PORTLAND, Ore. – After a woman claimed she suffered first-degree burns after going to a local laser spa for hair removal and didn't get any help – or a promised refund – from the company, she contacted KATU News On Your Side Investigators.

Reporter Thom Jensen began to investigate the company's record and found a trail of disappointed customers and others burned physically - and financially.

Pure Med Spa’s advertisements claim they are the No. 1 “med spa” in America and “do more laser hair removal than anyone else.”

The ads claim their procedures are “all done with high quality lasers under the supervision of a medical professional.”
   
Judith Guzman-Soriano went to a local Pure Med Spa location after a salesperson offered her a special deal.

 "They called me and said they could do it for $2,000,” Guzman-Soriano said. The price was a considerable discount from their regular fee of about $4,000.

Laser treatments are typically aimed at permanently removing body hair from legs, private areas and the chest (typically for males).

Guzman-Soriano signed a contract with Pure Med Spa for the $2,000 fee at nearly 23 percent interest per year.
    
But during her second visit, Guzman-Soriano says she started feeling something strange on her leg, and it hurt.

"I was crying. I was, I mean, that was a really bad experience,” Guzman-Soriano told KATU News.

And then she saw what caused the pain. “I still have the scars on my leg," she said. Her doctor diagnosed her with first-degree burns and noted that the marks were in a "repetitive pattern consistent with the size of a laser tool."

But Guzman-Soriano said when she talked to spa management, they tried to turn the tables on her.

“They tried to blame it on me. They said ‘maybe you have been drinking something, taking pills or you have been sick lately,’” she says. “I said “no, I am not sick."”

She says Pure Med Spa initially told her she wouldn't have to pay the $2,000, but her billing paperwork shows the company kept charging her account and even tacked on late fees.

KATU News went online looking for others who may have had the same experience and found news stories in cities like Chicago and Sacramento where other women complained of severe burns suffered at Pure Med Spa locations.

According to federal court records, in late 2008, Pure Med Spa began filing bankruptcy cases across the country, which gave it a measure of protection from lawsuits.

But the company still has a website up using the name “Pure Med Spa.”

Posing as a prospective client, KATU News called the spa where Guzman-Soriano says she was burned and the person on the other end of the line answered "thank you for calling Brite Smile, Brite Skin.”
    
When KATU News asked the person on the phone, who identified herself as Mary, about Pure Med Spa and specials listed on its website, Mary said "it's the same company. We just changed our name."

A search of the Oregon Attorney General's Web site shows the registered agents and representatives for Brite Smile Brite Skin are Louise Talbot and Jeff Nourse, two principles also listed in Pure Med Spa’s ownership information.

But when KATU News went to the spa where Guzman-Soriano got her treatments, the sign above the door reads "Pure Laser Skin Centers."

A woman who said she was the manager and only gave her name as Charlotte seemed to know about Guzman-Soriano's burns but not much more.

When asked why Guzman-Soriano’s money was not refunded as promised, Charlotte said "I have no idea. Honestly, I have nothing to do with that situation. I wasn't here at the time.”

In response to a question about the company's record in relation to incidents elsewhere of patients being burned, pending lawsuits, name changes and the bankruptcy of the company, Charlotte said she had no comment and would not answer any more questions.

Guzman-Soriano says her attorney just advised her to drop a lawsuit against Pure Med Spa because the company filed bankruptcy and her chances of getting her money back are slim at best. But she doesn't want to give up.

“I want them to pay my money back,” Guzman-Soriano said, “and I want them to pay my doctor bills and fix my leg."
 
But mostly, Guzman-Soriano said she's worried the same people using the same equipment are operating under a new name and that more people will be hurt or ripped off.

"If they did this to me, what else are they doing to other people?" she said.

KATU News tried to contact the company's owners Louise Talbot and Jeff Nourse by e-mail and by phone but they did not respond.

Guzman-Soriano doesn't know what she will do next, but she told KATU News she's afraid she will be scarred for life.
    
The company has locations in Beaverton and in Clackamas going by the name “Brite Smile Brite Skin.”

If you've had problems with the company, contact the consumer division of the attorney general's office in Oregon or Washington.