It’s always reassuring when you see a diet pill with a money-back guarantee but are they always as good as they seem? Unfortunately, the answer to that question is often “no.”
A money-back guarantee is really nothing more than a promise. The diet pill manufacturer is saying its product will work. If it doesn’t you can have your money back.
In most cases, any refund will be less the original cost of the postage, but that’s not unfair.
Some manufacturers, also deduct a handling fee. Depending on how large the fee is, that’s not unfair either.
I’ve always believed the handling charge is likely to be the original cost of manufacturing and bottling the pills. If the handling charge is five dollars or less, nobody is going to relish its loss but it’s not going to break the bank.
Unfortunately, some diet pill manufacturers don’t honor their promise of a money-back guarantee and refuse to return any money at all. Then there are the sneaky ones that use clever wording to mislead customers into thinking they have a guarantee when, in fact, there may be none.
I’ve been reviewing diet pills for a long time and I’ve noticed the trickery is becoming more prevalent. It’s very easy to get caught out and, due to the clever wording and the fact that people often click they have read the “terms and conditions” without reading them first, it’s quite easy for manufacturers to refuse customers’ requests for refunds without running afoul of the law.
Let’s take a look at some of the things you need to look out for.
The Short Guarantee
Some companies don’t provide a lot of information about their guarantee. Not on the pages they use for selling their products anyway. In some cases, they use an emblem instead.
When you look at a guarantee emblem like the one above, you see the diets pills have a money-back guarantee, but not how long it lasts.
Most diet pills come in bottles that contain a 30-day supply of pills so it’s reasonable to presume you can use the full bottle of pills for a month and then return it if you don’t think the pills did what they were supposed to do.
But what if the guarantee runs out before you finish the pills? It becomes null and void. That means the manufacturer is not legally obliged to provide a refund.
Believe it or not, I’ve encountered diet pills that have a guarantee period of 5-7 days. The pages selling these products never made this clear, but the term and conditions page did. It was impossible to buy the products in question without placing a tick in the box that said you’d read the terms and conditions and agreed to them.
Here’s a tip you are unlikely to find on other diet pill review sites:
ALWAYS READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS BEFORE YOU PUT A TICK IN THE BOX.
Let’s take a look at a screenshot I took from one diet pill website’s terms and conditions page. It’s from the same site as the money-back guarantee emblem I’ve included above.
This guarantee is actually pretty fair, but you won’t know about its terms unless you have visited the terms and conditions page.
In this case, the terms and conditions page also makes a few more things clear:
You need to contact the company within 30 days of the original shipment date and request a Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA).
The customer service department has to receive the returned goods within 20 days of the RMA being issued.
Again, this is good. It’s fair. If you’ve read the terms and conditions you can play the game by the correct rules.
However, 30 days is not long and you may lose three or four of those days due to slow shipping. Possibly even more. That doesn’t give you much time to try the product and see what it can do.
Of course, it’s plenty long enough to see if side effects occur. That’s when a guarantee like this will come into its own.
The important take-home point here is, always check the terms of the guarantee. It may not be as long as you think.
The Selective Guarantee
(May Depend on Order Size)
I never saw this type of guarantee 10 years ago. These days I’m seeing it more and more. Although it’s easy to presume it covers every order, the way this type of guarantee is worded gives manufacturers an excuse to refuse a refund because you did not order several bottles of pills.
I don’t know what other people call it, but I call it the selective guarantee and it could be very easy to get caught out.
The best way to be sure you are really getting a money-back guarantee is to avoid relying on the promise made on the diet pill sales page. Scroll down to the bottom of the page instead. Check the links in the footer. If you see any that say “Returns”, “Refunds”, “Guarantee”, or something similar click them and then read through all the details of the guarantee.
Next, go to the terms and conditions page and check if it says anything about the guarantee. If it does, how do the terms compare to the promises made on other pages of the site? If nothing sets your alarm bells ringing, you should be okay.
The terms and conditions page is the most important place to check because when you place your order you normally click a box that states you have read the terms and accept them.
The “Jump Through Hoops” Guarantee
Getting a refund via some diet pill guarantees may be more trouble than it’s worth. The manufacturers promise a refund but only if you comply with some very strict terms. Again, the terms are seldom made clear on the pages being used for selling the pills.
Take a look at the guarantee promise below.
I copied it from the sales page used for a popular fat-burner. Looks pretty good, doesn’t it? Ninety days! Wow!. That’s a long guarantee.
It all seems pretty simple as well. Buy the pills, try the pills, and ask for a refund if they don’t work.
It’s not that simple at all, but you would never know it unless you take a look at the “Shipping and Returns” page. Let’s do that now.
It’s an interesting revelation, isn’t it? The sales page says “simply send it back for a refund”, but it’s not simple at all.
You need to focus on the fact you need to have used the product “consistently” for the full 90 days and followed the instructions.
In addition to this, you need to have exercised regularly and “consistently” followed a healthy, low-calorie diet.
Finally, you have to provide details of your workout and diet plan as well.
Providing a description is going to be very hard for people who were unaware of the need to do so because they never read the Shipping and Returns page.
In reality, what you would probably need to do is make a daily log of what you have eaten, when you have eaten it (a food diary could help you to do this) and then send it along with details of your weekly exercise routine.
Although it would be nice to see all the details on the sales page, the terms of this guarantee seem fair.
Diet pills help you improve on existing results—the kind of results you get by eating a low-calorie diet. Like exercise, the pills help you lose more weight. No pill in the world will do the work for you.
However, a lot of customers may fail to check what they need to do and find themselves ineligible for a refund via a guarantee of this nature. I have a problem with that. It’s the main reason for this article. If you are buying diet pills I want to help you go into things with your eyes wide open and know what to expect.
The “No Quibbles” Money-Back Guarantee
I’m not seeing too many of these nowadays. A no-quibbles money-back guarantee is exactly as it sounds. There are no quibbles to worry about or hoops to jump through. All the important pages state that if you are not happy with the product you can have your money back.
This is the best type of guarantee a customer can get but it’s the kind of guarantee that could put manufacturers out of business if too many people are asking for refunds.
If customers use the pills and fail to improve their poor dietary habits they may not lose weight—even if the pills are very good.
The sad fact is, a lot of people who buy diet pills are looking for a magic bullet. They have no intention of changing their ways.
Diet pill manufacturers can be forgiven is they feel the need to protect their interest by making their guarantees look better than they are.
However, many manufacturers also make their products seem better than they are. Some even claim diet and exercise are not necessary. That’s unacceptable. It’s wrong to try and sell people an impossible dream.
Having said that, the manufacturers making some of the wildest claims often make it very clear they offer no guarantees at all.
What to Do When Diet Pill Manufacturer Don’t Honor Guarantees
Some manufacturers simply ignore customers who request refunds. In some cases, the only way to request a refund is via the telephone number on the site but nobody ever picks up the phone. It’s a strategic move.
When manufacturers fail to acknowledge email refund requests or don’t pick up the phone, some customers complain by leaving comments on the company’s social media accounts. This tactic seldom works. The companies often just remove the comments and then block the customer so they can’t place any more.
A better option is to check if the company has a page at the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website. If it does, you can complain to the BBB. I’ve seen many instances where customers have had difficulties getting a refund until companies realize they are getting bad press via the BBB.
Complaining to the BBB doesn’t always work, but it can. Here is an example of a complaint that got results:
As you can see, the customer had great difficulty getting her money back from the company in question. In this case, complaining to the BBB was a good way to get her refund.
Even if there is no money-back guarantee in place, complaining to the BBB can be helpful if you buy diet pills that are being marketed with outrageous claims and they subsequently fail to work. (https://www.bbb.org/consumer-complaints/file-a-complaint/get-started)
It’s also possible to report guarantee problems and other unfair business practices to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Here’s a link to the right page if you need it: https://www.ftc.gov/faq/consumer-protection/submit-consumer-complaint-ftc
Privately-run websites like Ripoff Report and Pissed Consumer are also good places to share your story. There are other similar sites as well but such sites are only good for venting your spleen and letting other consumers know about companies and products that are best avoided. If you want your money back, your first port of call should be the BBB or FTC.
