Been very stupid and Cannot get refund!

lexuslass

Hi all!

I will try and keep this short and to the point!

A friend of mine had tried some diet pills from the internet and lost quite a bit of weight so I (very stupidly!!) thought I'd try some to give me a kick start.

They were on a free trial (I had to pay postage which I did with my VISA electron card) - if you cancelled within 18 days and returned the remnants of the bottles within 30 days (even if they were empty), then you wouldn't get charged anything.

I ordered on 18th May.
Packages arrived on 23rd May.
I emailed them on 26th May saying:
I wish to cancel my subscription with you with immediate effect.
The tablets have not agreed with me and have made me feel very ill.
I would like an acknowledgement for this request asap please and trust that I will not be charged any monthly subscriptions.

The reply I received (1st June):
Now, there two options for cancellations.
The first is if you plan on returning the product, we can issue you Return Merchandise Authorization numbers. Within 30 days of the cancellation (so that you have time to try the product) we ask that you return the trial bottles, even if they are empty. They can be sent in the same package, just be sure to write the RMA numbers on the outside of the package.
The second option is if you do not wish to return the bottles. In that case, you do not need to worry about shipping them back and we can offer them to you for a discounted price of 19.41 per product. This way you don't have to go to the hassle of sending them back. You can keep the bottles and enjoy.
Either option ensures a cancellation of your account so that no new orders will be shipped. We look forward to hearing from you again once you’ve decided which option to take.

They are a nightmare to get through to on the phone - I managed to speak to someone on the 6th who was trying to get me to pay the £19.41 for each bottle and urging me to give them to a family member to try - I said I wouldn't do that after they had made me feel so ill!!

I sent them back (recorded) that day (6th June).. checked my bank account and I had two payments of £59.99 pending (that they had taken from the VISA Electron details I gave them when I paid initial postage).

I rang my bank who said they couldn't stop them - it's the company that have to simply not claim the money. Phoned Nutraslim back and they said when they receive the bottles back, I would get the money refunded. I tracked the parcel and they received them the following day (7th June).

On the 8th June, a courier turned up with a package which I asked him if I could refuse - he said yes, so I did that (thinking that if I accepted the parcel, then they would immediately 'claim' the £120 off me). The money was taken out of my account that same day!

They are now saying that I shouldn't have 'returned to sender' and they won't receive these parcels back and will charge me £19.41 for each one - so that's nearly £40! Apparently, I should have accepted them and posted them back to them myself!

Where do I stand with this?

Surely, I cannot be held responsible if they don't put a return address on the front of their packages or track them?? Surely, it's up to them to contact their courier to retrieve their parcels?

Thanks for reading (if you got this far!).

I know I've been very stupid - but any advice will be welcome!

Thanks in advance!

fluffnutter

I don't think you've been stupid.

AFAIK refusing a package is a perfectly valid thing to do. You've cancelled, you don't want the goods. Stand your ground. Ask them in writing to refund you all the money you've laid out so far, as you've cancelled in accordance with their policy. If they don't, send them a letter before action, advising that they have 30 days to refund you or you'll take them to the small claims court.

That's just my opinion. There might be laws around accepting/refusing packages. If so, I'm sure someone will be able to confirm.

davetrousers

Ordering diet pills off the internet is potentially Very stupid. On Embarrassing Fat Bodies the other night they had a segment on diet pills and the dangers of ordering off the internet, they often contain illegal chemicals, that can have bad side effects .

fluffnutter

davetrousers wrote: »

Ordering diet pills off the internet is potentially Very stupid. On Embarrassing Fat Bodies the other night they had a segment on diet pills and the dangers of ordering off the internet, they often contain illegal chemicals, that can have bad side effects .

Yes! That bit's stupid. But I assumed the OP meant the bit about refusing the package

shaun_from_Africa

If they don't, send them a letter before action, advising that they have 30 days to refund you or you'll take them to the small claims court

.

Is there any need to do that?
As the OP paid with a Visa card and they haven't received the goods, surely they are able to do either a chargeback or a section 75 claim. (provided the card issuer classes the pills as one purchase so it will be over £100 )

lexuslass

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

.

Is there any need to do that?
As the OP paid with a Visa card and they haven't received the goods, surely they are able to do either a chargeback or a section 75 claim. (provided the card issuer classes the pills as one purchase so it will be over £100 )

Thanks for your replies... yes it was an extremely silly thing to do buying these over the internet but as I said in my OP, I wanted a kick start! Certainly given me a kick but not in the way I'd hoped!

Oh god... this gets worse! I hadn't thought they might class it as two transactions!!

I did wonder whether a chargeback would be affected due to them offering me a 'partial' refund?

lexuslass

I have just logged onto my bank account and these people have taken 2 x £1.95 payments on the 29th June!!

Other than 'losing' my bank card... how on earth can I stop them taking money from me?

fluffnutter

Have you written to them yet?

iamana1ias

lexuslass wrote: »

I have just logged onto my bank account and these people have taken 2 x £1.95 payments on the 29th June!!

Other than 'losing' my bank card... how on earth can I stop them taking money from me?

Losing your bank card wont stop them - you've signed up for a continuous payment authority agreement that only they can cancel.

lexuslass

Hi fluffnutter

Yes, have also emailed this morning after seeing what they had taken... I know it's only 2 x £1.95 but I had their assurance weeks ago that my accounts were cancelled and they would not take any money from me... since then, they have taken 2 x £59.99 plus these two smaller payments...

I mean £1.95?? what's that?? It's not even what they charge postage!

I have also rang my bank this morning... they say there isn't anything I can do other than close my account and open another.. nothing can stop them apparently.. not even cancelling my debit card!

They said I can open a dispute on the 8th July (albeit it isn't guaranteed that I'll get the money but she said it looks likely that I will be able to!) ......... thankfully, they recognise that although it's two seperate payments, it's still the same company.

I still can't believe I was so stupid to sign up in the first place!

hethmar

We all think we cant be conned but intelligent people still get scammed so dont beat yourself up.

One thing I would do though is contact Trading Standards who can advise you - it may well be others have contacted them over this mob. Also do a google search to see if anyone else is having same problem.