Trolling the Internet at 1 a.m. -- not a smart move...

Nouvebelle and Bellesse Product Scam

                           

Friday afternoon, while I was trying to handle two forest fires that I was quickly losing control of, (my euphemism for work situations that move from low on the totem pole, to where the entire pole is engulfed in flames), I received a phone call from Fraud Detection which my Credit Union uses to protect its members. It wasn’t clear to me at that point what was happening when I was told there were two suspicious charges on my credit card. The names of the companies mentioned were from charges made back in January, but it seems I was being re-charged. The person suggested I call the company and gave me a number.

When I arrived home, Mary mentioned that the Credit Card Fraud Detection had left a message and gave a case number. Now, when I heard the words “case number” my little antennas started twitching. So I decided to call back and get the whole story since I wasn’t too attentive to the earlier call. Remember, forest fires were blazing wildly when I took that earlier call.

Well, I made the call and things quickly changed from “that’s not a big deal” to “oh shit, hundreds of dollars are being charged on my credit card that I know nothing about”, in a span of less than 60 seconds. As I started to panic the nice voice on the end of the line explained to me what was happening in a very calm soothing voice. She told me her name was Rhonda.

Well, it seems my midnight trolling on the Internet back on January 24th, bit my “credit card wallet” big time. I had found a page about “Nouvebelle” an anti-aging face cream that I could get a “risk free trial” for only the price of shipping ($4.95). The page also suggested getting “Bellesse,” a Vitamin C anti-aging eye serum that worked well with “Nouvebelle.” That sounded awesome to me, since those deep wrinkles around my eyes were growing bigger every morning that I look into the mirror. Oh yes, that too came with a “risk free trial” and the shipping cost of that product was $6.95. Hey, it sounded like a great deal at 1 a.m.

Rhonda, the nice voice on the phone, explained to me that in very small print somewhere on their webpage was a disclaimer explaining that I was joining a membership program in which I would automatically be charged monthly for the company’s products. Now, this would happen through the credit card that I so willingly typed in on the website for the shipping costs of what I thought were “free samples.” 

Yikes! And, the monthly cost for “Bellesse” the anti-aging eye serum is $92.74 a month while the “Nouvebelle” anti-aging cream is $97.83 a month! On top of that, there was another charge on my credit card from a company called “Eyes Awakened” that I never heard of, much less ordered, and they are based in the United Kingdom. The other two are based in New Jersey. 

Rhonda mentioned that it is not unusual for these companies to share credit card information with other similar membership programs. I asked what I could do and Rhonda mentioned several options. I could dispute the charges with the companies involved and also with my credit card company and I could cancel my credit card. She mentioned that the United Kingdom one was going to be a tough nut to crack (not her exact words, mine sound better). She’s right, because if I tell them that Governor Christie is a relative that won’t mean a thing to them but it might to the two companies located in New Jersey!

Somewhere in this phone call I had Rhonda chuckling because I kept saying over and over “Mary, my partner, is going to kill me.” By the way, Mary had warned me that trolling the Internet wasn’t a bright idea. No shit.

Rhoda – Thank you so much for educating me about reading the small print and telling me the options I have available to get out of this mess. You were so patient with me. I promise, no more midnight trolling on the Internet! And, as you can tell, Mary didn’t kill me after all, but she is shaking her head a lot.

I called my credit card company and canceled my card. I agreed to fill out a dispute form regarding the transactions that I didn’t make. I was also told to call the companies to ask if they would reverse the charges made on my card. 

I called the number for the United Kingdom group that I was given earlier in the day, the recorded voice said to have the credit card I placed my purchase with available to give to the customer service representative that would soon come on the line. Are you kidding me??? I hung up.

So last night around 5:30 p.m., I was trying to get up the nerve to call the other two companies. I was waiting for Mary to get back from the store with a bottle of white wine before I called. Well, after enjoying the wine, I decided to wait and call them on Monday. And they most likely would be closed for the weekend anyway, right?

Finally, I called the company with the number that I was given by the Credit Card Fraud and ended up talking to Austin. I told him I didn’t want to pay for either product and he said I would have to return both products to get a refund. I was told that I had to mail each product separately to Healthy Essentials which is located in the United Kingdom. Austin kindly gave me the mailing address for a P.O. Box in West Lothian, United Kingdom. This is where things started looking fishy since both items were mailed to me in one box and they were mailed from within the U.S.

With all this information, I went off to mail them. Here is where it got real tricky. To send my two packages to the United Kingdom by UPS was going to cost about $60 each and, oh by the way, UPS doesn’t deliver to a P.O. Box. Isn’t that convenient? And I’ll bet their marketing department knew about that loop hole. And, if I went through the Postal System, it was less expensive, but I would need to fill out a U.S. Customs Form for each package.

At this point I gave up in sheer frustration. I figured it was a lost cause. Why should I spend a lot of money on postage or try to negotiate filling out Custom Forms, when I didn’t even know if I’d ever get back the $200.57 charged on my credit card? (Actually, I believe this is also part of the company’s marketing strategy). If a person is given a complicated process, she might just give up and not fight for a refund.

I stewed for several hours.  I then looked at that product boxes and I noticed that the two 800 #’s on them were different than the one I was originally given by the Credit Card Fraud department. Also, the one box was labeled manufactured for Nouvebelle Skin Care, 419 Cedar Bridge Ave. Lakewood, NJ. And the other was manufactured for Bellesse at the same address. Yet, I was given the address for the United Kingdom and that company was named Healthy Essentials.

Then I called one of the 800 #s and spoke to Melody who, I found out, was talking to me from Florida. Wow, I’m now dealing with a company with offices in New Jersey, Florida and United Kingdom. That’s impressive. I explained to Melody what Austin had told me and she agreed that sending the two items back to the United Kingdom was my only option to get refunded especially since I kept the products past the 14-day return policy. 

What return policy? She mentioned all of this was in the terms and conditions which I failed to read because I didn’t know there were conditions on a “free risk trial.”  Also, remember I mentioned that the ad for Bellesse said that I only had had to pay for shipping and I would get a 30-day supply? I never saw anything on either webpage that said anything about 14 days.

At this point, I am really annoyed and I start asking Melody to slowly repeat what she had told me because I was trying to write it all down. I explained that I wanted to get all the details so I could write about this experience on my blog. After that comment she put me on hold for several minutes. 

When she came back on the line she offered me a refund of $140. I’m no fool. Well, yes I am, because I got myself into this mess in the first place. I said yes, that I would accept that amount as a refund. Melody informed me that my credit card would get refunded within a week. Several days went by and the $140 was credited to my now closed credit card account. Yippy Skippy!

Lesson learned. Never troll the Internet at 1 a.m. without reading the terms and conditions of whatever items you are purchasing. And anything that says “free risk trial,” tread carefully.

Ah… what price beauty?

Until the next time...