Norwich woman upset about Ethical Hairdresser closure

Yasmin Begun, 25, booked an afternoon appointment at The Ethical Hairdresser, formerly in the Royal Arcade, for March 23. 

She paid a £17 deposit through Fresha, a beauty business booking website, and received an immediate confirmation for her cut-and-style the following day.

But the next morning she received a text from the hairdresser to say they would be closed due to staff sickness. 

The business closed suddenly in April with no prior notice (Image: Newsquest)

Yasmin said: "I gave them the benefit of the doubt and said I would like to rebook for the following Saturday. 

"I heard nothing back so I sent a few more text messages and tried calling many times. The phone number eventually stopped ringing."

Yasmin attempted to contact Fresha to find out more but discovered that she had been marked as a "no-show", impacting any future appointments she would try to make. 

READ MORE: Opening date announced for city pub under new management

The following day, she walked to the Royal Arcade and saw that the salon - which opened in July 2023 - was empty, leaving her confused.

She said: "I looked up the business on Companies House and saw that two of their filing officers had resigned in the previous two weeks. 

"So after receiving no response I opened a dispute with my bank, Nationwide, about the payment and they deposited the money back into my account.

When Yasmin walked to the salon, she found it completely empty (Image: Matt Keal)

"But I then received a letter from Nationwide saying they would be taking that money back as the payment was valid."

READ MORE: Concern that work has stalled on conversion of former Mercy nightclub

If Yasmin wanted to take the dispute further, she would need to contact the merchant, but they have seemingly "disappeared off the face of the Earth".

All attempts at contact by this publication have also gone unanswered.

"I'm glad I didn't pay the full price for the haircut upfront, which I had the option to," Yasmin added.

"There were many spaces booked up so I can't be the only one this has happened to."