I went in and spoke to Katie in westfield london who was extremely friendly and welcoming. She ran me through the options before handing me over to Carl. I dont have enough positive things to say about Carl, took all my injuries into account when taking me through the session. Conversation flowed, the stretch was fantastic and will definitely be back. 10 out of 10 service from both Katie and Carl
FF
Fazal F.
EXTREMELY NEGATIVE REVIEW
EXTREMELY NEGATIVE REVIEW - BEWARE!
STAY FAR, FAR AWAY FROM THIS PREDATORY AND CRIMINAL OUTFIT!
Stretch Lab All Locations and their so-called "General Manager" Dean Embling, Jade Imani are running what can only be described as a scam operation that preys on vulnerable workers.
From the outset, I was lured into a job with blatant lies about my pay (£12/hour and £24/massage). Weeks into my employment, they attempted to strong-arm me into signing a bogus "Freelance Therapist Agreement" under the threat of withholding my already meager wages. This contract was clearly designed to exploit me and absolve them of their legal responsibilities as an employer.
The claim that I was a "freelance contractor" is a complete fabrication. My work was directed and controlled by them, and the supposed "choice" of shifts was within a very limited and practically mandatory framework once I started working based on their false promises.
Then came the completely unjustified and frankly insulting dismissal. They couldn't even provide a shred of evidence (like the video footage they vaguely mentioned) to back up their decision. This was nothing more than a malicious act by a company that clearly has no respect for its workers or the law.
And the audacity to try and charge me a £500 "training fee" after I had already started working, under the guise of a contract I was pressured to sign? This is nothing short of theft. The hours I invoiced for were presented as paid work, not some kind of unpaid training exercise. Their attempt to offset this fabricated fee against my rightfully earned wages is illegal and morally reprehensible.
What's even more disturbing is the clear pattern of exploitation targeting vulnerable individuals – workers who may not speak English well, lack proper documentation, and are forced into illegal housing situations. This company is actively creating a climate of fear and oppression, happy to pay below minimum wage for demanding physical labor.
Let me be clear: this is not a legitimate business. It is a predatory scheme designed to defraud and exploit its workforce. I have already reported Stretch Lab and Dean Embling to legal authorities, employment tribunals, and investigative teams, and I am pursuing legal action to the fullest extent of the law.
DO NOT WORK FOR THIS COMPANY. DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR
MONEY. PROTECT YOURSELF AND WARN OTHERS.
They are criminals masquerading as a legitimate business and should be shut down immediately. My experience with them has been nothing short of a nightmare, costing me time, money, and immense stress. They are absolute scammers and should be held accountable for their abhorrent actions.
FA
Frank A.
Read and understand the contract !!!
Read and understand the contract !
Be very careful and very aware of cancellation policies and putting your membership on hold. Once they have your credit card , if your timing is not precisely within their constraints , you are liable for another $619.00 charge. Response from higher management is non-existent. I was resigned to losing $619.00 and saying goodbye, but knowing that they are going to bill me another $619.00 for another month's sessions, because I didn't cancel by a certain date , really pissed me off !!
NC
Nicole C.
Policy and management suck!
The policy and management here is terrible!
I was excited to try this place since I suffer from lupus and chronic inflammation. I received a gift card for one session and used it in mid-January. I enjoyed it enough to purchase three more sessions through an email offer and an additional eight while I was there, thinking I’d commit to weekly visits if I prepaid — unfortunately, without fully understanding their expiration policy.
After realizing the sessions had an expiration, I asked the desk clerk if I could pay extra to extend them, but she assured me she would take care of it. I knew there was no way I could use all ELEVEN sessions in FOUR weeks!
I ended up using about THREE sessions before receiving a call from a manager questioning why my account was "frozen." I had no idea it was frozen, although I assume the receptionist did this to prevent my sessions from expiring.
When I kindly asked for my package to remain valid just once as a courtesy, promising to "pay as I go" in the future, the manager told me I should have read the fine print and that all of my remaining EIGHT sessions had expired.
A few days later my husband called to try to discuss this with her and she said she would give me back TWO of the sessions but when he told her that was unacceptable and he would dispute the CC charge she said she was CANCELING MY ACCOUNT and then HUNG UP ON HIM!
Now, in early March, I’m shit out of luck plus $600. I am FURIOUS even typing this!
What a complete scam of a business model. Elderly and disabled individuals seek services like these for relief - not to be TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF!
Expiring PRE-PAID SESSIONS is absolutely unjustifiable. You should all be ashamed of yourselves!
CB
Clayton B.
What a nightmare to cancel
What a nightmare to cancel. They hire young kids to handle memberships and money. Mangers are nowhere to be found. They take forever to reply and issue refunds. Today, they hit me with a $349 charge out of no where. WTF!
AN
Andrea
I bought a 5 stretch class pass
I bought a 5 stretch class pass. Every time I tried to book online there was no availability in Chelsea. Today I tried again and managed to reach someone by phone. The receptionist told me my pass expired this week with 3 unused stretches and if I wanted to use them I had to pay a fee to extend. But there was only availability for 2 appointments within the window she allowed. So I got 4 stretches for the price of 5 with a £20 extra fee. Not a very good deal. Not to mention an extremely rude receptionist. Such a deeply unpleasant experience that it caused me to write my first negative online review in years. And after all that she charged the £20 extra fee twice... by mistake!?
LL
L L.
Poor Customer Relations - Business Practices
Destiny and Andrew, are amazing stretch therapists - I will give them that - but had a discussion with the management of this studio and I'm not sure what planet they live on - but I have never experienced anything quite like this. They have a really immature receptionist who told me I was demeaning when I told her that I would speak to someone else about how many sessions I had remaining because she couldn't figure it out - but apparently that hurt her feelings - which she told me I could call back when I was ready to act like an adult, and hung up. After my shock of being talked to like that for a simple scheduling call - I call back to cancel my membership - as any normal person would - because who talks to a paying customer that way? I'm literally just trying to schedule an appointment. I never get the cancellation notice from the woman. So, I go there the next day to once again attempt to register for my remaining sessions and ask for cancellation documents because I just can't support a business who tolerates this kind of behavior - and the receptionist at that time asks me was I sure I wanted to cancel - and I was just like, I have to stand by my word. This young lady is a liability to this organization and honestly, I need an apology. I asked that the owner reach out to me. Michael, one of the owners, then calls me the next day and says they are going to refund my membership - I said okay - but I'm still due one stretch from the current month, which he replies well I'm not going to charge you the cancellation fee of $15. Well I want my $70 if I'm not going to get my stretch - which then he replies - well we've had complaints about you in the studio - which I said, excuse me? Because I went into your establishment to schedule a visit that I couldn't make over the phone and complained about how I was spoken to? Oh, I guess you don't want others to hear that you have a rude receptionist? When I reiterate that I want my $70 back - he hangs up on me. Never in all the days I've been alive have I seen someone double down like this on bad behavior of their own business. A thoughtful apology could have gone a long way - but he did the 180 degree option, went nuclear and backed the rude receptionist. I'm so glad I cancelled. Not only have you lost a good learning opportunity for your receiptionist, but you lost what could have been a loyal customer. Just a shame all the way around. I like to support Hyde Park businesses - but this one unfortunately I cannot.
SE
Steven E. L.
Impossible to cancel
Everything is fine until you try to cancel your membership, which they claim is easy to do with a click from the website. Instead what happens is that you click the button, get a message that says your membership *can't* be canceled from the web but only by email, then you send an email, then your email is ignored, and meanwhile the monthly $289 charges continue. Apparently the only way to prevent them from billing you for the rest of your life is to not sign up in the first place.