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Instant Elixir

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Instant Elixir Reports & Reviews (77)

- Roy, UT, USA
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Was offered a FREE trial and to just pay shipping of $4.95. I was charged 2 shipping charges of $4.95 and another $2.95 to rush which I didn't agree to. I let that go and wasn't going to worry about it until I was charged 2 separate charges of $89.99 2 weeks later and when I called to find out what happened the lady on the phone at 888-409-4430 told me I signed up for a monthly subscription by clicking some box to place my FREE trial. I then asked if I could return product and get my money back to which she said no because I had opened it. But how is it a FREE trial if I can't return the product? I was one day out of the 14 day trial period that I supposedly agreed to and she still wouldn't budge. I agreed to it by placing the order and there was absolutely nothing she could do. I also tried to talk to a manager and she said no, every single person in this building will tell you the same thing I am saying. It is not risk free! This is a subscription scam, buyer beware! They did say they would cancel my subscription so I wouldn't get charged again but I am leery and will be canceling my card just in case.

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- Cincinnati, OH, USA
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Offered free trial then began getting charged without my approval

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- Bradenton Beach, FL, USA
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Online I came across a blog that mentioned this amazing product to repair wrinkles and it mentioned a free trial so I followed the link and paid $5 for the shipping of a 30 day free trial. What I failed to realize was that in the TERMS AND CONDITIONS I had agreed that if I did not cancel my trial by the 14th day I would be charged the full $89.95 for the product I had received. Not knowing this until I was charged on the 15th day which was too late to cancel the trial I was stuck with the bill. Do not fall for this. On top of that when I called I was sure to tell the agent that I wanted everything else canceled and today I called again because I was charged another $4.95 only to find out that the agent had not canceled a “vip” program that I did not sign up for. I have now been assured by the second agent that everything has now been canceled but I am very unhappy.

This is a scam. Do not fall for this. I am so disappointed in myself for this but I don’t want this to happen to anyone again.

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- Seattle, WA, USA
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Simple Signup for a free trial for just $4.95 shipping that immediately signs one up for a $200/month product fees. No refunds permitted - no written confirmation anywhere of actual purchase.

Called customer service and was hung up on multiple times via phone. Called back and may receive a partial refund for a product I did not order. Out $400 for what I believed was a $4.95 charge

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- Bradenton, FL, USA
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Deceptive advertising practices and coercion into purchasing or accepting a discount instead of allowing the return of the product.

Blind charges, hidden terms not disclosed. I ordered the offered skin care product advertised . Less than 2 weeks later there was an unauthorized bank withdrawal for product and shipping taken from my account.

You cannot get a straight answer form the Customer Service folks. They want to confuse customers with conflicting ad information and terms and conditions information.

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- Alhambra, CA, USA
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Bait & Switch. Mother purchased one time cream thinking the total price was $4.95 but was charged $89.98 + shipping. Then was signed up for a subscription without her knowledge. Thought she was purchasing a sample of product. Now they will only refund 31.49 of the $92.92 they stole from my 85 year old mother.

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- Aurora, CO, USA
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I ordered two products, "Proactive Repair" and the "Eye Revitalizer" from Instant Elixir advertised as "Free Trials" via my Android smartphone for shipping. The web site ad that I ordered from can no longer be found. I read the terms and conditions in the ad which did not mention being placed into a subscription service for these products. I was first charged the nonrefundable rates of $4.95 and $4.90 plus $2.95 S&H for the two products. Then in less than a week (before the trial period was up), they charged me $179.00 total for the two products. I immediately looked for any correspondence from them and found an email that I missed dated March 9th stating that I had been enrolled in their VIP subscription service for both products AND for their partner, "Lotus Leggings." I never saw anything about this subscription or their partner in the ad until I subsequently visited their website. (https://instantelixir.com/pages/refund-policy). I sent them an email, which followed instructions in one of the websites terms and conditions to cancel and request a refund for $179 in writing. They sent me a confirmation of my cancellation email in which they tried to convince me to call them so that a rep could better assist me. I didn't because in hindsight I checked for complaints to realize they treated customers poorly once they had them on the phone and refused to provide refunds, etc. I did not want to suffer such abuse. They have 18 complaints alone in North Carolina with the BBB. I wish that I had checked them out more thoroughly before purchasing. They have numerous websites (some seem fake) to confuse customers with conflicting ads, terms and conditions information.

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- Salt Lake City, UT, USA
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A popup website appeared, advertising a skin care cream, pay for shipping of $4.95 for trial sample. A running timer appears, giving the illusion, the supply on this offer is running out. There is no further fine print about how much the product is, or other details. Definitely no information about cancelling in 14 days or receiving additional charges of 89$ per product and it being a recurring shipment. When checking out for the initial trial, an eye cream is also added with an additional $4.95 charge. Products received and no further papers or contract received. A few weeks later, two charges of $89 approx appear on my statement from instant elixir company. I electronically dispute the charges through my bank. I call the company, trying to get the charges dropped, willing to return product, completely unaware of these extra charges. They are unwilling to help me, but will offer me discount after discount for future charges if i keep my 'subscription'. At that point, I cancel the product as I cannot have these charges continue. I discuss with my bank the next day and they refuse to get involved as they see an official site, disclosing terms and since i cancelled the subscription, they cant do anything further and close my disputed claim. So even though the website the banker is looking at is nothing close or even resembling the site i purchased from, it doesn't matter. I call the instant elixir company again, they refuse to speak with me at all unless i have my bank on the phone, even though the claim is Closed. After reading so many others with identical experiences, i am lucky i cancelled as soon as i did, but it is a repeating story.

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- Warwick, RI, USA
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I signed up for a free trial of two skin products charge of shipping and handling only.Two weeks later I there were two charges of 89.00 on my card when I called company they claimed it is explained in terms and conditions.I went back to the sight and do not see this disclosure.

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- Burbank, CA, USA
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Signed up for "Free trial", pay postage only, 2/3 was billed 3 times for total of $12.34, I expected to be billed for $9.85, by accepting terms and conditions you "agree" to add a VIP membership to someplace called "LotusLeggings.com", which entitles you to discounts there (which, what does that have to do with skin care, and I would never agree to that if I realized they buried it in their 7 page fine print). Turns out the "free trial" which sounded like a sample size was a full size of each of the 2 products, which cost $89.98 and $88.98 respectively. The charge for THAT doesn't come til 2 weeks later. Mind you, they say refunds only within 30 days of initial receipt, which I received what I thought were my free samples on 2/7. Did not see til this morning 8 total charges for a total of $375.23. After 45 minutes on the phone with support, then a supervisor, which the supervisor told me they would credit only $89.98, and the first guy said only 35% of the most recent charge which would have been $62.64. Total 'credit' emails rcvd were only for a total of $26.50. They refused to let me return the products. Be careful! the initial ad I clicked on now leads to someplace called https://www.leviraskincare.com for a different skin product. on 2/3 when I checked, there were no complaints yet, they probably change company names every couple of weeks, I imagine.

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I foolishly signed up for a free trial of some skin care products. The company then proceeded to bill my credit card and sent me more products. Now I admit I was duped, but I then I called them to tell them I have not opened the last order they sent me and would like to return it. They tell you that you should've read the terms and conditions before signing up. So I went to try to read the terms and conditions and there's no way to get to them. You can only see them before you sign up for the trial. So, I have no way of knowing what the terms and conditions state about returns. When you go to their "Free Trial" page the only thing you can click on is "Get your free trial". Then if you've done the free trial before it sends you to another page that isn't even the same moisturizer and apparently not the same company. When you talk to a customer service person they tell you they have no record of you. It is all a big scam and there is no way to get your money back. This kind of unethical practice needs to be stopped. People are wasting their hard earned money just because they don't have time to read the fine print all the way to the bottom. I do believe I did read it though and that it said they would give you your money back if you return a product unopened within 30 days of receiving it, but there is no way for me to get to the terms and conditions now.

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- Overland Park, KS, USA
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I'm sorry that I don't remember if I saw this on AOL or Facebook but the "free trial" was offered for $4.95 shipping and handling for a repair cream and the same price for an eye cream. Two weeks later I see a charge to my credit card for $88.99 and $89.98 from Instant elixir! I disputed the charge with citi card and then tried to find a phone number to call their customer service line. It took me about an hour of searching the internet to find a valid phone number (1-888-409-4430) and when I complained they told me that I was charged because I did not return the product within 2 weeks and cancel. I did not see anywhere this disclaimer. Upon finding the website again, I see in the flashing FREE TRIAL button that it says that in the "terms of agreement" along with acknowledging that you are over 18 years of age. I am very angry because they hide the details in order to get this ridiculous price from you and the product doesn't work either! It wasn't worth the price of shipping and handling. They obviously prey on people who overlook the fine print that is hidden in the acknowledgement. In my opinion, they are trying to get $178.96 from as many individuals as possible to make their money! I am also disappointed in citi card for not fighting my dispute for me and reversing the charges.

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- Colorado Springs, CO, USA
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I received an offer for a free sample and the name Proactive was used in the ad. I ordered the free sample and paid the postage, not realizing that this was a different company than the Proactiv that I had used. The free sample came, but so did four other products, $89 a piece. I called the company after getting the phone number from MasterCard and cancelled. The information for cancellation is buried on the website, that you have to find and go to separately from the ad. The company would not give my money back or accept a return, as they said that I did not cancel quick enough. I have learned not to ever accept a free sample when you just have to pay postage.

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- Portland, OR, USA
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Ordered free trial of skin products, paid for shipping and handling. Then was charged $178.97 two weeks later.

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- Pasadena, MD, USA
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I ordered what I thought was two trial bottles of eye/ face cream. There was nothing on the page indicating that I was signing up for a 14 day trial and I was unaware that I needed to cancel it. On the 12th day after I ordered my card was charged $89.98. I sent an e-mail to cancel and requested a full refund on Jan 31. I ordered on Jan 17. My card was charged on Jan 31. The card was charged one day after the cancellation period. I spoke with Aviana a customer service rep and Amber who identified herself as a floor supervisor. Both women refused to refund my money and after much arguing about it I was told that I would get 35% of the $89.98 refunded and my account cancelled. When I stated that I would be pursuing a full refund and contacting anyone I felt could assist me in doing so, Amber stated that if I did I would be subject to being charged the full subscription cost as well as a false claim fee. Since I did not sign anything and the only disclaimer on the website was check to verify that I was over 18, this was taken as a threat that I should not attempt to retrieve my money.

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I clicked on an internet ad requesting a trial sample of an anti-wrinkle face cream. The cost was $4.95 for postage. The order ended up adding a second face cream product for an additional $4.95. The charges had a credit card posting date of January 3, 2018. Products arrived. Two additional charges are on my credit card statement, $89.98 posted on January 16, 2018 and $88.99 posted on January 17, 2018. No additional products have arrived. I called the company tel # on my credit card statement, 888.409.4430, on January 31, 2018. Service person said by placing the order I had agreed to terms and conditions posted on the website that said, unless cancelled within 14 days of the order, I was enrolled in a monthly subscription service. I asked that it be cancelled and asked for a refund of the ~$180 charged. I was given a cancellation #, and my request for a refund was refused. This is a scam and Instant Elixir should be shut down. No reasonable person would have understood the expense involved. On February 1, 2018, I called my credit card company and was advised this is a common scam and that it was not considered "fraud" so the charges could not be returned to me. My account has been blocked from any future Instant Elixir charges. This scam is described on the FTC website at https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2017/08/costly-low-cost-trial-offer

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- Salisbury, NC, USA
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Tried to order some samples from this so-called company they said was free with no money attachments. 15 days later I get slapped with two $88 fee for a club that I supposedly joint. First of all my 12-year-old ordered this without my permission so it is not a valid order. The company when I called them, said that this was about a purchase to a valid email address with a valid card to a valid residents therefore it was a valid purchase when I argued with them they said there was no way in hell I was going to get my money back. And that I needed to make sure that I kept better care of my belongings such as my credit card. This company is ridiculous. I call Joanna Gaines for a club that I supposedly joint. First of all my 12-year-old ordered this without my permission so it is not a valid order. The company when I called them, said that this was about a purchase to a valid email address with a valid card to a valid residents therefore it was a valid purchase when I argued with them they said there was no way in hell I was going to get my money back. And that I needed to make sure that I kept better care of my belongings such as my credit card. This company is ridiculous. I call Joanna Gaines personally in Gainesville Texas and she says she does not have a make up company by that name that this is a scam and she also gave me the email address to her attorneys. I have contacted my bank and filed a credit card scam fraud and I'm letting you know that I would like to recover my $170 at this company stole

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