Trial beauty kit costs £57.95

lizziebabe

Mmmm..... I ordered the dead sea kit then immediately regretted it and e-mailed me to tell me it was too late and the order had been shipped. :eek:
I found it on my door step in the rain covered by a flimsy piece of cling film. So I didn't sign for it.
I have e-mailed them to get a UK address to return it and also mentioned the DSR. I have been in touch with my bank and asked them not to authorise any more payments to this company. I have told them if they do not send me a UK address then I will be in touch with HMRC and trading standards. I don't want to post it to Israel and incur further costs.
Is there anything else I can do? Please help.

wealdroam

lizziebabe wrote: »

Mmmm..... I ordered the dead sea kit then immediately regretted it and e-mailed me to tell me it was too late and the order had been shipped. :eek:
I found it on my door step in the rain covered by a flimsy piece of cling film. So I didn't sign for it.
I have e-mailed them to get a UK address to return it and also mentioned the DSR. I have been in touch with my bank and asked them not to authorise any more payments to this company. I have told them if they do not send me a UK address then I will be in touch with HMRC and trading standards. I don't want to post it to Israel and incur further costs.
Is there anything else I can do? Please help.

There is now a UK address on the bottom of every page of their website.

lizziebabe

Thanks wealdroam

But their T&C's say don't send kit to the London address. I'm thinking if I haven't signed for the product they can't prove that I have received it! Luckily as yet I have not been charged the full price for the kit and I've authorised my bank not to give payments to this company. I did cancel the order but they say it was too late and I've cancelled the refills on my account page.

pontecake72

Alex
you might regret posting here once word gets out! but well done for offering your services:T
My mother is in her 70's and uses the internet rarely. She is normally very sensible and savvy so what possessed her to go for this I do not know (probably as shes 70 and doesnt want to be!)
Anyway as you can guess she went for the "free risk-free trial" in November, not realising there was anything more attached to it.
As with all other stories the products (Dermajeuvanate and Dead Sea Kit) were dellivered with no documentation so she had NO idea she had to return them to deactivate the "contract".
Her credit card statement came through mid January and she saw that she had been charged £89.91 and £87.95 respectively mid December (14 days after P&P charges were charged).
She immediately called her credit card company to find out why and it was they who informed her of the "contract". They advised her that they could do nothing except stop any further payments to the companies.
She immediately emailed the 2 companies (same company I beleive) and whilst she received a reply back from deadseakit she had nothing from Dermajeuvanate.
On contacting the credit card company (Halifax) again she was informed that another charge of £89.94 had gone onto her account - 3 days after her stop! Unless she can prove she has sent the products back - that she received 4 days AFTER the stop was put on! She was destraught and the "helpful" bank told her that they couldn't do anything as it must have been processed at the time of her stop. They did however give her a number to call for Dermajeuvanate. She called them and after much debating has managed to get £70 refunded (and she gets to keep the product - whoopidoo!) however only "if she agrees to not take the matter any further"! (Blackmail????)
I am taking the matter up as I am disgusted at this treatment.
I have since researched and can see that the ASA (Advertising Standards Agency) have upheld complaints that the online marketing for Deadseakit (MD Marketing) is misleading and contravenes advertising standards with the UK.
Having gone back to the Halifax to advise them of this ruling they have advised that there is nothing they can do....even if the selling was technically "illegal".
My mother is a pensioner and has been so careful with her money over the years. She does not have the spare cash to spend £177 on products that she doesn't want or need or even asked for!
Alex, as an employee of these companies please can you offer help and advise on how this money can be returned to her without me having to go through the process of trading standards, ASA, and small claims court!!
Thank you

wealdroam

Are your goods sent to customers direct from Israel?

This customer seems to think you send goods out from within the UK...

KB1 wrote: »

100% guaranteed posted in the UK and delivered by DPD, possibly they use others. The distributor is UK based so the return must be within the UK not Israel. No customs documents as it was not posted overseas.

NOTE. No address of sender but was posted with DPD WITHIN THE UK, only the address to be delivered attached.

So again, why should the customer have to return to Israel?

Alex, please can you comment on this...

bazster wrote: »

It also seems to me that a for a UK-based company to offer a return address in Israel is tantamount to a refusal to accept returns, also a breach of the DSR.

and this...

bazster wrote: »

Lots of things we all buy are made in China, no-one asks us to return them to China when faulty or unwanted!

Regardless of where the product originates, it is being sold in the UK by a UK-registered company. Expecting returns to be sent to Israel is ludicrous and, I would guess, a breach of the DSR.

andchar

I am currently in a similar situation as several other members. I ordered and within one hour had emailed them to cancel once I realised it was a scam. They did not reply within the 24 hours they promised... imagine my surprise when they emailed 48 hours later to say sorry but the item had already been posted.
I have been in email contact with Greta and Stephen and when I threatened legal action if they did not provide me with a UK returns address I received the following email response from Victoria:

The majority of the so called ''beacons of consumer awareness''-websites , purporting to offer unprejudiced and objective feedback, left by real customers, regarding companies operating with dubious policies, are THEMSELVES THE BIGGEST SCAMS EVER!

I cannot begin to recount how many times we have been contacted by such companies, and offered to pay money, at the exchange of a few comments removed?

Do you go by such companies, and would you trust a company trying to extort other companies, to be in business?

They feed off negative feedback, and will, if needed, find people to pay to leave negative comments.

I look forward to your response to the points raised above.

I also confirm that, exactly in light of the fact many customers left negatives, as they were not under the assumption they were going to get auto refill replenishment kits, we have recently REVOKED all automatic enrollments , and have discontinued all customers' subscriptions, thus allowing those who are happy to continue to receive their products on a recurring basis to do so, by simply proceeding to click on a link and re-enter their billing details (we sent one blanket e-mail to all customers).

Kind regards,

Victoria
Customer Satisfaction Specialist
Dead Sea Beauty Kit, a product of DS Marketing Limited


If anyone has any further tips and advice for me it would be greatly appreciated - I have yet to receive the products and do not know where I stand on refusing to sign (in all likelihood I will be at work when delivery is attempted) or simply "returning to sender"

dalesrider

andchar wrote: »

If anyone has any further tips and advice for me it would be greatly appreciated - I have yet to receive the products and do not know where I stand on refusing to sign (in all likelihood I will be at work when delivery is attempted) or simply "returning to sender"

You have cancelled.
If the goods arrive and you do not have to sign for them. Well thats their loss. As they cannot prove delivery.
So you could simply check them in the bin.... Or just mark as return to sender and let them stand the return cost.

If they need signing. Simply refuse.

Oh and if they debit your account.

DO NOT MESS AROUND WITH CONTACTING THE COMPANY

Go straight to your bank. With the date of cancelation and get your money back...

Each chargeback costs them $15.

andchar

Thanks for the advice

Unfortunately my neighbour signed for the goods. Apparently the sender has instructed DPD to allow delivery without a signature - either with a neighbour or leaving it in a safe place. I contacted DPD and they said their contract was with the seller and I should contact them.

I know the goods were sent from a warehouse in Rugby, Warwickshire from a company called The Fulfilment Store.

Any idea what rights I have if I return the goods to them? Incidently, DPD said they could have easily cancelled the delivery at any point - DS Marketing said "unfortunately your item has already shipped" after not getting back to me within the 24 hours promised on their website. Does this mean they failed to honour my cancellation request?

Thanks for any advice - I have contacted my bank but if the contract is enforceable they will be able to debit over £90 - not something I want to happen!!

andchar

I have sent all of the above info including the judgement from the ASA about their breaches of advertising standards on their website. I assume this makes my "contract" with them non-enforceable as they have misrepresented themselves.

They also say on their website that "Our products are shipped from our factory in Israel" yet I have confirmation from DPD that the goods came from the warehouse in Warwickshire.

Again, I have pointed out that this again breaches consumer law.

The person who I am currently in contact with is Alex (presumably the same "helpful" chap who posted here although I notice he has not responded to the legal challenges)

I will post any response he gives me here - hopefully it will help out anyone else duped by this scam It's good to know I'm not the only one!

dalesrider

andchar wrote: »

Thanks for the advice

Unfortunately my neighbour signed for the goods. Apparently the sender has instructed DPD to allow delivery without a signature - either with a neighbour or leaving it in a safe place.
Thanks for any advice -!!

What a shame....
:T
Still its not your signature and even if DPD took a picture of the house. Its not yours....
So no actual proof of delivery to you is there. (catch my drift)

Same if DPD leave the goods unsigned.... well I never got them. And the company cannot prove otherwise.