09/29/09

I Hate Repeat Hate AT THE BEACH!!!!!!

by anewbegnning

This place is so shady. I'm in a crappy two year contract which at first I was okay with since the lady I spoke to said I could cancel anytime with a cancelation fee and she never said it would be reported on my credit..BIG MISTAKE!!!! Yes I should of read the teeny tiney fine print, but seh was going over it and I took her word. Lesson learned! So you can not cancel unless you move 25 miles away, you have to send all kinds of stuff. The service was starting to go down hill where I was so I called and wanted to cancel so they said tough luck.. JERKS!!!!If you have been swindled file with the BBB,FTC< Attorney General, and contact news stations..This business needs to be shut down...All this headache for a stupid tanning salon!!!!!

• Pros: Nothing
• Cons: Everything

09/16/09

Beware, do NOT sign a contract with these people

by Fankerboy

This place is a total scam. They totally lie about everything especially the ability to freeze your account and direct all billing questions to their accounting department which is the biggest bunch of morons you have ever met, however I have found a way to fight back:

1. Call their accounting department (Affiliated Acceptance Corporation) at 800.233.8483. They are currently in the process of switching accounting company's (supposedly called Aspen Sun) so this might not work but it's worth a shot. Tell the person that you want to non-renew your automatic membership. This is very important because what they don't tell you when you sign-up is that your contract automatically renews thus making it impossible to get out of your contract.

2. File a compliant with the Bureau who monitors businesses (I can't type their name because this site deems them inappropiate). Make sure to file this under the corporate office which is located in Oklahoma City, OK. They are currently rated as D- and should be an F, so do your part in making this come true.

3. I have gotten the names of three people in the corporate office. I have called several times only to be routed to a voicemail that doesn't accept messages because it's full. Here are the people’s names and email addresses. I had to type their email addresses in a different format because this site won't allow me to publish email addresses

Brian Belt (CEO) - bbelt@atbtanning(dot)com

Cindy Stuart - cstuart@atbtanning(dot)com

Judson Kinkade - jkinkade@atbtanning(dot)com

Send numerous emails to these people requesting that your auto-renew be cancelled and expressing your frustrating over their deceptive business practices!!!! Make sure to save your email and create a return receipt.

Unfortunately I still have 4 months to deal with these scammers but I’ve taken the proper steps to discontinue doing business with these morons. I encourage everyone to tell your friends and family not to do business with ATB.

Sincerely from an unsatisfied customer,

Brian Motykowski

BrianMotykowski@comcast(dot)net

• Pros: None
• Cons: Total Scam

08/06/09

Read the Fine Print!!

by Joolz

Beware before you sign anything!!

If I could do this all over again... I wouldn't.

ATB tanning has employees that don't even know their own policies. I signed a two year contract and was told I could put a 3 month freeze on it at any time... multiple times. This is NOT the case! Also... if you put a 3 month freeze on your account (say it's summer time and you want to use the natural sunlight to tan yourself) it EXTENDS your contract by 3 months! On and it costs you another $10! (which they neglect to tell you!!)

I can't tell you how many times I've been standing in line waiting for a tanning bed and overhearing the employees give their 'spheel' about their 'great tanning salon'. I swear I've heard 3 different versions of 'how the contract works' and every time I question a manager about it I get a different answer! After my contract is up I will NEVER EVER tan at this place again! It's a crock and their employees don't know SH*T!!

• Cons: Long lines, uneducated employees

07/30/09

DO NOT GO HERE

by ATBSUCKS

7/30/2009 This place is nice enough...until you move out of state and need to cancel your membership. I've been trying to cancel for two weeks...have sent 4 emails, and left 14 voicemails at corporate headquarters. The local salons claim they are unable to freeze the account, much less cancel it, and only refer you back to corporate. Found a phone # for their supposed president, who claimed I'd have to call back and speak to someone else at 7am Oklahoma time. DO NOT SIGN UP FOR ANY CONTRACTS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!

• Pros: NONE!
• Cons: CUSTOMER SERVICE

07/09/09

SCAM SCAM SCAM!!!

by aloshka09

Ruined my credit history and i was told I was on a month-to-month payment. I moved and they will still not cancel. They are asking for $75, a brand new state-issued license with new address, 3 address changing documents proving I moved. They will not accept utility bills, lease contracts, etc. I don't know what other proof they need. When I bought my house, I also noticed, they created a loan on my behalf!!!

• Pros: You will be approved for a loan that will ruin your credit
• Cons: You can't cancel the loan that ruined your credit

06/23/09

UNETHICAL BUSINESS PRACTICES

by julie0842

ATB is a shady business and the head manager misled and lied to me about the terms of the contract I signed. I specifically asked about cancellations and she told me I could cancel at anytime. After trying to tan on more than one ocasion and having to deal with a long wait and pestering sales people pressuring me to buy $60 lotions, I decided it was not in my best interest to NOT be a member. I called to cancel and was given the corporate number which then led me to another billing number. They have a financial services company that enfoces their contracts and billing and the lady I spoke with herself said she has no control over the way ATB presents the contracts and to avoid messy situations with contract enforcement ATB tanning has hired the finicial services company to do this for them. So basically ATB can blatantly lie to their customers and send all complaints to their billing company so they can dishonestly and unethically swindle people's money from them. I DO NOT want to support these unethical business practices and I am upset about the whole thing. If you experience wrong doing with ATB remember to report them to the appropriate business reporting agencies!!

• Pros: None
• Cons: I don't know how they can sleep at night.

06/01/09

You WILL regret it!!!

by burgymoon

I went to at the beach tanning and the sweet little orange lady told me that I should sign a two year contract and I would get all this free stuff! I told her that I would be moving to a town where there is no at the beach facilities and she said, no problem. If it's more than 25 miles away, just let me know and I will cancel your membership. Sounded like I couldn't lose! Well, when I moved, I called and the same sweet peach said that she could not cancel it for me and that I would have to call corporate. I called corporate and they said I needed to send them 2 proofs of change of address, a copy of my new driver's license with my new address, a copy of a paycheck or proof from my new employer, $75 money order and more. It's been a year since I've moved and I've yet to change the address on my driver's license. Who has the time for that? Now, I have been sent to collections for $1,200! I tried to cancel, but they make it near impossible and extremely unpleasant.

05/26/09

Stay far far away! Company

by Meguns

They are absolute scammers, and do it all with a smile on their face-----all with one perk, their product is actually decent. I like the beds and the spray tan, but the 1 pro to the 100+ cons does NOT make it worth it at all. I was fooled into coming in for a 'free' tanning session, and then they gave me the complete walk through. Meanwhile the crazy * Brooke (stay far away from her) would not give me a straight answer. I asked all the basic questions you would think of and her and her over tanned, over plumped lips would just talk circles round and round. Finally I had wasted WAY too much time in there just to walk away, or so I thought, and was like...okay, just tell me how much I need to pay!! After I had become a month to month member by contract, she told me I was locked in a 24 month contract at 54.99 per month. BS!! I said "Wait! Its for two years? I'd like to cancel now before it's processed. She simply took my contract behind the counter and told me that it was already completed and I was locked in. Meanwhile, I questioned her how I could go about canceling it, and she sat there and lied right to my face. Since, I've been trying to work with corporate, and theyre just as ditzy and dumb as everyone else involved in the company. When I told them that I was moving far far away, they tried to talk me into buying a house close to an At The Beach. I could go on and on as you can tell. Point is. Just dont get involved with this awful awful fraudulent company!!

• Pros: 1, decent product.
• Cons: Everything!!!! Liars

05/05/09

Deceitful, misleading business... stay away!

by BeansyBoy

f you just pull up their B B B report, you might get a sense for the type of company they are. They have hundreds of complaints and they are rated a "D—."

I signed up for a membership late last year. I feel like they told me anything I wanted to hear to get me to just sign that paper, which was in something like 6pt font and a mile long.

The kid signing me up for the contract told me I would be able to change my membership package at any time. I was also told that I would be able to cancel my membership for medical reasons, or if I moved outside a 50-mile radius. She said there would probably be some sort of fee to cancel, but that it was possible.

I then started a medication for acne, and it's a photosensitizing medication which means I am unable to tan. I am also unable to use the spray tan that At the Beach offers, as I break out in welts when I use it. I called a local At the Beach store to find out how I could go about canceling my membership, and the girl on the phone told me I could get a note from my doctor explaining my situation and then call corporate and they'd let me out of my contract. So that day I went and paid for a visit to my doctor so he could write me a note explaining that I have a medical reason for which I am unable to tan and am unable to use their spray tan as an alternative.

I called their corporate office and was told that I was misinformed, and that there is absolutely no way to cancel. I explained that I am paying $55 per month for a service I am unable to use. That's when I was informed that I was locked into a two-year membership instead of a one-year membership like I had been told. I explained that I felt they should abide by what their store employees are telling customers, and the lady on the phone said they're not obligated to do that. She then said, in a very snobby tone, that maybe I should be more careful the next time I sign something.

I asked if I could lower my membership package so I am paying less, since I cannot use it anyways. She told me no. I was told at the time I signed up that I could do this at any time.

The lady on the phone from corporate told me I could have my membership transferred to someone else for a $50 fee, but I cannot find anyone who wants to take it. Seriously... everyone I know has already heard about what an awful company ATB is.

I work with a girl who recently worked for At the Beach, and she says they are trained to tell people just about anything in order to get them to sign a contract. She says they are trained on how to dance around questions and how to purposefully mislead customers in order to get them to sign that contract. She said they're instructed on how to be "cute" and make small talk while you're "reading" the contract so you get distracted.

I am now paying $55 each month for the next 20 months for a service I am unable to use due to medical reasons. The store employees keep telling me something different than the corporate office tells me. This company is seriously misleading customers, as you can see by their B B B report. They somehow showed up on my credit report, even though I never gave them my social security number (I refused, and instead they took my driver's license number). The lady at the corporate office said if I stop paying, they will turn me in to collections.

• Pros: None.
• Cons: Deceitful, misleading, and they misrepresent contracts

04/29/09

I Love At The Beach!!!!

by jjward

I Love At The Beach!! I used to tan at Dark Tan. I paid over $80 a month and the beds were never this good!! And I get to spray in the vespa spa for the same price every month. And it doesnt turn me orange!! Oh-yeah!

The people are always nice and friendly and hate waiting in line but i'm always happy to see evryone thats working there. Love ya guys!

• Pros: Low Price. Best Tanning Beds. Friendliest Staff
• Cons: Line After Work