Complaint Review: Drugstores-Online.com

It was not obvious to me that I needed a doctor's prescription to purchase from this site. I thought they had a doctor on board for many reasons. The Health Profile they mandate you fill out, that no pharmacist would ever ask.

You then tell them the medication you would like. They give you an order number, give you the shipping method, etc.

In fact, I reported them to the BBB and needed to file a report with them through email, which I would like to copy and paste here for you:

Thank you very much for responding to my complaint.

I have heard from the company and would like to copy and paste what they sent to me and my response to them. I do want the refund that I believe I deserve, but after reading their response to me, I don't believe they have any business having a site online or anywhere else for that matter. I can just imagine how many other vulnerable people misunderstood as I.

As I am writing this, I am remembering a questionnaire that I had to fill out on their site that asked very personal questions that a pharmacist would not ask. This was very consistent with my belief that there were doctors involved with this online pharmacy.

They asked for a Health Profile:
Sex
DOB
Height
Weight
A check list of all of your medical conditions
"if you are seeking pain relief, on a scale of 0-10 please rate the level of your pain"

The questionnaire then goes on to say...

Acceptance:

Customer acknowledges paying the $99 non-refundable one (1) year membership portion of order at this time and will pay for the medication 30 days after it has shipped. You MUST type YES below to continue.

customer acknowledges that all information submitted is truthful and correct. Customer acknowledges being of legal age. Customer acknowledges reading and agreeing to all terms, conditions and non-refundable fees. You MUST type YES below to continue.

Customer authorizes Elite Billing Management to electronically debit funds for this order from the checking account submitted. Customer agrees that any returned check will be subject to a $25 service charge. You MUST type YES below to continue.

Then, there is a button to click done.

I never saw or remember reading anything about needing a prescription to send to them. I also believe, that they should have reiterated throughout their site this most important and imperative detail. Instead, everything they write on their site and also through the earlier responding emails, when asking when I could expect my shipment, implies otherwise.

I was not until they knew my $99 was posted, did they come clean (if you will) and ask me for a prescription.

Please read the email sent to me today and my quite angry response to them.

Thank you for your time and help with this matter

Nancy xxxxxxx


Customer Service writes:
The medication you ordered as you well know requires a prescription in all 50 states, purchasing on the net is no different.
It is illegal for you to purchase as well as for the pharmacy to send a controlled substance without a valid prescription

Our prescription requirement is prominently posted on our HOME PAGE, PRICE LIST and in the FIRST SENTENCE OF THE TERMS & CONDITIONS you read and agreed to BEFORE clicking submit

You have ninety (90) days from order date to submit your prescription prior to shipping
As per the terms and conditions you agreed to before clicking submit, membership fees are non-refundable

I did not "WELL KNOW" anything or that one cannot purchase prescriptions over the internet as you can in Canada. It was certainly not obvious that I needed a doctor's prescription or I would not have become a member, as I am sure upon investigation, it will be determined that many, many other people paid you the $99.00 because of the misleading wording on your site.

Not to mention the obvious intent to intimidate the recipient of this email you have just sent me. Well, I will have you know it has done just the opposite!

What was the purpose to ask personal and confidential information about a person if you are simply a pharmacy. Any pharmacy I have ever been to has never ever asked me any one of those questions.....but a doctor would have. That right there implies that you are more than a pharmacy and have a doctor on board.

If your communication to me of 7/5/08 (after my $99.00 cleared) had been your first communication (might I add conveniently wasn't because my $99.00 had not cleared yet), then it would have been totally clear that a prescription was necessary and therefore a stop would have been put on that payment. But, of course you already know all this. hence the reason for omission of the imperative paragraph you sent to me after it was too late to stop payment.

You have unethical business practices and should be stopped immediately. Your site should be yanked offline and you should be issued a very, very stiff fine.

Why didn't you inform me of all this after my first email to you asking where my shipment was? Your reply was this: Dated 6/23/08
On line checks are processed by Elite Billing. Your membership payment has not yet posted. When it does your order will be sent to the pharmacist for processing. We will e-mail you when it posts. It takes about 5 business days. You have been advised of this in your confirmation e-mail.

Do you mean this email is your confirmation?.......This is an automatic reply, we will respond to your e-mail within 24 hours or less. All e-mails will be answered in the order received (M-F). Saturday, Sunday and Holiday e-mails will be answered until the next
business day.

Customer Service
www.Drugstores-Online.com


The above email to me dated 6/23 clearly states that after you have my money you will send my order to the pharmacist for processing and that it will take approx. 5 business days......That statement right there is misleading....No where do you mention a prescription which should have been the most important factor before anything is sent to a pharmacist. An attorney looking at just the above paragraph will totally agree that your intentions are to mislead people and to make sure that you have their $99.00 before you divulge everything.

Your practices are deceptive and misleading with wilful intent to pray on vulnerable people to get their money and then pretend to be the pillar of society.

All I can say, is thank heaven for email, they leave a very nice paper trail and documentation of what exactly transpired.

Nancy xxxxxx

Nancy
Framingham, Massachusetts
U.S.A.