Tuesday, June 30, 2009

I Got Robbed!

I did. I feel like someone just stole more than $180 dollars from me! I know exactly when it happened. I know exactly who did it. And apparently, what they did was completely legal!

Taking Pennysquezer as an example, I am going to try a cathartic blog about an embarrassing situation. It is also a confession to my bookkeeper before she sees the charges and asks "what the &@#%?"

I saw a product called "Colon Cleanse" from a company named Pure Nutrients on the website I track my weight on. A targeted ad! It will help you loose weight naturally! Fee trial. Just pay $5.95 shipping. I filled out the form, and a week latter, the product arrived. It is all natural, but it is still a laxative and gave me cramps. Not very cleansing. I quit taking them and put it out of my mind.

Imagine my surprise when another bottle showed up a month latter. I had that chilling sinking feeling that I had been had. Looking up my credit card account, I had indeed been billed $5.95. I had also been billed $88 two weeks later, the apparent end of the "free trial", and then $93.95 two weeks after that for the next months supply!

I tried calling the company to stop the robbery, but after twenty minutes on hold, I gave up. I called my credit card company to dispute the charges, but after taking a look at the fine print, and reading some other experience on the web, I don't hold much hope. What they did was legal. I feel angry and violated.

After a total of more than 60 minutes on hold, I got through to the company and canceled my "subscription". I had to call early in the morning to get through. I could hear a call center runing full speed in the background. I guess I'm not the only one. I submitted a complaint to the Oregon Department of Justice. I sent a email to the website that had the ad. I don't know what else to do, except to warn as many people out there as possible. There are robbers out there!

I'm not sure blogging about is going to help me feel better, but at least you've been warned. The only thing that really got cleansed was my wallet!

4 comments:

Eldon and Janeil Olsen said...

That's absolutely terrible!

Dad was had too. He ordered a pair of shoes on the internet and they said he could have 3 free subscriptions to magazines, which he eagerly signed up for. Now 2 years later we find that his free subscription is being billed on our credit card. So we had to cancel them. TNSTAFL

Gail said...

When J. was a very young teenager, one of those "free five hours of internet" disks arrived (aol), mailed to "resident," and she had no problem figuring out how to install it, and it went on unbeknowns to the adults in the house until the first billing that showed up was over $90! I emailed them and said it would not be paid, they should set up safeguards prohibiting minors to sign up, and if I got another bill I worked for a school district and would email the entire address book my disgruntlement! Never heard another word. I think it's been long enough I'm safe!

(P.S., consider yourself forewarned to stay away from Kevin Trudeau!)

(P.P.S., my kids laugh at my occasional i-net purchases, and used to mock me about "the moving men," until we actually had to move something! Grant balanced a corner of a heavy hide-a-bed on one and moved it all by himself from room to room!) :)

brenda said...

The same thing happened to me! Not quite so much money, but a more embarrassing product--an herbal weight loss pill. It seems outrageous that you can't wiggle out of the bill!

Ken said...

I got "unrobbed"! Somewhere between my filing a "dispute" with the credit card company, and a complaint with the Oregon Department of Justice, I got my money back. I'm a bit surprised.