So much for rest and relaxation.
A shady New York City spa allegedly forced an elderly woman to pay more than $65,000 on absurd “snake oil treatments” she repeatedly declined — with a worker cornering her in an office and refusing to let her leave until she agreed.
The ordeal was so stressful it actually gave her more wrinkles than she started with, Elizabeth Childs-Johnson told The Post.
The semi-retired Sinologist – a researcher specializing in Chinese art and archaeology – was on her way to work in December 2024 when she was stopped in the street in front of Olle Beauty Clinic on the Upper East Side.
An Olle employee buttered Childs-Johnson up in an attempt to gain business, complimenting her outfit and flattering her to lure her inside, she said in a Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit.
“It was around my birthday,” the 77-year-old widow recalled. “And this was going to be my unwanted birthday gift.”
The elderly academic ultimately agreed to see what the East 65th Street spa had to offer.
She ended up shelling out roughly $40,000 on 12 facials to be done over the course of a year, her lawyer Andrew L. Kincaid told The Post.
The luxurious sessions could be a nice treat, Childs-Johnson believed at the time, according to Kincaid.
But things took a bizarre turn months later, just as Childs-Johnson was nearing the end of her year of very pricey facials, she claimed in the legal filing.
At her penultimate appointment in November, an employee approached, noting her appointments were nearly finished and it was time for her to renew.
Childs-Johnson politely declined — noting she couldn’t afford Olle’s prices.
But the worker allegedly would not take no for an answer and cornered Childs-Johnson in a room.
The employee refused to let Childs-Johnson leave until she bought a series of “outlandishly expensive and dubiously effective” sessions, the East Harlem woman claimed.
“It all happened in a matter of minutes,” Childs-Johnson said, recalling how fearful she was in the moment.
“I was stunned. I hardly said a word, all I really did was hand over my credit cards.”
Frightened, Childs-Johnson said she didn’t know what she was purchasing or even the total cost before handing over three separate credit cards to pay for it all.
She just wanted out of there.
“I was totally coerced,” she reflected. “It’s so outrageous.”
It wasn’t until three days later that Childs-Johnson realized she was charged $65,322, she said in court papers.
Olle repeatedly refused her requests for a refund, she claimed.
Childs-Johnson is seeking “no less than” the amount she was ripped off, according to the lawsuit filed against OP Creation Inc, Madison Apothecary Inc and Olle LLC.
“Just based on the facts that they wouldn’t let her go, and that she repeatedly insisted that this was not something that she wanted — that this is not something she could afford — this is a tremendously deceptive and abusive as a business practice,” Kincaid said.
Madison Apothecary Inc shares an address on Madison Avenue with OP Creation Inc, the source of charges to one of her credit cards, according to the lawsuit.
“We have not been served any legal papers, but we have no clue what this is about and we find it baffling because we have no relation to other named defendants. We have never charged anyone $65,000 for anything and we don’t offer the services described,” a Madison Apothecary spokesperson told The Post.
Olle did not respond to a message seeking comment. OP Creation could not be reached.
