A widow says a massage branch initially refused to transfer $1,700 (£1,330) in prepaid massage credits from her late husband’s account after he died suddenly aged 52 while on holiday
A grieving widow has hit out at a massage parlour after it allegedly refused to let her take over $1,700 (£1,330) in pre-paid treatments bought by her late husband who died suddenly aged 52. Walter William Clark III, known to friends and family as “Bill”, died on March 3 while on holiday with his wife, Chelsey Clark.
Chelsey found herself locked in a dispute with the massage business in Leawood, Kansas, as she grieved her husband’s sudden death. She reportedly said she was trying to transfer about $1,700 worth of pre-paid massage credits from her late husband’s account, but claimed the spa initially refused.
As a result, she said she was challenging the policy in his memory.
The couple, who had been loyal members of the Hand and Stone Massage and Facial Spa in Leawood for years, had accumulated 23 prepaid massage credits in Bill’s name. Hand and Stone’s membership terms say purchased services are “non-transferable and non-refundable”, but the wording appears not to spell out what happens if a member dies.
The company does permit a small number of transfers, up to three service credits in a 12-month period, on payment of a fee, the Daily Mail reported. However, Chelsey said she was not allowed to shift the 23 credits held on her late husband’s account.
The same terms also warn that any unused services may lapse, and that once a membership has ended, outstanding credits are not refundable, as per the Daily Mail. Chelsey reportedly said she was given different explanations at different times.
First, she was reportedly told that the problem was down to limits in the booking system, and later that it was simply company policy. She added that the firm’s website does not appear to set out what happens to unused credits if a member dies.
She also claimed other Hand and Stone branches she contacted suggested they would have dealt with the matter in another way. Because the business operates as a franchise, individual sites are independently owned and run, so practices can differ from location to location.
In this case, Chelsey said the Leawood spa was the branch required to sign off any transfer. But after she spoke to local broadcaster FOX4, which began looking into the dispute, she said the site reversed its stance and agreed to move the full $1,700 of credits into her account.
Bill, 52, died after suffering a sudden, massive heart attack while the couple had travelled away to escape the winter cold, FOX4 reported. Chelsey described the moment she realised something was wrong, saying: “I woke up because the light was still on, and he was on the couch gone.”
Bill lived in Conifer, Colorado, but his death was reported in Port Aransas, a popular holiday spot. “We were traveling trying to get out of the cold winter weather,” Chelsey said.
In tributes, Bill was remembered as a lively, adventurous character with a love of travel and the outdoors, according to Dignity Memorial. Chelsey said he was “so funny” and far less formal than his full name suggested, according to the obituary.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.