Beware of this (legal) Scam**..........Claire Hydrafirm

[Dave7]

Claire Hydrafirm.........skin cream.
Mrs Dave had "heard" that it was good and that you can order a small sample for £4.95.
So (silly me) I went on line and checked them out.........they seemed legit'.
I ordered one sample and paid £4.95 on the credit card.
3 WEEKS LATER the sample arrived TOGETHER WITH A COVERING LETTER WHICH SAID......
1) They will be sending me a jar every 30 days and taking £44.95 off my credit card
2) I have 2 weeks FROM DATE OF MY FIRST ORDER to cancel that agreement (bearing in mind I got that
letter 3 weeks after the order)
I immediately (5/12) contacted my credit card company who said they would put a stop on this company. Only to be told they had already taken 2 x £4.95 3 weeks ago.
I phoned credit card company again today (to double check) and was told they had now taken a further 2 payments of £45.00 = £90.00
Upshot is.............credit card company is refunding me all 4 payments and taking up a dispute with Claire Hydrafirm.
They are cancelling my card and issuing a new one...........this is because Claire have taken money using 2 different company names so theoretically could use more names etc.
**Apparently it is "legal" as they have (almost) stuck to the terms of agreement........even though they were sent 3 weeks later.
A salutary lesson indeed. I thought we may never get the sample and if so............its only £4.95 down the pan. Never expected this outcome...........I WILL be more careful in the future.

 

[swee'pea99]

Wow, that is bad. Just as well you paid by credit card. If you'd used a debit card you really would be stuffed.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Always, always read the small print.

 

[Dave7]

Wow, that is bad. Just as well you paid by credit card. If you'd used a debit card you really would be stuffed.

Indeed.............TBH I always use credit card if in any doubts..............just didn't expect that!!

 

[Dave7]

Always, always read the small print.

There was absolutely no small print. I have gone over it several time since.........absolutely NOTHING to indicate they would/might/may do this.
You can google it now...........the offer is clear and unambiguous.
Card company tells me It is the letter & terms they send 3 weeks too late that gives them the legal loophole.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

There was absolutely no small print. I have gone over it several time since.........absolutely NOTHING to indicate they would/might/may do this.
You can google it now...........the offer is clear and unambiguous.
Card company tells me It is the letter & terms they send 3 weeks too late that gives them the legal loophole.

The websites clairehydrafirm.nnn screams dodgy. No contact details, addresses, et cetera, if it was bike parts you'd know not to go within a mile of it, surely.

My security shouts at me if I try to land on any of the .com .net .org variants.

If there was absolutely no small print, as in "literally none" that's a big red flag. Glad your cc company is doing the right thing.

 

[swee'pea99]

It is the letter & terms they send 3 weeks too late that gives them the legal loophole.

I have absolutely no doubt that does not give them any loophole at all. What they are doing is criminal, unquestionably. They are stealing people's money. And if the authorities took action, there's a very good chance people would go to jail.

 

[Dave7]

I have absolutely no doubt that does not give them any loophole at all. What they are doing is criminal, unquestionably. They are stealing people's money. And if the authorities took action, there's a very good chance people would go to jail.

The card people tell me that the supplier could claim eg letter should have got to me within 2 days so technically they have not committed any crime. I am with you......everything tells me it IS a crime. Card people tell me best action is make as many people as possible aware of it via review sites or social media etc.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Terms and conditions like that must be published and accepted at time of purchase. Sending additional terms after a purchase is far from legal.

 

[Smokin Joe]

I'd be minded to contact a consumer program such as You and Yours on R4 or Rip Off Britain on the TV.

 

[MiK1138]

seems there are loads of these "TRIAL" offers doing the rounds and they are very well marketed, Friend of mine was caught in one for Sun cream after following an add from the online travel agent he booked his holiday with, same deal £4 postage for your "FIRST" sample then a recurring payment of X per month

 

[MichaelO]

There's a whole batch of different ones claiming to have featured on Dragon's Den. A link to a recent Daily Mirror (best I could do!) article

 

[Ian H]

Blimey! Even worse than Readers' Digest.

 

[jefmcg]

They are very clever. I just searched for the product. A lot of the results had "scam" on the title, but when you click them, it's basically an ad for the product. Only one mention the £49 charge, the others were clearly written by the company.


So even if this thread makes it high in Google search, it will probably be lost in the fake exposés.

 

[Drago]

Best way to avoid this is to give Biggs' card details.