Striaex Misleading Trial Offer - Charged $419.91 to my bank account Vancouver British Columbia
I first discovered this company through Web MD. I have some pretty severe acne scars from my youth and have always wondered if scar removal products would help me.
I found Striaex's trial offer and it appeared to me that they were willing to send you a bottle free for only the shipping cost of $2.95. I remember seeing that the ointment costs $109.99 and telling my wife that if they're willing to send you a free sample and normally charge that much that it must work.
Needless to say I received not only 1 bottle, but 2 in the mail. They were very small, 1 fluid ounce a piece, so I figured that it was just the trial size and I would never have imagined that they charged $110 for one of those bottles. I tried the product that evening, following the instructions on the bottle, but did not see any visible difference in my scars. Later I remember laughing that it was just a scam which reminded me off the old snake oil cure-all tonics from old western movies.
Where Striaex made their mistake with attempting to rip me off is I do all my banking online and monitor not only my bank accounts, but my credit cards on a daily basis.
I logged online yesterday and saw that I had a $419.91 debit pending my checking account. Being that I paid the shipping charges with my checking account debit card meant they were taking the money straight from my bank account. I would not advise that after this experience.
I immediately contacted my bank and had them block the transaction. I was then told by my bank that if Striaex attempted to charge my account again that I would have to allow the debit to clear and then contest it with the bank. Ultimately, I had the bank cancel my debit card so that won't be an issue.
After all of that I went online and sent an e-mail to Striaex's customer service telling them that not only had their product not worked, but that I had not ordered anything further from them, and did not intend to. I then told them that any further action on their part to pursue me for the $419.91 that I would file a fraud complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, with my state's attorney general's office, and then forward all of it on to Web MD.
I received the exact same e-mails as the all the other complaints listed on ripoffreport.com. I received one from their customer service department stating that because I was threatening them that they could no longer help me and that I was going to have to deal solely with their legal department. I then received an e-mail from the legal department threatening hell and damnation if I don't pay them and stop disputing the charges. I believe that is where they make a mistake and their scam breaks down.
In closing, I intend on doing exactly what I told Striaex I was going to do. I am going to file a complaint with the:
Better Business Bureau of Mainland B.C.
((((Redacted)))
Business Practices & Consumer Protection Authority of British Columbia
(((Redacted)))
Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov
And after all of that I am going to send a letter with links to my complaints to Web MD and hopefully they'll remove this product from their website's product search engine.
I am just thankful that Striaex didn't get my money and will update this complaint as things develop.
Dan
Portland, Oregon
U.S.A.
CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Dan
Hillsboro,Oregon,
U.S.A.
Striaex Almost Beat Me
#5Author of original report
Fri, March 27, 2009
Well, in my last update I had just finished sitting down and writing out a check to my bank thinking that all was lost. Incidentally, a couple days later someone from my bank called informing me that they had reopened my claim dispute on the basis that Striaex violated VISA policy of not sending me to a separate webpage to view the Terms & Conditions and physically click on the Agree to the Terms box. So I would say that I am one of the lucky ones, and there probably many who haven't persevered to overcome this scam. From start to finish, this whole debacle lasted SIX months. Anyone reading my words, please don't do business with Striaex Nuance Aromatherapy, and do your homework before responding to something that is just too good to be true. It's just not worth the risk.
Dan
Hillsboro,Oregon,
U.S.A.
Striaex Almost Beat Me
#5Author of original report
Fri, March 27, 2009
Well, in my last update I had just finished sitting down and writing out a check to my bank thinking that all was lost. Incidentally, a couple days later someone from my bank called informing me that they had reopened my claim dispute on the basis that Striaex violated VISA policy of not sending me to a separate webpage to view the Terms & Conditions and physically click on the Agree to the Terms box. So I would say that I am one of the lucky ones, and there probably many who haven't persevered to overcome this scam. From start to finish, this whole debacle lasted SIX months. Anyone reading my words, please don't do business with Striaex Nuance Aromatherapy, and do your homework before responding to something that is just too good to be true. It's just not worth the risk.
Dan
Hillsboro,Oregon,
U.S.A.
Striaex Almost Beat Me
#5Author of original report
Fri, March 27, 2009
Well, in my last update I had just finished sitting down and writing out a check to my bank thinking that all was lost. Incidentally, a couple days later someone from my bank called informing me that they had reopened my claim dispute on the basis that Striaex violated VISA policy of not sending me to a separate webpage to view the Terms & Conditions and physically click on the Agree to the Terms box. So I would say that I am one of the lucky ones, and there probably many who haven't persevered to overcome this scam. From start to finish, this whole debacle lasted SIX months. Anyone reading my words, please don't do business with Striaex Nuance Aromatherapy, and do your homework before responding to something that is just too good to be true. It's just not worth the risk.
Dan
Hillsboro,Oregon,
U.S.A.
Striaex Claim Disputes Did Not Work
#5Author of original report
Tue, January 27, 2009
First, I feel compelled to say that the product I ordered from Striaex Nuance Aromatherapy was not associated with the Web MD website.
With that aside, I am updating my complaint with a heavy heart. I just finished writing out a check for the amount of $557.51 to my bank after 4 months of claim disputing the $419.91 Striaex withdrew from my account (unbenounced to me), the $125.00 in overdraft charges that occurred because of it, and the $12.60 international banking charge. I am also having to dismiss the hours that I spent researching this company and effort I made to return the product to Striaex, file a complaint with the BBB of Mainland B.C. and the British Columbia Consumer Protection Agency, and document to my bank the order of events which placed me in the middle of all this.
Here is the rub everyone as to why my bank wasn't concerned about the fact that this company operates in violation of British Columbia law. Because my bank isn't bound by Canadian law, it is bound by U.S. Federal Law. So you can spend all the time you want sending unanswered e-mails to Striaex, listening to their recorded message telling you that they don't handle customer service complaints over the phone anymore, you can go down to the local U.S. Postal Service office and send them back their product with a return receipt verifying that they received it, and you can refuse the delivery of the additional product they'll attempt to send you. The bottom line is when you placed your order with Striaex and didn't take notice that the "I accept the terms & conditions" box was already checked for you, you basically sold your soul to Satan. I am just thankful that I am only going to be out $557.51, and that Striaex didn't get really greedy and hit me for more.
From here I am going to contact the Federal Trade Commission, and possibly the local and national media. The FTC website has reports about the Cross-Border Scam complaints filed over the past few years and from a glance it looks like Canada has the lion's share of con artists pulling off scams like this.
So ultimately the purpose of this update is to counter-balance the other updates on ripoffreport.com concerning this company giving you the impression that there's an easy fix for the mess you'll find yourself in when you responded to their 'no risk free trial offer' and didn't do your homework. Without a doubt, I went above and beyond what everyone else did and it looks like Striaex Nuance Aromatherapy may have adapted their tactics to counteract the successes of their prior victims.