If you are on Facebook chances are you would have seen an advertisement on there for Anti-Aging, in fact there are several on there, but there is one in particular I want to warn you all about.

When you click the ad it takes you website belonging to a company selling pure collagen skincare, here.

The ad looks great and for a limited time you can try a full size trial bottle and the cost is AU$2.97. They have an Australian phone number on that website so you think all is OK. At the bottom of the page it states ** Try the full 1-month supply of Pure Collagen Facial Serum risk-free. Just pay shipping & processing.

Soooo, always looking for something new I ordered a trial. It was ordered on 22 July 2011 and it was received on 17 August 2011, nearly a month later. On 20 July 2011 I noticed that my credit card had been billed for AU$97.66 on 8 AUGUST 2011, by this same company (Purecollagenx). So I went to their website to investigage why this had happened. On their terms and conditions page the following is stated:
Start your risk-free trial today, and we’ll send you a full supply of the Pure Collagen Anti-Aging System. Just pay $2.97 for S&H. You have 14 days to try the product and discover why Pure Collagen is the right anti-Aging treatment for you. If you enjoy the product, do nothing ? you’ll be billed the low, low price of just $2.97 at the end of your trial period (my card was debited immediately when I placed the order). If for any reason you decide that Pure Collagen is not the perfect anti-Aging treatment, call us toll-free at +61-289994104 (AU) any time during your 14-day trial period to cancel your trial ? then simply return the product (even if it is empty!) and you will NEVER be billed.

Plus, if you decide to keep Pure Collagen, you will receive FREE acceptance in our Beauty Club auto ship Program, and you’ll receive a new supply of Pure Collagen every 30 days at the same low Club auto ship price of $99.95 (+ $5.95 S&H). You can cancel anytime!

Now when I read this I read it to mean that you receive your free trial at a cost of AU$2.97 and if you want to keep getting a supply every month you do nothing, but if you want to cancel you post the product back within 14 days. I was not happy about my card being debited some 9 days before I had even received the trial product. So I rang their Australian Customer Service number and low and behold it went through to the USA. The person there I spoke to told me that if they don’t receive the product back within 14 days of the order first being received then you have agreed to continue receiving the product at AU$97.66 per month, but hang on it took nearly a month to get here so how could I possibly get it back to them within 14 days of ordering it. I was then told to send it back but it had to be via Registered Post (approx AU$35.00)and when they receive it they will cancel my subscription. I demanded that the $97.66 be refunded back to my card and my subscription cancelled and again we had the discussion about sending the first bottle back. I told her that I was not paying AU$35.00 to post it back and asked for an Australian address to post it to, they did not have an Australian postal address. The girl I spoke to also told me to post it back Return to Sender, but they have this on their website – Please note that we cannot process packages marked “Return to Sender”. Returned packages require a Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) number to ensure accurate processing. So if I sent it back unregistered OR return to sender they would deny receiving it and this would, in their eyes give them justification for continuing to debit my card.

I was then informed that the payment of AU$97.66 they took from my account was for the RISK-FREE Trial Bottle I had received. I said but you charged me $2.97 for that already and it was a trial, and I was told that the $2.97 was for postage and handling and because I did not send it back within 14 days of ordering it they were now charging me for that Trial Bottle.

I did a Google search and this seems to be a rather cunning scam with many many complaints about how they are taking money, not sending the products, not deleting your subscription, to the point where I will now be cancelling my credit card as this will be the only way to stop them taking money.

They are advertising to Australians and I believe they are breaching the Trade Practices Act here on many levels, their advertising is deceptive and misleading, but because they are an overseas business we Australians seem to have very little comeback, but I have to wonder about the Australian phone number and where that is registered to.

This company breached their own terms and conditions by not getting the product to me within 14 days of being ordered and by not giving me ample time to trial it and return it and then they think they can take more money.

My advice – steer clear, and I have also noticed in the last few days that the following statement has gone up on the advertisement on their website:
? The statements made on this website have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration or the UK Department of Health
The following claimed results are based on scientific studies of our products’ individual ingredients only. The products themselves have not undergone individual testings.
Think I will be binning this product. I told them they have 7 days to reimburse my card, if they don’t I will be issuing a chargeback and cancelling the card.

If you are in Australia and you have been caught out by this company’s false advertising please feel free to post here to warn others and tell us how you sorted it out.

Related posts: