Be Careful Out There! (Scammers Abound)

     As I sometimes do, I was sitting with the dogs this morning, just enjoying my Saturday. I was sipping coffee, thinking about making walnut bread, when I picked up my phone to check on a few quick recipes. As I did, an ad popped up, suggesting a connection to walnut bread, perhaps. It was a GPL-1 ad; selling an over the counter or through the internet supplment that could help a person who was obese to lose between 8-100 pounds; depending on the dose you ordered.

    They had a small, one-box offer for $16.99, accompanied by a virtual promise of losing 8 pounds in about three weeks. That sounded doable, and I wondered about their reviews. I checked them out online, and while it wasn't good, it wasn't bad either. I decided to order one box to see if the stuff really worked. That way, if it did, I could order another box and complete the job more efficiently and with a plan. It didn't work out that way!

    I ordered the one box, and while scrolling through to check out, I had to click a few things to get to the payment section. The only problem is that, somehow, because of the buttons I pushed, I accidentally ordered another four boxes, but hey, they were half off! No, that's not what I wanted, and they had already charged me! They had already charged me, and they had already taken the money out of my account within seconds. I was duped, and I was mad.

    I'd been through this sort of thing before, recently in fact, and the bank won't simply agree not to pay since I used my debit card. I explained to the bank that I had only authorized one box, not five. They basically told me I could stop the payment, but they'd have to capture the card -- on a weekend. I couldn't get my new card until Monday, and I'd rather not wait. You just never know what could happen. I was pissed. 

    I wrote to the customer service department of the company, which is called NEWLLIFE, and I demanded my money back. I wasn't nice about it. I told the customer service rep that I would turn the matter over to the new Trump Administration - and someone would have oversight! I told them I would not allow them to continue to scam people like that. The area I needed to click was both faint in color and tiny in font size. I found it - after I had already paid.

    The service rep was kind enough to say she was refunding me, and she apologized for the inconvenience. It makes me wonder if it was because I was adamant or because I threatened to turn the matter over to a federal agency. Either way, they gave me my $52.47 back, and no, I did not accept her offer of only paying for one. I told her if her company chooses to flim-flam people the way they did, I was certain their product wasn't as nifty as they say it is.

    I must not have had enough coffee! Then again, I am only drinking decaf these days. My brain wasn't up and running like it should be, but whenever I hear the service reps on the phone and they not only have a foreign accent, but one all too familiar with scamming and would-be liars, it makes me shake my head. They had a much better website and setup than most. I was fooled (again), but hopefully, I'll start paying much closer attention and do the research completely before buying online, except for Amazon or Kroger.

    No, I'm not going to check to see if either Kroger or Amazon sells it - I'll stay fat. The rapture is coming soon anyway!

Photo Credit: Facebook.com