Scams

***UPDATE***
Well it seems the merchant decided they didn't want to play with me and refunded the money they took out of my account today! /cheer


I've been a smoker for many years and decided to try an e-cigarette. It still has the nicotine, but none of the other carcinogens, or smell. I got a "free trial" offer and decided to give it a shot. I placed the order online, and the next day I got a call verifying the order. I received the device a few days later. After using it for a couple of days, I was talking to a friend that has been using the e-cigs for a few years. She told me the "free trial" was a scam. She had heard of several horror stories about this type of thing. The scam works like this: You place the order and the company starts the 14 day ticker. If you don't cancel it and return everything within the 14 days, they charge you $149, then $80 a month for refills.

Needless to say, the next day I packaged everything back up, shipped it back to the address in Scottsdale, AZ, and contacted the company letting them know I was sending it back and to cancel any subscription they had me signed up for. The packaged was delivered and signed for at their office the next day (Friday, Feb 4). Today, Feb 7, a charge of $149 shows up on my account. Guess who charged me? Yep, the scam company. I have now contacted my bank and am in the process of disputing the charges. I've also contacted Fox 10 News in Phoenix and alerted them to the scam. I've sent the company another email, and am waiting to hear back from them, but I'm not holding my breath. More than likely I will have to cancel my card and get a new number.

Normally I am pretty good at picking up on scams, but this one snuck up on me. How can people live with themselves after doing things like this? I don't get it.

So...if you get a "free trial" offer in email or see it online for Prado or SmokeFreely.com, don't do it! Please pass this info along to any and everyone you know! I'm sure they're going to hide behind their parent company based in Malta, but word of mouth is better than an attorney sometimes!

If you would like more information on e-cigarettes, check out www.e-cigarette-forums.com!