Free Argan Oil? Too Good to be True. Please read the full article and comments carefully.

Thank you John. We appreciate you taking the time to comment and your kind thoughts.

Thanks for your prompt advice. Sorry you have been harassed as a result of these scam bags.

Thank you Sally, I got stung seems we need to look harder before acting. I am sorry for the time you have had to take showing us the light but we are truly grateful.

Thank you so much for your patience and advice when I phoned you regarding the (company name deleted). Truly appreciated.

Hi Sally, how embarrassing. Nothing in life is truly free. I think I may have been scammed. Thank you for your advise. I will cancel my card. However, when I received the product there was no invoice or any record of the company so how would I contact them again? Or do they just withdraw the money?
Thanks again I certainly won’t be doing anything like this any time soon. Regards

Hello Nicole,
I am sorry but I do not know their contact number. I would advise that you ask your credit card provider to block their account so that no further deductions will be made. I expect that once you block the account, you will not receive anymore products from them.
regards Sally

What number can I call to cancel? They are either disconnected or incorrect!

In spite of cancelling by email, this is not acceptable to them – what a scam!

I kept my original order and they have an email address (see note below) as well as an Australian phone number 1800 XXX XXX. I have cancelled within the 14 day trial period, so hopefully any payments will be stopped.
Interesting that the details about the ongoing supply is on the bottom of the invoice – after you have ordered. Thank you Argan Life for making us aware of this scam – we all know where to come in future when we require a further supply.

Hi Pat,
Thanks for your comment and the info. As you will have noticed, I have not included the link to their website, simply because we do not wish to have their business linked to our page. However, I have included the other information you provided to assist others. And for interested readers, as you will notice in the next comment by Pat, using the email contact does not lead to a satisfactory outcome anyway.
kind regards
Sally

Thanks for the heads up- I actually called them to cancel but required RME # as they requested – in the fine print. It took me 20 mins to finally get it- they made cancelling very hard.i am still cancelling my credit card.

Many thanks for the update Pat.
kind regards
Sally

I understood i Placed order for FREE sample . Postage way more than advertised. Received full bottle
With a $90 invoice . Tried to cancel order and it cost was another $9.99 plus postage . So in the end they let me keep the bottle and reduced my refund from bank account . canceled all ties with them .

Yes…..BEWARE! Cancelling your credit card is the only way to remove yourself from this scam.

Omg, I wish I knew this before I requested my free sample. :( thankgod I caught it early as the auto payments have increased, nearly to double in a fortnight :(
to make matters worse I tried to call within my 14days and couldn’t get thru at all or the phone was engaged or not connected.
The company make it very hard to cancel. So I cancelled my credit card…. :( I am just over$200 out of pocket for a sample :( not fair… Thankyou for this information I will share the word.

Thank you Sally for your advise. Stupid me. Received my free samples and immediately cancelled any further orders. Was told everything would be ok and my order was cancelled. Bur now I find I have been billed for $279 on my credit card and I don,t have any products. I am off to the bank asap to get their account blocked and cancel my card. I didn,t really like the products very much anyway. Thank you.

Jeff.. Did you cancel my account.

thanks for the information, i was almost typing my credit card number on net and then had second thought for checking. lucky i saw this post, thank you again that save me from credit card scam.

Hello I’ve been charged for $121.19 on the 24 -9-2016 and again on the 10 -10-2016 after I cancelled this I did not order this I order a trial offer which was $12 95 but it is still being taken out of my credit card please help me

Thanks for sharing your experience Lyn. I am sure that other readers will find it very helpful.

I have also been caught with this.
when i was trying to made the order the Terms and conditions would not come up to read.
But the Order would not go through until the ’ Ihave read the Terms and Conditions’ box was ticked.
I searched all over the order to make sure there was nothing regarding automatic re ordering and that it was Definitely a Free Sample. I called them after i received the products to question about the they said the Terms and conditions was at the bottom of the screen, but i scrolled down and there had been nothing on the screen at all. i received a conformation email to say the amount had been paid( and then there was the Terms and Conditions on the bottom of the email)……. but AFTER your Cr Card has been charged.
She also said that the offer was Not a Free Sample…..?? that if i didn’t want to continue paying monthly that i have to then pay for the Free Sample at a discounted price OR send it back at a cost of $19 per item and also have to pay postage. WHAT A SCAM

I had the same problems as the people above. When you call them they don’t answer. It all started 18-10-2016 when I ordered a ‘free’ sample costs $ 8.67 + Intl Transfer Fee $ 0.26 (a.zaXXXn.com Blackburn) Then on 1-11 they took $ 121.59 + Intl T Fee 3.65 (aXXXn.com.Blackburn) unauthorised out of our Account and on 16-11 they again took unauthorised money out of my account, now for the amount of $ 130.93 + Intl T Fee $ 3.93 THIS IS A SCAM; I informed the FED and they told me they could not do much and advised me to call them and demand my money back…. Maybe it would be better to contact Tracy Grimshaw from channel 9’s ACA??

Thank you for your comment Carol. Hopefully you’re friends will heed your advice. We’d also appreciate if you can let your friends know that we are not associated with this scam, and are in fact an Australian owned Argan Oil company providing helpful advice.

I have just been scammed with this for $127.50! Not happy!! This should not occur and when details are handed over to an organisation safety should be paramount. I will not order again and will warn my friends about this too. Now I have had to go through the inconvenience of cancelling my card. BEWARE!!!

I ordered this and when I got you don’t have access to this invoice dial this number (which isn’t connected) I googled straight away and found this sight. Within 30 mins of ordering I canceled my credit card so hope I caught it in time. Bank did mention I can try and get the charges refunded through them. So if I see any charges on my credit card this is what I will do. Does anyone know what the charges come up as on your crefit card statement ?
Thanks in advance

Ouch! Have just seen this page… as I was trying to find this company… yep, I have been scammed….se t got the free sample…it arrived in a post bag with no invoice or details…. last month… and then today I received another similar parcel and twigged that I may have been done… off to look at my card statements and contact the bank tomorrow…. fingers crossed….

I sighed up for this today then got suss when I didn’t get an invoice and a number provided to me that wasn’t connected. So I googled and found this info. Jumped on the phone and canceled my credit card within 30 mins of ordering. Hope I got it in time. Bank also advised me that I could get changes refunded by the bank also which I will be doing. Can anyone tell me what it comes up as on credit card statement ?
Thanks in advance

I am trying to cancel order, i received my order 4 weeks after ordering by which time free trial has expired and 4 days later receive another bottle. My $5.95 postage had morphed into $12.95 and i have been billed in US dollars and not Aus dollars (terms & conditions state country of origin) so add foreign conversion fee and boy have i been ripped off. Card statement shows 16/1 withdrawal $127.28 and 30/1 withdrawal $135.25. It is starting to look cheaper to engage solicitor

I wish I’d read this. I received no order number for my free sample and no confirmation email. I cancelled today, within 2 weeks or ordering when the product arrived with no documentation. Fortunately, I have used a debit card which is specifically for online purchases. Also, all amounts cited on the website and over the phone are in US dollars, so my cancellation fee was 15.61 instead of the quoted 9.99. Sounds like I was lucky!

I got my (product name deleted) “free risk free sample” today. I decided I didn’t want to continue as it came with no invoice I found the site and began a “chat” with a certain Helena. Telling her I did not want to continue. I was asked why and then told I would have to send the sample back and pay $9.99 for handling or else pay a further $30 odd. This was then put down to $20 to save me the hassle of posting it back. So far I have only been debited the initial $6.75 ( supposed to be $4-9).. Fortunately I have only a debit card but I will be cancelling it tomorrow. I did not tick any terms and conditions nor did I see them when ordering. If I am lucky I will have only paid that amount. What a scam. They should be shut down

I knew I’d been scammed when I received another bottle within a week.I cancelled my card and contacted my bank they had already made 6 withdrawals from my account hopefully my bank can sort it..I tried to cancel and it said I didn’t have an account.I also couldn’t get an answer on the phone no

Does anyone contacted ACCC in Australia or started a law suit regarding this dodgy website and crooks?
They are doing this in front of our nose. They send product from nsw and I am surprised no warrant has been issued about this people and their warehouse in nsw. They charged shipment in US dollars and conversion fees. They charge your credit card within 7 days of sending the trial pack. Needless to say I am the latest victim and when I sent an e mail. They sent an automated reply.
I am just wondering whether ACCC is doing anything about it and can my bank recover my money?
How can they operate for more than 2 years. I am surprised that Tracy Grimshaw is not doing anything about it?

Hello, does anyone know how they send the samples or the products?
Do they send with trackable post or signed for delivery?

Same here ,i just recived my second bottle witch i didnt order im angry because i have home
Insurance, and telstra paid threw my c card. Now i have to contact them with new card number
I blame myself for being to trusting

I wrote in yr page last week. Since then I have cancelled my bank card. There were no further changes on it. I still have the sample bottle which they want returned (even empty) at a cost of postage + another $9.99 for handling. I still have three days to do this. They can no longer bill me as my card is no longer valid but am I really obliged to return the so called risk free sample for which I have already paid $6.75? What can they do?
Regards.
Jenny

Jenny
They can’t do anything. So you are not obliged to return the bottle.

Well I have also been conned, my free sample with postage of $4.95 was straight away debited to my account as $9.50. I became suspicious and looked on the internet to see the magnitude of complaints against this company. Fortunately I rang my bank straightaway and stopped my credit card.

I also fel into this trap yesterday. Can’t cancel my credit card until pending charges have gone through.
Is it right that if I don’t send the bottles back and have cancelled my credit card that they can’t do anything?

Reported the scam to ACCC todat

Thanks you to all the people who have contributed!! I have fallen into this free sample thing too and on top of that I have added another free sample for Idrotherapy cream. I had a bad feeling about it and also found some negative comments on facebook and tried to ring back to stop everything. The number just rang out. I emailed them and a response came back from Malta saying that they don’t deal with cancellation issues and suggested I ring the number again. Rang them again and got to "speak"to an automated system. I accepted to pay another $50 to stop everything and not send the sample back (which would have costed $20 between restocking fees and handling). after reading all these comments I went back to my credit card statement and realised that the Argan Oil transaction is from a different merchant ….. I ended up canceling my card 10 minutes ago…. I can just imagine that this second merchant would have taken money from my card again. It is so irritating because there was no mention of all of this during the transaction at all!! And why pay in USD when the stock comes from Eartern Creek here in Sydney!! What a bloody scam!! Sally, thank you so much for providing this space and help people!! First and last time I fall into this kind of scam!!

Yes I to am guilty of not reading the fine print or doing a simple google search first. But thankfully did a google search as soon as i’d sent off my details. Rang the bank less than 10 minutes later and they said that $9.90 had already been debited! Amazingly quick! I cancelled my card then and there. Interestingly the address on the website said the product was being posted from Malta?

They charge your credit card without cause. They deliberately intercept any type of confirmation method through additional pop ups so that you do not think that any order or free sampling have been successful after you have given your details. All emails go directly to SPAM and they rely on their very fine print terms and conditions (that are not disclosed) to further charge you. They also charge cancellation fees, re-postal fees and product fees if you try to cancel within any time frames. Threatened that the Bank would chanrge me extra to make a complaint

Fell for this much to my disgust and just had a $120.61 charge on my card as well as the original postage. I have cancelled my card and my bank will dispute this greater charge for me as it was not agreed to with me as it was " a free trial bottle". Angry at myself for falling for it. Good luck people, my advice is to cancel card immediately and put up with the inconvenience.

SCAM SCAM Very unhappy with all of the process and misleading information. Trial starts from order date and doesn’t account for how long it gets to you.Not a sample but a trial, nothing is free or easy when you are dealing with the US. No easy way out of being charged, even to returning the product.

I’ve just been conned too! Straight away been charged 2 lots of $9.50. Did the same as you Paula. Grrrrr ??

I too have been conned by this unethical company. The fine print is so confusing that unless you read it very carefully you will get caught. I have been on the phone for 15 min after hanging up on the first operator who was trying to scam a processing fee of $10 before she would tell me the address to return the product. Never again will I purchase so called ‘trial’ products from anyone! I have cancelled my credit card to be doubly certain as well!

Same,same but my trial was stolen out of my letter box. When I "chatted"" online with ‘toni" she said they would send another but I owe them $50 as it wasn’t a sample!!!
They just rang me- now!! Then she tried to say it was only a 14 day trial and it’s outside that (by1 day) I just said if I hear from them again I will go to fair trade. They better not send me another bottle. I so hope they don’t take any money out of my visa debit card, beyond the postage cost I already paid.

When the product arrives, it’s not even argan oil, it’s branded A….i with no ingredients listed. The way that the website is set up is to scam you to think you only have to pay postage. Then there’s a ‘hidden’ terms and conditions that say they will charge a subscription fee. I was charged US$96 and US$99 from two different company.
When I rang to cancel, they make out as if I’ve confused myself and have purchased Au….i product, not organ oil. And that their return policy meant I can’t return them. Horrible customer service and wouldn’t refund my money back. I have cancelled the credit card and called it an expensive lesson. The company is based in Malta with numerous customer service number for multiple countries.
Can’t believe crooks like this are allowed to get away with cheating people’s money!

I have been scammed as well. They promoted themselves as being on Shark Tank and how wonderful their product is. Wanted to support an Australian company and they were offering a great deal to try it first. I feel very foolish and angry that I was taken in. Very sorry that they are giving your company a bad name. Thanks for the warning.

Thanks Manuela. I am glad you find this post to be helpful.Kind regards, Sally

Only way to get out of this scam is to cancel your card. Nasty people. I would love to know what is in the bottle though.

Thanks for providing a forum. Yes I have also been caught by the scam. After I had ordered, a pop up came up for another product which I said no to and then everything disappeared. I assumed my order had not gone through as there was no electronic receipt. Then a package arrived that did not include the name of a company, phone number nor a receipt just an address in NSW with no details of what to do to return the package. I have just rang my bank and cancelled my credit card. It has automatically gone in the disputed transaction route.

Yep scam …. seriously what can they do? cancel your card and don’t spend more money sending the product back. I put mine in the bin (god knows what’s in the bottle). I was charged $9 twice, they sent me the idrotherapy without me ordering it (I am sure it’s in the fine print that has only just now shown up in an email with the terms and conditions that wasn’t available when I ordered)

I signed up to trial 2 products for p&h only. When I decided the products did not suit my skin type I looked into returning them and read the comments from so many of you. I am only a few days into the trial period so with the required return number will return the products post haste.
During a 13 minute phone call I was asked to pay $9.99 per item to return it (in addition to p&h) or for $19.00 I could keep the products. I complained bitterly about this additional charge and it was immediately halved.
So my free trial has cost me 2 x postage plus $9.99 plus return postage. I will be watching my visa closely for any additional charges.
Thank you for providing this forum.

I have also been scammed this morning. They’d promoted being on Shark Tank TV show and how truly amazing the product is. Wanting to support an Australian company and they’d offered a great FREE Sample deal to try it first. I feel very stupid and angry as I’m never ever falling for click bait of this nature. Very sorry that they are giving your company a very very bad look!!! If the images aren’t photoshopped and all the celebs that use the REAL product is true I’d actually like some more info from the again the REAL company please. AS a matter of interest do you guys even send out free samples of the product???

have to agree with everyone here, scammed big time. Only good part is our bank got onto it first. Credit card cancelled hopefully the end of it. Sent 1 product that was ordered but also received 2nd product that wasn’t ordered. Charged for both, tried to cancel by phone but “sorry, we are unable to locate your account, please try again”. Also copped exchange rate costs for something that comes from Eastern Creek. Will be more vigilant in future. Thank you for having this forum, it’s been very useful.

Hi Nathan. The company that offered you a free sample is not an Australian company. Thanks for your condolences. In response to your question: "AS a matter of interest do you guys even send out free samples of the product??? – The answer from Argan Life Australia (that’s us providing this forum) we are not associated with this other business and we don’t do free introductory samples. Our products are all hand-made, Australian Certified Organic and our Argan is free trade and sourced from a women’s co-operative in Morocco. Argan Oil is actually a rare resource, protected by UNESCO and the women who make our oil work very hard, so no free offers but we do offer specials to our existing customers. :)

Yes me too. Have tried to contact the 1800 number with no luck. Terrible the way these scams happen. Will be contacting the bank tomorrow.

I to have been scammed outta $130 for my Free Trail…! Spewing as I’m on disability and they took half of my fortnightly payment…!
BEWARE
Is it possible to get your money back ? And do I need to cancel my card now?

Yes cancel your card. Ask you credit card provider to restore the payments to your credit card account and print my blog and the associated comments to use as evidence to justify your request. regards Sally, Argan Life Australia.

Scamed as well. What makes me so angry is it is associated with Jo Gaines (usa) I have tried to cancel my free trial only 3 days later and got the same run around. I will cancel my credit card tomorrow. I agreed to one product but was told I ordered 2, billed for 2 postages. I have just had a huge fight with “earl” he got a bit nasty when I told him this is a scam Someone must be able to stop this rip off.

I too was taken in by the free trial offer. The sample came about 3 weeks after I had ordered it. There were no company details or a reminder of the Terms and Conditions.with the parcel. Then just two days after I received the product a withdrawal of $88.80 Usd was listed in the pending section of my bank statement. I phoned the bank who told me that the money had to be taken out before they could help me. Well, it was taken yesterday. Before I contacted the bank I tried to contact the company. I used the website printed on the sample bottle. There was a chat link so I started a chat. Well, 3 hours of chatting is way too much. Their position changed as I countered each statement about waiting times and Free trial verses Free Sample. Along the way the first operator Mary had sudden technical problems. I then continued with Zoe. She wanted me to tell her all that Mary had said. I told her to read the transcript. After more “chatting” and after being offered a partial refund if I agreed to a discounted next bottle of (product name deleted) she said the partial refund would take 3-4 business days. If I wanted the full refund I had to send back the trial bottle at a cost, it had to reach them within 15 days and a refund would take 3-4 weeks. I told her it was akin to blackmail, and how could I ensure the product would get to them and be processed within 15 days. I mentioned having read all these posts and was assured that they were not scammers but a legitimate company that has run for 15 years. In the end I was so tired of it all that I agreed to the partial refund to be rid of it all. Now this is very surprising, I received an email today informing me that I would be getting the full refund. I am waiting with baited breath to see if it it is true. If so I am really lucky to have persevered with the enormously long chat and rational argument for each point they tried to make. They were really worried about me going to the bank to obtain a refund and asked directly if I had contacted the bank. It is dreadful that they are so unscrupulous and people have been charged so much for something they didn’t want or order. I will still ask the bank to block any withdrawals from this company.

Many thanks for providing this site – provides reassurance that I haven’t lost my marbles! WHY didn’t I see the T&Cs? As others have noted, they didn’t appear until the first order. Completely agree with all the foregoing comments. Same experiences. I noted on another blog that the owner appears to have connections to a US company being pursued for similar scamming activities. I’ve lodged a complaint with ACCC, as others seem to have done, and I’d urge anyone tricked by these thieves to do the same. I’m fortunate in that I checked the contents of the email which confirmed my order – but only because one sample arrived & I had ordered two. I cancelled my card after spending an hour attempting contact, and ending up with “Grace” (Ma’am) (Live chat) which was a Kafkaesque experience in itself. My heart goes out to those who didn’t notice until they’d been fleeced. Let’s collectively hope the I….apy mob arrives at its logical conclusion – in the trash can!

I am ashamed to say they got me on this one also. BIG thanks to Argan Life for allowing us to try and warn others. I never saw the fine print and when the 2nd order showed up I thought they made a mistake. But when the third order showed up I realized something was wrong. I tried to contact them and was hung up on…. I cancelled all my visa accounts immediately….. I was still worried they would try billing me through the post….. So I phoned again last night, about 1/2 hour on phone and someone called Chleo has cancelled my subscription. I have also cancelled the email account I was using when I placed the order and we no longer have a home phone ( due to NBN stuff up ). Chleo said she had emailed me cancellation, I reminded her I have no access to that email. I asked for the confirmation to be posted by regular mail and after being on hold while she ‘checked with her superiors’ I was told the cannot post one to me, BUT I could get a friend or relative to recieve the email for me…. HELL NO ! ! I have printed off their terms and conditions now that I have found it, unfortunately they cover their arses from every angle in them….. SO in a nutshell they are preying on peoples gullibility and lack of reading the fine print… I fully recorded my phone conversation last night and plan on starting a Facebook page to expose their cunningness to try to help others from being stung…… I will also be contacting Shark Tank, Australian Consumers Commission and who ever else I find to share this with…. In the end I was taken for just under $ 900.00. I will leave a link to the Facebook page here when I get it up and running, please come and share your stories. Thanks again Argan Life for allowing us to vent.

Urgently contact your bank before they withdraw more of your money. The bank will advise and arrange a new credit/debit card & number be issued to stop all ‘monthly’ $83.80 E of A deductions . If you ordered the free trial EoA as I did. Another product be wary as Id….py. Support create multiple account numbers from your single order. You phone and they email a Cancellation Notification for one order number only. When you try again to phone an automatic voice message says. “Your order is now cancelled, goodbye” This means you will continue to receive and be billed monthly WHY? because if you email them you receive a reply email saying. “You are very important to us but we do not handle Customer Support issues vis email. Please call the local toll free number in your region listed below.” You cant do this as explained above.
Call the fraud section of your bank as calling this company is a waste of time. Don’t trust their refund email. They have deducted from me $207.67 for what was advertised in Ebay as $6.49 P&H

Cant believe these people are still scamming..Have just read some posts dating back more than twelve months..I have just been charged $280 for products i didnt order..Phoned bank tonight..cancelled my card..they will follow it up but will take around three weeks to get back to me.Tomorrow i intend to phone as many tv programs as possible along with radio stations…The office of fair trade should look into this so will phone them too….I am retired so have the time to pursue these mongrels..There is an absolute necessity to get the word out there.I am not on facebook but have a daughter and grandchildren who are.I am so angry about this…it has lit a fire in me..It sickens me to see these nasty robbers abuse people’s trust…they have to be stopped…so watch this space…Thankyou Sally for providing this forum..I am wondering..is there a way we as consumers could test if the oil they supplied is really argan.Sorry to here that you are on the receiving end of complaints you are not responsible for..

Thank you everyone and Arganlife for this forum. I use to travel all the time to Morocco for my retail business and had run out of argan Oil so was about to buy but goggled the product first. Scary!
One thing I might suggest when wanting to try things out and when useing a credit card in Morocco, lol (lots of scams there) is to set up a prepaid Visa card and a throw away email only for offers just like this. Then if you only have set amount on card they can’t sting you for more. I often sign up for stuff and contests but I only use my secondary “offer” yahoo email for these. I hope you have enough people for a class action type fraud suit. It’s criminal what they are doing.

Hi I just got caught as well. Tried to request refund or cancel the deal they then told me ok but we will just change to a once off charge and not future charges. They have now taken 70 AUD off my card, even though I said cancel all deals. They got angry with me and also said we are doing the deal now ie cancelling and refunding the order.
I saw this on Facebook saying free samples and green coffee beans as well so be aware. Do not fall for it like I did and I now have had to cancel my credit card and get a new one, but the bank advised to lodge complaint and they might be able to get the funds back, but they will list the company as a scam which it is. Beware!

Yes a great big CON! When you make the order you are charged a small fee for postage and advised that you will be sent a FREE SAMPLE. Without realising it you are going to be charged on a monthly basis the sum of $99.99USD!!! You need to read the small print. I rang but there was no offer to refund any money. They need to be closed down. It is a scam. I should have read the reviews first. BE VERY CAREFUL AS IT IS NOT FREE AND THEY NOW HAVE YOUR CREDIT CARD DETAILS.

Yes I too fell for this scam and went for the trial and didnt read the fine print, when the product came no invoice or paperwork with it an they have now taken $650AUS from my credit card I have their customer helpline and am trying to get a refund for product I sent back unopened but it is now 1 mth of calls dont get caught out !

Hi, I also got caught with this scam. I noticed on my bank statement $127.22 had been withdrawn from my account by this company. The bank are investigating this for me. In the meantime the bank has cancelled my card and are issuing a new card. I am so annoyed that I have been caught by this scam as I am usually very careful . Thank you to all the people who have posted here and brought this scam to the attention of the public.

I have just been duped by this scam and the product was late – so I missed the 14 day trial period even though it said it was a free sample. Disgraceful. I will be changing my credit card. Thank you for posting here to try and help others

I got caught as well and I realized it after having the third one posted to it. Initially I thought they made a mistake sending me the second. Then after I received the third one in a monthly basis. I knew something not right and check my credit card statement. They charged me $133 each time. Lucky I find this web. May I know which bank you guys are with and if they have refunded the money to you guys?

Just called the 1800 number. I was so pissed by the scam and nab bank they don’t even block this transaction from my credit card for future. They asked me for prove and said I have signed up for it. Too bad. I spent in hour on the phone with the 1800 number trying to get a full refund. They obviously refused and “offer” me a full refund of this month and 50% refund of last month only cos it’s passed 30days. And if I returned the product, they will charge me $9.9 USD then give me full refund. They said the $9 is for a RMA number a handling fees. Their return address is 4 interchange drive, eastern creek NSW. They refused to give me the ABN number but said they r fully registers merchant of master and visa. This is after I threaten them I will go fair trading and a lawyer. I’m tired arguing and just agreed. Asked them to send me email right now before I hang up. Didn’t received it until I insist to send again and it went to junk mail. I swear I never received any email from them at all even for the sample. And never a email or printed invoice. I am so sure I checked the term and condition before I ordered the sample and it did not mention anything about the trial period and how much of the monthly fee. The term and condition only on their web. But not on the browser that pops up that u fill in all the details. i hope this detailed information help any of u and I get my money back.

I just called nab bank. They said it’s not a scam and they can’t block them for me for the future I need to contact the company and get it cancel the program!

Hi Dorothy. If you print the post and the comments, you can provide evidence that it is a negative billing scheme, which is a known credit card trap. regards Sally

Update: the company did refund me. But I called NAB, they said even though I cancelled the credit card and re issue it. They can still take my money because they set up a direct debit from my account. And Visa card called this “follow me” thingy. I argued what happen if they get money from me again? The guy said then it’s illegal, and they will block them after. So I have to call up the company to cancel what I sign up for. They can only dispute this for me and I have to wait around 45-200days. I’m really pissed with their logic and service. I will first go to ACCC, then fair trading and then financial ombudsman.

Hi Debbie,
Thanks for your comment. I would advise you to seek a refund from your credit card provider, and you might use my post (which I wrote in 2014) and the comments below as evidence to support your claim for a refund.
Kind regards
Sally, Argan Life Australia

Hi Sally, thx for ur advice. Will do.

Today., I found out that I also got caught up in this scam!!! $381.91 taken from my account.
After coming across your site, I went straight to the bank and canceled my Credit Card.
I’m absolutely appalled that these people are still operating!?!?
Why aren’t the authorities doing something about it. What a joke!!!

Not happy I also got scammed I phoned to cancel the product and was told I was to late but I wasn’t . I was then charged 80.80. On my credit card please be wary nothing is FREE.

Hi Jenny,
Thanks for your comment. It was nice to speak with you today and I am happy you found our post helpful. We host this forum to provide information for Australian consumers who have provided their credit card details to (company name deleted) in order to receive a free sample, only to find this leads to unexpected substantive credit card reductions. Just a reminder to all readers, Argan Life Australia is locally owned (based in Newcastle), does not offer free introductory samples and is a financially secure and legitimate Australian site. We provide excellent authentic Argan Oil without any complications for our Australian customers. Feel free to shop with us in future. Cheers, Sally from Argan Life Australia.

I ordered a trial of (product name deleted) off the net.
The site proclaimed that Kate Middleton used it, and showed photos of Emma Thompson and Helen Mirren each with good reviews.
I was aware of the 14 day trial period, and was searching online for the paperwork, as I’d only just today 15/11 received the product and the 14 day were up, when I came across the forum with pages of scams.
I immediately called the Bank and cancelled my card.

Thank you so much Argan Life Australia for enabling those of us affected by this scam to use your website as a forum. I have found the information very useful and have now put a block on my card, called my bank and lodge disputes on 3 unauthorised transactions (in excess $100 each) + intl transaction fees and called the number on the packing sheet, 1800 058 430. I advised the company that my bank was lodging a dispute and demanded all my money be reinstated immediately and all future shipments stopped. I was offered to keep the “free trial” for $20 (less my refund), however, I declined, stating that I had absolutely no interest in keeping a product from such a dishonest company….but I’m told to return the products, (product name deleted) and (product name deleted)…..and have been given a Return No. to do so….

Thanks for forum. I wish I had seen it before I ordered. Cant believe you wrote that post in 2014 and here I am in 2018 getting scammed. I’m not usually so stupid.
Westpac will see if I can get the money back. I sent them the link to your post in my charge dispute. Credit card cancelled New one to be issued.

Thank you for writing. We are glad to learn that you have found this post helpful in your negotiations with your credit card provider. Hopefully your payment will be reversed.
Kind regards
Sally, Argan Life Australia

I got scammed as well,but unfortunately the transaction was already processed,I cancelled my bank card and my bank said that they would block them again if they ever tried access to them again.I gor a voicemail to say that they were refunding me €57 of the €89 that they took,But not so sure now if it can be returned coz my card is cancelled,This has taught me a valuable lesson not using my card online again,but I used to shop with WISH.COM and I really don’t want to stop shopping with them.

Thanks Linda. Very kind of you to write. Happy to help.
Kind regards
Sally, Argan Life Australia

I to didn’t read the fine print on this free trial, just pay shipping?? I don’t want to be charged for anymore of this oil, I’m on disability and can’t afford this, how can I stop them from scamming me out of money I can’t use and don’t have? Please help!!

So im joing this group. Unfortunatelyni must say. i too didnt read fine print and now im 395 out of pocket. Rang lady today she explained whatni had done and what my charges were. Stupid me. thst wrinkly cream for 125 dolkars. ridiculous. she offered me a 45 dollar refund. Aussi dollars and has cancelled my acc. email to confirm. i have canc my card too. will ask bank to get get my money back but i didnt read the fine print. Not happy learnt a valuable lesson.

I am also the victim of this scam – $311.00 over 2 months – fortunately I picked it up early enough for the bank to cancel my card before the 3rd lot came out. But now I have to go through the frustration of informing all my recurring direct debits of new card. Thanks to you real Argan for putting up this site Suzie

Hello All, OMG ! Yes Me Too!
I paid for the Trial & then realised that it was a scam.
As soon as I recieved the oil, I rang the 1800 number & spoke to some lady in the USA, asked to Cancel was told too early & that they will send me a “RMA” number for return & instructions.
The operator then said $9.99 to return product, I said no then she said well for an extra $19.99 I can keep the product, again I said no, so she said she will try & get me the discount for return postage being $4.99. I am a widow to cancer & on a pension. Its a week since & no email from Argan ? She told me my account is now on hold until they recieve the returned product.
So I emailed E of A & they replied “They do not handle customer support, telling me to call back the 1800 number”. How the hell do they get away with it ?
I have cancelled my bank card, but will this be good enough ??? Any thought’s ?
Wishing you all GOOD LUCK with this !!!
Thanks to ArganlifeAustralia for your support :}

Thank you Suzy.

Yes just got ripped of by the company. Won’t repay me in Aussie dollars, has to be USA dollars.
Said they will refund US $68.42 from the amount of AUS $138.30.. Within 5 working days..

This happened to my wife. Free sample, unsolicited deliveries (when we were away on holidays), monthly deductions from our credit card etc. As far as I can tell this is illegal fraudulent conduct since the terms are only revealed to the customer AFTER they have ordered the sample or first order. I managed to get through to the company after several attempts and was very firm with them. I said I could see from all the customer reports that they are a scam company. They have refunded one payment but not the other and they say they have cancelled future deliveries. We have disputed the other payment with our bank and are now going through the process of completing that (we don’t want to cancel our credit card because of the number of things that are connected to it). We expect to be refunded in full by the company or our bank. It is a disgrace that the credit card companies allow the company to use their merchant services – that is worthy of a government investigation. Banks should also be able to block such merchants so this does not happen in the first place. Just be very careful with who you buy from. I also reiterate that from a legal perspective the company seems to be operating fraudulently as you cannot deliver unsolicited goods to someone and insist they pay.

Hi to all my fellow victims. I have been scammed also for the first time in my life.
Have cancelled my card, but not sure if the $579 dollars can be recouped. Will certainly be contacting the ACCC. and any one else in the media that will listen. Feel sorry for Lisa Wilkinson whose name was used to perpetuate this disgusting scam.

I got tricked as well. Drawn in by their clever advertising. I wish I had seen these reports before. I immediately contacted Essence of Argan on 1800058430 to cancel my account, & stop any other deductions from my cc. Huge pressure to purchase at half price, $35 which I absolutely refused. I insisted on returning the oil. Apparently I then required an RMA no: a fee of $9.90 + postage. I refused to pay. Told E of A (modified) that I was about to cancel my cc. So I got my RMA number & will pay return postage only. My advice – GIVE THIS COMPANY A MISS. Stick with Argan Life Australia

And still they go on! Can’t believe I did this, must remember to review first. Big catch is that its in US dollars. If the product did help with my wrinkles, they’ve now returned two-fold!! Would like to know how “Not Happy” got on with Westpac attempting to recover money??

Yep – me too :( I got my free sample in November but my December statement showed they had taken $135.53 plus an International Traction Fee for $4.07 out of my account. Tried to ring the Australian number shown on the bottle but ended up in the USA speaking to someone I couldn’t even understand. Thank you so much Sally for returning my call and filling me in with the details of this dodgy company.

I ordered the trial free oil Ecnesse fo Nagra (modified) . I was not satisfied so I tried to cancel the ongoing monthly deductions for the product within the trial period; however it cost me more for the return postage than the trial product itself! How does cancelling a product that you bought in good faith ( I wish I had read these reviews beforehand!) end up costing you more for absolutely nothing?! Such a scam!!

I notice negative comments go back as far as 2014, how come these thieves have not been bought to account, is there no way we can mount a class action against these grubs? the rubbish and lies they tell are incredible. I cancelled in October, received no more products but they are still billing me, have lost hundreds of dollars to them, my bank said the only way was to cancel my credit card, which is a damn pain but has to be done. This is a real shame if somewhere in this mess there is a genuine company trying to sell their product. We should know sadly the world has changed and some people are just fraudsters, time to wake up. Happy New Year

You’re welcome Ann. cheers Sally / Argan Life

Oh I was fooled by Lisa Wilkinson loves this product
Thanking you for this post ,annoyed too at myself I usually know better..$144.05 from my account,my bank will refuse anymore attempts from both of them

I am so furious right now. I too have fallen into the “this product is allegedly endorsed by Lisa Wilkinson.” My only hope is that this is not supported by Lisa. My partner has been billed over $600 in just 1 month and now has had to cancel their credit card. We are trying to recoup the cost.

Just to let you know they are at it again. I’ve been billed twice. Informed the bank to block further payments so waiting to see what happens.
Couldn’t get contact address etc for the company etc.