Customers said they wouldn’t see a refund

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — After days of confusion and silence, customers at Zoom Room, a dog training center that abruptly closed its doors in northwest Bakersfield, said they are now hearing from the owner via email.

A customer sent us an email that she received from the same address listed on the company’s website.

The long email begins by saying: “This is Jared Vaughan from the Zoom Room in Bakersfield. »

He said in part that they had no plans to close the store and understood the hardship it had caused their customers.

The email then states that the store will not reopen and reveals that the training center has never been financially successful and that they have known this since 2023.

They revealed in the email that they tried to put the store up for sale in October but was unsuccessful and said they sacrificed their home, savings and retirement to keep their doors open.

As for customers’ money, the email states: “There is no money at all.”

But why continue to sell courses to customers? The email addresses this too.

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It says they hoped their financial situation would improve or they were hoping for a buyer.

However, what are the rights of customers after deployment?

Katherine Silva, marketing communications and outreach manager for the Better Business Bureau, said consumers have a right to their services.

She recommends that the first step for those affected would be to contact the company itself, but several customers have told us they are having difficulty reaching Vaughan as we are facing the same issue.

I reach out again and again, without a word from Vaughan.

“The next step would be to dispute the transaction with your bank,” Silva said.

Silva said that, generally, if a company knows it is in a financial rut, it will take the necessary steps to file for bankruptcy.

“That would be the only way a business could get rid of this. Because, again, if a business hasn’t filed, the business owner would be legally obligated to fulfill that order or refund money,” Silva said.

We searched court records and found no bankruptcy cases filed for the Zoom Room in Bakersfield.

Silva said if that were the case, customers could take legal action.