Telebrands deceptive advertising, added charges not agreed to, no opportunity for final decision before order placed Internet
The original offered price was $10 and the final tally was over $70. I would never try to order from Telebrands again due to deceptive advertising. They kept asking if we wanted to upgrade the order and include the useable device, then useable batteries, then accessories, then jewelry, it kept coming. Then when the final page appeared there was no opportunity for final review, it just said $70 will be charged. I tried calling their customer service and no answer. After 21 minutes of music hold the phone line was terminated. I hope this company loses their business license and refunds everyone that has been taken advantage of. My recommendation is only visit a As Seen On TV retail store and do NOT order from their deceptive web site.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
cee cee
West Haven,Connecticut,
USA
As Seen On TV Products
#2UPDATE EX-employee responds
Mon, January 04, 2010
I am not an employee or ex-employee of Telebrands, but I am an ex-employee of one of the companies that answers calls for many of the As Seen On TV products. It sounds as if your transaction was entirely automated which really put you at a disadvantage.
During my employment with XYZ Corp, the operators were given a script for each product and instructed to read it VERBATIM, without answering callers questions regarding their order, such as their total thus far, ability to opt out of FREE gifts and amount of shipping charges.
There was a long laundry list of products and offers we were instructed to read once the main offer was addressed. If the product happened to be a vitamin or beauty product then part of the upsell was to push the caller into agreeing to auto delivery. The script was soooo confusing and full of vague language it was amazing any caller could make heads or tales out of it. During my time taking calls, hundreds of people mistakenly agreed to auto delivery for a product that was offered as a free sample. By the sound of their voices, many of them were seniors. Not to mention all the magazine subscriptions people agreed to just because they ordered a TV product for $19.95, time shares, jewelry, knife sets, etc, etc. At the end of the call we were not permitted to OFFER a total, only if asked. For many people a product for $19.95 wound up costing $50 or $60 with all the ad on's.
After I was reprimanded over and over again, (all calls are monitored} I was fired. I spoke off script, omitted parts I thought were deceptive and was on the side of the caller. I can't blame the company I worked for. The advertisers are their clients. The clients write the scripts. The clients pay the bills. XYZ company will go along with the client wishes as long as it's legal, and what a fine line it is. Ethical....NO.
My advice for people who are interested in TV products:
DON'T ORDER FROM TV. IF YOU BUY IT IN A STORE, YOU CAN RETURN IT. VERY SIMPLE. NO S&H. NO WAITING. NO HASSLE. NOT SO WITH TV ORDERS.
HANG UP IF THE CALL IS AUTOMATED.
IF YOU REACH A LIVE PERSON THREATEN TO HANG UP IF THEY CONTINUE TO MAKE OFFERS AFTER THEY HAVE TAKEN YOUR INITIAL ORDER. THE OPERATORS ARE ALLOWED TO FAST FORWARD TO THE END OF THE SCRIPT IF THE CALLER THREATENS TO HANG UP.
IF YOU'RE OFFERED ANYTHING FREE, OR 2 FOR 1 , WITH YOUR INITIAL ORDER, TURN IT DOWN. YOU ONLY WANT WHAT YOU CALLED ABOUT. EXTRA STUFF MEANS EXTRA S&H CHARGES. IF THE OPERATOR CLAIMS IT'S NOT POSSIBLE AND INSISTS THAT "IT COMES WITH IT" HANG UP. DON'T BE AFRAID. A LIVE OPERATOR IS NOT ALLOWED TO PROCESS AN ORDER AFTER A HANG UP. THAT IS WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER GIVE AN ORDER TO AN AUTOMATED OPERATOR.
DON'T GIVE OUT YOUR REAL PHONE NUMBER. THEY ONLY WANT IT TO USE FOR FURTHER SOLICITATION.
IF YOU FEEL YOU HAVE BEEN RIPPED OFF OR WORSE, COMPLAIN TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. THEY WILL FOLLOW UP IF THEY GET ENOUGH COMPLAINTS.
The culprits will receive a stiff fine and or forced to close. Unfortunately, they open again under a different name and continue business as usual.