A Bridge Lake senior was fooled into a sales pitch for a
product she understood was less than $10, but resulted in charges on her credit card in excess of $600.
Lorraine Faessler was watching television recently when a program pitching arthritis medication that she understood was offering a one-month trial.
The medication on the paid program had sounded great, but the senior says when the bill came, she had been sold a one-year supply.
“I thought I was just getting a free sample, and that it only takes six weeks and you don’t have any aches and pains and you feel younger again.”
Fortunately, she says her daughter works at her bank, and phoned her mom to ask why there was a $640 charge on her credit card.
Faessler, who is in her eighties, then spent three days on the phone trying to cancel it, and explains she was given two other numbers to call that resulted in more charges.
After asking these people to cancel the first charge, the discussion led to the senior getting further snared into a monthly travel membership and a consumer savings plan.
“The first one was called JME Arthritis, and then it hooked me up with some travel agent, and
that was called Vacation Savers.”
The third company was identified as Bracainlink, with all of them based in Montreal. Faessler says the sales
people talked so fast she couldn’t understand much of what they were saying.
“They had already taken my money. I think all seniors should be warned: when they say ‘pay with your Visa’ [over the phone], don’t do it.”
All of the related credit card charges so far went through under JME Arthri-D, she adds.
Recently, Faessler visited her bank and was informed much of the $640 has been sent back, but she notes the other two purchases were still ongoing as monthly plans.
She phoned the Montreal numbers again and got a verbal agreement to cancel the travel and consumer plans, but she hasn’t any evidence of that.
To be on the
safe side, Faessler says her credit card has since been cancelled and a new number issued.
“It’s these programs that [are
aired] Saturday and Sunday that are offering you all these things, but seniors don’t understand [the impact]. I didn’t.”
