Dissatisfied with a beauty treatment

Important to know 

• You can always raise the issue if you are dissatisfied with your treatment or procedure.  

• If you agree on a price before the procedure, that price will apply. 

• If the results are poor or you are harmed by the procedure, be sure to take photographs and document it. 

Register your complaint immediately if you are unhappy with your treatment 

If you are unhappy after a treatment, you should contact the salon and lodge a complaint as soon as practical. If you wait too long, it may be difficult to establish that there was a problem with the treatment. If you wait longer than two months, you usually lose the right to complain altogether. 

Take remedial action if there was a problem with your treatment  

You should be able to rely on the company carrying out the treatment to follow the general guidelines and recommendations for the industry. You should also be able to expect that the treatment will be performed professionally in a manner expected of a skilled and reputable professional in the industry. If it fails to do so, the treatment may be considered improper. 

If the treatment is not good, as a remedy you should start by asking the salon to redo it. The salon must be given a chance to examine you and to remedy any shortcomings or problems. The person who has treated you has, as a general rule, two attempts to redo the work. 

The possibility of going to another salon 

If the salon has shown a lack of skill or competence so that you are not willing to return there, you should not have to. Instead, you can go to another salon that will correct the problem, and then you can claim reimbursement from the first salon for that cost. 

Disagreement over the price 

If you and the salon have agreed on a price before the treatment, they may not charge you a higher price after the procedure. This applies whether the agreement was made verbally or in writing. 

Your obligation is to pay a fair and reasonable amount 

If you did not agree on a price before the procedure or you cannot establish that you agreed on a price, you will be obligated to pay what the salon wants to charge. However the amount must be reasonable based on the service you received and on what other similar salons charge for the same services. 

If you don’t think the amount is fair and reasonable, you can dispute it. 

In the event of added work, the amount due may be increased

If during the treatment you agree that the salon will do more than you agreed upon beforehand, you may be obligated to pay for the additional work. For example, if during a nail treatment you later decide to also have nails polish applied. 

Submit a complaint to the Swedish Consumer Agency 

If in your opinion the salon has given you unclear or false and misleading price information, you can report this to the Swedish Consumer Agency. However submitting a complaint to the Swedish Consumer Agency will not resolve your individual case. 

Submit a complaint to the Swedish Consumer Agency 

Changing your mind and cancelling a booking for a procedure 

Right of withdrawal when booking remotely 

When you make a booking remotely, the Act on Distance Contracts and Off-Premises Contracts will apply and you have the right to cancel the booking without charge within 14 days. No matter how close to the date you cancel the booking, the salon will not be entitled to charge you for cancelling.  

For the Act on Distance Contracts and Off-Premises Contracts to be relevant and applicable, your booking must have been made using the salon’s system for remote bookings, for example using the salon’s own online booking system or a specific telephone number for bookings. This is because the statute requires that in order for the right of withdrawal to be applicable there must be an organised system for the salon to receive bookings.  

For example, unless the salon usually uses social media to receive bookings, if you book your appointment by texting to the salon via social media, you have no right of withdrawal. 

Cancelling the appointment for the procedure 

Even if you do not have a statutory right of withdrawal, you can still cancel the appointment for the procedure. But keep in mind in such case there is no guarantee you will receive a refund of any amounts paid. 

The salon has the right to charge a cancellation fee. The charge may be equal to the cost the salon incurred due to your cancelling the booking. It may even occur that the cancellation fee is the same amount as the procedure, in the situation where you cancel at the last minute and the salon is unable to find another customer for your booked time. 

If you suffer an injury from the procedure 

If you are injured or harmed in some way as a result of the treatment, you may be entitled to claim compensation for damages. For example, you may be entitled to compensation if the injury has resulted in that you had to pay for medical treatment and medication. Keep receipts as a record of your medical expenses. 

If you want to claim compensation for pain and suffering, you should contact a lawyer for guidance. 

Report an injury you have suffered 

If you have suffered an injury, such as an allergic reaction or a burn, you can submit a complaint to the Swedish Consumer Agency. Filing a complaint with the Swedish Consumer Agency does not mean that a remedy for your individual case will be available to you, but rather that your report may assist others by bringing the situation to the attention of the Swedish Consumer Agency. 

Report an injury to the Swedish Consumer Agency 

If you and the salon cannot reach a mutually agreed solution 

If you and the salon disagree and cannot resolve the matter between you, you have the option of contacting the National Board for Consumer Disputes (ARN) and filing a request to have the dispute examined. ARN can examine the matter if it does not require medical expertise and if the cost of the procedure/consultation exceeded SEK 500. 

When you want to file a complaint with the National Board for Consumer Disputes, it is advisable to have documented the problem and taken pictures that clearly show the nature of the problem. 

Even if the work is done professionally, the procedure may be in error because it is not what you had originally discussed and agreed to. In such a case, you will need to be able to provide evidence of the agreement between you and the salon. 

If you have been injured by the procedure, a medical certificate showing this will assist your case. 

Further information about the National Board for Consumer Disputes and how to file a complaint there