Advocare

Advocare

October 14, 2006

This is a complaint about Advocare products, (health supplements, vitamins, etc.) and the way the company handles complaints.

I purchased Advocare health supplements because the salesperson assured me they were guaranteed. This is the ONLY reason I went forward with the purchase, because the products are so ultra expensive. In order for me to get set up with the basic products I supposedly needed, it cost $500.00. I tried the products and immediately, I didn't like them. I called my sales rep after just four days on the products to report this. She told me I hadn't given them a fair chance and to keep taking them. She also had the salespeople above her (this is a pyramid type sales company) call me to say the same .. just stick with them, you'll love them.

Foolishly, I did stick with them because I did agree that four days probably wasn't long enough to give them a fair try. I periodically spoke to the salesperson, always indicating that I was not seeing the results promised, etc. Just keep taking them, sometimes it takes a couple of months for the benefits to "kick in," is what I was always told.

At the end of the supply I had taken, I still was not favorably impressed, nor did I want to re-order, that's for sure! I began calling my salesperson to say I would like my money refunded, as she had told me up front when speaking to me about the guarantee. Problem was, she was no where to be found! I left message after message for her at numerous numbers and even through a couple of people who knew her, to know avail. She NEVER contacted me.

So I decided to contact the company directly. Since this is one of those pyramid sales, there's no building or office you can go to. I looked them up on the web, and emailed them through their website. Basically, they said, send back the UNOPENED products and I could get my money back. But wait! That's NOT what I had been told when she was trying to sell them to me. And how very CONVENIENT that she and the sales people above her kept telling me to USE the products because I might not see the benefit if I didn't use them for a couple of months. When she was trying to sell me the products, she never told me that there were any limitations on the guarantee or that if I actually used the product (d'uh!) that I couldn't get my money back.

So I wrote the company again, pointing out that the salespeople had insisted I wasn't giving the products a fair chance and to keep taking them. NEVER had they told me that had anything to do with the guarantee. All I had ever been told was that I would be satisfied, guaranteed. The company COMPLETELY IGNORED my second letter.

Now in addition to what I consider total misrepresentation of a guarantee, I want to mention how appalled I was when I was first ordering this product (over the phone) and the order taker started asking all these personal questions, like my date of birth and social security number. I said, what in the world do you want to know that for? They said, well, in order for you to sell the products we need to have this information. I said, SELL the products?!! I haven't even TRIED them yet. Why would I want to sell something I haven't even tried?!. But that's what kind of company this is. The second teir sales people even bragged to me about how much money they were raking in on this product. I thought pyramid sales was illegal, anyway.

All I wanted was to be treated fairly, and to get the guarantee I was promised.

So needless to say, I hated the products (which not only did not deliver on the results I was "guaranteed" they actually had the exact opposite effect.) and I hate the company for their lousy customer service. I don't see how this will ever be resolved since both the sales person and the company refuse to even communicate with me. Which means I am out my $500.00. That's a lot of money, to me.

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