My wife and I enrolled in Trim 4 Life and we enjoyed the staff that assisted us. We made some fine progress and were encouraged about our weight loss. But we were dismayed when the company closed its Utah outlets.
We expended a considerable amount of money for the program--$1,606.We were told we would receive a pro-rated refund. We have yet to receive any money back from the company. We assume the company has a record of our expenditures and will reimburse us accordingly. We wrote the company's Los Angeles attorney but have not received a response. We would appreciate it if you could make an inquiry for us.-- B.D., West Valley City. A letter from another reader: We went to Trim 4 Life one day and found a note on the door telling us to write and explain why we wanted a refund. So we wrote. It's been over three weeks and we haven't heard a word. I know the company took out bankruptcy, but why the note? The company owes us $100. -- D.C., Murray First, the bad news. Trim 4 Life filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy (liquidation) Feb. 28 in Los Angeles Central district Bankruptcy Court. The case number is: LA9155457LF. Now the bad news. In Chapter 7 proceedings there is usually nothing left over for unsecured creditors, such as you. If you want to file a claim despite the fact that the odds are highly against you, send it to U.S. Bankruptcy Court, 312 N. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90012, Attention Assets Closing, 5th Floor. Claim forms are available at any U.S. Bankruptcy Court. We were unable to find out anything about the case. After calling the court off and on all afternoon and getting a busy signal, we finally got through to the docket clerk who would be handling that case. She said it was a new file and she didn't have any information on it.
Cruise vacations The floating-vacation business is evolving into a two-tiered market. Advance bookings for weeklong boyages are growing as families discover one of the appeals of cruising: knowing your costs in advance, according to Changing Times, the Kiplinger Magazine. Getaways suffer in a slow economy because "people ditch short vacations first," says Premier Cruise Lines spokeswoman Laurel Thompson. The result: good deals for short cruises. There are discounts galore, such as Norwegian Cruise Line's SeaSaver (you book four weeks or less in advance of departure and save up to 25 percent) and Premier's combination week -- Walt Disney World plus a Bahamas cruise for one price, including airfare and rental car. In February, it satarts at $745 per person. -- AP Newsfeatures.