Spa to honor gift cards from closed spa

ORANGE, Conn. (WTNH) - When a Shelton spa suddenly shut down, customers figured they were left with useless gift cards. But after seeing News 8's story, an Orange spa has stepped up for those customers.

If anyone had a gift certificate for the now closed Simply Body Day Spa in Shelton, Inner Essence Spa in Orange wants to make sure those people get something for it.

After News 8's story aired Apr.6, about the spa suddenly closing in which prepaid Simply Body customers were locked out, Inner Essence decided to honor their gift cards for 50% of the value.

"There's a lot of fears out there with people buying gift certificates, and unfortunately it does happen, and this is just a way to get people to not have lost the complete value of the gift that they were given," says Shana McCarthy, Owner of Inner Essence Spa.

Despite the offer in Orange, the Connecticut Better Business Bureau recommends consumers who are seeking a refund from a company that goes out of business file a complaint with the Department of Consumer Protection , as well as with the B.B.B.

McCarthy, who has owned Inner Essence through the last four turbulent years, can empathize with the owner of Simply Body. She says there is a better way to go out of business.

"There's no reason why you can't give some notice. A couple of months. There was a spa that closed in Hamden, actually, that gave a few months notice for people to come in and use their gift certificates, and I thought that was a really nice way to do it," says McCarthy.

McCarthy says even though this won't be a money making endeavor, she's hoping the people who come to her spa will like it so much, that they'll return.