Thousands Stung In Online Teeth Whitening Scam

Free online teeth-whitening products with hidden charges...

When William Truscott replied to ad offering a free, two-week trial of teeth-whitening products, he thought he was getting a good deal.

Sure enough, the goods arrived, but he still ended up being billed $88 for them. Truscott, who lives in Schaumburg, explained:

“They said, ‘If you’re not satisfied, let us know within two weeks…

“But they went from the date of the e-mail instead of the date the trial package arrived. It was a real scam.”

According to the Better Business Bureau, Truscott wasn’t the only one who fell for such scams. It’s gotten thousands of complaints from people who signed up for free or low-cost samples of teeth-whiteners, only to get stung with hidden charges.

Online ads for these whiteners often appear on well established Web sites of news outlets such as CNN, USA Today and Forbes. However the ad usually links to fake blogs or news stories made to look like third-party endorsements, according to the Better Business Bureau. Several companies appear to be involved and some go by more than one name.

The Better Business Bureau says these are some of the companies behind the ads:

• Advanced Wellness Research, which also has been the subject of thousands of complaints about its acai berry supplements.
• Ivory White; and Dazzle White, which, according to the consumer agency, might also advertise as White Smile, Teeth Smile or Dazzle Smile.

When asked about the ads and hidden charges, Trisha George, a customer-service representative for Advanced Wellness, disputed the complaints, saying:

“Customers need to read the terms and conditions on our Web site . . . . All of this information is clearly mentioned.”

But suspicions still run high as a Google search, failed to turn up a working Web site for the company.
Representatives of the other companies could not be reached for comment.

The Better Business Bureau is now encouraging consumer wanting to sign up for free trails of teeth whitening or similiar products, to check out the companies rating on its website – www.bbb.org

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1. 

   Angela Tredger says:

   December 29, 2010 at 8:55 pm

   I was scammed a year ago by, oh I forget the name smile, a teeth whitening company.
   I did find this while searching on the internet last month and wanted to see if it was for real and it is. So I decided to post it on every board that is about people being scammed by teeth whitening companies.

   Apparently, the owner of this company was scammed years ago and decided to start a company doing things the right way. When I called their customer service number I was speaking to American people, “Wow what a change”. They described their program the following way.

   They not only sell product on Amazon, in salons and though their website, they are also allowing anyone who was scammed by a teeth whitening company the opportunity to order refill kits from them as if they were originally customers of theirs. He said that they make a dollar or so for each refill kit sold and the owner wanted to give back to any one that was scammed. They are selling refill kits for $10 each. The link to their offer page is here.

   I order last month, the gel pack arrived 5 days later, and there was no surprises. They did not bill me for additional product, etc… I think this is a great thing they are doing to help everyone else…

   reply