I saw the TV ad for Avlimil and thought I would give it a try. I went to the website they had advertised and found that I could get a one month sample for free; all I have to do is pay $4.50 for shipping. Sounds reasonable, so I try it. While filling out information for shipping, billing, etc. I am presented with the option to enroll in their Managed Care Direct program, where they automatically would send me a month's supply of their product and bill me for it at $35 a month instead of the $55 a month for those not enrolled in the plan. I made sure to opt out of this program--why get caught up in something if I don't know if I'll even use it, especially for $35 a month!
So I thought all was well and good, my sample arrived fairly quickly in mid to late November. (Never did really take it faithfully, to be honest, which is an even better example that illustrates that I would never have enrolled in auto-ship!!)
Anyway, next thing I know, I receive another shipment in early December. I'm a bit confused, but think perhaps their records didn't show they had shipped my sample so I didn't really think much of it at the time. Then in the beginning of January 2004 I receive my credit card statement and there is a charge of $35 from Avlimil for that mystery shipment I received in December. Whoa, there, that was not expected!
Today, another shipment appeared in the mail and since I now know what's going on, I immediately wrote "Return to Sender: Unsolicited" on the box and handed it back to my mail carrier.
Immediately after doing that, I logged onto Avlimil's website to get a phone number for Customer Service. I call them up and the woman that I speak to insists that I chose to enroll in Managed Care Direct or else that someone else did. No matter what I say, she tells me that they do not automatically enroll people in this service and that if I'm receiving monthly shipments it is because I chose to do so.
Wrong!! I told her that the two shipments are being returned and she tells me that it's a consumable good and that they cannot resell it so I am just as well off to save postage and throw it away, but that I will not receive a refund. I let her know that I will indeed be sending them back and disputing these charges with my credit card company, and then I tell her to cancel my supposed enrollment in this program.
As soon as I got off the phone with Avlimil, I called my credit card company to dispute the charges and tell them this exact story. The representative I speak to tells me that they can dispute the charges as long as I have sent the product back to Avlimil. Not a problem, consider it done. I explained to her though that Avlimil's customer service told me I'd just as well throw it away and it didn't make a difference if I sent it back or not, to which she replied with the explanation that it does indeed matter to the credit card companies because if a product is sent back and not possessed by me, Avlimil cannot keep both the returned product and the $35 charge.
POINTS OF THE STORY:
Avlimil will enroll you in their Managed Care Direct, regardless of your choice to opt out of this program.
Regardless of what the people at Avlimil Customer Service tell you, DO NOT throw away their product if you want credit for it from your credit card company--you NEED to return it!!
Anonymous
Outside of DC, Maryland
U.S.A.
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