Date: 03/25/2009
Dear Consumer Action:I purchased a cell phone and a prepaid phone card with 400 anytime minutes at a drug store as a Christmas present last December. I was told they could be returned if unopened.Neither were opened and I returned them in January. I got credit for the phone, but store personnel said the $30 card would have to be refunded by the phone card company. I sent it to them, as instructed, in January.When I didn't get my refund, I called in February and was told the company does not give refunds. Can you help? - J.K., Egg Harbor TownshipWe asked a company spokeswoman to look into your refund request, and she said you do qualify for a refund and the company has now issued a check to you. You should receive it in the mail in about three weeks.
Whoever told you the company doesn't give refunds was mistaken, she said. She added that refunds often take a long time because of the volume of requests the company receives.Some companies don't give refunds on phone cards, while others just take a long time. Either way, it's best not to buy them unless you are sure you want them, since they are generally quite a hassle to return.Pure lossDear Consumer Action:I was a member of Pure Weight Loss, a weight-loss club based in Horsham, Pa. I never received 15 boxes of weight-loss bars and a year of my maintenance program. The number I received was not valid. Please help me. - M.F., Saint Paul, Neb.We've written about Pure Weight Loss in the past, and you must have read our previous column online. As we said before, Pure Weight Loss filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in January 2008. To protect your rights as a creditor, you had to have filed a proof of claim form with the court by June 12, 2008.The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office was able to proceed with its lawsuit against Pure Weight Loss and its owner, Vahan Karian, after convincing a judge that an enforcement action by its office should not be stayed by bankruptcy proceedings, said AG spokesperson Nils Frederickson.In December it settled for $700,000 with Karian as sole proprietor of Pure Weight Loss and will begin distributing funds from the settlement in April, Frederickson said. About 3,000 consumers who had already filed complaints with his office will share in the settlement, he said, and awards will be pro-rated based on the amount remaining in consumers' contracts.You can consider filing a complaint against Pure Weight Loss with your state's consumer authorities, for whom we have sent you contact information.We have also sent you the name and contact number for the attorney representing Pure Weight Loss. As a creditor, you should have been contacted about the bankruptcy proceedings. If you were not, talk to the attorney about what your options are now.For others seeking information on the case, call the court at 888-584-5853 and opt to search by case number, which is 08-10315. That will give you a recording telling how to contact the attorney and where things stand in the case now.Consumer Action will respond to each properly submitted letter about a problem or question, either in this column or by letter or phone. Letters must include copies - not originals - of all relevant documentation and a name, address and phone number at which you can be reached. Send letters to: Consumer Action, The Press, 11 Devins Lane, Pleasantville, NJ 08232.