IPS HEALTH AND WELLNESS: UNSOLICITED CALLS TO AN ELDERLY PERSON ESCALATING TO AN (UNMANDATED?) MONTHLY DEBIT ORDER OF R 2 068.07

IPS HEALTH AND WELLNESS: UNSOLICITED CALLS TO AN ELDERLY PERSON ESCALATING TO AN (UNMANDATED?) MONTHLY DEBIT ORDER OF R 2 068.07

It recently came to my attention that my 79 year old grandmother was going through financial hardship. Upon going through her bank statement with her, we realized that there was a very large debit order for IPS HEALTH AND WELLNESS.

(She was aware the she was paying them, but could not recall ever agreeing to such a large sum of money being deducted. It started with an unsolicited call from them a few years ago, offering her samples of their products. It soon turned into products she had to pay for, and then she started receiving deliveries without even being called to confirm whether she was able to accept the financial obligation or even still wanted the products. They even dispatched a parcel to her previous address without confirming that she still resided their. She didn't have an issue with the products initially, since SOME of the supplements were things she likely would've purchased in any way. -Others have in fact never been used though…)

I immediately raised the issue with IPS, and requested proof of the debit order mandate/s where she explicitly agreed to the amount that was being deducted and/or subsequent increases. They called her shortly after my request. She informed the salesperson that she was a pensioner, and could not afford the premiums they were deducting from her account. They then changed the agreed amounts, and went ahead to coerce her into agreeing to another delivery and debit order from them.

I maintained that I wanted proof that they were in fact mandated to deduct such large amounts from her account. They failed to deliver any proof of any valid agreement/s with her preceding the abovementioned call for far more than a month. And I was stuck in an endless back and forth loop with them. (It also took them very long to send me detailed invoices upon request.) When I started getting annoyed, they requested that I complete a form and send it to their information officer. (I can provide this email string upon request)

Needless to say, I lost my composure. (Considering the fact that they had well over a month to refer me to their so called “information officer”, I don't think that it was unreasonable. I would've followed that steps had it been communicated in due course.) Consequently, I requested immediate cancellation of her membership, and also offered to pay the final amounts “due” by her, provided that they would undertake to stop contacting us. I also insisted on written confirmation that the membership was cancelled.

They pointed out that this was not their policy, and I had to take yet another call from their salesperson to confirm the cancellation. This lady (Lané) had the audacity to inform me that they will continue debit orders on her account unless I can proof that I settled the outstanding balance. She also never CONFIRMED the cancellation in the call. And furthermore had the audacity to tell me that they will call us after a year to interest us in their products again, despite my clear instructions in my emails that they should stop contacting us after the cancellation is finalized.

Following the call, my politeness was almost depleted. I have sent another email repeating my request for cancellation, demanding written confirmation, an undertaking that they will not contact us again, and a final statement with banking details to make the final payment/arrangements if that is needed. After more than 48 hours, I followed up, and to date have not received any response.

I would appreciate if you could investigate this matter and maybe offer me some advice on the best way to get rid of them going forward. (We have had similar experiences with their sister companies Platinum Life, and Isabella Garcia, whom have admitted IN WRITING to have coerced her into agreeing to receive and pay for products that she didn't want or need by misrepresenting and/or using less than ethical sales tactics.)

Kind Regards FC Burton on behalf of Susanna Elizabeth Wagner