Urban, a popular startup in the United Kingdom that allows customers to find self-employed massage therapists who can be booked to go to customers' homes, is currently being investigated because of alleged abuse by unlicensed freelance therapists.
Urban Under Investigation
According to Sifted, Urban raised a total of $35.7 million from its investors, including Felix Capital, London Co-Investment Fund, Passion Capital, Harvard Business School, and more.
Launch in 2014, Urban has ridden the popularity of the gig-economy services like Uber, where a service provider could be booked through an app, and they would arrive to do the task that you hired them for.
However, on July 12, Urban was cited in a BBC report that described the practice of alleged sexual assaults by home-visit massage therapists.
The news report does not suggest that the company is complicit in the assault, but BBC cited two different cases where the therapists were advertised and booked through Urban. One case has resulted in a conviction in court.
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The BBC report also details how the company was slow to respond to the complaint, as the customer filed a report about the assault three years ago, but the therapist still has his profile on the website.
In an exclusive interview, a woman told TechCrunch that an Urban massage therapist assaulted her. She also revealed that she could still see the therapist's profile on the app despite reporting the incident to the company.
Lack of Regulations for Massage Therapists
Urban is not the only company that offers at-home massage services. According to the BBC, there have been dozens of women who massage therapists have sexually assaulted in their own homes after booking them.
The cases highlight the problem that persists across several gig-economy marketplaces, as often the platform operators are getting caught out with bad actors using their platform to find victims. This has raised questions about how effective the screening process of these companies is.
The cases also highlight the issues specific to the wellness industry in the United Kingdom, specifically around massage therapists and how they are regulated.
Under the current UK regulations, massage therapists do not need a license or any training to start practicing massage.
There is one accredited register of practitioners, but the listings are not mandatory, meaning many therapists do not appear on the listing.
Also, only a couple of local councils require companies and other establishments offering massage therapy to have a business license, which can be revoked in cases where there might be complaints lodged against its practices.
In any case, this would not cover massage therapists who do in-home services. In the United Kingdom, at least anyone can claim to be a trained massage therapist and they can apply to any company.
Conservative MP Caroline Nokes, the chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, told the BBC that the UK government needs to take more action regarding the issues in the gig-economy.
Meanwhile, Urban says it would welcome more regulation of the massage industry and be more strict in hiring massage therapists for the safety of its customers.
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Written by Sophie Webster
