State sues Boise clinic that sold erectile-dysfunction treatment. This is why

Courtesy Envato Elements BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — The state of Idaho is suing a defunct medical clinic in Boise and its manager for collecting advance payments for an erectile dysfunction treatment and then abruptly closing without notifying some customers or refunding them. Attorney General Raúl Labrador said in the lawsuit that his office received three complaints from people who paid the Boise Medical Clinic for lifetime memberships for the treatment. The business, which abruptly closed in 2024, was located in a suite across from the Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center on North Curtis Road. The clinic said on its website that it was one of only a few clinics in the country to offer the latest “breakthrough” treatment for erectile dysfunction, known as low intensity shockwave therapy, according to the last capture of the page taken by the Internet Archive in March 2023. The website is no longer available, and the address now redirects to a GoDaddy page that says the domain name boisemedicalclinic.com is for sale. “Get your sex life back,” the business advertised on its website. “Your experience will be completely private and confidential.” The business touted its treatment as surgery-free, needle-free and drug-free, according to its Yelp page. Boise Medical Clinic was registered with the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office in May 2020. The business was formed in Utah, according to the registration. Its registration status was changed to “inactive-revoked” in August 2024. The lawsuit said a customer from New Plymouth bought a lifetime agreement from the clinic for $1,850 in 2021. In June 2023, the customer learned that the clinic had closed and tried to contact the business for a refund. But he found that all prior methods of communication no longer functioned, the lawsuit said. The Idaho Statesman tried to contact the business via its phone number but reached only an automated message that said “the person you are trying to reach is currently unavailable.” The business’s registration listed David Helm as a manager. The Idaho Statesman was unable to find contact information for him. Another customer, from Boise, bought a lifetime membership for $5,500 and was unable to get treatment after the clinic closed, the lawsuit said. Yet the customer still received a bill from Universal Account Servicing, a third-party billing service, for his monthly payment. A third customer spent $6,000 upfront on a medical procedure that the clinic said it would complete a year or so later in 2024. But the customer never received the treatment and was unable to get a refund. The lawsuit accuses the business of violating the Idaho Consumer Protection Act, which was enacted in 1971 to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive or fraudulent business practices, and other state laws related to consumer protection. It asks the court to order the business to pay civil penalties for each violation and to pay restitution to its customers. “(Boise Medical Clinic) selling lifetime memberships and closing without refunding consumers for services they did not receive constitute separate and multiple violations of Idaho Code,” the lawsuit said. The Attorney General’s Office sued the clinic and Helm on May 12 in state District Court in Boise. The office did not respond to a request for comment.The post State sues Boise clinic that sold erectile-dysfunction treatment. This is why appeared first on East Idaho News.
Source: eastidahonews.com