Yahoo Finance Scam Alert: Better Business Bureau warns of blackhead remover shakedown
If you got a blackhead remover you don’t remember ordering in the mail, chances are it’s not from a good samaritan.
A company called Lux International Sales is being investigated by the Better Business Bureau of Western Ontario for sending people in Kitchener a “blackhead killer face mask,” complete with invoice. After the recipient contacts Lux to report that the product was sent in error, the company threatens legal action, court and debt collections.
On BBB’s website, one consumer reports seeing a commercial online and then looking at the product on their website. They were instructed to enter an address to view shipping costs, but did not provide any payment information. That was all it took.
“Once saw the cost, i exited the website WITHOUT entering my credit card information as i (sic) was not interested in the product once i saw the price,” one consumer writes on the site. “A month later, i (sic) was sent the product with an invoice. there is no contact number for this company.
Another writes, “If you write to them saying that you did not place the order, they tell you that’s not true, you entered your address and placed the order on their website. Even though you never pressed the order button. and never entered your credit card information.”
According to reports from consumers, the company sends letters and emails with the title “Avoid Debt Collection” to scare people into paying, while adding penalty fees for late payment with every subsequent letter.
Online shoppers should be extremely careful when entering any personal or financial information online and read the fine print very carefully, cautions Ashley Casselman, communications manager for BBB Western Ontario in a news release.
“It is critical that potential customers of these businesses read everything, especially the ‘terms and conditions’ portion of the agreements, to make certain they are not going to be charged for merchandise they did not intend to order.”
