Realwomen.co.nz

I am part of the (well was) Palmerston North clinic. Like others I turned up to a pre-booked session to find it dark, gutted and a sign on the door. Rang friends to make sure they hadn't moved else where in town to find that my friends had also experienced the same thing. Rang head office who said they were relying on customers ringing in as they could not do anything for the customers until 15 days after the fact. I am only worried about 1 - Whether I have to continue to pay off this programme considering I am no longer getting my weekly consultations and finding that I am totally falling backwards due to not having my weekly consultations; 2 - whether anything will ever start up again and 3 - saying thank you to the consultants whom I believe are as 'P'd' off as we are. The consultants at the Palmerston North branch were great and obviously couldn't turn up to work on the Monday possibly due to some sort of rubbish confidentiality clause and breech of contract blah blah. Has anyone else in this predicament gone further with enqiries and had any luck? I have read the fine print and the wording just goes straight over my head. How depressing!

SureSlim has breached it's contract, so why should you keep your end of the bargain & keep paying SS? Unless of course you have an arrangement with a separate financial institution or 3rd party? (such as your credit card like others here)

I joined SS last year, I found it hard going. You have to have meals 5 hours apart,& small amounts of food., I was only allowed 135 grams of veges for dinner, which is a tiny amount. I got bad headaches & felt tired. Was only allowed their SS cereal, which is $15 a packet & I lost a filling eating it ( cost me over $200) I was going through a bad time & so I put my membership on hold ( they offered to do this for me)
I have heard nothing from SS, & I dont think I could go on it again. as I felt so unwell on it. Eating so little cant be good for you.

I hear many more clinics have closed in sureslim as well, i cannot speak highly enough of both the staff and management at the palmerston north clinic whom i know personally. The staff and management (owners) have been screwed like many other owners around the country. Such a shame for such a great programme, the hierachy of sureslim head honchos have a lot to answer for, and i hear the media is about to do a big report on them anyway and their dodgy dealings.
you should continue with your programme and get the good results you deserve!
you should go to Fair go, i am sure they are more than willing to investigate, i hear they have many other complaints and i guess the more they get the more likely someone is likely to be accountable

Are you personally involved with the Palmerston
North clinic Lilly? You seem to have quite a bit of insider knowledge. I don't doubt that there have been genuine people who have become franchise holders and who will also have paid dearly for that too. Not a good investment from any way one looks at it . But unless people complain to Fairgo, Consumer affairs etc, more people will hand over their hard earned dollars and continue to be taken in by these shonky operators.

Hi - I am in your exact same position. I joined sureslim Henderson about 6 weeks ago i paid the $960 which is a heck of alot for a 26 year old single mother but i really wanted to change my lifestyle and believed Sure Slim was the best option. Then i turn up on a Wednesday night for an appointment at the henderson branch only to find it all locked up. I call the 0508 number and i am told that they have no idea what is going on except that the phone has been disconnected and that the branch is now closed! I had only had 2 weigh ins since i joined and i was told i couldn't go to another branch!! I am so disappointed as i feel like i have just thrown $900 odd dollars down the drain!! What angers me most is that Sureslim Henderson willingly took my money 6 weeks ago they would have known that they would be closing soon!!! I am calling every other day to find out what is happening i keep being told they will call me back but never do!! I have asked many times for my money to be refunded i am just so angry and feel so conned!! Who could i contact to get a refund? Anyone know?

Cobba - Hello and welcome. I would suggest that you go to your local CAB and seek how you can get on to funded legal advice if you cant afford it. Better still, contact the Small Claims Tribunal and they would be happy to help you.

Hi there

It seems sureslim have a lot to answer for. I'm a victim of the Botany Branch which closed last Friday with the usual no notice for clients. I joined 4 weeks ago. The letter I got said I could attend 2 other Auckland clinics, but they are miles away as I have to bus it - 3hrs round trip to the Manukau Branch (and 2 buses!) and 2hrs round trip to the Newmarket Branch. With two little ones- 4 yr old and an 18mth old - I'm afraid its not an option for me!

I contacted headoffice and got a call from a girl called Karen today. She sympatised with our situation and said the problem was with the Franchisee - in this case its Mimmick Enterprises Ltd. I dont know if they are involved with any other clinics - their name was on the Sureslim letters and compliment slips I got from the Botany office - so check to see if their name is on any of your correspondance.

I put their name into the companies register website and found their contact names and addresses. I'm getting advise from a friend who is in the franchise business about what happens next. He says under franchise law we are most definitely intitled to a refund. So a letter is being drafted up to Mr. & Mrs. R Mimmack to get their side of things and see what options we have. I'm hoping for a positive reply from them. Needless to say the whole Fair Go and Small Claims Court is daunting but I'm in for the long haul here and I'm going to persist with this until I get answers and a refund!

By the way, Karen the supervisor in Sureslim Head Office would like me to keep n touch and let her know what happens - she said she would like someone to get a good outcome from all this mess...

I'll update this forum as and when I get more info....and dont forget to look at any letterheading you have from your branch because the name of the registered franchise company should be on it.

Cheers for now