Woman's tangle with tanning salon is reminder to get things in writing

[Editor-in-Chief]

Woman's tangle with tanning salon is reminder to get things in writing


03:50 PM Mountain Standard Time on Tuesday, April 24, 2007


By Gary Harper / 3 On Your Side


An East Valley woman says she canceled her contract with a tanning salon, but now the salon is demanding $4,000.

Planet Beach tanning salons are individually owned and operated. The particular Planet Beach I'm talking about is in Chandler. This is where one Valley woman says she's having one heck of a time.

Three years ago when Michilyn Mankowski wanted to start tanning, she went to Planet Beach in Chandler. There, she says she signed a contract with Planet Beach for $29.95 a month.

"I was told it was a 24-month contract, but I could cancel out with a 30-day notice," Mankowski said.

Mankowski even had the $29.95 automatically deducted from her bank account each month.

"It was easier," she said. "I didn't have to worry about paying every month. They could just take it out of my account."

But, just 12 months later Mankowski wanted to cancel that contract and claims she filled out the necessary paperwork.

The cancellation, she says, went through because the $29.95 immediately stopped coming out of her bank account every month.

"You know, nothing came out of my account," Mankowski said. "I didn't even think about it until I got a call from a collection agency."

A phone call and a letter from a debt collector saying Planet Beach in Chandler wanted more than $4,000 in membership fees and late fees that accrued over the past three years.

Mankowski said she called the owner of Planet Beach to tell her the contract was canceled years ago, but got nowhere.

"Her words were I owe her," Mankowski said. "She was very rude."

The owner of Planet Beach said the $4,000 bill is legit because she has no evidence that Mankowski ever canceled three years ago.

"Because we had no record of the cancellation, the membership continues," Debbie Huskey said.

But, $4,000 in tanning? Come on.

Even the owner of Planet Beach says she understands why Mankowski was so upset.

"Sure, I'd be freaked out too," Huskey said. "That's a lot of money."

3 On Your Side was able to negotiate that amount down to $359.

Why? Well, it was a 24-month contract and Mankowski only fulfilled half of the contract before canceling, so technically she did owe that amount. But it sure beats $4,000.

Still, even she says she's learned a lesson.

"I'm very skeptical of people and businesses," she said. "They are a really large company and they are nationwide and I felt safe because of that. I won't feel safe with any company again."

Again, every Planet Beach is independently owned and operated so my story is only talking about the Planet Beach on Riggs Road.

I hope folks learn one very valuable lesson and that is always get things in writing.

In this particular case, Mankowski should have demanded a copy of that cancellation to prove she canceled.

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