LA Weight Loss Centers

 

"Weight Loss Center Settles Charges"

By SEANNA ADCOX, Associated Press Writer

"ALBANY, N.Y. -- A national weight loss chain has agreed to pay New York state $110,000 to settle charges that it falsely advertised the cost of its program, announced Attorney General Eliot Spitzer on Wednesday.

For the past year, L.A. Weight Loss Centers has advertised in television and newspapers statewide that its weight loss program costs "only $7 per week," when the actual cost could be four times as much, Spitzer said.

The Horsham, Pa.-based business, which operates more than 50 branches across New York state, paid $100,000 in civil penalties, plus $10,000 to cover the attorney general's investigation.

The company did not admit any wrongdoing. It settled the case "to avoid protracted legal costs," said Von Karian, the company's president and CEO.

According to Spitzer, L.A. Weight Loss customers don't pay per week. They must commit to a one-year program and pay the yearly fee of $376.60 in advance. They are also required to buy "LA Lites" nutrition bars at a cost of $28 per week.

Spitzer said the company's sales representatives frequently failed to tell customers about the nutrition bar requirements until after their three-day right to cancel had expired.

Under the deal with Spitzer, L.A. Weight Loss Center must revise its contracts to fully explain all costs and must refund customers within the 15-day deadline. It will pay a $25 late fee to all customers owed a refund. And it must allow all current customers to opt out of their commitment to buy LA Lite bars, according to Spitzer."

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