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lori ruth degarmo
September 27, 2009
misleading trial offer
I have learned a very good lesson about giving out my debit card number to anyone online before checking for complaints about the company I am ordering from. In June, I fell for the "mom's secret tip" on how to get 2 teeth-whitening products and using them together for optimal results. The products were Dazzle White and Easy White and the special codes were "white teeth" and "white smile" respectively. I paid $1.95 for S&H for Dazzle White and $1.83 for S&H for Easy White. The e-mail invoices appeared to be just that, an invoice for receipt of payment. The screen was complete and I did not scroll down any further and THAT is where the terms & conditions were hidden, below the invoice information. Fortunately, Two weeks after receiving the products, another company called PlusWhite billed my account $78.23. They refused to allow me to return the unused product. I went to my bank in person and filled out a dispute form for the amount. They credited my account. Easy White, however DID allow me to return the product (I mailed it return receipt requested). I still was charged $58.76 and filled out another dispute form with my bank. That, too, was credited back to me from my bank. Eventually, Easy White also credited my account back the $58.76, so the bank got repaid. Along the way, though a company called Insider Secrets billed my account (how did they get my acct#????)for $3.24. Not a lot of money, but I never heard of them let alone ordered anything from them. I disputed this also. Unbelievably, they had the nerve to challenge my dispute saying that I had ordered a weight loss program from them and sent my bank a printout of my supposed transaction detail showing my name/address/phone#/acct#. How they got this detailed information is beyond me and unsettling. As their bogus charge was made at the exact same time as the Dazzle White/Easy White fiasco, I am certain that these companies are somehow aligned. The only funny part about this whole thing is that the $3.24 charge was supposedly for a weightloss product, whose website is www.weightlossebookmembership.com. I am a 6 foot tall female, weighing 135 lbs. and am in no need for a weigh loss product of any kind!! Although this is a very small amount, the fact that my account information was made available to this company is, I believe, something which needs to be addressed. Fortunately, my neighbor is a Vice President at my bank and is not going to let this drop. I can only hope that these companies will be exposed and prosecuted. Did I learn a valuable lesson? YES. I will stick to ordering products only from very reputable companies like Amazon and I will advise everyone I know to check for complaints before being drawn into an advertisement on the internet.
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