Charged for free trial

ComplaintsInternet ScamsInstaflex

Complaint

0
George Harmon
Country: United States
I OK'ed this company to charge my credit card $4.98 for shipping and my card was charged $74.98 for the product. I am willing to send the unopened bottle back for credit card refund. This is a terrible business practice.
Thank you for any help in the matter, George

Comments

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  • 0
    tj
    | 2 replies
    You have described a common deceptive and fraudulent practice among "health product" scammers.  

    The "free trial", for "shipping and handling" so they can get your account information, include some negative-option "automatic shipment" clause that is not always clearly disclosed, so they start shipping and charging you their inflated full price, often before you have even had a chance to receive or evaluate the "Free trial" and decide to cancel.

    Contact them to cancel, ship it back with "delivery confirmation", and dispute all charges after you cancel through your bank as fraudulent.  You ay also have to dispute the current charge, since with this type of scam, the "cancellations" typically get "lost".

    Make sure you dispute within 60 days of the statement date of the statement showing the disputed charges, to preserve your FCBA dispute rights.  Do NOT let that 60 day period run out without disputing through your bank, regardless of what promises the merchant makes, as they might be trying to string you along to run out the 60 day dispute window.  

    You may have to block the credit card number you used to prevent additional fruad.

    Look under "Health & Beauty".  They are almost all this same scam, just different "products" and different companies.  It was getting so bad with the "acai berry" people that VISA recently announced they were cutting off more than 100 of them from using the VISA system.

    If their business practices are so deceptive, what does that say about their product?
    • 0
      Miss V.Thomas replies to tj
      The same thing happened to me and each one of us,they lie to you,free trail so  your card is charged,74.98
      and there are only 10 capsules in the bottle i counted,i thought ok that's for my 4.98,then i check my bank account and i have been charged 74.98 for 10 capsules.They mention GNC,as one of the places you can buy
      this product.This Company,needs tobe some how sued,for their fraudulent practices.I would like to know what can be done to bring them down? I wont do anything like this again.
    • 0
      mary mcmorrow replies to tj
      It happened to me with  SkinCell company.  I was scammed for a free trial tube of facial cream.  It cost me $238.50  which for
      some reason included double shipping charges.  It was only when I was about to order another cream and checked back my credit card statements that I realized I had been scammed on the Free trial offer.   My advice, never give your account card info. for things like this.   Be wary!
  • 0
    Instaflex Support
    | 3 replies
    George,

    If you give our customer care center a call at 1-877-869-3310 we'd be ahppy to issue you a RMA number and return instructions on how to return your bottle for a full refund.

    Thanks,

    Instaflex Support
    • 0
      Sandra replies to Instaflex Support
      George/Instaflex Support,
      I fully intended to try your product myself and have my mother try it. If it worked I would consider purchasing it for her arthritis.  Fortunately I came across this most informative site with a very familiar set of problems I've heard of before, which is why I DID NOT use the link on the Instaflex site. It's just VERY SAD the lengths businesses go thru to swindle hard-working consumers!!  Very SAD!!
    • 0
      william spoeltman replies to Instaflex Support
      dear madame/sir i have prostate cancer sinds july 2003 how ever sinds last august i expirience a lot of pain and i turned to insaflex.how ever on oct i had a ct scan and on oct 19 a bone scan and i have just been diagnosed with bone cancer , so your medication do,s not fulfil the purpose and have to cancel the order  we just recieved a order this morning please ca we return this .cncerely bill spoeltman @ ( billspoeltman@sympatico.ca
    • 0
      Ginette replies to Instaflex Support
      I live in Mirabel, Quebec , Canada. I have purchase the trial sample and after reading all the reviews. i wanted to cancel it before the 18 days, but the phone number of the Customer service did not answered. It said to call until 6 to 6 everay day, but many times i tried to call at different hours and it's always the same message. I had to put an stop payment on my credit card. What a scam...
  • 0
    Tom
    | 1 reply
    Yes, this complaint is valid. I have the same issue and consider it willfull fraud. I intend to follow up and get even. I do not like liars and thieves and this company is a liar and a thief.
    • 0
      ROB JAY replies to Tom
      They just hope most people get tired of the bull and pay
  • 0
    Maria Oliveira
    I guess I was another victim of a crook company which has no respect for the human beens; sooner or later you will be punished as thieves have a short life.I require an address to send the "medecin" back.
  • 0
    Morris W Barrier
    I cannot find on their website where to cancel automatic withdrawal  so I am doing it directly at my bank. I will post later if it works.
  • 0
    james sheppard
    | 1 reply
    The samething happened to me. I order free trial now I have received another bottle with my credit card charged. I did not autherize them to send me any more of their product for it did not work for me
    • 0
      aNNIE replies to james sheppard
      I too ordered the free trial and before I could use it I got a large bottle in the mail for $75.00 charged to my visa.  I feel this is a scam and will call their customer service and my bank to get my money back and make sure no other orders are shipped.  And by the way, I have arthritis really bad and the medication has done nothing for me.
  • 0
    rudi
    Same here. I sent off for so-called free sample, giving them my credit card number for handling charges. Then they sent me two bottles at 75 bucks a pop. Oh, they'll *let* me return one, but said I didn't complain soon enough. I figured I never ordered them, why should I have to pay.
     I would call this a fraudulent business practice. I urge you all to file with the Better Business Bureau. See bbb.org/utah/complaint/new. [***]!
  • 0
    eagle
    | 2 replies
    It happened to me, too!  I called them and at first they weren't going to rescind the charge,but when I said I'd go through my bank and Credit Card company and challenge their charge, they sent me a cancellation email.  I want to send the unopened bottle back, but I can't find out where to send it to.  Has anyone out there found the address to ship back to them?
    • 0
      Laura O replies to eagle
      I have saved the package the pills came in. Don't know why just had a felling about it. The address that came on the grey package reads as follows:

                                                Instaflex MS# 730
                                                341 W 6100 S
                                                Murray, UT 84107

      Hope this helps!
    • 0
      Laura O replies to eagle
      Eagle
      I called the instaflex number on my bank card statement. Spoke with Chris. Explained I didn't authorized the 74.98 charge just the 4.98 shipping charge. According to Instaflex and my bank I didn't read the small fine print on the left side of the screen. Said that unless the company hears from you, you will be sent monthy pills and they will use the account  number you give them.

      I told her I didn't see that at all and if I did I wouldn't have given them my card number. So I suggest you write on the envelop that the pills are sent in "REFUSED DELIVERY" send them back and call the 1-877-869-3310.  The company must have put that message check this box that you have read the conditions, so they could have their loop hole and keep selling their product. According to the person I spoke with, they have several other medications for sale on the internet not just Instaflex.

      Learned my lesson. Good luck!
  • 0
    Arch
    This is a SCAM which should be shut down by the Fair Trade Commission. This is not to challenge the product which is argueably no better or worse than any other "snake oil". It is to make Instaflex or the person who is running this scam accountable for the unethical handling of accounts which are cancelled by disgrunted customers.

    This scam relies on credit card transactions to perpetuate its income stream. Without credit cards, it is doubtful that this type of fraud would exist without the facilitation of banks and credit card companies.

    Use caution when making on-line (computer or telephone) purchases using a credit card.
  • 0
    SB from Arizona
    I had my credit card run for the shipping on the sample bottle and the product did work but then they charged my credit card another $78 and a bottle came with product that I did not order. They did tell me to return it and how and they would credit back my credit card and I think they will do so. The number for help on this at that company is 1-877-869-3310 you can call there for help if no help then go to your bank. I will not ever use
    them again because of this but the product sure did work. SB in AZ
  • 0
    BJ TX
    Same thing happened to me it did not work for me
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