Complaint Review: La Dermanique

Facebook had an advertisement about Ellen Dengeneres looking years younger.  I clicked on the link.  It turns out that she had been using La Dermanique Face Serum.  The website that I was linked to was for a product called La Dermanique Face Serum and Eye Cream.  It had a promotional offer of a free bottle each mailed to the consumer if they paid for the shipping.  I used my credit card to pay for the shipping.  I ordered the face serum and didn’t read the extra fine prints, the terms and conditions.  After placing the free order, I got this weird feeling after I received the e-mail conformation of my order.  There wasn’t a website or a contact number included in the e-mail.  There was no way of contacting the company.  So I waited until the product came.  There was a slip of copied paper included with the product.  It had a thank you note with a customer service number.  I looked up the product on the web and clicked on a website.  I read the terms and conditions and it turned out that by placing an order for the free bottle, I automatically subscribed to a monthly subscription in the amount of 90 something dollars a month.  I was hoping that was not the website I had placed my order from because I wanted a free bottle for evaluation, not a monthly supply that would be continuously charged onto my credit card.  Four days before the 14 day trial period was over, I received in the mail, the supposedly free product.  I placed the order on Feb 14 and on Feb 28, I called the customer service number to see if I had been enrolled in a monthly subscription.  It took around 15 minutes to reach a representative.  I asked her if I had been enrolled in a monthly subscription when I placed the order for a free bottle of face cream.  She told me yes.  I told her to cancel the subscription.  She asked me have I tried the product.  I said no because I have super sensitive skin.  In my mind I was thinking, gosh, I haven’t even had time to check the ingredients.  Plus, I told her I can’t afford to pay 90 something dollars a month on face cream.  Had I known, I would not have ordered the free bottle.  She told me that since it has been over 14 days, she cannot give me a refund, but she can lower the price for me if I keep the subscription.  I told her no, and I’ll have to admit I got mad and gave her some attitude, asking her how can it be over 14 days?  I placed the order on the 14^th and today is the 28^th.  If anything, today would be the 14^th day.  She placed me on hold and when she came back she said that since I cancelled within 14 days, I will not be charged.  I asked for her name and noted it down and the date and time I called.  I told her I was noting everything down just in case they decide to charge me later.  She said something like my credit card was declined.  I asked her, “What do you mean my credit card was declined?  Why would it be declined?  So you guys did charge me?  I’ll have to look at my credit card history and call back if there’s a charge.”  She wasn’t making any sense to me, but she reassured me that she canceled the subscription and I would not be charged.  I hung up and checked my credit card transactions and there wasn’t a charge from La Dermanique.  However, if I had called one day late, I would not be able to get my money back.  This company has scam written all over it.  The free bottle page had nothing about the 14-day trial period or the automatic monthly subscription when you place an order for a free bottle.  Plus, the conformation e-mail had no contact information for the company.  If the product came 14 days after you placed the order then you don’t even have a 14-day trial period really.  In my case, it came 4 days before the trial period ended, which is not nearly enough time to evaluate a product.  This company’s main purpose is to charge unsuspecting consumers for the first month of automatic subscription products.  I’m not even going to try their product to see if it works.  For a product that was suppose to fight wrinkles, it gave me more wrinkles because of the stress of dealing with its unethical sales practices.  Now I have more work ahead of me because I have to monitor my credit card to see if they do charge me in the future.  In my case, I did not lose any money (yet) to this company, but what about the other unsuspecting consumers that are just like me, who thought they were signing up for something free and didn’t cancel in time until they saw their credit card bill.  Those people will have a tough time trying to get their money back.  Honestly, any company that enrolls consumers in hidden automatic monthly subscriptions is a scam.  If their product really works, people will come back on their own to buy more.  Be very, very cautious of this company if you decide to order the free bottle and yes, expect monthly subscription fee on your credit card even before you actually tried the product.