360 Clinics Shuts Down Abruptly, Clients Allege Fraud

Two months ago, Cristina first visited 360 Clinics, an aesthetic clinic with branches in Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and mainland Spain. She went to their Siete Palmas location. Feeling confident with the staff, she decided to get laser hair removal and massage treatments for most of her body. "The package cost a thousand euros, and I chose to pay for part of it in installments, mainly because they suggested it," she explained over the phone. Cristina has only had one session so far.

This Monday, she received a text message. It read: "360 Clinics is undergoing an internal reorganization and is temporarily closing its 7 Palmas center. We will contact you soon." Hundreds of people across the Canary Islands are affected, just like Cristina. In Gran Canaria alone, 96 victims have joined a WhatsApp group to discuss the problem, and 885 people are part of a Facebook group for all of Spain. These numbers are growing by the hour. Former employees in Tenerife claim there could be as many as 400 affected people on that island alone.

"Now I'm left without my treatment, and worse, I still have to pay the finance company, Cofidis. If I don't, I'll be listed as a defaulter and charged extra interest," Cristina complained. "I'm paying almost a thousand euros for a service I won't get." She plans to join other affected clients and file a group complaint.

360 Clinics had locations in the shopping centers of La Mareta (Telde), Los Alisios, and Siete Palmas (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria). All of them have now closed; Siete Palmas was the last, shutting down this week. They closed without any warning. The same situation unfolded in Tenerife: branches in La Laguna, Añaza, Meridiano, and Tres de Mayo (the latter operating as EOS Tenerife) have also closed. Tres de Mayo was the last to shut its doors, also this week.

By the time some clients received the message Cristina got, the clinics were already dark, with a "temporarily closed" sign and an email address on the door.

Omaira, another affected client in Gran Canaria, emailed the clinic to ask for a refund for treatments she and her young son had paid for. She had paid 249 euros and filed a complaint with the National Police this Friday. She explained, "In their email, they told us it's a temporary closure and that we can't transfer treatments or get refunds."

Clients believe this "temporary" closure will be permanent. Similar closures have already happened at their centers on mainland Spain, including locations in Galicia, Vitoria, Albacete, Murcia, and Jaén. None of the Canary Islands centers that closed before these last two have ever reopened.

Before the closure, she had no complaints about the clinic's service. She first had treatment at Los Alisios in February. Seeing good results, she renewed her package six months later. It was for another six sessions. "I was really happy. I was supposed to go back on November 16th," she said, criticizing their "lack of honesty." Clients feel abandoned. "It's not like money grows on trees. It's so disappointing to pay for something you won't get."

Evelyn is in a similar situation. She joined 360 Clinics in 2022, paying for a package of twelve sessions plus four free ones. It was an opening promotion. She's only had eight of the paid sessions. She had to pause her treatment due to pregnancy, so she's still owed four paid sessions and the four promotional ones.

"They gave me 20-minute sessions when they were supposed to be an hour. During my last one, I complained, and they even gave me a burn despite me saying it hurt," she revealed. She plans to file a complaint on Monday. "There must be many more affected people who haven't come forward yet," she believes. "It's hard to imagine they'll reopen when they closed overnight and aren't responding to us," she added. The word on everyone's lips is "fraud" – though it's currently an allegation.

Yaiza (not her real name) had her last treatment last Friday. She wasn't told the clinic would close on Monday. "In fact, they gave me an appointment for December 22nd and asked if I wanted to book more sessions," she recalled. Her daughter, daughter-in-law, and sister are also victims. They don't understand what happened "because the clinics seemed to be doing well; there were always people there." Yaiza's sister, who bought a hair removal package for 118 euros (after having other treatments there), has repeatedly called the customer service number. The calls don't go through. This newspaper tried to contact 360 Clinics on two different phone numbers for their comments but received no response.

However, the alleged problems with the clinic don't just affect clients. Beatriz (also a made-up name to protect her identity) worked for 360 Clinics at their Tres de Mayo branch in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. She started in June and left in September. "I got my June salary on July 12th, July's on August 20th, August's on September 24th, and I still haven't been paid for September," she said.

"When we asked for our pay, they told me and other colleagues to be patient, that things would improve," she explained. "Now I think they were just stalling for time before closing. None of us have been paid," she stressed, adding that all her emails and calls to human resources have gone unanswered. Hundreds of affected clients and former employees are now desperate for answers. They want to know if the closure is truly temporary or permanent and, most importantly, they want their money back. Meanwhile, 360 Clinics remains silent.