Wappingers Falls medical spa shuts down but keeps billing customers; new partners try to right ship
Recent reviews of the spa and comments on social media have put the new partners in a difficult position ahead of the reopening.
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Customers of a Wappingers Falls medical spa told News 12 that after they signed up for expensive treatments late last year, the owner ignored their calls for weeks, then closed up the shop on Route 376 and kept their money.
Now another set of partners is trying to repair Renu Medispa's reputational damage, earn back trust and fix equipment in preparation for a reopening later this spring.
"The staff was phenomenal," Renu Medispa customer Ann Hill said. "The owner should be ashamed of himself."
Hill said that after she paid Renu Medispa $3,000 in advance for two laser treatments and Botox back in October, the owner ghosted her.
"When I kept calling to make an appointment, I would get an answering machine," she said.
Then last month, the spa shut down without warning, though the spa kept withdrawing payments for her monthly Botox plan.
"It really is a shame that somebody could be so heartless and cold, but he messed with the wrong group of people," Hill said. "We stand together. Shame on him."
Reached by phone Monday, part-owner Dr. Faisal Ashraf denied ignoring anyone. He said all customers were taken care of until staffing issues forced the spa to temporarily close last month.
He is now working with new partners to open it back up.
The new partners, who declined to be interviewed but showed News 12 their renovation, said that when they first arrived two weeks ago to try to help Ashraf save the spa, there were 130 unanswered voicemails waiting for them.
Many were from customers who were trying to book appointments for the treatments they had already paid for.
They are calling each customer to let them know they plan to be open by Mother's Day, and they will honor all treatment packages that have already been paid for or refund them.
"I would rather get a refund at this point," Hill said, "because they've done bad business."
Recent reviews of the spa and comments on social media have put the new partners in a difficult position ahead of the reopening. They plan to offer customers free facials and other services to make up for their treatment. and to try to restore trust.
They are also in the process of rehiring employees who were abruptly laid off when the spa closed.
