Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/03/2024

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Dear BBB,Im writing to share my experience with The Body Wisdom Academy (BWA) and their program, which claims to release lifetimes of trapped trauma from the subtle body. I encountered significant issues, including inadequate support, lack of warnings about potential risks, hidden costs, and a deceptive money-back guarantee that proved nearly impossible to claim. I was denied a refund for failing to meet criteria that were not clearly communicated before signing up.The agreement required completing the full 12-week program, including all assignments and six gateways, to qualify for a refund. I strictly adhered to all assignments and meetings during the initial weeks, but the exercises left me extremely disoriented, nauseous, and unable to function normally, causing me to miss over a week of work. A BWA-recommended practitioner, for whom I had to pay extra, suggested a three-week break to recover, which BWA and Leslie Huddart approved.When I resumed however, I still faced the same issues after another three weeks and was unable to complete the gateways as the program was not effective for me. When it was clear the program not working, I was instructed to pay additional money to the referred practitioner.Ultimately, I ended my participation due to severe distress and nervous system dysregulation. Despite my best efforts to complete the program, I was informed by Leslie Huddart that I did "not qualify" for the money-back guarantee.I paid BWA $2,850 (with them agreeing to cancel my final payment) but was denied a refund. Given the programs ineffectiveness and the harm it caused, Im requesting a full refund. The program failed to deliver and negatively impacted my well-being.Ive attached the agreement and relevant emails. Thank you for your attention to this matter. I hope for a fair resolution.Sincerely,*****

  Business Response

  Date: 09/07/2024

  Dear BBB and Concerned Parties, 

  
  We are responding to the complaint submitted by ***************************** who applied to our training program through the Body Wisdom Academy. 

  
  We aim to be of service to others in their learning and healing and are sad to hear that ***** is unhappy with what was provided in the program as well as being upset with the way that we refunded a portion of her tuition. Engaging in ones own emotional healing can be personally challenging and we do our best to offer guidance and support while providing a professional service and training. 

  
  Heres what we experienced happening:

  
  ***** applied and enrolled in our program and as she progressed through the material, she reported that she was having challenging emotional and physical symptoms from doing some of the mindfulness and mind-body practices involved in the training. 
  As each person is different, we will sometimes refer clients to colleagues with different specialities for added support which is what we did in Hollys case.  We do not have any financial connection or benefit from referring her and it was not a hidden cost of our program.  It was also a recommended referral and not required. ***** engaged in the colleagues services of her own accord. 
  We provided all of the contractually obligated support (listed in the enrollment agreement) as well as offering the client additional free support at no extra charge. This included a 1:1 zoom session with our director (normally $120) as well as several other individual sessions, one of which the client scheduled and then forgot to show up for. Also to support the client, we allowed her to pause her program participation and then resume at a later date without penalty or added charge. 

  On Tuesday, August 27th, the client wrote us an email informing us that she could no longer participate in the program and would be withdrawing.  She ended that email (enclosed for reference) with: 

  I think under the circumstances, since I have tried twice now and gave it my all, it would be fair to refund part of my tuition. At the very least, I do not wish to make the last payment, as I am unable to continue. 
  Seeing that the client had had personal struggles in the program, we agreed, as she requested, to cancel her last payment, essentially refunding part of her tuition as she was requesting, (even though we were not contractually obligated to do so.)  This was done within 24 hours of her email request.  

  
  Her cancellation email notification as well as our refund officially ended our service relationship with the client. 
  The client then came back to us after the refund, asking to un-cancel, that she might want to force herself to try and complete more time in the program even though she didnt feel able to do so.  From our perspective, this isn't conducive to continuing to do healing work together and we do not re-enroll people after they terminate our services. 

  
  We did not move forward with "un-cancelling" her from the program and we gave her additional video resources that we thought would be helpful for her (again, at no additional cost and after she had terminated our services).  We also informed her that simply completing more time in the program would not sufficiently meet the criteria for our money-back guarantee. 

  
  This seems to be the thing that was upsetting to the complainant as this Better Business Bureau complaint was filed after her several angered emails came in response to the hypothetical scenario of her doing more time in the program. 

  
  The checklist required for the money back guarantee is very straightforward and not impossible to achieve at all. It is the qualification for a person to have technically completed the program in its entirety and we are very clear about this from the beginning of our program as well as stated in the enrollment agreement which ***** signed. ***** did not complete all of the requirements listed (attached in the agreement), but again, we were letting her know this after she'd already withdrawn from the program.

  
  ***** paid $2,585 (records attached), not $2,850 (as she stated in her complaint) and was in-effect "refunded" $595 of her remaining tuition under our enrollment agreement because we canceled the final payment of her payment plan. Our agreement states tuition is due in full; however, we understood that ***** was not in a position to continue, and responded accordingly above and beyond our contractual obligations. This Better Business Bureau complaint occurred after we had released her from the contract and canceled all remaining support and payments.

  
  We are very clear and upfront that we provide healing training as a coaching and educational organization and do not offer medical or mental health services.  This is the disclaimer message at the bottom of our public website homepage: 
  Disclaimer: This program is not intended to be a substitute for professional mental health or counseling services. No practitioner-patient relationship is established and the training content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. These statements have not been evaluated by the *** and nothing here is intended to diagnose, cure or treat any disorders.
  This is also covered in our service agreement, which ***** signed and will be posted for reference. We make clear that our program content is for educational purposes and each person engages at their own risk. 

  
  In summary and closing, we request that you dismiss this complaint on the grounds that it is a hypothetical situation. What actually happened is that the client withdrew from our program in writing while asking for a partial refund.  We promptly provided that partial refund by canceling the last contractually obligated payment.  While she was enrolled in our program she did not request a full refund, nor would she have qualified for our money-back guarantee clause based on the enrollment document that she herself had signed. 
  Thank you for your time and consideration.

  
  Sincerely,
  Leslie Huddart 
  Director - The Body Wisdom Academy
  

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/16/2024

   
  Complaint: 22233982
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Leslie Huddart failed to deliver a safe and effective program, failed to inform of the risks with the program, would not allow me to continue even when I wanted to, and is practicing out of scope, misleading her clients into thinking she is qualified to do trauma work.
  
  I want to first clarify this misleading statement: ***** paid $2,585 (records attached), not $2,850 (as she stated in her complaint) and was in-effect "refunded" $595.
  

  I did indeed pay $2,585 but the $595 that was refunded was not actually refunded. It was simply a cancelled final payment. The total requested refund is $2,585. 
  

  Leslie Huddart failed to make any reparations for the main issue at hand which is that I was unable to finish this program despite my best efforts, due to severe emotional distress caused by the protocols. The money back guarantee was misleading and while it might not be impossible to meet the criteria, in my case it was impossible without missing more work and enduring further emotional distress. These risks needed to be make known upfront.

  Leslie also fails to mention that I actually attempted to finish the program even while I was distressed, but because I had already wavered on continuing due to my mental state as a direct result of her protocols, I was informed that our healing work was over and promptly removed from the platform. I've attached the "angered emails" Leslie is referring to where I calmly ask why I did not qualify for a refund (to which I received an incoherent response). After further researching about the nature of trauma work, I sent one final email outlining my grievances with her program. That was the last email I wrote to Leslie/BWA and the only one that could be considered "angered" and rightly so. Leslie is clearly unqualified to be practicing and I am angry that she continues to take advantage of trauma victims with deceptive money-back guarantees. I know I am not the first to feel this way.

  Considering Leslie failed to deliver a safe and effective program (which ended up harming me instead of helping me), failed to inform of the risks with the program, and would not allow me to continue even when I wanted to, I think I am entitled a full refund. Just because I did not initially demand a refund in full, does not mean a full refund is not in order. I was distressed and disoriented and just writing the emails was difficult enough. I am STILL recovering from the effects of this program and losing time from work to navigate PTSD symptoms that emerged as a result of this program.

  I imagine many of Leslie's clients who find themselves in this situation are similarly made to feel like it is somehow their fault that they couldn't continue. This is how she continues to get away with never refunding anyone. It's way too easy to manipulate and take advantage of trauma victims, but I am eyes wide open now and will not put up with this con.

  In addition, Leslie is not even licensed to practice therapy and is now under investigation by the Colorado Department or ******************* for practicing out of scope (see attached). It would probably be in her best interest to issue a refund. If not, I will not hesitate to pursue the requested sum plus additional damages for emotional distress in a malpractice case with my attorney . 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************