Ex-Members Of Om Lifestyle On Queen Anne Still Trying To Get Money Back

When Om Lifestyle and Wellness on lower Queen Anne suddenly locked its doors in July 2010, KIRO 7 reported that clients received no notice. Many of them said they lost hundreds, even thousands of dollars that the owner told KIRO 7 they would definitely get back.

Members Asking Questions After Seattle Gym ClosesMembers Of Closed Seattle Gym Still Owed Money

But Consumer Investigators have learned that not only has the owner not made good on that promise, he's apparently thumbing his nose at the courts, too.

In the weeks before Om closed its doors, Om client Luke Showalter suspected something might be wrong and told KIRO 7, "I'd noticed they were moving stuff out of there and I kind of started questioning it."

However, Om owner Ryan Matthews told clients and KIRO 7 the building had water problems. Matthews promised on his website and in phone calls with KIRO 7 in the summer of 2010 that his "insurance" would enable him to pay back all his customers within 30 days.

Om client Deborah Wolf said recently Matthews never made good on that promise.

"(I) didn’t receive my money back, and it’s now been over a year," she said.

Wolf said she paid Matthews $1,200 for 28 personal training sessions and that her check was cashed in mid-June of 2010.

KIRO 7 has since learned that Om cancelled its account with the Washington State Department of Revenue at the end of June.

Wolf wondered how Om's owner expected her to use all 28 sessions in just two weeks.

"His intention was to get as much money as he possibly could before he closed his doors," Wolf said. "The man's not a good person."

Connie McDougall also tried to get the money she said Matthews owes her -- more than $800 in unused training sessions -- by filing a complaint in small claims court. This past spring, she received a judgment from King County District Court ordering Matthews to pay her $927, including court fees.

But to this day, Matthews has not paid.

KIRO 7 Consumer Investigators went to his north Seattle home to find out why. Matthews didn't answer the door. He also didn't return phone calls.

That's the same treatment his gym clients said they received when they asked Matthews for refunds: "He stopped returning my emails," Wolf said. "He dropped out of sight," McDougall said.

Now, the two women and other Om clients KIRO 7 has spoken with are hoping to pursue class action legal proceedings against Matthews.

All they need now, they've said, is an attorney.

Meanwhile, the space that used to be Om Lifestyle and Wellness on lower Queen Anne is still empty, and up for lease.