Don’t become a victim.
Not long ago, I had a customer contact me. She was having trouble getting her money back form an online store. She, like many people, didn’t t know that there are ways you can keep from being taken advantage of. In this blog and the next, I’ll be telling you what to watch for and what you can do if you get scammed
It may not be illegal but it certainly isn’t right.
She wasn’t really “scammed” and the Hoodia company she dealt with wasn’t doing anything illegal but she had failed to read the small print. Is she alone on this? Heck no, how many of us take the time to wade through all that legalese just to buy something? The site looked to be reputable but looks can be deceiving.
Misleading advertising
She was a victim of misleading advertising. In this case, the company offered free shipping and a free month’s trial of a product. Sounds great right? Well in the small print they tell the buyer that by signing up they are allowing the company to send monthly products and charge X number of dollars plus shipping and handling every month. It also gave details of what must be done to return a product. In this case, a fairly complicated process.
Hiding in the small print.
There is nothing wrong with selling monthly refills on a subscription basis, it’s just that to be on the up and up, the offer should have been made known from the start. It should not have been hidden in the small print.
While researching this blog I found that several companies are guilty of this. It gave me a rather negative feeling about them so I decided to delve deeper. I started investigating these Hoodia sites.
(By the way, this is a universal problem, not just one pertaining to Hoodia sales. I just looked at Hoodia web sites because that is what this blog is about.)
Bogus contact information.
Many of the sites had “Contact Us” information that didn’t work. That means that when I wrote to them, no one answered my emails. When I called their 800 number for customer service, it didn’t work. In one case, the number had been transferred to another store. They had answered so many calls from unhappy customers that they had located the new number for the unscrupulous store and was giving it out to callers.
I also found that many sites did not have phone numbers for anything
except taking orders. The numbers connected with operators in foreign countries. They were taking orders for several online stores and could offer no help with customer service.
Getting a refund.
So, did my customer get her money back? Well, she is working on it. When I did get to speak to the store’s contact person they said they would not refund the money unless they were supplied with a copy of the tracking number for the returned product and a copy of the paperwork they had emailed the customer. (She had already sent all this in but they denied getting it.) That to me is just another way of putting off returning money. If a store does that with hundreds of customers, they have thousands of dollars to work with that really isn’t theirs. It’s like getting a free loan form the customer instead of a real loan from a bank. To stay legal, these stores will eventually return your money but they find ways to keep it for as long as possible.
What you can do.
So what can you the customer do to be sure the company is on the up and up?
- Read the fine print before purchasing.
- Realize that anything “free” will have a hook, find out what it is.
- Check out the contact information to see if it really works.
- Read the return policy.
- If anything looks too complicated, realize that you may have to jump through hoops to get your money back. Ask yourself if the savings are worth it.
- If anything looks too expensive, check with similar sites to see if the prices are in line.
- Realize that really low priced or “cheap” pricing will have a reason and it may be one you don’t want to deal with. (Poor customer service for example.) It is true: “You get what you pay for.”

Should you check with the Better Business Bureau?
If you are spending a large amount or more than you can afford to lose, you might want to check the company out with the Better Business Bureau. . If you are in Canada go to http://www.bbb.org/.
You will need to go to the BBB in the home town of the company you are dealing with. (This can sometimes be hard to locate as unscrupulous companies tend to hide any information that helps you find out more about them.) I was shocked at how many sites gave no information what so ever about their physical location.
If they have not been in business for at least a year they will not have a rating. If they know they are getting complaints they will not join the BBB. All this makes it difficult to find out about a company.
Making returns.
Once you have checked out the company and made the purchase you may still have a problem. You may not be happy and want to make a return. Here’s the best way to do it:
- Make the return using a tracking system and keep all paperwork. That way, they can’t say you didn’t make the return.
- Never send the original documents. Send copies & make sure you keep a copy.
- Unfortunately, in most cases you will have to be persistent & check frequently about the status of the refund.
- If your credit card has not yet paid the company, contact them & dispute the charge. (I’ll explain exactly how to do this in my next blog.)
Hopefully this information will help keep you from losing money to an unscrupulous business. If you live in the US or Canada, the government has several regulations to help prevent scamming. If you have been taken advantage of, report the company to the Better Business Bureau and Federal Trade Commission.
Share you experiences with us here on this blog. Have you been scammed? What did you have to do to get your money back?
Remember that at Lose Easy Diet Products we pride ourselves in customer service and all our products carry a money back guarantee. When you contact us, the owner, (that’s me) will be the person that takes your calls and emails. I will make it right and you will be satisfied. I guarantee it!
Linda Hayes,
Lose Easy Diet Products

One stop shopping for all your Hoodia needs.