bookyogaretreats.com

This is a terrible business that works with Scams

This is a terrible business, and I am blasting them for their involvement in being complicit in doing business with a scam. They have given only canned responses via email and when I ask to speak to them live, they lied about attempting to call me but not getting a response. Background: I first contacted Healing Body Energy through the BookYogaRetreats website, and asked where the retreat would be held in Tulum. I was told (in writing, through the message app) that they have their own healing center in Tulum..."we have pictures on Instagram". I then decided to call Healing Body Energy directly to ask a few additional questions on the retreat, as I didn't see this particular retreat directly on their own website. The person I spoke with on the phone asked which days I was looking at, and said it would be posted the next day on their website, and that if I booked directly through them, they would offer me a "friends and family discount" of $500 off for a total of $2999 USD. I thus booked directly with them the next day and downloaded the 5 day Tulum brochure . They sent me a personalized link via email for payment. There were 2 payment options, first was via ACH / bank transfer, and the second was via Credit Card, which incurred an additional 2.9% service charge, so naturally I chose the first option and paid on 12/15 for retreat dates 12/19-12/23.All of a sudden, I hear from Alysia Kaempf at Healing Body Energy past 8pm on 12/18 that they have not received the payment, and for me to check with the bank.."the funds have not cleared". I email her right away with a screenshot from my bank showing the funds have been withdrawn from my account already and payment processed. She then starts to email me again early the next day in the morning around 6am pst, before my 8am pst flight, and again as I was going through customs, saying the issue is on their end but I should have paid by credit card, and asked that I call Bank of America to cancel the ACH that already went through and initiate a Zelle or Venmo. Her communication became more and more unprofessional, accusatory, and absurd, asking me multiple times why I didnt speak with her and pay by credit card. I was pretty upset at this point and asked to speak to her manager Tony. I explained to him no one told me I had to pay by credit card, and why am I just hearing of the issue NOW, as I'm heading to what is supposedly a relaxing retreat? It seemed like they were having logistics issues that they were trying to pin on me. He said he will speak to Alysia and take care of it. Little did I know that would be the least of my issues.Once I arrived at Cancun airport, I thought the driver would take me to Tulum, but instead, he dropped me off at an apartment rental in PUERTO MORELOS, a fishing village over an hr from Cancun. I was told to join a dinner that night with the rest of the yogis at Casa Om. I then come to find out not only am I not in TULUM, I am also not staying at the yoga house. The rest of the attendees paid for a 7 day retreat (not 5), and are staying at Casa Om for much less money than I paid. I paid Tulum prices, and I was taken to an entirely different location! The link I paid through, the communications I had with Healing Body, the brochure I downloaded all said "5 day healing wellness retreat with yoga in Tulum", but this is the actual retreat they put me on: asanatechnician.comI told Tony, (424.379.7250) that this is flat out false advertisement . He kept telling me he would 'call me after his call', and kept postponing our communications. He finally told me that they were able to get me "$600 cash return". When I pressed for specifics, he didn't have any (which method of refund, Venmo, Zelle, from whom can I expect the payment from, and when, etc). He said he would check and it would take a while since I paid by credit card for them to get clearance...which I had to remind him that I DID NOT pay by credit card...He then all of a sudden stopped answering my calls and texts and I have yet to get my money back. It has been over 5 months, and this business has not resolved the issue nor refunded me any amount. Furthermore, I've realized that the person I thought I was communicating with ("Sheila Syngal") is actually a fake person they made up, using a stock image of Sonia Syngal, ex CEO of GAP INC. In reality, I have been speaking directly to the Alysia Kaempf, the "CEO" who has fired Tony (look her up on Linkedin and Facebook..) To note, BookYogaRetreats.com has also dodged my calls, and are complicit in working with a scam business. Pls avoid giving any money to this business. Your safety is at risk.

Date of experience: Dec 19, 2022