CONSUMER ALERT

MIKE COX
 ATTORNEY GENERAL

The Attorney General provides Consumer Alerts to inform the public of unfair, misleading or deceptive business practices, and to provide information and guidance on other issues of concern.

How Much Would You Pay For
A Good Night’s Sleep?

“Free Lunch” Leads to Magnetic Mattress Pad Nightmare

A postcard arrives promising the best night’s sleep you ever had, a cure for nearly all your medical ailments and a free dinner to boot. What could possibly provide all these wonderful things? According to the postcard, magnetic therapy is the answer. Come. Have dinner on us. And while you’re here, listen to our sales pitch. A recent example of a company soliciting in Michigan using these tactics is European Health Concepts.

The pitch normally consists of rave reviews for the various magnetic products the company is selling, traditionally seat pads and mattress pads. The salesperson then describes how the magnetic therapy helps eliminate pain, arthritis, headaches, high cholesterol, asthma, impotence, stress, diabetes, and many other ailments. The first problem is that none of these claims of medical healing have been substantiated.  Such claims must be reviewed and approved for marketing purposes by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Oops. Guess the salesperson forgot to mention that part.

You may be curious how much one of these miracle pads will cost. Seat pads may cost a mere $350-$500 each. Mattress pads may only cost $800-$1000, despite the fact that magnetic mattress pads cost approximately $150 to manufacture, giving the seller a huge profit on the sale. Of course, these products come with a 100-day free trial offer. Sounds great until you realize that your credit card has already been charged or your bank account has already been debited and you attempt to return the merchandise only to find out the company no longer exists. Also, the 100-day trial is mandatory. Consumers cannot return the merchandise before that time unless they are willing to pay a penalty on top of the shipping costs.

What can you do to protect yourself? First of all, do not purchase merchandise being sold in this fashion. If you are interested in magnetic merchandise, check with local retailers of home health supplies to see if they carry (or can order) these products for you. Many times, the merchandise will cost less and you may also be able to return the merchandise more easily. Remember the adages “Nothing is free” and “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” If you have already purchased, Federal law gives consumers purchasing merchandise away from the business’ normal place of business a 3-day cooling off period in which the consumer can cancel without penalty. Are you past the cancellation date? Try to return the merchandise and get a credit to your account—even if you are beyond the normal 60-day charge dispute period most credit card companies allow. Since your agreement with the mattress seller stated you could not return the merchandise in the 60-day timeframe, your credit card company or bank may be more lenient with the charge dispute period. Remember that the dispute must be in writing. A phone call is not sufficient to dispute the charges. If you are having trouble getting a credit, please send a written complaint to:

Michigan Attorney General
Consumer Protection Division
PO Box 30213
Lansing, MI 48909
1-877-765-8388
www.michigan.gov/ag (on-line complaint available)