Beauty clinics not all they appear to cross clients

ONE of the main sources of complaint was against beauty clinics, which continue to be a continuing focus for the ASAI.

It upheld a complaint about a social media ad that said: ‘€500 OFF Laser Eye Surgery with Optilase. Book your free consultation today!’

When a man tried to take up the offer, he was told the condition for getting €500 off the price of the procedure was to remove the ‘Lifetime Guarantee’ from the laser procedure. The ASAI committee expressed concern at the advertisers’ failure to respond. In the absence of a response from Optilase, the committee concluded that the advert was in breach of its code and said it must not appear again in its current form.

The ASAI also upheld a complaint against Therapie Clinic, which announced on its website: ‘THE 1 CENT SALE IS NOW ON!’ and ‘Full Leg & Any Bikini + Underarm for 1 cent WAS €170 NOW €145’.

The non-sale pricing list on the website offered the same treatments as: ‘Full Leg,

Any Bikini & Underarm (Course of 6) €144.’ A woman who complained to the ASAI said while the full price cost for a full leg, any bikini & underarm was indicated as being €144 (course of 6), the actual cost of the treatment was €144 for each treatment – six times what was advertised.

She also said that the 1 cent offer was meaningless and that the sale price of €145 was more than the regular price of €144.

The ASAI expressed concern at the firm’s failure to reply and upheld the complaint.