Weight-loss company to slim down - completely
By KRISTA HUTZ
Philadelphia Daily News

[email protected] 215-854-5159

Dieters across the area will be without one source of support and counseling in January.
Pure Weight Loss, Inc, formerly LA Weight Loss, announced on Wednesday that it would close all of its more than 400 locations nationwide effective Jan. 4.

A statement released by the company on Wednesday said, "Fierce competition from the internet, the introduction of Alli, the over-the-counter weight loss pill, and other commercial diet programs, combined with a difficult economic environment, have forced us to take this action."

A spokesperson for Pure Weight Loss did not know if the Horsham-based company was filing for bankruptcy.

(Philadelphia Eagles' coach Andy Reid recently acted as a spokesperson for the company when it was still called LA Weight Loss.)

Employees in several franchises in the area declined to speak yesterday.

Pure Weight Loss advised customers to pick up any products they ordered or to complete a refund request form before the Jan. 4 closure.

Pure Weight Loss branches already are making cuts. Beginning Monday, the Center City location will be open for just three days next week for four hours on each of those days.

The sudden announcement left one Center City client, who did not wish to be named, "ready to scream."

The woman, who said she had lost about 80 pounds in four years using the Pure Weight Loss system, says she is entitled to over $300 for services and nutritional bars she prepaid for.

The diet pill, Alli, endorsed and sold by Pure Weight Loss, has been the target of criticism since the Food and Drug Administration approved it as an over-the-counter version of the prescription weight loss pill orlistat in February. Alli went on sale in July.

Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of the Public Citizen's health research group, has spoken out against the drug, both in its prescription and over the counter forms and has testified to the FDA about its harmful effects.

Wolfe said the drug can cause pre-cancerous lesions of the colon and said, like many diet drugs, after an inital spike, sales probably went down.

Pure Weight Loss is currently involved in a class action lawsuit in Tennesse over false claims about its weight loss program and costs. In 2002, the company agreed to pay the State of New York $100,000 plus $10,000 in legal costs in a settlement over falsely advertising the cost of its program.

L.A. Fitness is not affiliated with Pure Weight Loss and its centers will not be affected by Pure Weight Loss' closure.

Consumers interested in receiving a refund can call Pure Weight Loss's customer service line at 877-524-3571, or e-mail [email protected]. *

Retrieved on December 15, 2007 from http://www.philly.com/dailynews/loca...ompletely.html

I wonder if the LAWL centres here in Canada will suffer a similar fate. I hope not. This is definitely not good news.

KJ

Kimberly

Does this include the LAWL franchise centers that did not change to Pure Weight Loss? I am heartbroken if it does. I am only 1/3 of the way "done" and paid for a whole year.

Thanks for posting this info.

No it states that Pure Weight Loss branched off in August from LAWL. It is only the PWL centers closing.

Kim - thanks for posting the article.

I think Pure WL centers closing is a good reason or lesson for all people NOT to pay up-front for weight loss services! I once belonged to Diet Center, and they closed while I was a member. Fortunately, I was nearing the end of my contract there. But imagine these unlucky people who JUST signed on to PWL and paid for a whole year! If PWL goes bankrupt, they might be out of luck!

I wasn't a member, but out of curiosity, I went to the LA WL website and when I typed in my zip code, I was redirected to the Pure website. So it seems you are just reliant on luck as to whether your stores went to Pure or stayed LA. Around here, they all transitioned, so there's no option to go anywhere else bc they all converted. My guess is that no one would even think of paying up front for something except they used enticing "deals" to make it seem like you got it at a significant discount to pay up front. Such a shame too bc they used to advertise CONSTANTLY around here on daytime tv. I hope you all will be able to use this forum to come together as a group and stay strong.

If it helps, we have a "Biggest Loser" challenge starting in January in that forum (it's based loosely on the TV show, as we are all fans). You can sign up now for the challenge, if you need another way to stay committed to your plan. You can use any wl/fitness plan on our challenge, you do not have to do any specific plan. Best of luck to you all!

I am so bummed. I paid through December 2008 for my program.

The program by far has been the best I have ever done...so much more food than WW or other companies.

Ours are all closing here in Missouri.

Diane

So I went to the Pure@Home site. I checked out the communities page and saw this:

"As you have probably heard, the Pure Weight Loss company is closing. These message boards will no longer be available after the first of the year. As such, we will be locking all discussions here some time this week. Please take this time to exchange contact information with your weight loss friends here and to save off any important posts (such as recipes or inspiring words) before this entire site goes away completely.

Best of luck to all of you on your weight loss and wellness journeys. "

So the website is going Bye-bye, too.

That statement is untrue. Alli was not sold nor endorsed by Pure Weight Loss. As a member and an avid watcher of their message boards they made a statement when Alli first came out that they did not endorse use of the product but if a member wanted to use it then that was up to them.

In the Philadelphia area, which television stations have aired the reports? I have looked but saw nothing on NBC, ABC or CBS.

Losing 200, I only found the article on the internet, as to whether or not that is true, I do not know. You can click the link I posted to go to the website that I found it on. The writers name and email address is also listed. Also, have you been to every center in that area to see that they do not sell Alli?

Diane1224 --- I agree totally with you! I will never give my money upfront for any product!!! A valuable lesson was learned!!!

Losing200 -- I agree that the centers did not endorse Alli -- nor did they sell it. However, you have to remember that the newspapers may have made an error in their reporting on this issue. As for the centers closing -- YES, they are!!!