Groupon - Pearl National Teeth Whitening SCAM!

lucky_lucy_3

I've had pretty much exactly the same experience too.... bought voucher in September, appointment was cancelled three times in a row at short notice by text. Each time they had a different excuse e.g. "the electrics have gone down". The latest excuse I got was that they were moving building - the girl said "we're based in an office block at the moment but we're moving to a nice salon which will be much nicer for you" but she was unable to tell me the address of the new location, said they didn't have it yet!!

The date of the appointment came round and I'd not been informed of the new address and I couldn't get through so I missed the appointment.

Have just contacted Groupon for a full refund, fingers crossed.

Colindj_2

I to purchased this deal from Groupon but then stumbled upon this site and immediately cancelled upon reciept of the voucher as required. However Groupon have yet to give any indication that they will refund my money. Pearl National seems to exist only as an internet site as investigation does not reveal any company registration. STAY AWAY FROM THIS DEAL.

gailandkelly

It looks like I have also been fleeced by this company. Same story, I also note that this seems to have been going for a very long time. I too. will contact Trading Standards in Leeds. Can anyone update me Gail in Leeds

Louisa66

I purchased a Groupon voucher in late November for teeth whitening with Pearl National. A girl called me to arrange an appointment at their so called "clinic" in Nottingham. I then got a call to say that the appointment had been cancelled as the technician was unwell. I re-arranged the appointment for today (Saturday 7th Jan). However a couple of days ago I received a text to say the offices had moved to another location in Nottingham. I tried to call them for more details about the procedure but no one answers the phone - you just get a continual pre-recorded voice telling you that you are "first in line" but no one ever answers! When I arrived at the address, it was a shared office space - locked up and with no signage outside to say that Pearl occupy any of the space. I rang the doorbell for half and hour - but no one answered, then another customer turned up. Her story was very similar to mine and she said she'd seen lots of posts about this company being a scam after she'd payed via Groupon. I will be contacting Groupon on Monday for a full refund. I will also be reporting Pearl to Consumer Watchdog and if anyone is interested in fighting for their rights with me, then please email me at louisa.oukil@gmail.com I'd also like to know just what processes Groupon have in place to vet companies who offer supposed deals via their site. Sadly it was the first thing I have purchased on Groupon - it will no doubt be the very last.

Buks85

babyb20 wrote: »

Recently had my teeth done through Pear National for £69 (groupon voucher) what a load of rubbish. They rented a small room in a building, not very professional. It all seemed rushed, in the end my teeth were patchy and my gums became very blistered and sore. I have tried contacting Pearl National and Groupon and had no reponse. Just be wary, I think you get what you pay for.

I'm so glad I found this forum because I too had a terrible experience with Pearl National. I purchased 2 groupon vouchers last year for both myself and my sister. I was so excited about the thought of getting my teeth whitened and felt I had found a bargain, same quality service, but at a discounted price, NOT!

First of all, they never called me to book an appointment, I had to chase them up. When I finally booked an appointment, I received a text last minute that the appointment was cancelled because they did not recieve a delivery that morning (sounds professional right? Not). I finally booked another appointment at their branch in Trafalger Square in London. From their website, they give an impression of a very professional service as though you will be walking into a spotlessly clean clinic with a nice reception area. When I got to the building, I realised that they only have a room in a building with other companies. The make it worse, the only way to identify them was a badly hand written sign on A4 paper, cellotaped to the door (again, very professional, right?) I was immediately put off, but thought I would give them the benefit of doubt.

I knocked on the door, only yo walk into a small room with loud music and 2 young common girls having a chit chat about their weekend and the latest celeb gos. There was no on to supervise these girls, no professional dentist or anyone! There were no certificates hung up to prove that they were qualified either. I had my doubts so immediately asked what would happen if I wad unhappy with the results. They told me I could come back for another session. Anyway, I had gone all that way, so thought, what the heck.

One of the very annoying girls began the process using the laser and the whitening gel. After 2 and a half rounds, I had to stop because my teeth became very sensitive. She told me she coils notice an immediate difference and showed me a colour chart of where my teeth were and where they are now. I completely disagreed and expressed my dissatisfaction. She said to give it some time and that I could return for my final half a session left because I had to stop.

I followed all the procedures, didn't eat anything with colour or have any sweet or drink anything fizzy. There was absolutely no difference. My sister had a similar experience and also noticed no difference even after some weeks! I contacted Pearl National and complained. The manager was not helpful and was very rude. I demanded a refund and they told me to speak to Groupon about that. I immediately contacted Groupon and explained the situation. I questioned the validity of Pearl National and asked of Groupon were aware of the poor standards of the company. Anyway, Groupon refunded the money for both myself and my sister an said they would I investigate Pearl National. However, the fact that people are still posting about this, shows that Groupon are still working with the company!

What I can advice people is that is something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Pearl National and other teeth whitening companies who Groupon sell vouchers for, claim that the original price of the service is about £180-£250. They then slash the price by about 70% of the supposed original price. That makes you a consumer feel that the company must be good if they usually charge so much, you then rush to by the voucher believing you have got a bargain. It's all a lie! They do not usually charge that much at all because the service I got from Pearl National is certainly not worth even £20! Let alone £200. Companies are constantly trying to find ways to get consumers desperate for a bargain, to part with money. These teeth whitening companies, are scams! They charge a cheap rate for something that should cost more, and they do not invest into qualified people to do the job, because that will cost them too much. In other words, you get what you pay for.

As far ad Groupon. Is concerned, it's all about their public image and so they gave me my money back claiming to have no idea about how Pearl National operate, which I doubt is true. Groupons job is to sell high volumes on behalf of another company. I doubt they do much research into how good these companies actually are!

I would rather save up, and get it done professionally rather then go for a cheap fake fix! Please spread the word about Pearl National, they are rubbish, scanners and not worth your time and money. Let's start to be smarter consumers and not be drawn in by every so called bargain. Companies like these, think we are all stupid! If they want to make money, it's simple, invest in your business and people, and stop being cheapa and offering crap service!!!

Toothsmith

I think it's worth reposting this here

Another one is prosecuted successfully.

http://www.gdc-uk.org/Newsandpublications/Pressreleases/Pages/Court-imposes-fine-for-illegal-tooth-whitening-.aspx

January 2012

Court imposes fine for illegal tooth whitening

A Devon-based, ‘cosmetologist’ has been successfully prosecuted for offering tooth whitening treatment and ordered to pay a total of £1,872.
Tooth whitening is the practice of dentistry and only those registered with the General Dental Council (GDC) may lawfully offer it as a treatment.
On Thursday 22 December 2011 Mr Carl Espano, of 29 Western Road, Torquay, Devon, TQ1 4RJ pleaded guilty at West London Magistrates’ Court to practising dentistry when not registered with the GDC, contrary to section 38 (1) and (2) of the Dentists’ Act 1984.
He has been fined £1,000 and ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge. He has also been ordered to pay full costs to the GDC of £857.
Mr Espano, in mitigation for his actions, raised the House of Lords judgement in the case of ‘Optident and Another v Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and Another (2001) UKHL 32. However, the magistrates’ appeared to give this argument little or no weight when determining his sentence.
The Magistrates told Mr Espano:
“This is a serious offence, particularly for potential victims as you didn’t have any indemnity in place for any damage you might have done to any teeth. In addition, should you have damaged the adult teeth, a patient only has one set. Accordingly we view this as a serious offence.”
Chief Executive and Registrar of the GDC Evlynne Gilvarry said:
“We are committed to taking action against people who offer tooth whitening unlawfully. They are a risk to the people they treat and it is our duty act to ensure public safety.”

brook2jack

It is illegal for anyone other than a dentist or hygienist/ dental therapist working to a dentists prescription to assess someone as suitable for whitening or provide tooth whitening.

If you are thinking about tooth whitening or have been harmed by tooth whitening please read this http://www.gdc-uk.org/Newsandpublications/Publications/Publications/GDC_Tooth_whitening_leaflet%20(2).pdf

andyjonesx

I saw this teeth whitening a while back on Groupon but was rightfully scared off by all the complaints on the internet. I thought bad of Groupon for not investigating, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt.

I was shocked to see that today, 24th on January, that Groupon are again advertising Pearl National teeth whitening. They have obviously had a load of strong complaints, but they choose to run it again.

Groupon started off great. I had some great deals, that were too good to be true. Eventually, the 'too good to be true' became reality. It started with a couple of restaurants saying they couldn't deal with demand, then it was any excuse from any company.

I had a carpet cleaning service tell me they couldn't do it because I lived on the third floor. They hadn't asked me this or anything up front, and just said their health and safety certificate only allowed them to clean up to the second floor. I wasn't massively bothered, it was annoying as I had taken a day off work, but what annoyed me more was that one of the guys who came to do it acted like he was pulled off the street. When he was checking my place (before telling me he couldn't do it), his assistant was banging on the shared door, then decided to press the buzzers of every apartment in the building, continuously, until we were able to rush downstairs to him. Turns out he didn't actually want anything, just continued walking in circles around the drive. Weird.

With every refund I have requested due to companies not fulfilling the contract, Groupon have had the nerve to offer me "Groupon Credit" as a "gesture of goodwill" (which I quickly pointed out that having my money back was a statutory right).

More recently I asked to cancel a deal since I misunderstood the ToS. I then realised I hadn't misunderstood, and that it could have been interpreted in the way that I had originally read it, so quickly emailed them to not have the cancellation, but querying the wording of the deal. Realising that the ToS actually went in my favour, Groupon quickly cancelled my voucher with no other response, instead of replying to my query.

I think it just goes to show that Groupon has lost it's touch. It doesn't care about who it promotes, and doesn't have the slightest care for it's customers. Not the greatest business move when you have a model that can be easily replicated, with the only comparison between business being its customer care.

So, as of now I will cancel all my Groupon emails.

Jeff_Bridges_hair

Why is this thread in this part fo the forum? Would consuer rights or praise/vents/warnings board be more suitable?

Toothsmith

If you find non-dentists doing tooth whitening, it's worth reporting them to the General Dental Council.

They are now having some success in prosecuting these cowboys.


http://www.gdc-uk.org/Newsandpublications/Pressreleases/Pages/Court-imposes-fine-for-illegal-tooth-whitening-.aspx

Court imposes fine for illegal tooth whitening

A Devon-based, ‘cosmetologist’ has been successfully prosecuted for offering tooth whitening treatment and ordered to pay a total of £1,872.
Tooth whitening is the practice of dentistry and only those registered with the General Dental Council (GDC) may lawfully offer it as a treatment.

On Thursday 22 December 2011 Mr Carl Espano, of 29 Western Road, Torquay, Devon, TQ1 4RJ pleaded guilty at West London Magistrates’ Court to practising dentistry when not registered with the GDC, contrary to section 38 (1) and (2) of the Dentists’ Act 1984.

He has been fined £1,000 and ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge. He has also been ordered to pay full costs to the GDC of £857.

Mr Espano, in mitigation for his actions, raised the House of Lords judgement in the case of ‘Optident and Another v Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and Another (2001) UKHL 32. However, the magistrates’ appeared to give this argument little or no weight when determining his sentence.
The Magistrates told Mr Espano:

“This is a serious offence, particularly for potential victims as you didn’t have any indemnity in place for any damage you might have done to any teeth. In addition, should you have damaged the adult teeth, a patient only has one set. Accordingly we view this as a serious offence.”

Chief Executive and Registrar of the GDC Evlynne Gilvarry said:

“We are committed to taking action against people who offer tooth whitening unlawfully. They are a risk to the people they treat and it is our duty act to ensure public safety.”