I ordered a so-called "free sample" of this company's diet pills. They were to ship a 15-day "free trial" with a shipping cost of $4.95. I thought $5 was worth it to try their product and I was eager to order if the results were positive. So were 3 other friends of mine.
I received my 15-day "free trial", but still haven't tried it yet. I'd received another non-deceptive, valid and honest free trial of a different diet pill and wanted to complete that trial first.
Today I went out to my bank's website to balance my checkbook and found my account in a negative status. When I went to the detail page, I found an unknown charge to "PE Labs" for $149.95. The charge included a phone number, so I called it.
I was very courteous to this individual as life has taught me you get more flies with honey. I explained to her that I was being charged by that company that I didn't have a record of. She immediately jumped in firmly telling me that I placed an order for a 15-day trial (not a 15-day FREE trial, mind you) of their product. I consented that was true. That ticked her off right there, and her voice became a even firmer. She explained that by ordering the trial offer, I agreed to the terms and conditions that explained how I was automatically signed up for a 4 month supply of this pill I've not yet tried and I'm being charged for that supply.
I explained that I did not agree to any terms and conditions. There was no check box to do so, nor was there a pop up or any other indicator that terms needed to be agreed upon before placing the order. This woman became incredibly abrasive and rude. She told me to quit yelling at her, when I was doing no such thing. I was at work, in a cubicle surrounded by people. I've had that job (may I add it's a REAL job and a respectable job - not one that cons its callers) for over 9 years, I'm not about to risk it or my reputation by being loud.
She first told me there would be no refunds and wouldn't you know it, SHE is the supervisor. Right.interestingly enough she volunteered that information without my even having to ask. SO naturally I asked to speak to HER boss, and naturally she has no boss. Right. She eventually told me that I can "open a ticket" on their web site, I'd receive a ticket number in 2-4 hours at which time I can use that information to request a refund.
She said that, naturally, there would be a $49.95 cancelation fee. At this point... FINE! Just get me out of this ridiculous scam!!! When she re-told me how by accepting the terms I automatically enrolled,
Obviously these pills do not work if they have to use these deceptive practices in order to get people to "buy" their product. The web page for the 15-day free trial stressed the word "free" with NO small print, no astrisks indicating there was a catch, nothing to indicate there was something more to this offer.
When completing the order form on the page there was no "Terms and Conditions" checkbox that had to be checked in order to place the order (like very other web site on earth DOES have... I'm a web developer, I'm no schmuck here). There was no T&C popup that one must click "OK" to in order to complete this request.
Today I went back to their "free trial" offer page, determined to find out how I was duped. I found out their trick (besides not using the usual and respectable means of REQUESTING a customer to accept their T&C via required checkbox or popup).in order to even SEE the area that proclaims "By ordering above you agree to our terms and conditions" (terms and conditions in that sentence was a link to this self proclaimed OBVIOUS terms that we ALL so readily agreed to, but are now all trying to rip them off by denying we ever authorized this charge) one must scroll down BELOW the order form to even see it!!!
That's right, if you click the SUBMIT button on your order, but have not scrolled down BELOW the order form to see that statement, you've just agreed to their bogus terms and conditions without ever having had a chance to see them.
I've never done business with a more underhanded, uncouth, and downright SNEAKY ripoff artist. I've seen their numerous "rebuttals" on this site. If they're so "reputable" then why do they hide these oh so important terms.
I'm sickened that members of our fellow man would do this and stand tall in their rebuttals and say "we're all adults" "let's take responsibility." Fine! Then YOU, PE Labs, need to take responsibility, admit your deceptive web site layout, correct it, give full refunds to those you deceived (WITHOUT argument, and better yet, why not apologize), and at the VERY least: REQUIRE parties interested in the 15-day "free" trial to accept the terms before submitting the order - technically speaking, make you ORDER FORM require acceptance before the order is placed or the order will not go through.
Never fear, if you want to continue to rip people off, I'd guess 50% of people still don't read the T&C when their required to. Then again, I suppose that would be a major drop in sales as I'd imagine that 99% of your sales currently come from people who haven't read your T&C, BECAUSE IT'S HIDDEN BELOW THE ORDER FORM AND SUBMIT BUTTON.
Toni
Arlington, Texas
U.S.A.
CHARGES TO YOUR CREDIT CARD
If the charge was to your credit card (not debit card, check card, or checking account), contact the credit card company as soon as possible to request a dispute form. Consumers usually have a little longer to dispute fraudulent credit card charges (up to 6 months), but it is better to act right away.in this type of situation, credit card disputes are usually successful since fraudulent companies often won't contest the disputed charge.in rare cases, credit card companies will review disputes, but refuse to reverse the charges. If this occurs, complain to a manager and let them know you will be filing a report here.
Remember Don't let them get away with it! Make sure they make the consumer complaints. The more Reports filed on a Company or individual, the more likely it is that the authorities, media and attorneys will want to take action.
And good luck Let us know how you do!
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