Complaint Review: Pure Garcinia Cambogia - Santa Ana California

 I responded to this offer in late November, 2013, for "Free Trial" Garcinia Cambogia (30 day supply, only $4.95 shipping!) as a combined ad on Face Book for these "2 products" that you needed to use in tandem for effective results.  I had no sooner entered my visa card information in the first ad, (Garcinia Cambogia) than the pages for that product vanished and could not be found again.  They did not send a confirmation to my email account.   I proceded to the next product, which was a type of Green Tea extract, and entered my account #.  These pages did not disappear, and for this product I received a confirmation email.  I went back to Facebook to try to find the original ad and there was absolutely no trace of it!! Vanished, just like the pages for the first product I ordered.  

I felt really uneasy about this, and decided to cancel everything, within 5 minutes of having placed the orders.  It was easy to call customer service regarding the Green Tea extract; the individual was very nice, and moments later I received an email from the Green Tea company, confirming my cancellation for that product.  While on the phone with him, I asked about the first product, whose name I could not remember.  (I had never heard of it before.)   The Green Tea customer service person said that he had no idea what that product would have been and it must have been from a company separate from his.

Nearly four weeks later, a bottle arrived in the mail of an unfamiliar product, and there was no shipping papers or instructions with it.  I wondered if it was the free trial item.  It was Garcinia Cambogia.  But there was  no paper work with it, nor anything from any company identifying what the terms were - nor did any email ever show up.  I did not open the bottle. 

Several weeks later, I suddenly was denied access to my credit union account: it seems that "Pure Garcinia Cambogia" company had charged me on Jan 18 and previously on Dec 20, $79.95 each time for shipments of this product, plus $4.95 in early December for the "Free Trial".  At least there was a phone number.

When I called the phone number, their representative listened to me and told me that a second bottle had been shipped me and when it arrived I could send it back for a FULL REFUND of ALL CHARGES since the beginning.  When I did receive it, I prepared the shipment and included my letter explaining this disappointing experience and what the customer service rep, Zach had assured me.  The refund, according to Zach, should be $164.85 - ($79.95, $79.95 and $4.95) 

Zach cautioned me that once I returned both bottles, it would be 15 to 20 days before my account would be credited.  He then said "I can credit your account today if you want to accept a 50% refund."   I said "No."  He then upped the ante "I can credit you 65% today" (this was presumably without my sending it back!) and I again refused, saying, no I would send the products back and I wanted the full refund.   He again assured me that I would receive a refund of all charges from the $4.95 through the two $79.95 shipments.  He had also, during the conversation, said that he didn't know about the "Green Tea" company that had been forthcoming in their dealings, and that the Facebook ad that disappeared was probably at the behest of the Green Tea company "Sometimes less successful products piggyback upon a more successful one to get sales, but that company's not ours."

I telephoned the company just before sending it: I asked them whether I could keep one bottle, as I had never had my "free trial."  They told me that if I kept one, it would cost $20.  I decided that I would go ahead with the original plan to return them all.  This rep then said "Make sure to write an RMA # on the packaging when you return it."  So I wrote it down.  I wondered why Zach had never given me this RMA number.

The company received both completely intact bottles on Feb 3rd.  On February 5th, they credited me only $79.95 - for one bottle.  Meanwhile, they had received both bottles.  I had not even opened them and have absolutely nothing to show for the money the company has grabbed from my account; further more,  I spent $10 in shipping and insurance costs to make sure the product was returned.

I phoned the customer service line this morning.  After holding for 30 minutes, I was able to talk to someone.  He claimed that the "full refund" had been given me of $79.95 and that he could do "nothing." He claimed that the RMA number showed that I had been refunded in full.   I asked to speak to his manager/supervisor and after claiming again that I'd been "refunded in full"  the rep hung up on me.

So far, they have screwed me out of $84.90 and I did not have the benefit of so much as one capsule.   Watch out.  I will be fighting to get my full refund, but this company is just a scam outfit.  Watch out.  They have been crooked since the beginning. 

I also see on this site another customer's complaint about the fraud committed by a "Green Tea extract" company - and lo and behold, the address the customer listed for that fraudulent company is exactly the same as the one for Pure Garcinia Cambogia returns:  3025 S. Harbor Blvd,, Santa Ana, CA  92704.    These people are criminals.