Being a disabled consumer on a limited budget, (593.00/month), I was excited to begin the My Points reward progam. As a new member, I eagerly began reading every e-mail I could to gain the 5 points. I opened a link to an offer for a 25.00 Walmart card and began reading through it to see if I could afford to complete the two required offers.
I found two offers I thought I could afford, one being the OralBright trial offer, the other, a BMG music membership offer. When I responded to BMG it was made very clear that I was entering into a membership agreement and they clearly laid out my obligation - buy one CD and get 11 free - just pay shipping and handling. I even got 7 free before having to finish my offer by purchasing one CD and I had a whole year to do so! (Talk about accomidating!) They also started sending me e-mails to make sure I understood my obligation.
OralBright, on the other hand, dumped their worthless product on my under the guise of being a trial offer.in my way of thinking, trial indicates further action required by me to get more product.
When I received the product I read through the instructions which indicated I would not benifit much from 7 days of use.
Preparing the kit for use appeared so difficult that I haven't even tried it yet.
Instructions on the back of the box clearly state,
"Use trays for 40-60 minutes, once a day for seven days consecutively. Repeat USE for 6 to 8 months for maximum whitening." Leading the consumer to believe action must be taken in order to get another kit.
Further more, a statement on the side of the box informs the product is only effective when used for 6-8 months. This statement also speaks to the investment required, unbeatable price "hassle free". Again, this infers consumeraction required for more product.
I wasn't aware that my account was going to be raided for 50.00 in 21 days until I logged onto my account and saw the withdraw. I called the company immediately. My fixed income could not afford that. It was February 17.
I did reach someone by chosing the billing department. The representative I spoke with was sympathetic and I begged her to stop the shipment and credit my account with a refund. She told me she felt for my situation but it was not within her capabilities. She did cancel further shipments and transferred me to her supervisor (who had the heart of Mahtahari) in an effort to help.
The supervisor informed methat I had signed a contract by checking Terms and Conditions and in no uncertain terms would they allow me to return the unwanted product-even in the unopened shipping box.
I told her I was going to write to Oprah and Dateline in an effort to warn other consumers about their deceptive practices and she laughed at me. She told Oprah would never touch this because they hadn't broken any of Utah's commerce laws and Oprah wouldn't want to look like a fool.
So, 50.00 and seven days later I received the product which sits unopened in futal hope that some agency can help me get my light bill money refunded. It is dated February 17 on the company bulk mail label which indicates to me the shipment could have been stopped.
I was not informed that I could return it for even a partial refund nor was I informed of their charge for dispute. I have never heard of a company having such a policy. It is obvious that this is in place because they know they will have an avalanche of them due to their "creative marketing".
After reveiwing the info that is enclosed in the "Trial" kit, it does inform of automatic shipments every 30 days however it does not advise the consumer of the right to cancel or how to cancel.
They also do not ship every thirty days but actually bill about every two weeks and as a result ship one every three weeks.
I am pursuing this underhanded deception through both the attorney general in my state and have written to Utah's attorney general twice through their website. I urge any consumer who has been played by this company to do the same.
Side note - never did get that Walmart card.
Dana
Topeka, Kansas
U.S.A.
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