Weight loss clinics close

HAMPTON ROADS, Va - "You're down a pound and a quarter. Yeah!!"

Those words of joy are an example of what hundreds of people in Hampton Roads were looking for when they joined Weight Loss Forever. But even the small step of progress in Chris Yaeckel's journey is clouded by a major set back.

Yaeckel told WAVY.com, "I went to the clinic to get weighed Monday. It had a sign up there, it had a phone number. I tried to call the number, it's not working."

The story is the same for many of Weight Loss Forever clients. WAVY.com discovered the buildings are closed - and empty.

Debbie Klink once volunteered to be a spokeswoman for the company. She lost 40 pounds and was enrolled in a maintenance program. Klink told WAVY.com she tried to find answers before calling 10 On Your Side.

"I've tried to contact the owner, there is no answer. I even left a voicemail and she has not gotten back to me," she said.

Klink's friend Lynn Reeder started the program this summer, after seeing Klink's success. Now they share frustrations.

Reeder said, "We want to be compensated since we trusted them and paid all this money - and now, just no notice, nothing."

WAVY.com went to the Weight Loss Forever corporate office in Virginia Beach.

No one was there, but a Sheriff's Deputy had been; a notice was posted on the door that legal action had been taken against the corporation. According to court records, the legal action was for an unpaid judgment against the company that originated in Charlottesville, Virginia.

WAVY.com researched the business through the State Corporation Commission. The SCC lists Beverly Turner and Brian Stimmel as principal officers of the company that runs Weight Loss Forever. But we were unable to reach them.
 
The lack of contact with the owners is frustrating for their clients who have now lost more than they ever bargained for.

Klink is still owed nearly a year of counseling and products. "I was charged approximately 27-hundred dollars," she said.

Yaeckel just started the program and paid, "Two thousand and maybe two hundred dollars."

In one month Yaeckel has lost 10 pounds and told WAVY.com she isn't willing to give up. She found some help at a clinic in Chesapeake that used to be a part of the Weight Loss Forever group.

While WAVY.com was at the clinic in the Crossways Shopping Center in Chesapeake, owner Amy Zablan answered phone calls from upset Weight Loss Forever clients.

"I don't want you to be discouraged. I know you are discouraged," she said over the phone.

About a month ago, Zablan separated herself from Weight Loss Forever's owners. She declined to go into details about her decision, but said she already owned the Greenbrier location and wanted to do it without the Weight Loss Forever partnership. So Zablan's business is called Weight Loss Now. It's an independent company, that's still operating.

"I know they're in pain. There's a financial side to that and an emotional side to that," Zablan said.

She's offering to give displaced clients 10 free weeks of counseling and a discount on supplements. The address for Weight Loss Now is 1600 Crossways Blvd. in Chesapeake.

"Come in and continue to be accountable. Accountability is so important. I don't want to see them gain the weight back," Zablan offered.

WAVY.com contacted Virginia Consumer Affairs, and representatives are looking into the situation.   

Weight Loss Forever clients can file complaints by calling 1-800-552-9963. Customers who paid for the program in Virginia Beach, can call that local office at 385-5836.

One client told WAVY.com she's contacted her credit card company. Her company was willing to suspend payments while the case is investigated.