Through the Guthy-Renker company, I received a supply of Endless Youth Beautiful Skin Complex multivitamins through a "free trial" (paid S&H fee) when ordered through their Chaz Dean Wen Haircare products. Apparently the "free" trial then extended into an "auto ship" program that cost about $40/month plus S&H. There is no phone number or obvious expiration date listed on the bottle of vitamins, so I googled Guthy-Renker, LLC, the only company listed on the bottle, to get a phone number. While looking it up, I found statements that these vitamins "never expire," which would be highly unusual for a product like this from any reputable lab or company.
I spoke with John at G-R, who looked up my order and said he believed the vitamins expire after 2 years, alhtough all he knew was the ship date, not the date of manufacture of the vitamins. He was a customer service or sales rep. He said there was no lab or manufacturer that I could contact, and no one who would know the meaning of the code stamped on the label (PA2171D) or the other code printed as part of the label (VY.LAB022), or be able to tell me the expiration date.
When I attempted to get more specific information, saying that no reputable lab would produce a product like this with no company name, expiration code or anyone to contact, he disconnected the call. I called back and spoke with Minie, supposedly a customer service supervisor. She did not know anymore, and did not know where John got the "2-year expiration" information, but took my number to have someone else "more knowledgable" call me back w/in 5-7 business days. She also gave me the number for the "company that provides the vitamins," 1-888-848-2797.
I spoke with Christie (badge #1464), a "Consumer Affairs & Suspicious Activity Representative" for Guthy-Renker's corporate office (in Asheville, NC) at that number. She registered my complaint/questions, and said the VY.LAB022 code was the number of the lab that made the vitamins, and said they were manufactured by the Guthy-Renker company, although she could not provide any contact info for them, or tell me their qualifications to produce these types of supplements, other than that they comply with FDA guidelines and labeling requirements. (The bottle label states "This product has been manufactured at a NSF GMP Certified Facility" and shows the GMP logo. It also displays an "NFS" logo that says "Independently Certified.")
Because she had no other information, and did not want to provide any misinformation, she "expedited" my request for information to someone who could answer my questions and who would call me back sooner than the 5-7 business days Minie had promised. She also gave me the "Vitamin direct line for Consumer Affairs" (1-866-740-1035) so that I would not have to go through regular customer service if I called again.
That number connected me to Tiesha in Louisiana (who refused to give city name due to security concerns), yet another customer service Guthy-Renker products. Unlike the others I had spoken with, she was unable to pull up any information about my original order or account. She told me the expiration date was 2 years from the date they were shipped, not from the date of manufacture. She could not provide any information about where/who/when the vitamins in my bottle were manufactured, and had no knowledge of what either of the codes on the bottle were for.
All of this leads me to believe that these vitamins are a complete scam, and that they are not produced by any reputable lab.