Getting charged by GRC Vita Power
Complaint
Carol
Country: United States
Two months ago I ordered Proactive products and ever since have been receiving these "GRC Vita Power" vitamins that I did not order. Every month $65 is being taken out of my credit account. So I called BOA and got them to put a stop against VitaPower charging me the 33.94 each month. Hopefully that will stop them from charging me. When I called Proactive they gave me this number for VitaPower 888-684-9660. I tried calling but no one answered.
Comments
Situation: I got the same GRC Charges on my debit card. I called the company @ 888-848-2797, and was told I had to send the vitamins back, and I would get a refund within 4-6 weeks. I would get refunded the charge -$8 they paid for shipping, and minus the $$ I would have to pay for shipping.
SO INSTEAD, DO THIS: I called my bank because I believed it to be a fraudulent, misleading charge. My bank is Chase. Chase informed me they have many complaints about this merchant GRC Vitamins. Wait until the charge posts (is no longer pending) against your account, then call your bank. In my case, Chase reimburses my account for the FULL amount and then disputes the charge on my behalf. So... Call your bank because chances are they can help and have already helped someone with this problem.
Ordered Proactiv online in July and received the free vitamins. Received MORE vitamins in August and found that my credit card was charged $32.94. I called GRC 1-888-848-2797 right away and complained about the automatic charges. The customer service reps will tell you that when you ordered Proactiv, there is a screen that asks you to accept monthly shipments of vitamins (and that you must call to cancel once you receive your free shipment if you don't want any more) before you submit your order. Anyway, she cancelled my account and told me to mark the box "Return to Sender" and my account will be credited once they receive the box.
If you receive something that you don't think you ordered, DO NOT OPEN THE BOX. Instead, mark it "RETURN TO SENDER" and the post office will ship it back for FREE ~ even give you a receipt.
Then today, I realized that only $23.97 of the $32.94 was refunded to my account!! I was livid and called GRC vitamins again. I spoke with Kyla and she told me that $8.97 wouldn't be refunded because that was the shipping fee. She also tried to give me the same schpeel about accepting the terms before ordering. I wasn't having any of that so I bitched and ranted and finally asked for a supervisor's phone number or contact information for the company so that I can get all of my money back. She quickly put me on hold and was gone for maybe 15 seconds, then told me that she spoke to her supervisor, who was willing to refund me the $8.97 shipping fee "as a courtesy." Hah. GRC - NEVER AGAIN.
Kyla did verify that my account has been closed, and I haven't received any more vitamins or had any unauthorized credit card charges... but we shall see.
Same situation with me, ordered WEN shampoo...and game started...
But just recently, I received a statement of collection agency involvement) from The North Shore Agency (4000 East Fifth Avenue, Columbus, OH 43219) reporting that I did not pay Vitapower and "Your failure to respond may cause us to escalate collection procedures." This makes me so worried. What should I do?
Note: I called Vitapower to cancel the shipment to me but they still did ship the package which I never opened. DETEST such dirty business!
Pls give me some advice. Many thanks.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2013/07/nco.shtm
"For Release: 07/09/2013
World's Largest Debt Collection Operation Settles FTC Charges, Will Pay $3.2 Million Penalty
Largest Civil Penalty Ever Obtained by the FTC Against a Third-party Debt Collector
The world’s largest debt collection operation, Expert Global Solutions and its subsidiaries, has agreed to stop harassing consumers with allegedly illegal debt collection calls and to pay a $3.2 million civil penalty – the largest ever obtained by the Federal Trade Commission against a third-party debt collector.
In its complaint, the FTC charged that the companies violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the FTC Act by using tactics such as calling consumers multiple times per day, calling even after being asked to stop, calling early in the morning or late at night, calling consumers’ workplaces despite knowing that the employers prohibited such calls, and leaving phone messages that disclosed the debtor’s name, and the existence of the debt, to third parties. According to the FTC’s complaint, the companies also continued collection efforts without verifying the debt, even after consumers said they did not owe it.
Under the proposed order, whenever a consumer disputes the validity or the amount of the debt, the defendants must either close the account and end collection efforts, or suspend collection until they have conducted a reasonable investigation and verified that their information about the debt is accurate and complete. The proposed order also restricts situations in which the defendants can leave voicemails that disclose the alleged debtor’s name and the fact that he or she may owe a debt.
Also under the proposed order, the defendants must: stop falsely representing that they will not call a number to collect a debt; not harass, oppress, or abuse a consumer while attempting to collect a debt; not communicate with third parties about a consumer’s debt; not communicate with a consumer at his or her workplace if it is clearly inconvenient or prohibited by the consumer’s employer; except in limited circumstances, cease communications if a consumer has requested no further contact or if a consumer refuses to pay a debt; and not violate any provision of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The defendants also are required to record at least 75 percent of all their debt collection calls beginning one year after the date of the order, and retain the recordings for 90 days after they are made.
With more than 32,000 employees and revenues in 2011 of more than $1.2 billion, the Texas-based Expert Global Solutions and its subsidiaries – ALW Sourcing, LLC; NCO Financial Systems, Inc.; and Transworld Systems, Inc., which also does business as North Shore Agency, Inc. – collectively are the largest debt collector in the world. In addition to their U.S. offices, the companies operate in Canada, Barbados, India, the Philippines, and Panama.
..."
Nicola
they pulled the same stunts on me and 8 months later, i'm still trying to clear the air.
THE WORST.