Getting Your Money Back

A friend-of-a-friend works for a credit card company. I asked J to ask her for some tips on getting your money back if you were scammed by an on-line "wonder treatment" company, such as Gordon's Herbal Research Center.

The sweetheart came back with a goldmine of information: Here it is:

"DISPUTE" First you must understand that filing a dispute through your bank is more costly to these companies than the price of their product. If you call them and they refuse to refund the money, threaten a to file a dispute with your bank or credit card.

Most companies will fold if you do this, and return your money because -even if they win the dispute, it will cost them more to fight it than to refund the money in the first place.

So call the products Customer Service first and tell them you are going to dispute it with your bank, and if they won't help you out, file the dispute anyway!.  Even if you don't win, you will know that you have cost them probably as much money as they cost you, with a nice helping of aggravation on the side. (HA! I have been telling people to go straight to their credit card company!)

Attorney General- for those in the United States, it never hurts to threaten to go to your State AG. When enough complaints, or even ONE good complaint go to his office and they decide to investigate, companies and those associated with it are suspended and prohibited to do business until the investigation is finished.

WOW!  I didn't know that last part!  Like I said: Gold.  Most of the scammers use CCNow to process their payments. CCNow is owned by Digital River, a publicly traded US company. If the AG decided to shut down anyone who did business with (say) Gordon's Habitual Scamming Center, they would shut down CCNow!  Wow!  And most of the people I hear from just happen to be in the States or -interestingly, in Australia.

Do we have anyone in Australia who knows if you can do a similar thing there?  I don't know if they have Attorney Generals Down Under, but I'm sure they have someone?  Besides the ACCC, I mean, because I have been a bit underwhelmed with them, to be honest. Let me know K? Thanks. (e-mail link is on the top left if you are shy).

Special thanks to J's friend for this information, BTW.

-Just a little note: Most of the companies I cover don't have phone numbers listed, but they have e-mail addresses or online forms. You can do the same thing via e-mail (i.e threaten a dispute). Or if you prefer to pick up the phone,  you can call CCNow, which is the company all of the scammers I have outed use to handle their billing. Calling CCNow will get the message across, because I assume that the CCNow people have direct access to to the scammers, which we do not.

And I am pretty sure CCNow don't want the Attorney General on their behinds.

Comments

[Danielle]

In Western Australia we have DOCEP (Department of Consumer and Employee Protection). http://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/ConsumerProtection/

I think each state/territory has a similar government department to deal with consumer complaints.

I have never dealt with the ACCC but I have dealt with DOCEP (and my complaint was successfully resolved).

[One Sick Mother]

Thanks for that info, Danielle,

I'm sure that will help somebody who might have been scammed.

OSM

[raelle howard]

Hi has anyone actually purchased any of these items? & did you take the pill to see if it improved your problem? Thanks ,Just curious

[Grateful]

Hi, Thanks for the info, I was thinking of ordering some of their products (Solutions by Nature) and just decided to look up the actual website that they claim to represent... and found your post, you have just saved me around $100 Aussie dollars.

Keep up the good work and a big THANKS

[Teresa Boraas]

I just received my shipment. Now I found your information. I purchased mine for lymphoma and the bottle they sent from Pakistan says Mopical Herbal Remedy. I would be willing to try it but I am wondering if anyone has actually taken it before or are all of you just throwing it away? I do not think Mopical is even a word :(

[Chris]

Thankyou so much for this information you saved me $100 and the risk of taking something dangerous. I actually purchased a bottle of phlereton which I never received then found your site and asked for a refund. This was initially ignored but using your info to threaten with a dispute to CC Now I was finally refunded.
Thankyou again for this website, good work!

[DBush]

I ordered the "melseton" March 5th 2010 and it was shipped out on the 8th of March according to CCNow. I have not recieved the product nor have I had success with reaching the gordonsherbal.com

[Carole in Adelaide]

I trusted the website and paid my money in January 2010, and after several e-mails later still have not received my order. So please anybody out there with polymyalgia do not trust Gordon or his bogus herbal remedy.

[Margaret Timms]

Very many thanks for your good advice re Gordon's Herbal Research and CCNOW. In desperation I sent for Repeton for Neuropathy and received it last week but when I saw it was posted in Pakistan I researched the name Penetron and found your site. I clicked on How to get your money back and immediately rang Mastercard but got little help and rather complicated advice; they said as I had authorised the payment they couldn't cancel it. I had paid through PayPal so I e-mailed G.H.R Center and told them I did not think the tablets were fit for purpose and if they did not refund my $89.00 within 4 days I would file a dispute with my Credit Card company; contact the TV Presenters of Watchdog in the U.K. and the Attorney General of Texas and alert them to CCNOW as well. Today I had an e-mail from PayPal that CCNOW had refunded my money and it would appear in my Mastercard statement in a few days. Thanks again, Margaret.

[Linda Ojeda]

I purchased Plenical Herbal Remedy for lichen planus in April 2010, received it in May. Took for 4 days and after 4 days I am still sufferring from stomach cramps and diarrhea.

[Gwen Hilst-Russell]

I cannot thank you enough! I followed your exact instruction, contacted my bank, cancelled my card and within ONE WEEK I received my refund of $80.00 from CC NOW for the wonder med (HA) I ordered from Solutions by Nature. YOU ARE AWESOME! If you ever know of anything that will help with Granuloma Acculare, plz e:mail me at [email protected].

My most sincere regards,

GEHR
Illinois

[Gwen Hilst-Russell]

Oh....wanted to let you know I also filed a complaint with Complaint Referral Form Internet Crime Complaint Center..... not sure what exactly helped but got my refund!

[Gwen Hilst-Russell]

Update....well after receiving my refund and a week later, I actually received a package in the mail today. I have not opened it and not sure I want to. No return address just a label that says Pakistan Post. On the back of this package it is stamped "MAK International" 2nd Floor, 33-Z, Commercial, DHA, LCCHS, Lahore, Pakistan. Definately a scam and sad I was suckered in!

[Silvia Peluso]

I have been waiting now for 9 days to get my order form "solution by nature" so I went to look at there site again, had a bad feeling, but it was gone. Instead your post came up thank you so much for this report and helpfull information. I immediately called our credit card company and they are refunding me now. They told me they will contact the supplier and will get back to me about it. I will keep you posted...

[Harriet McCreary]

Thanks so much for your very informative site which, unfortunately, I found after ordering and receiving my product for "cureing" my hand tremors. I focused on the ingredients but until I got the product didn't pay enough attention to the rest until I noted the package marked "pakistan post" supposedly from a company in Norway. Will be taking the steps to get my money back and make sure I do as much as I can to keep others from having the same issue.
Again - thanks a million for your assistance.
Harriet