Rose Mary Chancellor found out about better food choices with the help of a Pure Weight Loss Center in Lansing, but the major lesson the Calumet City resident said she learned is "never prepay."

Pure Weight Loss closed hundreds of stores nationwide Jan. 4, including locations in Lansing, Chicago Heights and Merrillville. Chancellor and countless other customers received refund applications for products and services for which they prepaid hundreds of dollars or more.

The form asked them to wait eight weeks for a response.

Chancellor hasn't heard anything almost eight weeks since she sent in her refund application for $420, except that the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last month, she said.

Some customers have been able to get refunds from credit card companies, but Chancellor paid with a check and debit card.

The Illinois attorney general's office is investigating complaints against Pure Weight Loss and has received 85 consumer complaints as of Tuesday, said Natalie Bauer, Illinois attorney general's office spokeswoman.

More local consumers likely were affected. Chicago-area stores alone had almost 1,000 active customers who came in every week, said Ruth Moton, the former assistant regional manager for 11 Chicago-area stores.

Moton and other employees weren't told the company was closing until weeks before Christmas, she said, adding she feels bad that customers who were excited to sign up during promotions in the final months could be out large sums.

"A lot of my centers had open houses in October and November, a time when prices were reduced and a lot of the clients took advantage of that and bought more products that apparently (the company) didn't even have to get to them," Moton said.

Last month, Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett filed a consumer protection lawsuit against Pure Weight Loss and its owner Vahan Karian, also known as Vahan Karabajakian. The lawsuit alleges deceptive marketing and sales of long-term contracts for weight loss supplements, prepackaged food and weight loss counseling services.

In a statement, Corbett said the company owes more than a half-million dollars to Pennsylvania customers alone.

An attorney representing Pure Weight Loss in bankruptcy proceedings declined to comment.

The company also owes many employees, Moton said. Some final paychecks bounced, and while some employees have been able to roll their 401(k)s into IRAs, trying to get her 401(k) savings has become a "full-time job," she said.

In September, Moton sold her house and transferred to Chicago from Pennsylvania at the company's request, so Pure Weight Loss also owes her thousands of dollars for moving expenses and canceling her lease, she said. She said those difficulties haven't affected her credit but not all employees have been that lucky.