Sarah Mirando  |  August 5, 2011

Category: Legal News

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 Hydroxatone “Free Trial” Is a Scam, Says Class Action Lawsuit

By Sarah Pierce

 

Hydroxatone free trial scamA class action lawsuit claims Atlantic Coast Media Group and Hydroxatone run a scam by advertising a free trial for beauty products and using the credit card information they get for the $7.95 “shipping and handling” fee to bill customers $209 for a 3-month supply.
 
According to the Atlantic Coast Media Group and Hydroxatone class action lawsuit:
 
“Defendants advertise that these products are tested as a free trial and that consumers will only have to pay for shipping and handling in order to receive this free trial. This is a lie and a breach of agreement, because instead of sending the customers a free trial, Defendants send customers a three-month supply of products, then bill the customer’s credit card for the entire three-month supply. In many cases, Defendants also send and bill for other products (such as vitamins), which the customer has not ordered. Defendants have done this to thousands of people across the country. This is illegal, and this lawsuit seeks to stop this practice and recover all of the money that defendants wrongfully took from the Plaintiffs.”
 
The Hydroxatone scam class action lawsuit is brought on behalf of all persons who participated in a free trial of any product from Atlantic Coast Media Group and Hydroxatone, for payment of only shipping and handling; provided a credit card or debit card number, and were billed on that card by Defendants more than shipping and handling, without subsequent written authorization to do so.
 
It is seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages and attorney and court fees for Breach of Contract, Fraud, Unjust Enrichment and Sending Unordered Consumer Products.
 
A copy of the Atlantic Coast Media Group & Hydroxatone Scam Class Action Lawsuit can be read here.
 
The case is Lisa Margolis v. Atlantic Coast Media Group, LLC and Hydroxatone, LLC, Case No. 2:23-az-0001, United States District Court, District of New Jersey.

 

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Updated August 5th, 2011

 

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39 thoughts onHydroxatone “Free Trial” Is a Scam, Says Class Action Lawsuit

  1. jt says:

    Do you people not read the terms and conditions BEFORE you put your cc info in, its a TRIAL a 30 day risk free trial if you do not call in and cancel and say you want to return the products then of course you will get billed, if you call in to just cancel then autoships will only get cancelled. I was on the site and i read the terms and conditions at the bottom even before entering my cc info in and it clearly states its a 30 day risk free trial and you will only be charged S&H today and if you donot call cancel and get a return number to return then yes for keeping the products you will get billed, OMG IDIOTS READ THE TERMS

  2. Ffej says:

    In heaven, there is a TV station that shows these scumbags burning in hell 24/7. Look forward to it.

  3. Tracey says:

    I did the free trial and then thought l shall try it and ship it back. In the fine print it does not tell you that you can not ship it back. I rang them and said l don’t want it and l will be happy to send it all back to them. They said no l owe them $140. I said no l don’t. I don’t want the product and l was not aware that l was receiving extra products or without a choice of wanting or not. They said l must have. I said l shall read you your terms and conditions which l did. I said to the lady. Where in the terms and conditions does it say l must keep the product? Nowhere does it say you will not refund. It says \If you are not completely satisfied then ring customer service within 45 days to avoid future payments and for a full refund of the product purchase price.\ Future payments as l rang as soon as l received means no payments so the contract says l can avoid all payments beyond this date. I said please tell me if l am incorrect. ……… She said l shall make your account nil and you can keep the product…. I then cancelled my credit card so nothing else can ever come out of it. I must say she was a lovely lady on the other end. Just doing her job l guess.

  4. maxine says:

    I live in NZ have MS and brain damage and I cannot remember asking for free trial which arrrived in post in NZ sometime in Novemember whilst I was in Australia for treatment. How do I send it back and how do I cancel payments?

  5. Anonymous says:

    Thing is people fail to realized there is nothing free in this world. The terms and conditions are point blank on the statement that comes with the shipment. Also their sites have the term and conditions as well. And when you argue with customer service they can pull up that statement you so called never received. I would know this since I work for ACMG. We also send out emails too about your order.

  6. J Burton says:

    I didn’t order anything directly from the Hydroxatone web site. However, there was an offer for free Hydroxatone if I filled out some kind of questionnaire. I don’t remember the site exactly, but I know it was not their official site. I’m not sure how that works; perhaps it was some kind of secondary site. Anyway, it involved my receiving a call a few days later from a call center of some kind to confirm my information. After talking with the one guy who was pretty much trying to sell me more product, I was transferred to some kind of a “verification” department. I spoke with that person and confirmed that I did not want to sign up for anything and that I was not authorizing payment of any kind beyond the $1.99 shipping fee. While on the phone, the person referred to them as “free samples.”

    The next month I saw a charge on my card for a little over $69. I looked up a number for Hydroxatone online and called. I gave the person my name, and she said I had an account. Then she proceeded to tell me that it was only a “30-day free trial.” This was the first I had heard of this. She mentioned that I needed to read the invoice/statement (actually a receipt) that came with the shipment. She also claimed that there was “fine print” to which I had agreed to pay more. I still have that paper, and there is no such fine print on it whatsoever. Over the course of the discussion she once said that I was paid up, then she said that I would need to make another payment to have the account paid off. Although I did not authorize any payments beyond the $1.99, I figured that I would just let it go and pay this surprise bill and be done with it. I asked her repeatedly what that total would be, and I could not get a clear answer from her. After going around and around with her, I terminated the call and called my card’s fraud department to let them know this company is not authorized to draw from my account.

    I always read the fine print, and there simply wasn’t any on the online part (which was not Hydroxatone’s website), no “fine print” statements to agree to during the initial phone call I received to confirm my address and info, and no fine print on the packing receipt (which showed I paid $1.99, and owed $0). I am very particular about such details. Some people on here can say others who have posted are “stupid” or whatever, but this is not a good business practice on the part of Hydroxatone because it is (at the very least) misleading.

    It’s misleading to say “free” and then (1) put something in fine print that says otherwise (not that they did); and (2) if there had been fine print saying otherwise (there was not in what I had), I would have refused this outright. I’m looking at the paper I received, and there is no such fine print. Yet the person on the phone claims there was.

    If charging full price (for what they ship for $1.99) is what they intend to do, It would be better if they would simply sell their product up front with a 30-day money back guarantee.

  7. Jean-Paul Lefaivre says:

    My girlfriend was scammed.I permitted her to use my credit card to pay for the shipping of $1.99 for shipping and later found out that they had charged my credit card in the amount of $139.90 on November 11,2013.The products were sent back .I did not get my credit.I checked my credit card account to see if I got my credit and found out that they had charged me again an amount of $152.50.They now STOLE $292.40 from me.I had to cancel my credit card.That seams to be the only to stop them.If someone wants to sue them you can place me as a witness to testify against them.These people need to be stopped.

  8. Yvette Lagura says:

    I ordered a free trial of Hydroxatone and loved their product. However, the free trial turned into a outstanding charge of $139.90. And, a threat to pay or else face a national a collection agency, if I do not submit payment “today.” FRAUD!” Simply as that!

  9. christine cone says:

    i got scamed on trying hydroxatone free trail,they will get all your credit card information then if you cancel the order, they send anyway. HELP

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