I don't know why Cindy Crawford would want her name and reputation associated with this company. They sell a line of skin care products from their Web site and infomercials. Regardless of what you think about the products (I found nothing remarkable), there is a serious downside to ordering.I made the mistake early this year of ordering the 30-day Introductory Kit ($29.95 plus shipping and handling) from the Meaningful Beauty Web site. I wanted to see what the hype was about.
Here is exactly what the order form says ...
After 30 days, you’ll receive our regular 3 month supply of Meaningful Beauty every 90 days at the guaranteed low price of just $29.95 a month plus $7.95 s&h per shipment, which will automatically be billed to the same credit card you provide today. You can cancel at any time.
I can't say I wasn't fully informed that automatic shipments would result if I didn't cancel, but I knew I had time to cancel. It turns out that "cancellation" is a relevant term to this company. Read on.
Note the lack of clarity in the wording above? That's a three-month supply at $29.95 per month plus $7.95 for shipping. That comes to $89.85 before shipping. If you like the products, I guess that's not exorbitant for a three-month supply.
Here's what's worse. Even though I canceled my "relationship" with this company, Meaningful Beauty started calling me recently from an 800 number - two to three times a day - letting the phone ring four or five times and then hanging up. I Googled the number and found the source. Although I terminated my "business relationship" with Meaningful Beauty, federal law allows them to call me for 18 months after my purchase! So, theoretically, Meaningful Beauty could make multiple calls a day to my house until September of 2010! It doesn't matter to them that I might be trying to rest when they call, or that I want nothing to do with them.
I wrote and asked to be taken off their call list. I received a very pleasant e-mail telling me I would be removed from the call list - in three months! That's around March 1, 2010! Until then, I have to suffer for my mistake of ordering a 30-day trial?
I'm telling you this to save you from the same hassle. There are far better skin care products on the market, and if you purchase the best, you can rest assured that you will not be harassed.
Update 11/30: This morning I received a very nice e-mail saying my phone would be removed from the company's call list within three days. It was apologetic, so I hope this means the ordeal is over.
Photo courtesy of RealSelf.com
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18 comments:
This is a warning never to order from the TV. I've also heard some not very good things about the line. For a few dollars you can join INTELLIUS and get Cindy Crawford's phone number and call her all the time. That seems fair to me.
Genie
Seems fair to me too!
I ordered from the Web site, but it still didn't protect me from shady practices. I plan to write my representatives in the Senate next week - this 18-month loophole in the law has to be closed.
Unbelieveable! What horrible business practices they have.
I was appalled, Fab!
Thanks so much for the warning! I really don't like when companies do that, there are some products that I see ads for that look interesting and I would like to try, but I get concerned that things like this will happen.
I'm so glad I finally got all caught up on my BTiB reading; I've been sick for several weeks and unable to keep up on your posts, and I'm so bummed I missed out on entering the giveaways! Oh well, I'm sure there will be more to come (hopefully). :-)
Thanks for all your advice!
Sparkleluvr
Hi Sparkle!
I am so sorry to hear you have been sick. I hope you get better every day!
We have another giveaway starting tomorrow morning, so look for it.
My experiences with online shopping have usually been great. That's why I'm always surprised when bad things happen. Last week, I received a compact bronzer that was crushed to bits because of negligent packing. Although the company sent a return label, it's often a hassle to pack up and return products that could have been protected in shipping - if only someone had cared.
Get well soon!
The sales for this item is bogus and they use force sales wording to avoid you from cancelling an "order and account". Meaning you will still pay for the product for "credit sales" but you will have a hard time stopping the first shipment and getting a refund. The reps on the phone Taylor and Dan were rude, cold, and uninformed about customer service. I hate that I ordered this crap online...never again. Use your local department stores. Online purchases are legalize robbery. signed unsatisfied
Amen, hon! Not only is it nearly impossible to get them to go away, you will never get off their mailing list, which is shared with Proactiv, the anti-acne line, that spams me almost every day (with no way to unsubscribe).
They violate several federal laws, in my humble opinion, but the feds have more important priorities than going after these creeps - who, by the way, are not Cindy Crawford.
My advice to anyone seeking beauty products is to avoid Meaningful Beauty AND Proactiv - no matter how enticing they may seem.
Remember, though, that there are many stupendous online merchants who are honest, sell unbelievably great products, and who would join us in trying to put the creeps out of business.
I gave the last order they sent me (I tried to stop it, but was unsuccessful) to my Mom, who actually liked the product. Go figure.
Meaning Beauty the product is a joke
I wrote them a letter to cancel my subscription also returned two bottles that broke - nothing happened
In fact I got another order
I tried phoning on numerous occasions and was disconnected
I sent an e-mail through their website - not acknowledge
I tried again to get through I was successful told that I would refunded. They then sent me another package and charged Me again $200 !! Obviously I have to get cancel my credit card so they can't charge my account.
i'm sorry i order from them ! i told them i would send the box back the next day and cancel my order! well needless to say i still got billed again ! of course they haven't recieved it ! well it was on june 24th i have the ups paper work showing it was .now they want me to send a fax to show them ! i will never get anything from them again!!!
I just made the mistake of ordering the 30-day trial offer. I only since decided to look online and keep reading these terrible reviews. Yikes. Major buyer's remorse I'm having. My credit card has already been charged. Called my credit card company and it can't be reversed. Since I've paid for it, I figure I might as well try it, but definitely want to cancel before the larger 3 month supply at $120 gets charged to my account. so, my question to you is two-fold:
1) How much time do I have to cancel before they bill me a second time?!
2) Were you successful in cancelling (other than the unfortunate harassment), in that your card was never charged again??
Please please let me know. I would really appreciate it. My credit card company said that they can dispute a transaction on my behalf but that cancelling the card does not solve everything. Apparently Meaningful Beauty can continue to charge your cancelled card, racking up a huge bill that essentially sits there unpaid which in turn, negatively impacts your credit score!!!!! OMG! I pray this doesn't happen.
I would really appreciate any additional info.
Thanks. I look forward to hearing your reply.
Andrea
Awful company! It took me months of trying to cancel my order while moving across the states to get it canceled! Notice the billing never comes with a customer service phone number. I only signed up for the trial but got caught paying 49.95 3 more times before they finally said they canceled it and my account was at zero. This company is fraudulent and sooo dishonest! Now they tell me to send back my original shipment because they accidentally sent me a 3 month supply and they will refund my money but ship it at my cost! How totally unreal. People should be ashamed to work for this company. I never get angry... but right now I am. I feel cheated and used. BBQ complaint to follow.
Omg I just made this mistake I tried to cancel after reading the reviews, hind sight is 20/20 I hope this does not turn into a nightmare
I had just ordered the meaningful beauty $39.99 and used a prepaid card to purchase so glad I did after reading these reviews but that’s the safer way to go put just what you need on card and they can’t get anymore than your willing to give and if you don’t receive products or something goes wrong you won’t be out anymore money than you were willing to pay it sucks that it has to be that way but so many scams I don’t trust anyone any more you should never use a bank card always go with prepaid it only holds so much money and they can’t run you in debt if they continue to send you products it’s their loss not yours I use them with anything I purchase and have never had an issue (just a little advice for those whom didn’t think of doing that ) hope this can save some of you from all the trouble
Prepaid cards never work for me because they have to have your name and info on like a regular CC. I've tried this in the past and it didn't work. How did you do this? It's a great idea if it works. Thanks.
This is a very old post, so Ernestine may not see your question.
I ordered the trial. Decided to upgrade my order to receive the bigger bottles. I received the products in November 2020. I had used the products as directed and within 2 days I broke out bad. I had a hard boil cyst type knot show up on my chin. I called to cancel my order and the man told me I would still be charged for the remaining balance so I could give the products to a friend or family member. I told him I wanted a refund and he acted butt hurt. And ssaid I could return them within 60 days and receive a refund minus shipping. I got off the phone with him and I went to the website to read the return policy again. I called back spoke with a really nice lady. She said I would receive a refund within 10 business days after they received the products back and told me she was sending me a shipping label. Great !! I sent everything back just as the return policy states. It's been over 30 days since I returned their products and I still havent received a refund AND my card was charged Nov.2020 Dec.2020 & Jan 2021 totaling over $265.00 Worst experience ever !! I literally used the product 2xs had that boil cyst type thing on my chin which was painful and when I finally got it to drain it was feverish and felt like it was pulsating with my heartbeat. Most disgusting thing ever. I have somewhat sensitive skin but never have I ever had that type of reaction to ANY other product or anything else for that matter. What really irritated me is they knew I used the product 2 days and what happened and I was still charged doesn't make any sense. And I'm having this much trouble getting my money back. Cindy should be more aware of what kind of product she is promoting. Hope this helps someone.
If you only want to purchase a specific Meaningful product without the headache of purchasing a “subscription” and canceling if not happy with it, I recommend ordering them from Amazon. You can find most of these products there and be guaranteed a one time only purchase.
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