Proactiv Solutions - acne products as seen on TV - difficult and frustrating incident

Complaints.com received the following consumer message on July 8, 2002:

From:

RE: Proactiv Solutions - acne products as seen on TV - difficult and frustrating incident

I am writing to let the public know about this difficult & frustrating incident I had with Proactiv Solutions-Acne products as seen on TV. I ordered this "kit" of cleanser, toner & moisturizer and was automatically charged every 3 months. It never worked for me, as I didn't have acne, turned out to be a Staph infection. Hence, I returned the unopened box to Roden & Fields Proactiv Solutions as it specifies on the statement. Also mentions their products are guaranteed or a 100% refund! I sent it certified mail on June 13, 2002. I received my certified mail slip back saying it was signed for on June 18, 2002. I have spoken to a few different people, and nobody follows through with what they say they will do~!

I called on June 24, 2002, to follow up on the status of my refund. The gal that I spoke with told me there was nothing on my account stating a return, that it takes 2-4 weeks to process and that I should call back on Friday, because it would be done by then (June 28). On June 28, 2002, I called like I was advised to do, and still no note on my account of a return and/or a refund on my account. I spoke to Ann @ Ext. 2112 on July 1, 2002.

Ann told me there was no indication of a return on my account. Then, she requested that I fax confirmation of the certified mail delivery slip I received back, to her, which I immediately did. Ann concluded the conversation stating she would take care of this & credit my credit card account that day before she left work (July 1st).

By July 3rd, I still had no credit to my account.

So I placed another call to Proactiv.

I was told, once again (after an extremely long waiting period of 15 minutes), that there was no indication of a return at all on my account. I then asked to speak with ANN @ ext 2112. The woman told me Ann was not out of the same location as she, but that she'd take my name, number & account info. & have Ann call me back. Ann never called.

The woman also stated that the fax Ann received was not "their receipt," (whatever that means) and that there is nothing they can do!?!?!

Isn't this what Certified Mail is designed for, to verify & confirm receipt of a package/letter & prevent this kind of situation from happening??? It is now July 8, 2002 and still nothing is resolved, all I get is the run around with anyone I speak to. Wanted to put a warning out there...since it's such a hassle and the only way to deal with it is by phone. They DO NOT STAND BY THEIR WORD OF A GUARANTEED REFUND! I am very disappointed in their customer service.

Best Regards,

A disappointed consumer.

Comment On This

After writing to the Better Business Bureau I received a full refund immediately in my account. I canceled Proaciv February 11th, they charged me the 12th, I contacted BBB the 13th, and the money was redeposited in my account the 19th with an offer from Tonya Young at Proactiv to pay my fees associated with ISF checks if I would like to send them to her.

Thanks to the BBB, Proactiv gave me my money back immediately. I'd highly recommend it to anyone with a complaint.

This doesn't give me much hope for getting my money back either. My daughter was using the product and it did work for a while but then stopped working for her so we tried something else and I e-mailed Proactiv that I wouldn't be needing any more shipments and to cancel my account. That was February 11th. On February 12th I was charged $67.90 for a kit. I called and was disconnected twice after pushing the appropriate button for "cancel services." Finally on the third try I got Laurie and was told that they had already processed my order and that I now had to wait 2-3 weeks for the product to be delivered and then send it back to them and wait 4-6 weeks for my refund.

Are you kidding me?

So after arguing with her for a while and getting the same run around and telling her this was unacceptable, she says, "Before we get off of the phone, are there any other products you would like to purchase today?'

Now I'm beyond livid. I've tried to explain to these people that I will now have bounced checks and not be able to feed my kids this week because they took that money out of my account after I canceled the account and she asks me do I want to buy anything from them while I'm on the phone?