Fibromyalgia-Arthritis Centers of America

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
Regards,
[redacted]

To Whom it May Concern;
We have stood by our legally signed agreement with the patient, to the letter.
We feel very bad that the patient did not get adequate relief. We are the only medical company that offer's a guarantee.
As for the patients statement, we have never alluded to...

the fact that is was a cure. Our statement to the public in 14 years has been, We feel we have a solution to your problem.We have attached the patients signed guarantee and documentation of her refund per the signed guarantee.
Thank you,
Kathryn S[redacted]
VP of Operations

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

To Whom it May Concern;
As previously stated, we have stood by our legally signed agreement with the patient, to the letter.
We feel very bad that the patient did not get adequate relief. We are the only medical company that even offer's a guarantee.
As for the patients statement that there was a promise our program was cure for fibromyalgia, we have never alluded to that fact. Our statement to the public in 14 years has been, We feel we have a solution to your problem.
Also, the patient's statement as to the total amount of damages is wrong. The was not charged $7,494. She was charged $6,494. Due to the signed contract and the guarantee, the patient was refunded $3,247.50 per her guarantee.
We do not feel we owe the patient anymore monies.
We have attached the following:
Contract
Letter of Refund
Copy of when refund was made.
Sincerely,
Michael C[redacted]
President/CEO

I have reviewed the response...

made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

In reference to Mrs. [redacted]'s complaint.  We have in fact refunded her monies electronically as we promised.  Our company has no control over the bank and the length of time it it takes the bank to post to her account.  Mrs [redacted] is being totally unreasonable and to tell you she...

thinks we have committed fraud is ludicrous and irresponsible.  We have conducted ourselves entirely within the letter of our agreement with this young lady and have never billed [redacted] for anything.

In regard to the recent complaint.  I do apologize for the tardiness of the refund that I do agree is due.  This was an over site on the part of our accounting department.  The refund is being processed as we speak.

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved. However I would like it to go on record that I have phone records to show exactly when I called [redacted], and my cancelling occurred via 3 phone calls within 18 hours of initially signing the paperwork. NOT 5 days. And that [redacted] was in Wisconsin when I called him. According to him he was in Fond du Lac for another seminar, so phone calls were made in CST, not Arizona time. I think in the future his company should reconsider their business practice of filing paperwork immediately if they tell people they have 3 days to change their minds. It makes things stressful and creates unnecessary anxiety. As long as my money gets fully refunded within the 30 days I will be satisfied. 

Regards,[redacted]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.The original complaint I made is absolutely true and correct, My wife and I both contacted [redacted] and confronted him about the refund, he stated we needed to go another 3 weeks and if no results we would get a refund. At the end of that period of time, [redacted] their contact person to me stated she agreed that the procedure was not working for me and said she would pass on her report to her supervisor. The Doctor I was told to go see also said she didn't think the system would not work for me and she would send her report to [redacted].Either they do not have any type of "chain of command" or they don't communicate with each other but I made three attempts to get a refund.Someone did call me from their office and stated they were going to refund to my credit card, but not till the 27th or 28th of April. I think this is a very strange way to deal with an immediate problem and I am going to hold the complaint OPEN til I get confirmation that the amount has been returned to my credit card and stays there.Regards,[redacted]

Response from FACA is not accurate and is totally unacceptable

I am in receipt of the letter the customer sent you.  Most in this letter is not true.  I have talked to the customer a number of times.  She first enrolled in the program, then she canceled, then she agreed to proceed, then she canceled again.  This took about 5 days.  I...

informed her that a credit would be submitted as soon as the funds hit our bank.  Once the credit card co has agreed to except the charges, it takes about 5 days to hit our bank.  I can not refund monies I have not received.  This young lady has called and woke me up at 11:00 PM and 4:30 Am Arizona time.  The legal and binding contract that the customer signed when we first met states,  please allow 30 days for all refunds.  It has only been one week since she finally canceled her agreement with us.  I even offered her a money back guarantee to ease her mind, now she holds that against me.  I believe in some cases there are people that really don`t want help.  She appears to be one.  I will make sure her refund is completed before the agreed 30 days elapses.[redacted]P/CEOFibromyalgia Arthritis Centers of America

It is our policy, that if a client is not satisfied and feels they deserve a refund they must contact us and request the refund.  Mr [redacted] has not contacted our company requesting a refund sense he restarted the program.  After reading the complaint sent to your office, our staff has...

tried repeatedly to contact Mr. [redacted] with no results.  We have left numerous messages on his answering machine.  Every company has certain policies in place to insure a smooth operation.  When a client requests a refund of any amount it is submitted to the finance committee to make sure the request is valid.  The committee then makes thier recommendations to the CFO and action is taken.  If we can not talk to the client or they refuse to return our calls, it is out of our hands.  We will continue to try to reach out to Mr. [redacted].[redacted]President/CEO

Review: Paid $5900 via credit card loan to enter program promised to improve issues with polymyalgia rheumatic problems, Michael R C[redacted], Pres & CEO of company personally conducted seminar promising help or money back guarantee. This was in July 2013 in Salem OR. I followed the program to the letter including having blood tests, following diet recommended, taking medications, making weekly reports via telephone to their office personnel. With no marked improvement after approximately 12 months on the program, attempted to contact their office in Mesa AZ. Only could leave messages asking them to return my all....no calls returned after several attempts. I have paid over $4000 plus $1600 interest to date to [redacted] on this contract. I still owe a balance of $1850. Notified [redacted] of dispute...filed a dispute claim and they advised to make no further payments until I am advised from them. I have received basically no benefits from the program and feel no better than I did 3 years ago when I started this plan. They promised money back guarantee which apparently meant nothing. Now you report the company is no longer in business and I have tried all telephone numbers with no answers. This company should be held accountable and not allowed to bilk customers trying to get help with health issues. I wish I would have started sooner to pursue this complaint....feel like it is probably too late now to expect any kind of reimbursement but at least I have hope of not having to pay the balance and not have it affect my credit rating.Desired Settlement: At least partial refund for services promised at the seminar which were never completed and outcome of treatment was of no value to me. My health condition is no better than prior to starting the treatment program on which instructions were followed by me. A settlement of at least 50% or $3000 would seem reasonable to me, including refund of the balance owing [redacted]

Review: Letter I sent -

We attended your sales session on fibromyalgia in December 2014 at which time you made a guarantee to everyone that you could cure fibromyalgia. You stated that you had a network of trained medical doctors and support staff and many years of success. You personally guaranteed success and if not, a full refund of $6,495.00. There was no indication of any additional charges; again you said a “Full Refund” if not satisfactory and all doctors and medical were totally trained and experienced. I left holding back tears to think that I would be cured by your program from many years of pain and suffering.

I had paid the mandatory $1,000, non-refundable, for a “special” blood test, a blood test that I could have had done free through my own insurance. The balance was to be paid through [redacted] for 12 months interest free for what was sold as a 12 week intensive treatment program. I had very little reduction in pain or symptoms of Fibromyalgia once I started the program. The way the daily chart, required to tract and turn in on a weekly basis, was not setup to reflect the true daily activity when experiencing pain symptoms. There really wasn’t any adequate medical advice given during that time.

Your letter dated September 11, 2015 stated that I qualify for a 50% refund and that would be credited to my [redacted] account. When I signed the 50% letter I was told that that would only apply if I hadn’t held up my side of the program. I had every intention to do this program so that was the only reason I signed that paper. I did the program so I expect a full refund to my [redacted] account. Starting balance as $6,495.00. I have paid $ 1,178.00. Believe me, I definitely have not received services that even come close to the amount I have paid. I expect a full refund and cancellation of payments to my [redacted] account immediately. When I had called FACA, several months ago, regarding this matter your people said that it would take at least 4 to 6 weeks because you had to wait to receive monies from future seminars and that the seminar attendance was very slim. That definitely threw up a red flag! I have discontinued making payments to [redacted] waiting for this issue to be resolved and my credit rating better not be affected by this issue. I have been very painfully waiting to solve this issue and I can promise you, this my first letter, copies of this letter will be sent to Arizona Attorney General and to the Revdex.com.

Again, your promise at the first meeting was a cure of fibromyalgia and that you had physicians which you had personally evaluated. Even a time period of 12 weeks was promised. Again, I am totally disgusted with your broken promises and lack of results.

Still in pain,Desired Settlement: Bill to [redacted] Bank, in my name, Linda * L[redacted]o be paid in full plus reimbursed for monies already paid to [redacted] Bank, $1,077. total of $3247.50.

Business

Response:

To Whom it May Concern;We have stood by our legally signed agreement with the patient, to the letter.We feel very bad that the patient did not get adequate relief. We are the only medical company that offer's a guarantee.As for the patients statement, we have never alluded to the fact that is was a cure. Our statement to the public in 14 years has been, We feel we have a solution to your problem.We have attached the patients signed guarantee and documentation of her refund per the signed guarantee.Thank you,Kathryn S[redacted]VP of Operations

Consumer

Response:

Response from FACA is not accurate and is totally unacceptable

Business

Response:

To Whom it May Concern;As previously stated, we have stood by our legally signed agreement with the patient, to the letter.We feel very bad that the patient did not get adequate relief. We are the only medical company that even offer's a guarantee.As for the patients statement that there was a promise our program was cure for fibromyalgia, we have never alluded to that fact. Our statement to the public in 14 years has been, We feel we have a solution to your problem.Also, the patient's statement as to the total amount of damages is wrong. The was not charged $7,494. She was charged $6,494. Due to the signed contract and the guarantee, the patient was refunded $3,247.50 per her guarantee.We do not feel we owe the patient anymore monies.We have attached the following:ContractLetter of RefundCopy of when refund was made.Sincerely,Michael C[redacted]President/CEO

Review: I filed a complaint about this company on 4/18/15. The claim # is 10584126. The agreement with this company was that if I did not qualify for the treatment they would process a refund of $5745.00 within 30 days. After several call to the business I filed a complaint with the Revdex.com.

On 4/28/15 I accepted the resolution offered by the company through the Revdex.com for a refund to my credit card. As of today (5/11/2015) the amount of $5745.00 has still not been credited to my credit card. They originally said the credit would be posted on 4/15/2015. I would like to reopen the complaint to see if it can be resolved. I am extremely frustrated with this business as that is a large amount of money to me.Desired Settlement: Refund $5745.00 to my credit card as promised.

Business

Response:

In regard to the recent complaint. I do apologize for the tardiness of the refund that I do agree is due. This was an over site on the part of our accounting department. The refund is being processed as we speak.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

To many people like to post the negative about services and no one like to post the good.

I just wanted to let other Consumers know that The Fibromyalgia Centers have a great customers service and returned my call and answered my email within 1 business day.

JMP K[redacted] , WI

Review: I attended a free lecture on 9/2/14 in Wisconsin and signed up for the program offered. It was a one-time cost of $6,000. I filled out an application for the program as well as a medical credit card through CareCredit to pay for the program. I was told I had 3 days to change my mind "no questions asked".

On Wednesday morning 9/3/14 I called the salesman [redacted] and told him I wanted to cancel. He asked me why & I said I couldn't justify the amount of money. He said he was disappointed but said ok and he'd shred my paperwork.

Within a half hour, [redacted] called me back. He told me there was grant money he could get to help me if cost was an issue. I told him cost wasn't the issue. He pressed me for what the issue was and I told him simply that I did not think his program would work. (The program consists of essentially "curing" fibromyalgia). I told him I felt like he was trying to sell me magic beans. He asked me "What if I could give you a 100% money back guarantee". I asked if I could get that in writing. He said he would fax it to me Monday when he got back into Arizona. I told him I'd prefer it to be emailed before Friday (since Friday would be 3 days and if I didn't get the information I planned on cancelling which would still be within 3 days). He agreed to send me an email. However after another hour of thought, I didn't like the idea. THere are no 100% guarantees in medicine. I called him & told him to cancel me. He asked me why I wanted to "stay sick with my disease". I told him I wasn't comfortable and to cancel me.

Tonight, Friday 9/5, I just received an automated message from Care Credit thanking me for opening my account and confirming the credit amount of $6,995. I contacted [redacted] in less than 12 hours stating I did not want the program and was assured he'd shred my application.

I have now tried to call [redacted] multiple times and continue to receive voice mail of someone named Scott. This has me irate. I called care credit and they said they can't do anything, the cancellation has to come from the initial medical provider. I don't know what to do but this has best not show up on my credit report. I had tried to research the company before I attended the lecture and could find nothing. Please post this information so people know NOT to fall for this scam!!Desired Settlement: Completely reverse the amount of $6,995 from Care Credit, cancel the credit account completely, and shred my applications for the program as discussed.

Business

Response:

I am in receipt of the letter the customer sent you. Most in this letter is not true. I have talked to the customer a number of times. She first enrolled in the program, then she canceled, then she agreed to proceed, then she canceled again. This took about 5 days. I informed her that a credit would be submitted as soon as the funds hit our bank. Once the credit card co has agreed to except the charges, it takes about 5 days to hit our bank. I can not refund monies I have not received. This young lady has called and woke me up at 11:00 PM and 4:30 Am Arizona time. The legal and binding contract that the customer signed when we first met states, please allow 30 days for all refunds. It has only been one week since she finally canceled her agreement with us. I even offered her a money back guarantee to ease her mind, now she holds that against me. I believe in some cases there are people that really don`t want help. She appears to be one. I will make sure her refund is completed before the agreed 30 days elapses.[redacted]P/CEOFibromyalgia Arthritis Centers of America

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved. However I would like it to go on record that I have phone records to show exactly when I called [redacted], and my cancelling occurred via 3 phone calls within 18 hours of initially signing the paperwork. NOT 5 days. And that [redacted] was in Wisconsin when I called him. According to him he was in Fond du Lac for another seminar, so phone calls were made in CST, not Arizona time. I think in the future his company should reconsider their business practice of filing paperwork immediately if they tell people they have 3 days to change their minds. It makes things stressful and creates unnecessary anxiety. As long as my money gets fully refunded within the 30 days I will be satisfied.

Regards,

Review: I attended a seminar in Jan 2014 that FCA presented. They stated that the success rate for this program was 80%. or your money back, minus doctors costs. I signed up for the program and followed their diet suggestions along with the taking of Hydrocortisone prescribed by [redacted], the companies referred doctor.

To make this story short, I followed the suggestions for diet and medicine and also filled out a pain level chart every day of the trial. At the end of the period of time I was sent a report that said I had only improved 1%

I then sent them a letter requesting my money back minus agreed upon expenses on their part.

I was refused the refund because they said I didn't complete the program by not taking an antibiotic they said I needed to take. They did not prescribe the antibiotic so when I returned to Idaho for the summer I got a local doctor to prescribe 2 strong antibiotics for a gut problem. I took the antibiotics, returned to AZ and talked to the President/CEO, [redacted] of FAACA, again asking for my money back. He said I did not take the antibiotic therefore I could not get a refund. I told him that I did take the antibiotic in Idaho. He then offered to refund half of what I paid if I would complete the last part of the program. I completed it with no results, asked for refund but have not received a reply.Desired Settlement: Amount I paid was $5,700.00 plus $25.00 for blood test required. Their actual cost might be as much as $900.00 but I will settle for $3,000.00. My insurance also paid approximately $1,000.00 of which I will let Medicare go after them for.

Business

Response:

It is our policy, that if a client is not satisfied and feels they deserve a refund they must contact us and request the refund. Mr [redacted] has not contacted our company requesting a refund sense he restarted the program. After reading the complaint sent to your office, our staff has tried repeatedly to contact Mr. [redacted] with no results. We have left numerous messages on his answering machine. Every company has certain policies in place to insure a smooth operation. When a client requests a refund of any amount it is submitted to the finance committee to make sure the request is valid. The committee then makes thier recommendations to the CFO and action is taken. If we can not talk to the client or they refuse to return our calls, it is out of our hands. We will continue to try to reach out to Mr. [redacted].[redacted]President/CEO

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.The original complaint I made is absolutely true and correct, My wife and I both contacted [redacted] and confronted him about the refund, he stated we needed to go another 3 weeks and if no results we would get a refund. At the end of that period of time, [redacted] their contact person to me stated she agreed that the procedure was not working for me and said she would pass on her report to her supervisor. The Doctor I was told to go see also said she didn't think the system would not work for me and she would send her report to [redacted].Either they do not have any type of "chain of command" or they don't communicate with each other but I made three attempts to get a refund.Someone did call me from their office and stated they were going to refund to my credit card, but not till the 27th or 28th of April. I think this is a very strange way to deal with an immediate problem and I am going to hold the complaint OPEN til I get confirmation that the amount has been returned to my credit card and stays there.Regards,[redacted]

Review: I signed up with this company to see if I was a candidate for the fibromyalgia arthritis treatment program. The amount of $5995.00 was charged to my credit card account with the stipulation that if I did not qualify I would be refunded all but $250.00 ($5745.00) within 30 days. The $250.00 was the cost of the examination by their physician. I saw Dr. [redacted] Wick on March 6, 2015. She disqualified me. I called Scott A. [redacted] ([redacted]) three times. He did not answer but I left messages asking what I needed to do for the refund. No response. A lady named Robin ([redacted]) called me to see how I was doing on the plan. I informed her that I did not qualify and that I had contacted Scott to get my refund. Robin stated she would check on it. She called me back the same day and stated the refund would be proceeded on April 15, 2015 which is past the 30 day limit. It is now April 17, 2015 and the credit has not yet shown up on my account. I am also concerned that they may have submitted a claim to [redacted]. If they did I feel it may constitute fraud.

Business

Response:

In reference to Mrs. [redacted]'s complaint. We have in fact refunded her monies electronically as we promised. Our company has no control over the bank and the length of time it it takes the bank to post to her account. Mrs [redacted] is being totally unreasonable and to tell you she thinks we have committed fraud is ludicrous and irresponsible. We have conducted ourselves entirely within the letter of our agreement with this young lady and have never billed [redacted] for anything.

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

Review: On 1/13/2016 I attended a seminar at [redacted] put on by Michael C[redacted], the president and CEO of this company. He signed up myself and my husband for the program which was $5000 each. He said that he would be our personal sponser and to contact him directly. He gave us his business card and took the paperwork that we signed and left us with a paper written in the amount for each of us and said that we would be receiving a packet with paperwork including the contract and receipts. Michael notified us of our appointments with Dr Deann S[redacted] who works with his company.When we arrived it was Transformational Dr.Dr S[redacted] wanted an additional $50 from each of us plus our appointments had been changed to later in the day.Everything was suppose to be paid and my husband was did not want to go through with the contract- I called Michael from the DR office and told him that Phil wanted to cancel the contract and have his money refunded. Michael said that he would have confirm that he did not have any treatment and then the money would be refunded. At this time and when I signed up I had marked down my brain fog level was an 8 and pain high.I saw the dr. Michael was contacted numerous times about not receiving the refund. He finally said it would be credited back 3/2/16. That didn't happen so called again. He said that they had changed credit card companies and so a check would be sent in the mail which would include the interest of $29.88 on our card.The check never came nor the packet. They said that the packet had been mailed twice but came back because of wrong zip code- because of that we have no copy of the contract.I got sick on the program,he said I need to start the program over- dr performed a test on my rt leg which resulted in blood clots breaking off and traveling to my lung . When in the hospital 3/15 or 16 I called Michael about not getting the check and that I needed to come out of the program because of the blood thinnersDesired Settlement: When I called Michael from the hospital I requested a refund of what was not used on my contract and he said because of what I went through I would receive a full refund.He said at that time he was sorry for all the confusion with Phil's refund. A check would be in the mail. I spent 5 days in the hospital the first time and 7 days the second time. I have been through life threatening situations. I need a copy of our contract and the $10,000 refunded to our address [redacted]