Face cream trial scams

[Saffy]

Can I just warn anybody who is considering applying for free trials of "miracle" face creams not to do it because they are total scams! I foolishly sent off for one that is heavily advertised on Facebook.
It appeared to be endorsed by Helen Worth (Gail from Coronation Street). The trial consisted of 2 separate creams & the only cost was the postage. Loads of comments follow from women who have used it & now look 10 years younger! Anyway thinking I had nothing to lose I sent off £4.95 & a few days later the creams arrived.
What I hadn't realised was that I had inadvertently signed myself into a contract (hidden cleverly in the small print) which entitled the company to debit my card after 14 days for more creams.
I was only aware of this when my bank called to ask about unusual activity in my account.
I had been charged £95 for some cream & they were trying to take out another £65 which the bank stopped. Needless to say I never received the £95 cream & had a very difficult job to get them to cancel my so called contract. After looking into this on the internet I found that this scam is fooling people not just here, but in the USA & Australia with some poor people losing a great deal of money. There are complaints galore, & apparently the creams are rubbish!
I'm just grateful that my bank acted so quickly, but feel more than a little foolish & gullible!!!

 

[iloveshopping]

Thanks for the warning. Is it worth contacting Facebook to get the page removed?

 

[Saffy]

I'm not sure whether Facebook can do anything to stop these adverts but one of the creams is called equinox & there is an equinox Facebook page full of people who have been conned!

 

[iloveshopping]

Sounds like Facebook is a good place to check before buying from adverts.

 

[donna255]

Oh dear Saffy. Its all in the small print which they hide or people get over excited and don't read. These appear on the Moneysaving site all the time, Praise, Rant and Vent section.

They just use different zelebs each time and I doubt they even know they are being used.

Facebook will do nothing, the company will says its all in the terms and conditions. So unless you can prove its not in the terms and conditions they won't care. Hopefully you get your money refunded quickly, you will have to return the products.

I see the ads popping up all the time on FB and take no notice.

 

[Saffy]

Thanks Donna ... Wish I had taken no notice! I've seen these adverts for years & ignored them but was feeling low at the time & thought "what the heck"

 

[donna255]

I know Saffy, you just fancy a treat. I do ebay wandering for something nice and hopefully cheap.

 

[madmax]

Don't be to hard on your self Saffy many moons ago I got caught up in a very similar type of scam only it was for some sort of Chinese herbs to help with weight loss (my very own bug bare) it was the same type of thing only pay £4.95 P&P to give these "mirrical! pills and tea bags a months "trial". And yes in the Small print it stated exactly the same as you found. ££££ to be taken from my account every 4 weeks for ever more.
My bank also picked up on it and stopped the payments before I lost any money apart from my original P&P, but boy did I feel silly, I thought I knew all the tricks and scams but still got caught out.
The people who run these scams are devious, nasty little worms who play on peoples inner insecurities and need to be dealt a dose of their own medicine.

 

[Akimbo]

Thanks for the tip off, this is just the sort of thing I'd fall for, usually late at night when I can't sleep and the cynical side of my brain has powered down for the night. Some of my daftest QVC purchases happened at this time!

 

[Saffy]

That's my problem too! I'm a chronic insomniac & half the time my brain is befuddled!