Hydroxytone trial a scam

Posted by Cwazychicken on 2012-04-07:

That is horrible. Free trials that autoship are very very hard to get out of. I am not sure what you can do other than what you have done, which was cancel your credit card. If they take you to collections though, i would get a lawyer.

Posted by Old Timer on 2012-04-07:

In the real World outside of scams like this FREE means FREE. Not add S&H, then put the customer on an autoship. Don't let them cancel and keep banging away at their credit card as long as possible. They probably have their back covered though, in the very fine print on page 37 of their terms they spell all of this out.

You could very well be stuck for the current charges and will have to cancel your credit card to get rid of them. Best of luck to you!

Posted by lexophiliac on 2012-04-07:

You can stop it by going to their webpage and reading their FAQ's page which outlines the terms and conditions of the free trial offer and gives instructions on how to cancel. Here is their phone # and customer support email address:

Customer service number at 1-800-672-2259 or email support@hydroxatone.com, and they will cancel your membership immediately.

To avoid this scenario in the future it is always a good idea to read the terms and conditions of every company you consider doing business with. If the terms are non-existent or unclear, contact customer support for clarification before committing.

Posted by tnchuck100 on 2012-04-08:

Cwazy: The card was not canceled. Only the charges.
lexo: The OP already notified the company.
OT: You got it right.

Posted by lexophiliac on 2012-04-08:

tnchuck100 -
The offer is offered on many 3rd party sites, but membership must be cancelled directly through Hydroxatone by following the cancellation procedure outlined in the T&C of the trial offer which the OP did not read.

Posted by tnchuck100 on 2012-04-08:

lexo: "I notified the company ..."

"the company" IS Hydroxytone. Where did the OP indicate "the company" was not Hydroxytone? Where did you find in the the review that the OP failed to follow the procedure? Unless I missed something you are making assumptions not in the review.

Posted by lexophiliac on 2012-04-08:

tnchuck100 - Where in the review did the OP indicate the company they contacted to cancel was the official Hydroxatone website? There are more 3rd party sites that sell Hydroxatone products than the official Hydroxatone site itself. They all state that though you can order the product through their sites, to cancel membership you must go through Hydroxatone itself.

Not having the benefit of reading the T&C of the site it was ordered from, it would be easy for a consumer to mistakenly assume they could cancel via the same site. In any case, it is apparent from the review the OP attempted to cancel membership after the free trial time frame to cancel without financial obligation had passed, and is now being held accountable for payment by the company.

The OP clearly did not follow the cancellation procedure stated in the T&C, if she had, she would know that by accepting the free trial offer she would be enrolled in an autoship program and what her financial obligation and cancellation procedure was. She is clearly surprised by this.

The Op notified the company. Once. Never received a response. Was it the right company, the right dept.? Did the OP check her spam file?

The phone # I provided from the Hydroxatone website gives direct access to a live CSR from Hydroxatone. A direct appeal to a CSR or higher up in the company may yield a satisfactory outcome for the OP. It never hurts to ask.

Posted by tnchuck100 on 2012-04-08:

Yup, lexo, you're making assumptions not in the review.

You have assumed the OP did not use the Hydroxatone website. A poor assumption.

You assumed the time had past for cancellation. OP states it was withing 2 weeks. The Terms allow 30 days from receipt of the product. Another bad assumption.

You state "The OP clearly did not follow the cancellation procedure ..." Another assumption based on your previous questionable assumptions.

When commenting on a review it is best not to use assumptions that may or not be valid unless you qualify them as such.

Posted by lexophiliac on 2012-04-08:

And you are assuming the Op ordered from the official Hydroxatone website and is using the accepted definition of "couple" tnchuck100. Most people in my experience misuse that word regularly, myself included. When I say a couple of times, I could be referring to a handful of times.

The terms clearly state the consumer wishing to cancel membership must send the product(s) back within that 30 day period, (or will continue to receive autoshipments AND be charged for the free trial sample as well) which the OP in her review was unaware of, and which the OP did not do - no assumption there.

When rebutting comments on a review it is best to have a valid, qualifying argument.

The OP did not read the T&C and did not follow the policy and procedure to cancel membership. Nothing questionable there. The only thing questionable is whether or not the company will yield its policy in her case.

Posted by tnchuck100 on 2012-04-08:

Again, you are assuming too much. This is the OP's experience with Hydroxatone. There is no indication a third party site was used. There is no reason to assume the OP's "couple" was over 30 days. I assume you could continue to add assumptions till the cows come home.

I'm done. You're on your own.

Posted by lexophiliac on 2012-04-08:

Bottom line is the Op did not read the T&C of what she was agreeing to and authorizing, and did not follow the procedure to ensure proper cancellation whether or not a 3rd party site was used, whether or not it was over 30 days, and is being charged accordingly. No assumption there, just a logical conclusion based on the Op's own words.

Posted by jktshff1 on 2012-04-08:

Were the unordered products returned?

Posted by Cwazychicken on 2012-04-08:

Ok well if they cancel the card it should stop but i have read other reviews that it does not stop, that they threaten with phone call, send letters in the mail. If they do that, they just might take them to collections. Talking to someone with legal advice would not be a bad idea in this case.

As far as wherever they ordered it from, it has been known that this company has had many many problems with their autoship (being told they could send it back in 30 days from when they get it, when its actually 30 days from when they send it out.) So i tend to think the OP did order it from the site. It is not easy to cancel from these things. I have done so before and had to change bank accounts...not from this company but another "free trial" similar thing or a beauty product.