house for lessthan hours and that was all the time necessary to determine that WestlakeRecovery would not provide an environment nor services promised for ***'srecoveryAmong the conditions that quickly eroded our confidence: theisolated location in which you really do need a car to function despiteyou telling us you don'tIt would be extremely difficult (if not impossible)to attend meetings, go to the restaurants you reimburse for and get to the gymand many other promised activities you promise as the bus route stop is 15minutes away by a strenuous bike ride and has an extremely limitedschedule The other ad hoc arrangement of getting a ride from othermembers is likely not workable as many will have differing schedulesThere wasno initial assessment or orientation other than a walk-thru the house On***’s first full day, not one of the scheduled events happenedAnd there wasno overnight supervision [redacted] basically spent the bulk of the day isolated byhimselfIn my email to you yesterday, I noted thatas part of a good faith effort, we are willing to pay for the background checkand his two night stayI made it clear that we expected an expedited refund ofthe balance of the funds we paid Westlake Recovery for ***’s six-monthstay As I stated yesterday, we prefer to solvethis matter without hassle, recrimination and disruptive measuresHowever, ifwe do not receive a cashier's check in the amount of $8,made out to ***or [redacted] by 5:p.mon Wednesday June 25, we will move ahead withmeasures necessary to recover funds for services not rendered [redacted] & [redacted] *** Regards, [redacted] ***

[redacted] - # [redacted] This complaint was written by a family member who was never a client of ours and had paid for the services of a clientAlthough, she was aware that the client violated his contract and absolutely no refunds are available, she submitted a complaint against our house once she was told a refund was not available but that the client could complete his contract at a later dateSince the client violated his contract our house was not obligated to even allow the client to complete his contract, but made an exception for this one caseEven with allowing the client to complete his contract, which our house was not obligated to do (since the client violated his contract) the family member demanded a full refund Our recovery house is recognized by many upscale treatment centers as having the highest quality sober house in the state of ***Just the structure of the house alone is considered the best; it is the largest (5,sqft.) newest (years old) and most expensive property (valued at $792,in 2012) in ***We also provide the highest quality and most extensive recovery services than any recovery house in the state, which can be verified by looking at the list of services on our web-site and brochuresOur services include health conscious meals per week, a monthly personal fitness trainer, membership to Lifetime Fitness (an upscale fitness facility), monthly massage and haircut at ***, monthly artistic development sessions, weekly meditation lessons, weekly qigong lessons, weekly yoga classes, visits from recovery professionals to the house twice per month, weekly recovery coach meeting, weekly accountability partner meeting, weekly house events, three recovery meetings per week with drug testing twice per week from individual drug test kits, and a lihousekeeper, house manager and activities coordinator Although, our house provides extensive sober services, we are not a jail or a treatment center and cannot by law prescribe medicine to our members or make them stay at the houseThe client refused to take his bi-polar medicine and had caused other members to feel very uncomfortable by carrying around a baseball bat and threatening to harm themIt was after the client had stayed up for days straight and threatened our clients that his parents were called and asked to pick him upUpon their arrival the client was still very hostile, belligerent and obsceneThe parents were notified that the client may return back to the house at a later date, if he was medically stable and made restitution for his actions, otherwise we could not allow such a disturbance to affect the serenity and peacefulness of our recovery house As to the sale of the clients computer to another member, the computer was a year old laptop and not worth even $but was paid $from another member in which the client had two other computers he was usingAlthough, our recovery house is one of only a few in the nation that has a lihousekeeper, the client was asked to mow the yard after violating curfew, screaming at others, walking out of a mandatory house meeting and cursing openlyEven with given the opportunity to mow the yard to make an effort of restitution, the client refused to even cut half of it Although, the client signed a page living contract with his initials next to house rules that he agreed to abide by before any payment was received and before he moved into the house, the client's family member mentions,“We were not told that living there came with a list of rules” which is absolutely falseThe client was fully aware of the rules of the house and had violated several during his short time at the house The Westlake Recovery House makes every effort to provide the highest quality of care, support and structure available within the state of [redacted] at the most affordable cost in the nationWe have an page service contract which explains where, when and how our services are provided, along with a page living contract that spells out each house rule which members initial and signWe also provide the highest quality living standards in [redacted] with having the largest, newest and most expensive property with brand new furniture throughout the house and are the only ones with a liHousekeeper, House Manager and Activities CoordinatorWe go out of our way to provide the most luxurious and helpful recovery services but cannot force a member to recoverIf a member chooses to not take medicine, stay up for two days straight, and threaten to harm others with a baseball bat, we have to ask that member to leave the houseWe also do not provide refunds for members who clearly violate their contracts

[redacted] - # [redacted] This complaint simply misstates the... facts about our house and about our client. It was made by a client's family member, who did not visit the facility and never participated in our services. As for the client, he arrived at our house on Sunday and left the next day. Because he was at the house for less than two full days he really only knows about the two activities that were scheduled and provided during the time he was at our house, which he choose not to participate in. Here are the specifics: With respect to activities, on the day the client arrived we had an off-site canoe trip and our usual mandatory house meeting at which we conduct drug tests. The client refused to attend either activity. All the activities described in the 18 page service agreement the client signed in which he also provided his initials to every service we offer which describes exactly when, where and how our services are provided. With respect to curfews, we have a live-in House Manager, Activities Coordinator and Housekeeper who monitor compliance with our curfews. However, we are a recovery house, not a jail, and if a client refuses to follow our rules we can only use persuasion or, in the worst case, expel them from the house. In this case the client left after only a day and really doesn't know anything about our procedures for dealing with curfew problems, which we believe are effective. We are also one of only a handful of recovery houses with covert surveillance cameras and a key less entry system to help keep our house safe 24 hours a day. Concerning our staff, our Activities Coordinator has over 10 years of sobriety experience and the House Owner has more than 7 years of recovery experience. Most of our clients leave the house satisfied with the programs that have helped them back to sobriety. The rare exceptions are those who stay only a few days and fail to take advantage of what we offer. Concerning access to public transportation, the 197 bus stop is a 3 minute bike ride from our house and the 333 bus stops is less than a 9 minute bicycle ride. Our live-in Housekeeper also provides rides to any member without transportation willing to pay for gas. Our house is located in an upscale residential neighborhood because that gives our clients a feeling of normalcy and because it provides some isolation from the temptations available elsewhere. Clients who have a legitimate need to travel for work find the situation ideal. We have had several members without their own personal automobile stay with us for many months and still attend all of their appointments and hold a full-time job. Concerning approved restaurants, 25 of the 50 are located within a few miles of the house, and if for some reason public transportation is not available our Housekeeper offers transportation as he has done many times in the past for other members of the house. In this case the client didn't stay during the days the meal program was available (Monday - Friday) even try the approved restaurants. Concerning activities in the house, it is simply not true that our rules are not enforced. Not all our clients have immediate employment when coming to our house, and among the activities we offer is job counseling and placement services. We also allow clients to stay at the house on days off, which is clearly better than requiring them to leave and spend the day with no structured activities to help them stay sober. No pipes are allowed in the house, but we do permit e-cigarettes. Frankly, it is better to have our clients in the house with a vapor cigarette than out on the street. Finally, we do not offer refunds to clients who simply walk out as this client did. One of the most important aspects of recovery is a real commitment to the process, and part of that commitment, which is set out very clearly in our contract, is that no refunds are given in cases where the client uses drugs or alcohol or chooses to leave. Recovery can be difficult, and if quitting the program had no financial consequences it would simply be too easy for our clients to give up and return to their former lives of addiction. In this case the client simply lacked the commitment required, and in fact left within a day before taking advantage of any of our programs. It is a sad fact that many addicts simply cannot give up their past, even for a day or two, but this client's failure is not the fault of Westlake Recovery House.

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:To be perfectly honest, I did not a portion of the novel from the business owner as I find it offensive and disappointing that he would be unwilling to take any responsibility at all for one of his client's dissatisfaction with his program.As I mentioned in my previous response -- while I do not agree with any of the business owners claims and believe the information provided to be fabricated -- I do not intend to pursue this any further, as it appears to be going no whereTo reiterate, I gain nothing from writing my complaints against the businessMy sole purpose was and is to expose my personal experience with the programWhile I did not express any direct complaints during my membership, it was a repetitive topic of conversation amongst my family and loved ones who were concerned for my well being while in this programIt was decided that since we already paid everything up front in full with no possibility of a reimbursement if I chose to leave, that I would do my best to get through my three month stay and that as a family, we address our concerns and complaints once I was no longer under Westlake Recovery's roofWe did just that. Of all of the accusations from the business owner, I'm most frustrated with the fact that he persists to not recognize that I chose to leave that evening on my OWN willIn the video footage, you would see that I have a packed bag with me and I'm telling the house manager directly (before walking out the doors), that my action to leave was not a violation of curfew - it was a message to Westlake Recovery that I was choosing to terminate my own membership (a decision encouraged by my family)I explicitly said those words to the house manager before I left the home -- stating that, "Westlake Recovery was not a good fit for me and my family and I had decided it was time to move out and rather than continue to be unhappy and in an unhealthy environment." I also told her that I would be returning the following day to pack up all my belongingsFrom there, I went straight back to my family's homeI knew exactly what I was doing when I left -- it was not a rebellious act that the business owner claims got me evicted -- it was an act of choice, and thus, could not have gotten me convicted because I terminated my own membership. In regards to a relapse, if that occurred when I was no longer a member of Westlake Recovery - AFTER I chose to leave - I'm not sure I'm understanding the purpose of that being used against meFor what an incredibly personal thing recovery is, I would have expected a professional in the recovery field to respect my privacy and not violate the principle of anonymity in Alcoholics AnonymousPersonally, I'm confident in my recovery, I know what took place during my stay to be true, and I'm not a business owner of a poorly run companyIt stuns me that the business owner continues to use this against me in efforts to protect his businessI see nothing but lack of integrity on his part, and I can do nothing to change that expect to warn loved ones from ever looking into Westlake's services.I kindly ask the business owner to put this to restThis back and forth is accomplishing absolutely nothingI have no hopes of getting a refundMy only hope is to use my experience as a warning to others in early recovery looking for a safe, healthy environment to transition into - that Westlake Recovery is not the place
Regards,
*** ***

Complaint: ***
Response to *** ***'s rejection of complaint
Thank you for allowing us to address the issues of your complaintIt is our understanding that you are a family member of a client, who was at our house for about week and had filed a complaint that has already been addressed by the Revdex.comSince you were not a client of ours and did not have any first hand knowledge about what house rules the client violated during the short period he was at our house, please allow us to clear up any confusions you have and provide correct and factual evidence from surveillance cameras, signed contracts, house literature and house staff and house member testimonies
One confusion was that you believe the client is entitled to a refund although he violated numerous house rules which stated that if he violated more than three house rules he would be evicted and his contract would be terminated and not receive any refundsOn page of the living contract the client signed, it states, “Members must obey all rules and policies and be responsible for their behaviorFailure to do so may result in write-ups, fines, assigning of chores and/or evictionMembers can be immediately removed from the premises at any time for any reason, including any rule listed below and for anything not covered within this contract and therefore not receive any portion of their member rental fee, security deposit and/or belongings for being evictedBy initialing below, I agree to abide by all house rules, responsibilities and policies and am subject to and responsible for any write ups, fines, eviction, and/or loss of member rental fees, deposit and belongings regardless of my length of time of membership.”
Although the client violated many house rules which lead to terminating his contract and he is not entitled to a refund, our house can provide you with a compromiseIf the client would like to be readmitted to our house, and he can prove that he is not currently under the influence of drugs or alcohol (which is a federal law that prevents us from allowing anyone under the influence of drugs into our house) and he makes restitution for the damage he has done, we may allow him to complete his six month contract from where he left off and charge only our three month current rate, even though we are not obligated to allow him back in for any reason and even if we chose to could charge the full month rate
Again, since you were not a client of our house and claim that the client did not violate any house rules and believe you are entitled to a 100% refund, please allow us to provide factual evidence with how the client actually did violate house rules which terminated his contractAlso, please remember that you are assuming that even though you were never a client of our house and that our house staff members can testify in court and our surveillance cameras can provide factual evidence that he did violate house rules and therefore violated his contract he is not entitled to a refund (as stated above)
The house rules the client violated which he agreed not to and initialed next to each house rule to indicate he read over each house rule is (#5, #6, #7, #15, #18, #26, #27, #28, #52)Since the living contract he signed on rule # states, “_______ I agree to be evicted from the Westlake Recovery House if I have three or more write-ups, any unpaid fines and/or late rent, or am asked to leave the premises at any time for any reason by the House Owner.” and since the client violated more than three house rules, that we are not obligated to allow the client back into our house or provide any refunds to him since he violated house rules
Also, on page 3, Section under “Fines” of the living contract it states, “If a member demonstrates disruptive behavior he may receive a verbal or written notice, assigned a house chore, loose house privileges (curfew, overnight visitation etc..), and/or assigned a fine ranging from $to $depending on the nature and severity of the occurrence, which is at the full discretion of the House Manager and/or OwnerIf a member receives or more verbal or written notices or engages in continued disruptive behavior, the member could be immediately evicted and therefore forfeit his entire member fee, rent and deposit regardless of his length of time as a member.”
Rule # states, “_______ I will not physically and/or verbally confront any member.” The client did this by verbally abusing several members of the house including the House Owner and House Manager and this can be proven with footage from our in-house surveillance cameras
Rule # states, “_______ I will not use vulgar, obscene or hateful language, or use profanities.” The client violated this rule on over a dozen occasions to several members of the house and to staff members as wellThis too can be proven with footage from our in-house surveillance cameras
Rule # states, “______ I will not intimidate, threaten, harass, and/or bother members, guests, neighbors or become burdensome or disrupt the peaceful, tranquil environment of the Westlake Recovery House.” The client violated this rule by staying up all night in our backyard and yelling profanities which kept our neighbors upThis too can be proven with footage from our outdoor surveillance cameras
Rule # states, “_______ I will participate in house chores if I am assigned to do so and understand that house chores will be divided up based on what is best for the houseGenerally, members rotate house chores, are assigned a portion of house chores and/or are paid to conduct house choresThe daily time spent on chores ranges from approximately minutes to hours depending on the number of members at the house, and members participating in house chores.” The client violated this rule by refusing to participate in the house chore he was assigned to doSpecifically, he was assigned to mow the backyard for disobaying several house rulesThe client refused to complete this task
Rule # states, “______ I will be responsible for my medicine by taking all medicine as prescribed and will not add, delete, abuse, sell, trade, or give any medicine to anyone except to house staff upon request.” The client violated this house rule by refusing to take his medicine, which can be proven with our staff counting his medicine upon take in and during discharge
Rule # states, “_______ I will obey curfew and sleep at the Westlake Recovery House before 10:PM during the first days and at 12:AM (midnight) every night unless granted overnight permission from the House Manager and notify him of where I am going and when I will return.” The client violated this rule by staying up for almost three days straight and refusing to sleepThis too can be proven with both our in-house and outdoor surveillance camera systems and testimony from our house manager and other house members
Rule # states, “_______ I will sleep at the Westlake Recovery House for the first days until I have been granted permission with an overnight pass from the house manager and will sleep at the Westlake Recovery House each night unless prior arrangements have been made with the house manager.” The client violated this rule by refusing to sleep or even to take his medicine to help him sleep at our house and instead stayed up for almost three days straight
Rule # states, “______ I will be courteous of other residents need to sleep and observe all quiet hours by not making any loud noise that could disrupt residents from their sleep, such as, talking on a phone, turning on lights, cooking food, cleaning, washing clothes, banging or dropping items, getting ready for bed by taking showers, brushing teeth, etcand will turn off all televisions, laptops, cell phones, video games, and any and all noise making devices from 10:PM to 10:AM Sunday thru Thursday, and from 12:AM to 10:AM on Friday's thru Saturday's.” The client violated this rule by staying up for almost three days straight and yelling in our backyard which kept several members awake during the time it was supposed to be quietThis too can be proven with our in-house and outdoor surveillance cameras
Please know that although the client violated his contract which stated that he would not receive any refunds for, we still may be willing to accept him back as a client as long as he pays for his contract and is not under the influence of drugs or alcoholAlso, since you were never a client of our house or had ever lived there and made several statements, thank you for allowing us to clarify what actually happened which we can prove with factual testimony and servellance camera footage
You mentioned that, “we were promised "luxurious rehab." The reality was anything but "luxurious."”
This is a statement since our website states that we have been recognized as a luxerious sober living house by many upscale treatment centersOur house is a recovery house and nowhere on our web-site or in any of our materials does it say that we are a "luxurious rehab"This can be proven with over pages of documentationOur website also states that our recovery house provides a guarantee to offer the most extensive recovery services at the most affordable rates in the NATION, not just in Austin or the state of *** and if anyone can find another recovery house anywhere in the nation at a more affordable rate than we will pay that person $1,You have already proven that our house provides the most extensive recovery services at the most affordable rates than any recovery house in the nation, by your lack of not providing any evidence whatsoever that our house is not luxurious other than your statements that we are not and your statements that you are entitled to a refund after the client violated numerous house rules when staff members and surveillance cameras can provide factual evidence of what actually happened
You also fasly claim that we have experience with Bipolar Disorder and can provide helpNowhere on our web-site or in any of our literature does it say that we are experts or provide any treatment whatsoever for people with Bipolar DisorderOur house has sucessfully treated many members who have been dual diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and addiction to alchohol and drugsThese members were all sucessful because they followed simple house rules and took their medicine as prescribed
Before our house may decide on whether we are to allow the client back into our house, he will need to make restitution for the many house rules he violated and also be able to provide evidence that he is not under the influence of drugs or alcohol and is taking his medicine as prescribedPlease remember that the living contract he signed and the factual evidence we have, clearly shows that he is not entitled to any refunds whatsoever or should be allowed back into our house for any reason at all

Thank
you for allowing us to address the issues of your complaintIt is
our understanding that you
are a
family member of
a client,
who had
signed a living contract agreeing to abide by the house rules and had
violated
them within being at the house for
less than days and you are
asking for a refund, even though the living contract clearly states
that refunds will not be granted for clients
that violate
house rules
Since
you were not
a client of ours
and did not have any first hand knowledge about
the numerous house rules he violated during
the short
period
he was at our house, please allow us to clear up any confusions you
have and provide correct and
factual
evidence
from
surveillance cameras, signed
legal
contracts,
house literature
and house staff and house member testimonies
One
confusion was that you believe the
client
is
entitled to a refund after violating numerous house rules which
terminated
his contract
The
client
signed a living contract on page which states, “I,
____________________________ understand that the member fee I am
choosing is based on a discount for a one, three or six month
membershipWhatever membership contract I choose I am responsible
for not violating any house rules that would cause my membership to
be terminated during the entire contract period even if I have not
yet moved into the houseIf I violate any house rules resulting in
my membership being terminated, or decide to no longer participate as
a Member of the house, I will forfeit all membership fees for that
period of time.”
Also
on page of the living contract the
client
signed and initialed it says, “Members
must obey all rules and policies and be responsible for their
behaviorFailure to do so may result in write-ups, fines, assigning
of chores and/or evictionMembers can be immediately removed from
the premises at any time for any reason, including any rule listed
below and for anything not covered within this contract and therefore
not receive any portion of their member rental fee, security deposit
and/or belongings for being evictedBy initialing below, I agree to
abide by all house rules, responsibilities and policies and am
subject to and responsible for any write ups, fines, eviction, and/or
loss of member rental fees, deposit and belongings regardless of my
length of time of membership.”
Although
the
client
violated many house rules which lead to terminating
his contract and he is not entitled to a refund, our house can
provide you
with a
compromiseThe contract that the
client
signed was for a
month contractIf the client
agrees to sign up for a
month contract we may allow him to return to the house at our month
rate if it is agreed to by other members of the house, he makes
restitution for the house rules he violated and he
can
prove
that he is not currently under the influence of drugs or alcohol
(which is a federal law that prevents us from allowing anyone into
our house)
Again,
since you were not a client of our house and claim that the
client
did not violate any house rules and believe you are entitled to a
100% refund, please allow us to provide
factual evidence with
how the
client
actually did violate house rules which
terminated his contract
Also, please remember that you are assuming that even though you were
never a client of our house
and that our house staff members can testify in court and our
surveillance cameras can provide
factual evidence that he did violate house rules and chose not to
participate in services and violated his contract he
is
still
not
entitled to a refund (as stated above)
Also,
it's important to know that the client signed a contract in which he
agreed to become a member of a group sober home for menThe legal
contract he signed is similiar to signing a leaseIf anyone signs a
lease and decides later to move that is their perogative but they are
still obligated to pay for the lease or to have someone take over the
lease for themThe client simply decided to break his contract by
violating
house rules, then leaving
the house and has not decided to come back
The
house rules the
client
violated which he agreed not to and initialed next to each house rule
to indicated
he read over each house rule is (#25, #26, #27, #55)
Also,
on page of the living contract he signed, under
Section Fines it
states, “If a member demonstrates disruptive behavior he may
receive a verbal or written notice, assigned a house chore, loose
house privileges (curfew, overnight visitation etc..), and/or
assigned a fine ranging from $to $depending on the nature and
severity of the occurrence, which is at the full discretion of the
House Manager and/or OwnerIf a member receives or more verbal or
written notices or engages in continued disruptive behavior, the
member could be immediately evicted and therefore forfeit his entire
member fee, rent and deposit regardless of his length of time as a
member.” Since
the
client
violated more than three house rules, he is not entitled to any
refunds at all since he forfeited his
fees
by violating house rules
Rule
# states, “_______ I will obey curfew and sleep at the Westlake
Recovery House before 10:PM during the first days and at 12:
AM (midnight) every night unless granted overnight permission from
the House Manager and notify him of where I am going and when I will
return*(Med)” The
client
violated this rule by refusing to obey curfew for the first days
at our house, and was never granted overnight permission from the
House Manager to leaveInstead the
client
left the house and did not notify any staff members about where he
was going or returningThis
can be proven with our survellance cameras which show that the
client
went out and has not returned to our house
Rule
#
states, “_______ I will sleep at the Westlake Recovery House for
the first days until I have been granted permission with an
overnight pass from the house manager and will sleep at the Westlake
Recovery House each night unless prior arrangements have been made
with the house manager*(Med)” The
client
violated this rule by refusing to sleep at the Westlake Recovery
House for the first days (he stayed for
about three
days)
and did not make any prior arrangments with any staff members or the
House
Manager
He was never granted permission to sleep away from the Westlake
Recovery House during the first daysThis is an important rule to
help clients become acclimated to a safe and stable recovery
environment and
our house survalance cameras can show that the
client
left the house before days and has not returned
Rule
# states, “_______ I will ask permission from the house manager
at least three days ahead of time if I will not be sleeping at the
house and understand that if I am absent from the house for more than
hours and had not asked the House
Manager
for permission will lead to my eviction*(T)” This is a very
important rule, since violating this rule automatically results in
*(T) the termination of a clients contract and
eviction
The
client
never asked permission from the House
Manager
or any staff members at any time to be absent from the houseInstead
he left the house without requesting any permission at allBased on
violating this house rule alone automatically terminates his
membership
Also,
this is the third house rule that he violated and according to rule #
55,
which states, “______ I understand that I will be evicted from the
Westlake Recovery House and forfeit any and all member fees, rent and
deposit, regardless of my length of being a member and the amount of
time left on my contract, if I have three or more write-ups, any
unpaid fines and/or late rent, or am asked to leave the premises at
any time for any reason by the House Owner*(T)” Since the
client
had already violated three house rules which automatically lead to
the termination of his contract, in
which
one
of the rules he violated automatically
lead to the termination of his contract, his
contract was
terminated
for
two reasons
and therefore he
is not entitled to receive any refunds at all
Please
know that although
the
client
violated his contract which stated that he would not receive any
refunds for, and you provided several statements about what our
business provided and demanded a refund, we are still
willing
to accept him back as a client as long as he pays for his new
month contract,
we receive approval from other house members and
the
client is
not under the influence of drugs or alcoholAlso, since you were
never a client of our house or had ever lived there and made several
statements, thank
you for allowing
us to clarify what actually happened which we can prove
You
mentioned that several
of our house members were drinking alchoholSince you were not a
member of our house, and it can be proven with our on-site
surveillance cameras that no members of our house were under the
influence of drugs or alcohol, we consider this to be falseOur
recovery house is recognized as the most upscale sober living
environment in the state of Texas and we conduct mandatory twice per
week drug tests of all of our members from drug test kits, which
is almost every drug test kit that is available
Also
its important to note that we do not offer refunds to clients who
simply walk out as this client didOne of the most important aspects
of recovery is a real commitment to the process, and part of that
commitment, which is set out very clearly in our contract, is that no
refunds are given in cases where the client uses
drugs
or
alcohol or
chooses to leaveRecovery can be difficult, and if quitting the
program had no financial consequences it would simply be too easy for
addicts to give up and return to their former lives of addictionIn
this case the client simply lacked the commitment required, and in
fact left within a few days before taking advantage of any of our
programsIt is a sad fact that many addicts simply cannot give up
their past, even for a few days, but this client's failure is not the
fault of Westlake Recovery House
If
you have any questions please give me a call which is listed on our
web-siteI appreciate your time with this matterIf you are
interested with allowing the
client
to participate in what has been recognized as the highest quality
sober living home in the state of Texas and the most affordable based
on the extensive recovery services provided anywhere in the nation,
please let me know so he can pick up where he left offI pray that
he is doing well and for the best for you as
well

***, I am not sure why you continue to press claims against our companyAlthough, it is clearly evident that the client was not entitled to refunds for violating house rules, your opinion that he should have been refunded even though he did violate house rules will not prevailIf you believe it is best to seek outside counsel to determine if you are entitled to a refund for the client violating house rules, then please know that our company believes this is an unwise move and that we will press charges against you for harassment and bringing a frivolous claim to courtOnce the Revdex.com has determined that our company has provided an adequate response to your complaint, your chances of winning are almost zeroYou would also be required to spend several hundreds or thousands of dollars for retaining an attorney, and also be required to pay for our attorney's fees which will be several thousands of dollars, in addition to court costs, and costs associated with harassment and bringing a frivolous claimIn short, you would have spent well over ten or twenty thousand dollars for something you will clearly loose on Here are the undisputed facts The client signed and agreed to a contract which reads, “I (signature of client) understand that if I violate any house rule that leads to my eviction, or choose to no longer participate as a member the entire amount paid for the contract, including; member fees, security deposit, admission fees, and background check fees will not be refunded.” You stated several times and agree that the client “choose to no longer participate as a member” Therefore, just based on the fact that the client agreed that if he no longer participated as a member and that no refunds will be available if he choose to no longer participate as a member and DID make the choice to no longer participate means that your case will be dismissedBut even more so are two other reasons why the client will not receive any refunds (1) for violating a house rule that automatically leads to the client's membership being terminated if he is away from the house and does not receive permission first from the House Manager (not just telling the House Manager he was leaving the house) and no refunds will be provided and (2) for violating more than three house rules which state that if three or more house rules are violated the client's membership will be terminated and no refunds will be provided The client signed and agreed to a contract which reads, “The purpose of this contract and the house rules that follow are to inform you of your rights and what is expected of youThe Westlake Recovery House is a sober living homeIt is a home for you to develop coping skills that will help you master the social and professional demands of society This will be your home for as long as you wish to reside hereTherefore, you will need to care for it accordinglyYou are responsible for your own actionsAccountability is a common value shared by all who reside hereWillingness and cooperation are the basic requirements shared by all members of the home House members live as a family system, that is, a group of individuals living and working toward a common goal, continued sobrietyYou are responsible for maintaining a structure of accepted rules, requirements, and practices necessary to ensure a clean and sober environment The Westlake Recovery House is a recovery home which requires expulsion, without prior notice or refund of deposit and fees, of any resident Member who is found to be: 2) engaging in disruptive behavior...” You stated several times that the client did not engage in disruptive behavior but do agree that he (1) choose to no longer participate as a member of the house (2) the client did not receive permission to be away from the house for more than hours and (3) did not sleep at the house for the first days The client signed and agreed to a contract which reads, “Members must obey all rules and policies and be responsible for their behaviorFailure to do so may result in write-ups, fines, assigning of chores and/or evictionMembers can be immediately removed from the premises at any time for any reason, including any rule listed below and for anything not covered within this contract and therefore not receive any portion of their member rental fee, security deposit and/or belongings for being evicted By initialing below, I agree to abide by all house rules, responsibilities and policies and am subject to and responsible for any write ups, fines, eviction, and/or loss of member rental fees, deposit and belongings regardless of my length of time of membership.” I (client's initials) will ask permission from the house manager at least three days ahead of time if I will not be sleeping at the house and understand that if I am absent from the house for more than hours and had not asked the House Manager for permission will lead to my eviction*(T)” You stated several times that you had notified the House Owner that the client was leaving and also acknowledge that the client DID NOT receive permission for leavingObviouslly telling someone the client is leaving and being granted permission to leave are two different thingsAlso, the *(T) that is listed above describes that the clients membership will be terminated for not following this house rule, so this would be the second reason why the clients membership was cancelled, first for choosing to not participate as a member and second for not receiving permission to be away from the house for more than hours which lead to his eviction The client also agreed to a contract which states, “If a member receives or more verbal or written notices or engages in continued disruptive behavior, the member could be immediately evicted and therefore forfeit his entire member fee, rent and deposit regardless of his length of time as a member.” The three rules that the client violated, which you have admitted and agreed to are listed in the contract that the client agreed to and initialed below; “I (client's initials) will obey curfew and sleep at the Westlake Recovery House before 10:PM during the first days and at 12:AM (midnight) every night unless granted overnight permission from the House Manager and notify him of where I am going and when I will return*(Med) “I (client's initials) will sleep at the Westlake Recovery House for the first days until I have been granted permission with an overnight pass from the house manager and will sleep at the Westlake Recovery House each night unless prior arrangements have been made with the house manager*(Med) “I (client's initials) will ask permission from the house manager at least three days ahead of time if I will not be sleeping at the house and understand that if I am absent from the house for more than hours and had not asked the House Manager for permission will lead to my eviction*(T)” It is therefore clearly obvious for three major reasons why the client's membership was terminated, which was (1) choosing to no longer participate as a member (2) not receiving permission to be away from the house for more than hours and (3) for violating three or more house rules (not sleeping at the house for the first days, not receiving permission to be away from the house for more than hours and for not obeying curfew by being at the house before PM for the first days) You stated, “I understand you have in your possession a computer left behind by *** and request you either send this to me at address below or allow my representative to retrieve from you in the coming days.” The client also agreed and signed a contract which reads, “I (client's initials) understand that if I move out of the house or am evicted that my personal property will be gathered and packed up to be placed in a storage area by the house manager and if I am current with all of my member fees, deposit, fines, and do not owe for any damages, I will have a 7-days from the date of my departure to return and collect my personal property...” The client has never contacted our company to collect any of his personal items he may have left at our houseInstead, after almost three months of the client moving out you contacted our house asking if the clients personal belongings may be at our private residence You clearly do not understand that the contract is between our company and the client and not with youIf you believe that you or a representative can come to a private residence to try to retrieve an item that is no longer at our house, I would like to let you know that the Austin Police department will be called if any uninvited person comes onto our property and will be arrested for tresspassing which is a class B misdemeanorWe will also sight you for continued harrassment which is also a class B misdeameanor The client also agreed and signed a contract which reads, “I (client's initials) understand that if I am allowed to pick up my belongings due to being current with any member fees and/or fines and do not pick up my belongings from the house within days of leaving the house will result in my personal property becoming the property of the house and will either be donated or may be used by the house as deemed necessary or soldThis will include any automobiles or other modes of transportation left parked at the property such as bicycles, motorcycles, etc… The vehicle will be towed or stored in a locked place I (client's initials) understand that if I am allowed to pick up my property for not being in default of any member fees and/or fines, even if I am not able to pick up my property within days of leaving the house due to being in a hospital, prison, vacation, etcI will still have days to arrange for someone else to pick up my property at the house I (client's initials) will be responsible for all of my items I bring into the Westlake Recovery House and will not hold the house, owner and/or staff accountable or file any charges or suits against the house, owner, and/or staff for the loss, theft, damage, misplacement, withholding and/or abandonment of my or anyone else’s property at any time ...” It is clearly obvious that you believe that the client can clearly violate three major reasons which state that his membership will be cancelled and that refunds are not available for (1) no longer participating as a member of the house (2) for the client being away from the house for more than hours without permission and (3) violating three or more house rules which leads to the automatic termination of the client's membershipHopefully by showing you the legal contract that the client agreed to and signed which is stated above will provide you with the information to see that a refund will not be given which was agreed to by the client in the contract he signedIf you decide to ignore what is presented in a straight forward way, in a legal contract, and believe that the contract does not apply to the client and you are entitled to a refund, then you have the option of presenting this case to court and know that you chances of winning are very close to zero and will have cost you a lot more money than you may have wanted to spend

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
Revdex.com Corporate Office *** ** *** *** *** ** ***Reference: Complaint ID ***
To Whom It May Concern,
I have reviewed the response from *** ***, Westlake Recovery Village regarding our complaint and request for refundThis response is a distortion of the actual facts and completely ignores any response to failings on their part to keep to the contract.The alleged violation of rules are all related to leaving the house after being there less than daysThe response does not offer any facts of rules being broken during the three days he was a residentThe specific rules claimed being violated were #25, 26, and all of which would only have occurred on October 2, when *** left the facility as it was not a healthy environment for him.Kevin makes the claim there was no notification but this is not trueHe was notified via text message on October 2, which a copy can be providedWe also tried calling *** but he would not answer or return calls*** was notified in an earlier phone call of our concern and again in the text where he was notified of our intent to place *** in a better environment.The response again makes the comparison of this agreement being like a lease which I personally find absurdThis is more of a services contract which is borne out by their own definitionsMany services contracts do allow for terminations within days without further obligationsThere is no mention in the contract of termination by client for reasons where their needs are not being met as offered by the home.The client had a reasonable expectation through statements and the agreement to live in an environment which would assist him in obtaining his goal of continued sobrietyParagraph states “addicts live in a supportive group home”; Paragraph states “House members live as a family system…” At the time *** was living at Westlake Recovery Village this environment did not existThis environment is essential to the recovery of addicts and is part of all such facilities.When the environment was discussed with *** in a phone conversation on the afternoon of October 2, he pointed out he had no control over the living style of individuals living in the home at a point in timeThis is understandable, family environments are made up of a group of individuals, change the individuals and the dynamics changeThis simply was not a good fit for *** and recognized in less than three days.The most supportive fact is *** has been in a sober living home since his departure from Westlake Recovery Village and is doing very wellHe has remained sober, lives by the rules (even when he doesn’t like them), focused on his recovery and will soon be getting a jobNeither he nor I could envision this happening for him if he stayed at Westlake Recovery Village.What is most disappointing in all of this is Westlake Recovery Village seems to place the money above the best interest of their clientsWhy else would they keep monies for services that were never provided? *** knew from conversations before placement the financial struggles of my family and the difficulty to make the payment in advanceWe made sacrifices for what we thought was in the best interest of ***…that’s what families doTo keep this money has placed even further hardship on my family as we have financial obligation to the new facility and received no value for the monies paid to Westlake Recovery Village.We again request a refund in the amount of $1,which allows for payment of the three days *** stayed at Westlake VillageAs pointed out any debate regarding refunds for rule violations is mute as each of the rules noted were in fact never violated as the client terminated the agreementThe client terminated this agreement for just cause which again is borne out by facts and result of being in the right environment.Thank you for all consideration and assistance to resolve this matter,
Best,
*** ***
***

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
To be perfectly honest, I did not a portion of the novel from the business owner as I find it offensive and disappointing that he would be unwilling to take any responsibility at all for one of his client's dissatisfaction with his programAs I mentioned in my previous response -- while I do not agree with any of the business owners claims and believe the information provided to be fabricated -- I do not intend to pursue this any further, as it appears to be going no whereTo reiterate, I gain nothing from writing my complaints against the businessMy sole purpose was and is to expose my personal experience with the programWhile I did not express any direct complaints during my membership, it was a repetitive topic of conversation amongst my family and loved ones who were concerned for my well being while in this programIt was decided that since we already paid everything up front in full with no possibility of a reimbursement if I chose to leave, that I would do my best to get through my three month stay and that as a family, we address our concerns and complaints once I was no longer under Westlake Recovery's roofWe did just that.
Of all of the accusations from the business owner, I'm most frustrated with the fact that he persists to not recognize that I chose to leave that evening on my OWN willIn the video footage, you would see that I have a packed bag with me and I'm telling the house manager directly (before walking out the doors), that my action to leave was not a violation of curfew - it was a message to Westlake Recovery that I was choosing to terminate my own membership (a decision encouraged by my family)I explicitly said those words to the house manager before I left the home -- stating that, "Westlake Recovery was not a good fit for me and my family and I had decided it was time to move out and rather than continue to be unhappy and in an unhealthy environment." I also told her that I would be returning the following day to pack up all my belongingsFrom there, I went straight back to my family's homeI knew exactly what I was doing when I left -- it was not a rebellious act that the business owner claims got me evicted -- it was an act of choice, and thus, could not have gotten me convicted because I terminated my own membership.
In regards to a relapse, if that occurred when I was no longer a member of Westlake Recovery - AFTER I chose to leave - I'm not sure I'm understanding the purpose of that being used against meFor what an incredibly personal thing recovery is, I would have expected a professional in the recovery field to respect my privacy and not violate the principle of anonymity in Alcoholics AnonymousPersonally, I'm confident in my recovery, I know what took place during my stay to be true, and I'm not a business owner of a poorly run companyIt stuns me that the business owner continues to use this against me in efforts to protect his businessI see nothing but lack of integrity on his part, and I can do nothing to change that expect to warn loved ones from ever looking into Westlake's servicesI kindly ask the business owner to put this to restThis back and forth is accomplishing absolutely nothingI have no hopes of getting a refundMy only hope is to use my experience as a warning to others in early recovery looking for a safe, healthy environment to transition into - that Westlake Recovery is not the place
Regards,
*** ***

Complaint: [redacted]
Response to [redacted]'s rejection of complaint
 
Thank you for allowing us to address the issues of your complaint. It is our understanding that you are a family member of a client, who was at our house for less than 2 days and had filed a complaint that has already been addressed by the Revdex.com. Since you were not a client of ours and did not have any first hand knowledge about what services were scheduled and provided to the client and the numerous house rules he violated during the short period he was at our house, please allow us to clear up any confusions you have and provide correct and factual evidence from surveillance cameras, signed legal contracts, house literature and house staff and house member testimonies.
 
One confusion was that you believe the client is entitled to a refund after violating numerous house rules which lead to his eviction. The client signed a living contract on page 2 which states, “I, ____________________________ understand that the member fee I am choosing is based on a discount for a one, three or six month membership. Whatever membership contract I choose I am responsible for not violating any house rules that would cause my membership to be terminated during the entire contract period even if I have not yet moved into the house. If I violate any house rules resulting in my membership being terminated, or decide to no longer participate as a Member of the house, I will forfeit all membership fees for that period of time.” Also on page 6 of the living contract the client signed and initialed it says, “Members must obey all rules and policies and be responsible for their behavior. Failure to do so may result in write-ups, fines, assigning of chores and/or eviction. Members can be immediately removed from the premises at any time for any reason, including any rule listed below and for anything not covered within this contract and therefore not receive any portion of their member rental fee, security deposit and/or belongings for being evicted. By initialing below, I agree to abide by all house rules, responsibilities and policies and am subject to and responsible for any write ups, fines, eviction, and/or loss of member rental fees, deposit and belongings regardless of my length of time of membership.”
 
Although the client violated many house rules which lead to terminating his contract and he is not entitled to a refund, our house can provide you with a compromise. The contract that the client signed was for a 6 month contract. If the client agrees to sign up for another 6 month contract we may allow him to return to the house at our 3 month rate if it is agreed to by other members of the house, he makes restitution for the house rules he violated and he can prove that he is not currently under the influence of drugs or alcohol (which is a federal law that prevents us from allowing anyone into our house).
 
Again, since you were not a client of our house and claim that the client did not violate any house rules and believe you are entitled to a 100% refund, please allow us to provide factual evidence with how the client actually did violate house rules which terminated his contract. Also, please remember that you are assuming that even though you were never a client of our house and that our house staff members can testify in court and our surveillance cameras can provide factual evidence that he did violate house rules and chose not to participate in services and therefore violated his contract he is still not entitled to a refund (as stated above).
 
Also, it's important to know that the client signed a 6 month contract in which he agreed to become a member of a group sober home for men. The legal contract he signed is similiar to signing a 6 month lease. If anyone signs a lease and decides later to move that is their perogative but they are still obligated to pay for the lease or to have someone take over the lease for them. The client simply decided to break his contract by violating house rules, then leaving the house and has not decided to come back.
 
The house rules the client violated which he agreed not to and initialed next to each house rule to indicated he read over each house rule is (#25, #26, #27, #55).  Also, on page 3 of the living contract he signed, under Section 9 Fines it states, “If a member demonstrates disruptive behavior he may receive a verbal or written notice, assigned a house chore, loose house privileges (curfew, overnight visitation etc..), and/or assigned a fine ranging from $5 to $50 depending on the nature and severity of the occurrence, which is at the full discretion of the House Manager and/or Owner. If a member receives 3 or more verbal or written notices or engages in continued disruptive behavior, the member could be immediately evicted and therefore forfeit his entire member fee, rent and deposit regardless of his length of time as a member.” Since the client violated more than three house rules, he is not entitled to any refunds at all since he forfeited his fees by violating house rules.
 
Rule # 25 states, “_______ I will obey curfew and sleep at the Westlake Recovery House before 10:00 PM during the first 30 days and at 12:00 AM (midnight) every night unless granted overnight permission from the House Manager and notify him of where I am going and when I will return. *(Med)” The client violated this rule by refusing to obey curfew for the first 30 days at our house, and was never granted overnight permission from the House Manager to leave. Instead the client left the house and did not notify any staff members about where he was going or returning. This can be proven with our survellance cameras which show that the client went out and has not returned to our house.
 
Rule # 26 states, “_______ I will sleep at the Westlake Recovery House for the first 30 days until I have been granted permission with an overnight pass from the house manager and will sleep at the Westlake Recovery House each night unless prior arrangements have been made with the house manager. *(Med)” The client violated this rule by refusing to sleep at the Westlake Recovery House for the first 30 days (he stayed for about two days) and did not make any prior arrangments with any staff members or the house manager. He was never granted permission to sleep away from the Westlake Recovery House during the first 30 days. This is an important rule to help clients become acclimated to  a safe and stable recovery environment and our house survalance cameras can show that the client left the house before 30 days and has not returned.
 
Rule # 27 states, “_______ I will ask permission from the house manager at least three days ahead of time if I will not be sleeping at the house and understand that if I am absent from the house for more than 24 hours and had not asked the house manager for permission will lead to my eviction. *(T)” This is a very important rule, since violating this rule automatically results in *(T) the termination of a clients contract and eviction. The client never asked permission from the house manager or any staff members at any time to be absent from the house. Instead he left the house without requesting any permission at all. Based on violating this house rule alone automatically terminates his membership.
 
Also, this is the third house rule that he violated and according to rule # 55, which states, “______ I understand that I will be evicted from the Westlake Recovery House and forfeit any and all member fees, rent and deposit, regardless of my length of being a member and the amount of time left on my contract, if I have three or more write-ups, any unpaid fines and/or late rent, or am asked to leave the premises at any time for any reason by the House Owner. *(T)” Since the client had already violated three house rules which automatically lead to the termination of his contract, in which one of the rules he violated automatically lead to the termination of his contract, his contract was terminated for two reasons and therefore he is not entitled to receive any refunds at all.
 
Please know that although the client violated his contract which stated that he would not receive any refunds for, and you provided several false statements about what our business provided and demanded a refund, we are still willing to accept him back as a client as long as he pays for his new 6 month contract at the 3 month rate, we receive approval from other house members and the client is not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Also, since you were never a client of our house or had ever lived there and made several false statements, thank you for allowing us to clarify what actually happened which we can prove.
 
You mentioned that, “Does anyone really believe he increased the number of approved restaurants that provide reimbursable health conscious meals from 15 to 50 in the one month after the client departed?” It is a little confusing with the statement that you are making in that you are complaining that after the client was evicted for violating house rules and our house had then increased the number of health conscious restaurants our house provides clients with we are doing them a disservice? I am confused to think that if we eliminated the health conscious restaurants for our clients you would not complain? Also, although you think it is very difficult to increase the number of health restaurants from 15 to 50 in less than a month, this can be done with about one hour's worth of work, in which restaurants are simply added to the list where clients can choose to participate in. Since I have first hand knowledge with all of these restaurants and have eaten there on several occasions and looked over their menus many times, it is simple to add them to a list. Again, I am not sure what you are complaining about whether you are disappointed that we offer our clients additional health conscious restaurants to choose from or that you believe restaurants could not be added to a list in a very short time.
 
You also mentioned that our man cave is an “old unadorned garage”. Had you actual been a member of our house and seen our man cave, you would have seen that although it is located in our large two-story, three car garage which is 100% insulated with additional radient barrier protection, it is the only recovery house in the nation that provides clients with a pool, ping-pong, air hockey and foosball tables. Again, it is confusing that the complaints that are being made are about the upscale services and features our house offers, which no other recovery house in the nation provides. It does seem as though you believe that clients are better served with taking away these services and we disagree with these statements.
 
Again since you were not a member of our house and are making false statements about what you think happened to the client, and we can prove factual evidence through signed legal contracts, testimony from house staff and house members, and survellance camera footage that these statements are false, we thank you for letting us clarify what actually happened.
 
If you have any questions please give me a call which is listed on our web-site. I appreciate your time with this matter and having put it behind us. If you are interested with allowing the client to participate in what has been recognized as the highest quality sober living home in the state of Texas and the most affordable based on the extensive recovery services provided anywhere in the nation, please let me know so he can pick up where he left off. I pray that he is doing well and for the best for you as well.

Complaint # [redacted] Second Response to [redacted]   Thank you for allowing us to respond to your complaint. There seems to be some confusion around your belief of whether the client is entitled to a refund for terminating his contract. Since the client did violate his contract which can be proven with sworn testimony by our staff, on-site surveillance camera information as well as your testimony that the client violated his contract (by walking out of the house without receiving permission to be gone for a 24 hour time period) we are not able to provide him with a refund.   Since the facts are that the client violated his contract are very straight forward and easy to prove, you acknowledge that the client violated his contract and you also acknowledge that the contract stated that refunds are not provided, it seems as though this response should be sufficient to address your questions of whether a refund is possible.   The house rules and contract are very straight forward, which states, “If I violate any house rules resulting in my membership being terminated, or decide to no longer participate as a Member of the house, I will forfeit all membership fees for that period of time.” You had mentioned in your complaint that, the client violated the house rules that “occurred on October 2, 2014 when [redacted] left the facility as it was not a healthy environment for him.” Yet your complaint does not state anything our company did that had made it an unhealthy environment, it simply states, “This simply was not a good fit for [redacted]”. It could be understandable if the environment was not healthy for a client that refunds would be provided. However, this was not the case at all. The client simply decided that he no longer wanted to remain in a sober living environment. You have also had two opportunities to address any issues our company has not provided which violated our end of the agreement and have not provided any evidence at all other than your opinion that we should provide the client with a refund.   The client never received any permission to be absent from the sober house for more than 24 hours, which he signed and agreed to as is listed in house rule # 27, “_______ I will ask permission from the house manager at least three days ahead of time if I will not be sleeping at the house and understand that if I am absent from the house for more than 24 hours and had not asked the House Manager for permission will lead to my eviction. *(T)” Again, you stated in your complaint that “on October 2, 2014 [redacted] left the facility”. You did not provide any evidence that the client had received any permission for being absent from the house for more than 24 hours. Instead you mentioned that you had only notified the house owner (not house manager) that the client would be leaving. The client had left without receiving permission or notifying anyone that he was leaving and then asked to be refunded for leaving the house, when he clearly signed a contract which states, “If I  … decide to no longer participate as a Member of the house, I will forfeit all membership fees.”   Our men's recovery house has been recognized as the most upscale, highest quality living environment in Texas and one of the best in the nation. It can be verified by factual proof that our sober living environment provides more services, support and structure in the most upscale house in Texas. Our house is not for everyone. Unfortunately, there are people that the only thing they want to do is relapse and there are those who believe they are entitled to a refund for relapsing, violating house rules or choosing to no longer participate as a member (as stated above).   You presented a false accusation that you believe our house places money above the best interest of clients. This is not only extremely false but can be proven with facts to not be true. Our web-site states that we provide the most affordable highest quality sober living environment in the nation and if not we will pay anyone $1,000. Although, you may wish you could prove this not to be true, you have provided no evidence as such. There are approximately 72,000 sober homes in the U.S. We are not the top 1,000 or top 100, our house is the only house anywhere in the nation that provides the highest quality services at the most affordable rate. This can be proven by our location, house property value, cost of services, outside companies that provide our services and our success rate for sobriety. We have only had one member during the last 6 months relapse and had zero members during the first 8 months we opened relapse. These statistics are unheard of for sober living or even for upscale treatment centers.   It is very confusing as to why you believe the client who violated his contract is entitled to any refunds. Although, it is understandable to be disappointed that the client chose to no longer continue on with his sobriety, these are the actions that the client chose to make and does not reflect anything our company has not done to honor the contract we agreed to.

Complaint: [redacted]
Concerning Revdex.com Complaint #[redacted], we reject theresponse from Westlake Recovery for reasons detailed below: The client in question ([redacted]) was not evicted from Westlake Recovery, he actuallyleft around 9:30 am on Monday, June 23 on his own accord and within 48 hours ofhis arrival because it was clear to him (and to his parents and to severalother families who withdrew their loved ones at about the same time) that thestructure and support of the program promised by Westlake Recovery was lacking.In our second letter to the Revdex.com regarding Revdex.com Complaint#[redacted], we detailed a number of misrepresentations about Westlake Recovery’sprogram, convenience and meal program that were made on the website but, in reality,not readily accessible. However, the most significant misrepresentation byWestlake Recovery, is that the owner is a Peer Certified Recovery Coach. Aspointed out in our July 29, 2014 communication to the Revdex.com, werecently checked with [redacted], who is the ExecutiveDirector/Certification Coordinator at the Texas Association of AddictionProfessions (TAAP) who said, that in reality, the owner of Westlake Recovery isnot a Peer Certified Recovery Coach. The responses from Westlake Recovery to our initial complaint filed in June and our July 29 follow-up were not helpfulto our efforts to recover the $9,050 paid to Westlake Recovery for servicesthat were not rendered. We do notconsider this incident to be closed or resolved. We paid Westlake Recovery$9,050 up front so our son, (the client) could stay six months at the facility.He left after two nights when it became clear that the program at WestlakeRecovery was misrepresented and would not help him in his recovery efforts. Theowner of Westlake Recovery, refused to refund the money because, as he statedin his response that with no "financial consequences it would simply betoo easy for our clients to give up and return to their former lives ofaddiction.” In his previous response, the owner of Westlake recovery said: “Inthis case the client simply lacked the commitment required." The client inquestion did not have a "lackof commitment." Indeed, the client left Westlake Recovery and wentdirectly to and immediately checked into another certified recovery facilitylocated near Austin. Now more than 60 days after checking into that recoveryfacility, he is still in that recovery program and expects to be in the programat least five more months with no intention of leaving. These facts can be readily verified and we will be happy to supplyinformation that clearly contradicts the owner’s dismissive assertion that thisclient suffered a "failure." The owner of Westlake Recovery has now changedtactics in his most recent Revdex.com response. Instead of keeping our money as a“financial consequence,” he now claims the client was evicted for violation ofnumerous house rules.  Before addressing the supposed houserule violations, it is important to point out that the contact language thatthe owner of the referenced in his Revdex.com response is now different than thecontract language provided at the time the client was admitted. Specifically,the owner of Westlake Recovery has now inserted the language: “or decide to nolonger participate as a Member of the house” into the contract he is citing.This new clause was not in the version of the contract made available in June.  Now onto the specific house ruleviolations the owner is claiming as the reasons to not return our money to us.It was not disruptive behavior. It was not bringing illegal drugs into thehouse or using them. It was not for staying out past curfew during the timewhile he was at the facility, Instead the owner states the three similar ruleviolations stem from the fact that the client did not stay at least 30 days. However,it became clear to the client (and to his parents and to several others whodecided to withdraw they love ones at about the same time), that because of themisrepresented support, structure, convenience and meal programs, that stayingwould actually be detrimental to recovery.  Theowner of Westlake Recovery wants to claim that client left withoutnotification. However, that is incorrect. The owner was sent an e-mail onMonday, June 23 indicating that the client was leaving because of numerousmisrepresentations. (See the notes highlighted in blue below for informationalpurposes.) We also called before 9 a.m. on Monday, June 23 to notify the ownerof our intention to withdraw our son. We asked the owner to meet us at hisWestlake Recovery property. He did not show up. The surveillance cameras,referenced by the owner, should also prove that the client’s mother and theclient met with the house manager to discuss the client’s departure.  Theowner of Westlake Recovery states that the client in question ([redacted]) was evictedafter receiving verbal or written notices, which he did not receive. Nor couldhe, because as stated, the client left within 48 hours to go to anotherfacility that provided the structure and support that was lacking at WestlakeRecovery. We would like to think that any businessthat wants to be known as a "better business" would not force clientsto pay thousands of dollars for services not rendered. While the owner of Westlake Recovery thanksus for our time “with this matter and having put it behind us,” we want to beclear that the issue is “not behind us.” It remains clearly forefront as wecontinue to demand that Westlake Recovery refund the $9,050 we paid for thesix-month stay that was terminated after two days once numerous misrepresentations(as described in detail in the two previous Revdex.com complaints) began to surface.            June 23, 2014 [redacted]: This is official notification that we are rescinding theactivity we commenced at about 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 21. At that time, we believed, based on what is published onyour website and discussed in person, that your recovery house was organized ina way that would help our son, [redacted], in his recovery efforts. However, basedupon an in-person experience of 24 hours or so, it is now our belief thatWestlake Recovery House does not and will not meet our expectations. (And itappears that we are not the only family that has reached this conclusion.) We can provide specifics where the reality falls shortof what is indicated/expected in a reasonable program, includingmisrepresentation on the website about the health conscious meal program,reasonable access to services and house supervision. But rather than dispute or litigate, we want to simplyterminate, settle for costs incurred and moved on so that [redacted] can receive theassistance he is interested in. On Saturday, June 21, we provided you a cashiers' checkfor $9050 with the expectation that [redacted] would, in turn, receive a highquality housing situation/program for six months that would support hisrecovery. However, after 24 hours, it is our opinion that Westlake RecoveryHouse will not create an environment that will produce a successful outcome. As  result, and as a fair-minded effort to resolvethis transaction, we would like to terminate the relationship with WestlakeRecovery House, pay Westlake Recovery House a fair amount based on servicesrendered to date and seek reimbursement for the services and time that will notutilized. We propose that of the $9,050 we provided WestlakeRecovery House on Saturday afternoon (June 21, 2014), that we pay for the $350background check that Westlake Recovery performed, and that we pay $50 for eachthe two nights (2) that [redacted] stayed at your facility. As those represent the expenses incurred by WestlakeRecovery, we are seeking an immediate refund of $8,600. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Respectfully, [redacted] & [redacted]        [redacted]: Yesterday (Monday, June 23) my wife, [redacted],called you to meet at your house when she arrived from [redacted]. You did not showup or respond. I also emailed you to let you know that dueto numerous misrepresentations—and more importantly, conditions that would notsupport [redacted]’s recovery—we decided to take [redacted] out of Westlake RecoveryHouse. I received no response from my email. Our son was in the recovery house for lessthan 48 hours and that was all the time necessary to determine that WestlakeRecovery would not provide an environment nor services promised for [redacted]'srecovery. Among the conditions that quickly eroded our confidence:  theisolated location in which you really do need a car to function despiteyou telling us you don't. It would be extremely difficult (if not impossible)to attend meetings, go to the restaurants you reimburse for and get to the gymand many other promised activities you promise as the bus route stop is 15minutes away by a strenuous bike ride and has an extremely limitedschedule.  The other ad hoc arrangement of getting a ride from othermembers is likely not workable as many will have differing schedules. There wasno initial assessment or orientation other than a walk-thru the house On[redacted]’s first full day, not one of the scheduled events happened. And there wasno overnight supervision. [redacted] basically spent the bulk of the day isolated byhimself. In my email to you yesterday, I noted thatas part of a good faith effort, we are willing to pay for the background checkand his two night stay. I made it clear that we expected an expedited refund ofthe balance of the funds we paid Westlake Recovery for [redacted]’s six-monthstay.    As I stated yesterday, we prefer to solvethis matter without hassle, recrimination and disruptive measures. However, ifwe do not receive a cashier's check in the amount of $8,600 made out to [redacted]or [redacted] by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday June 25, we will move ahead withmeasures necessary to recover funds for services not rendered.  [redacted] & [redacted] 
Regards,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
It is disappointing but evident that [redacted] has decided to maintain my son violated the agreement and not recognize his failure to deliver what he promised both orally and referenced in the agreement. It is further evident that we cannot resolve this through the Revdex.com so other actions will be necessary which I had hope to avoid.
 
I find it silly that you choose to point out the house manager was not notified as a violation of the agreement while you recognize the house owner was; especially since the agreement was signed by the house owner and not house manager.
 
What is most ridiculous and absurd is your continued claim [redacted] choose to discontinue his sobriety when in fact his desire for sobriety is what drove him to leave Westlake Recovery House. He immediately entered another program, which he has been a part of to this date and sober. He is working at a job and his sobriety, something he could not envision doing in the environment you provided.
 
As for my false claim that you put money above interests of clients, well the facts from my perspective seem to speak for themselves and this will forever be my opinion. Further, you knew the financial hardship my family was facing and difficulty to come up with the advance funds you demanded. No one wanted this to work more than I did as loss of the payment only added to the hardship on my family, as we had to come up with funds for the new facility. A facility where he has found the environment conducive to his sobriety that you could not provide.
 
I will be discussing my options with the Austin District Attorney and my personal attorney.
 
I understand you have in your possession a computer left behind by [redacted] and request you either send this to me at address below or allow my representative to retrieve from you in the coming days.
 
Sincerely,
 
[redacted]
Regards,[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
What your video shows is someone who desperately needed medical attention.  By your own admission, Westlakes Recovery [redacted] waited 3 days to call for support.  We cannot not trust this facility to handle another medical emergency. 
 
In addition, in the less than 2 weeks our son was there, both his glasses ($600) and his computer were stolen.  [redacted] misrepresented the age of the computer; it was not 15 years old--it was a 2008, only 6 years old.
 
 Further, I find it deeply disturbing that our son was forced to mow a very steep yard as punishment; they knew our son had a torn ACL and they didn't share information which would have made the job easier. That is abuse in my book.
 
For these reasons, we could never consider returning to Westlakes Recovery.  
 
None of Westlakes responses address these issues.  Instead they have diverted to issues about broken rules and violations. They kick others out of the program--this isn't an usual occurrence at Westlakes. And I still find it difficult to believe that someone can get kicked out of Westlakes Recovery for parking in the wrong place, late for a meeting, and swearing. Those were the reasons we were given when he was asked to leave.
 
The bottom line is this:  [redacted] said he had experience with Bipolar Disorder and gave us assurances that he could handle our son's recovery. Clearly [redacted] was not equipped to handle this medical problem and that is why we deserve a refund
 
Regards,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:7/28/14 [redacted]DisputeResolution Specialist BetterBusiness Bureau  DearMs. [redacted]: Thefollowing responds to your note, received last Friday (July 25, 2014) inreference to Revdex.com complaint #[redacted]. Please note that the response fromWestlake Recovery to our initial complaint was not helpful to our efforts torecover the $9,050 paid to Westlake Recovery for services that were notrendered. We do not consider this incident to closed or resolved. And since weinitially filed the Revdex.com complaint, it might be important to note that WestlakeRecovery has lost its Level 2 certification from the Texas Recovery Oriented HousingNetwork (TROHN). Wepaid Westlake Recovery $9,050 so our son, (the client) could stay six months atthe facility. He left after two nights when it became clear that the program atWestlake Recovery was misrepresented and would not help him in his recoveryefforts. [redacted], the owner of Westlake Recovery, refused to refund themoney because, as he stated in his response that with no "financialconsequences it would simply be too easy for our clients to give up and returnto their former lives of addiction. In this case the client simply lacked thecommitment required."  Theclient in question did not have a "lackof commitment." Indeed, the client left Westlake Recovery and went directlyto and immediately checked into another certified recovery facility locatednear Austin. Now more than 30 days after checking into that recovery facility,he is still in that recovery program and expects to be in the program at leastfive more months with no intention of leaving. These facts can be readily verified and we will be happy to supplyinformation that clearly contradicts [redacted]'s assertion that this clientsuffered a "failure." Wewould like to think that any business that wants to be known as a "betterbusiness" would not force clients to pay thousands of dollars for servicesnot rendered. At the most basic level, we paid more than $9,000 up front forour son to stay at Westlake Recovery home for six months. He stayed preciselytwo nights. (Although the owner of Westlake Recovery said in his response toour Revdex.com complaint #[redacted] that our son "arrived at our house onSunday" the fact of the matter is that he arrived on Saturday, June 21.The owner's presentation of "facts" is often vague and oftenincorrect.) Althoughhe casually dismisses all our assertion made in our initial complaint #[redacted]and often provides non-responsive statements, we continue to stand by the assertions made in our initial complaint.  Theresponse by the owner of Westlake Recovery to our lengthy Better BusinessBureau complaint #[redacted] would be laughable if the matter wasn't so serious,but it is a serious matter since he is refusing to refund our $9,050 plus aboutan additional $10,000 in combined funds to two other families who had clientsleave at about the same time for similar reasons.  Inhis response to our Revdex.com complaint #[redacted], the owner of Westlake Recovery claimsthat we misstated the facts. This assertion comes from someone who systematicallymisstates facts--big and small--on the company's website and in person. Forexample, a big misstatement of fact is that the owner of Westlake Recovery claimsin the bio on the Westlake Recovery website that he is a Peer CertifiedRecovery Coach. However, he is not. Werecently checked with [redacted], who is the ExecutiveDirector/Certification Coordinator at the Texas Association of AddictionProfessions (TAAP) who said, that in reality, the owner of Westlake Recovery isnot a Peer Certified Recovery Coach.And then one of the smaller misstatements of facts is in the Features sectionof the website which describes a pool table, air hockey table, etc. beinglocated in a "sports enthusiast man cave" In reality, the man cave isa plain old unadorned garage. Thistype of misrepresentation is rampant on the Westlake Recovery website which isused to attract the interest of people who are desperately looking for a safeand structured place for their loved ones.  Inaddition to the earlier misrepresentation we described in Revdex.com complaint#[redacted], we now point out that in his response, the owner of WestlakeRecovery claims that the "197 bus route is a 3 minute bike ride from ourhouse." In fact, there is no route 197 in Austin. We suppose that he meantto say route 171, as it seems to be the closest bus stop.  Whilehe asserts in the Revdex.com response that it is a three minute bike ride to thenearest bus stop, the website states: "Yes,although our house is located in one of the most affluent areas in Austin,there are two bus stops that are less than a 15 minute bicycle ride from thehouse (#171, 9 mins; #333, 14 mins)...so which of [redacted]’s comments is true?What he says on the website or in the Revdex.com response? However,more importantly than debating which claim is true and which is not, it shouldbe pointed out there is no service at the #171 stop between 8:30 am to 1:15p.m. and only offers return service between 4:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. (www.capmetro.org/schedulemap.aspx)Certainly it is not convenient (or even practical) to use this bus route toattend any AA or NA meetings. Thewebsite talks about the "15 or more" restaurants that are approvedfor reimbursement. That was the number the owner cited when we made thein-person visit and dropped off the client on Saturday, June 21. In hisresponse to this particular Revdex.com complaint, he now claims there are 50 approvedrestaurants!?! Does anyone really believe he increased the number of approved restaurantsthat provide reimbursable health conscious meals from 15 to 50 in the one monthafter the client departed???? Andthe owner of Westlake Recovery stated in his response to this particular Revdex.comcomplaint that that the person who made the initial complaint did not visit thefacility. That is wrong. She didvisit the facility on Monday, June 23 when she went to take the client from WestlakeRecovery to the Benchmark facility. She had called the owner ([redacted]) andasked him to meet her at Westlake Recovery. But he did not show up. Nevertheless,the person who filed the complaint did go into the facility to help the clientmove his belongings out. She personally witnessed another client sleeping inhis bed past 9 a.m. This was a client that the owner had previously described personallyto me as one who had been in the facility for several months already. So theimplication in the owner's response that the sleeping client was new to thehouse and without employment was not correct. And at any rate, he was sleepingin bed past the 9 a.m. would seem to violate some of those house rules that theowner so often references.  Thecomplainant walked through and observed quite a bit and eventually went withthe client to list the garage door retrieve the client’s bicycle which wasparked next to a motorcycle in the "man cave."  Theseexamples of the owner's stretching and bending the truth should provide anumber of reasons to discredit his response to Revdex.com complaint #[redacted]. Thebottom line is, we paid for a six month stay. The client stayed for only twonights--not because of lack of commitment, but because Westlake Recovery didnot offer the "structure and support" he felt he needed. (Contrary tothe owner of Westlake Recovery’s assertion, the client continues to demonstratehis commitment to recovery. Indeed, in the owner of Westlake Recovery’sresponse, he said the client left “before taking advantage of any of ourprograms” is an indication that the client did not cause Westlake Recovery toincur any costs, yet the owner refuses to refund the $9,050 because of hisarbitrary “financial consequences” rule.) A business that claims it issupported by the Revdex.com should not rip off customers to thetune of thousands of dollars for services not rendered. Wecontinue to demand that Westlake Recovery refund the $9,050 we paid for thesix-month stay that was terminated after two days once numerousmisrepresentations began to surface.
Regards,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:Quite simply, Westlake Village at no time has addressed their failure to deliver the environment for sobriety promised verbally and in their agreement. This is the core foundation of our complaint and reasons for leaving. It is our opinion their unwillingness and failure to address this shortcoming was a threat to the client maintaining his sobriety. The sobriety of the client and ability to maintain his sobriety had and does have the highest priority.I will continue to explore my options to recover monies I feel are inappropriately being held. I had hoped to reach a mutual agreement through the Revdex.com. As it is obvious this can not take place I am within my rights to explore other options. Any decision from the Revdex.com does not remove these options, nor do I believe you can be successful in characterizing this as harassment.I do not expect further action from the Revdex.com and do not consider this a closed matter but rather a unsettled complaint.
Regards,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:  Wrong: our son never received $100 for the computer and it was not 15 years old; he left the $40 he was given.  But none of that matters: the point is the client took advantage of him--talked him into leaving to get the computer knowing that he could not return by curfew and what the consequences would be far better than our son. Our son was taken advantage of and punished for it.
No, I was not told about the rules was not told about the rules and I was not told about the chores; we were promised "luxurious rehab."  Checkout their web site.  The reality was anything but "luxurious."
But the most egregious offense is that this facility claimed to have experience with Bipolar Disorder and would help. Not true. Anyone with experience would have known to call the family after just one sleepless night. Anyone with experience with Bipolar Disorder would have known that coming down from a manic episode was the wrong time to introduce chanting and hypnotism; our son told us 'they [were] trying to control my mind.  We visited with [redacted] doctor and monitored his meds for two days and our son was fine; anyone with the experience they claimed to have would have known how to handle the situation better than Westlake did.
It is simply wrong to set people up for failure, kick them out and keep their money.  This facility claims to be "highly successful."  I would like to know how many people get kicked out.  Let's face it:  once they have all of their money up front, where's their 'dog in it?' What incentive do they have to actually do the things they promised.  There was no help; Westlake did not assume any responsibility; they just expected the family to put pressure on our son to keep from getting kicked out.  I don't mind paying for the violations; I don't mind paying for the 10-day stay.  I do mind paying $6350 for what proved to be misrepresentation--they are not equipped to handle Bipolar Disorder.
I don't mind paying the violations; I don't mind paying for the time my son was there.  I do mind paying $6350 for a 10-day stay.
[redacted]