At The Beach customers burned again\r
Heidi Hemmat Investigative Reporter \r
9:44 PM MST, December 29, 2009\r
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DENVER, Colo. - Consumer complaints are still flooding our newsroom even after At the Beach responded to our investigation and promised to make it right with their customers.\r
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Hundreds of people say they got duped by lying At the Beach salespeople who talked them into signing a membership that they said could be cancelled at anytime. Instead, they were signing a one or two-year contract they could not break.\r
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After our story aired, At the Beach's attorney Richard Ogden announced the company would offer a limited time, ""courtesy cancellation,"" for people who felt they had been deceived.\r
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""Through the end of the year, we are providing a courtesy cancellation to anyone who believes they were misrepresented in terms of their 6 month or 12 month contract,"" he said.\r
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Ogden said customers have until December 31st 2009 to take advantage of the offer. He also said customers would have to be ""current"" and pay for the tans they had already used.\r
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But angry consumers say the ""courtesy cancellation"" is just another scam. Many feel they are being duped for the 2nd time after finding out cancelling their contract will cost them more than the membership itself.\r
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Sarah Hurley is one of dozens of customers who say ""what they are doing is a big joke.""\r
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Hurley found out she is being charged $30 dollars for every tan she used, that's the single session rate.\r
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""It's not a courtesy at all. If anything, it's a bigger scam.""\r
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Richard Ogden told us they are taking 100 cancelation calls a day. A ""good percentage"" of the people are satisfied with the courtesy cancellation, although he could not provide exact numbers.\r
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Ogden says if people are still unhappy, he is willing to review their case on an individual basis. They can request an individual review by going to the at the beach website, click on the customer care tab and fill out the form. The requests have to be made by December 31st 2009.\r
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The Colorado Attorney General's office is still investigating the allegations against ATB. You can file a complaint at stop.fraud@state.co.us\r
Cons: Ripoff
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