Beware Dazzle White Scam

This scam has cost me £180 so far, and rising.

I feel a complete idiot, but want to warn others not to get caught out like I did. Talk about naive....

I saw a post on a chat forum (can't remember which one but pretty sure no one on SF would be mean enough to do it,) recommending a product called dazzle white, a tooth whitening pen, and mentioning that they got it via a trial offer, so I looked up the website offer.

Sure enough it was a free trial and the ad went on for pages with video clips, audio, and testimonials etc. A very expensive and genuine looking set up.

I filled in the application and sent it off and it duly arrived. It was rubbish, but that's not the point.

I checked my bank account later and found £3.99 had been deducted, I remembered it was for postage and packing and thought no more of it.

Then a few days later another £7.44 appeared which I couldn't account for, then a day or two later a whopping £59.99! I emailed the company to be told that I should have returned the 'sample' within 14 days and cancelled the order, but if I returned what was left they would refund the money. Phew...I was able to relax again.

Big mistake - that was only the start. Talk about lulled into a false sense of security. Payments then started coming out for things I'd never ordered, didn't know anything about, and never received. £3.82, £49.18, £5.41, £50.35all in less than a month, no paperwork, nothing received, companies I'd never heard of, no phone numbers to call or email, nothing. I phoned the bank but because I'd supposedly sanctioned direct debits they couldn't stop them.

Far too late I started trying to track down these companies on the internet to find a raft of complaints about the scam I was now involved in. It seems somewhere on the original free sample application hidden in the small print I have agreed to 'free samples' from other companies (which according to other complainants are all actually the same one) all of which can now take money from my account.

The ones I have tracked down so far are: Dazzle White, Extreme White, White Smile, Elite Pack, Pristine Health, (these account for the £180 so far gone missing from my account)

Also.... Dazzle Smile, Dazzle Smile Pro, Will B Health, World Club Fitness, VH Access, Beauty pack, Weight loss Resources, Weight loss Research, Bright Smile, Smile Bright, Ulti Fresh, Comprehensive weightloss, Natural Health Systems, Kitaccess, Insider Secret Tips... and these are just the ones I know about so far.

Now it seems the only way to stop them is to close down my bank account with all the inconvenience that will cause.

I thought I was fairly sensible and clued up about paying for things on the internet, I use it often for home shopping, but one stupid slip and this is what can happen. So if you see any of the above companies mentioned, give them a very wide berth.

I'd get onto the bank and tell tem you're a victimof fraud, they should be able to stop any future payments and hopefully reverse the others.

Can I also say to everyone: NEVER use home-based tooth whitening products, they can seriously damage your teeth in SO many ways.

Secondly, you're entitled to ALL of your money back. The bank can't tell you what payments you were supposed to have made. If those payments were taken out, you're entitled to get them back.

There are so many fraudsters out there. The latest scam with my store is placing an order and cancelling the payment before it even gets to me in the hope that I'll send out the goods without checking. People are so thoughful!

Good luck with getting your money back

I`d get onto the bank and tell them your a victim of stupidity ........ and hope they are sympathetic

thanks for the warning though.

You shouldn't need to close your bank account. You can cancel the Direct Debit through your bank - meaning no more claims can be made. They should really have advised you of this (if you have a record of that conversation, be sure to keep it as if they've falsely advised you they can't stop/recall DD's in process you have a very strong complaint and a good chance of getting those payments back (in full, and immediately)).

Not sure where you would stand on getting any already-processed money back if you "agreed" to them taking money (no matter how sneaky they were). However, there is (or certainly used to be) a "return code" the banks could use (something like "account holder disputes prior notice/amount"). Depending on the timescales, your bank may be able to reverse the payment and put the money back in your account - under the Direct Debit scheme you're entitled to a full and immediate refund if the bank or claimant makes an error, you might just be able to swing it. Definitely talk to your bank because even if they close your account and give you a new one they could well transfer all existing DD's to the new one and therefore accomplish nothing. I'd do it in person too - go to your local branch.

I`d get onto the bank and tell them your a victim of stupidity ........ and hope they are sympathetic

thanks for the warning though.

As the bank has decided to be unhelpful, you could mention the banking ombudsman to them. Or maybe you could instruct them that you don't want them to action any DDMs unless personally signed for by you? Hope you get it sorted.

So. The OP probably signed up to this agreement (or similar):

"When you place your order today with DazzleSmile, you will automatically become a part of our elite customer club. Your active credit card will only be billed $4.95 for the shipping of your 14-day trial. If you choose to keep your trial, your active credit card will be billed the low member price of only $87.62 for your trial, and then again every 30 days should you continue to use DazzleSmile."

Always read Terms and Conditions, FAQ and other pages before buying.

http://www.dazzlesmilepro.com/terms-and-conditions.php

The dieting berry ACAI is exatcly the same, you send for a free trial and pay only for the postage, but if you read the small print its £70.00 ++ a month after that recuring.

http://www.maggiesacaiberrywarning.com

Some of this sounds like part of what they are doing is illegal, as you should be able to cancel the agreement you have entered. The rest of it is pretty clever though as it probably stays within the law.

Unless it is a well known company I would suggest never giving credit card details to sign up for trials. The same goes for those offers were you will pay nothing if you cancel after 30 days. They are all designed to make money by people forgetting or not reading the small print.

How can it be a scam if all the terms and conditions were shown on the form you accepted? If you couldn't be bothered to read them it's your own fault.

I'd report them to Consumer Direct, and Watchdog. That way the warning might reach a lot more people.

I'd give your bank hell - can't cancel Direct Debits, indeed! If that was true, I'd still be paying rental on a TV I gave up about a year ago, because they "forgot" to cancel the DD!!

It can be all too easy to fall for this sort of thing - does anybody really read all the terms and conditions??? Years ago, I fell for the spoof e-mail from E-bay asking me to confirm something and ended up with my account hijacked - how stupid is that??? So don't feel too bad about it, we all make mistakes sometimes. I hope you manage to get it sorted out.

Why not use a toothbrush a bit more?