Institute For Vibrant Living

Review: I returned unopened product in December 2014 and have called numerous times to inquire about my 100% guaranteed refund but still have not received it. My RA# is [redacted] and I was told they received my return on December 9, 2014. A call center rep by the name of [redacted] called a week ago and stated that finance had processed my refund. This is the second representative that has told me that the refund has been processed. My payment was made from my Paypal account and I still have not received the refund amount of $89.97. I have been unable to acquire a transaction code from anyone at IVLPRODUCTS so I have my doubts that a refund has ever been processed.Desired Settlement: I want to see the $89.97 refunded to my [redacted] account.

Business

Response:

To Whom It May Concern,Thank you for bringing [redacted] complaint to our attention. I am happy to announce that on 1/13/2015 the funds in question ($89.97) we refunded to [redacted] account which was the account she used to make her purchase from us. Please see the attached documentation from [redacted]. I would like to personally apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused [redacted]. This refund process between our system and [redacted] is automated and her refund should have been posted to her [redacted] account on 12/9/14. For some unknown reason the automation did not take place that day and we were unaware that the funds were not posted to [redacted] account until she brought it to our attention.Respectfully,[redacted]Director of OperationsInstitute for Vibrant Living[redacted]

Review: I ordered six cans of All Day Energy Greens. I was notified of a voluntary recall and that they have notified the FDA. I have two cannisters left, one of which is unopened. I had episodes of gastrointestinal distress. [redacted] Unable to reach company aftter three phone calls on three different days and was put on hold for 20 minutes. Sent Post Card no response. Gave my phone number to operator to call back-never heard back.Desired Settlement: Company should inform me how they want the recall handled and if I agree to it.

I believe I should receive a full refund for faulty product.

Business

Response:

To Whom it May Concern,Our customer service manager reached out to Ms. [redacted] and apologized for any inconvenience her long hold times when calling us may have caused her. Upon discussing the situation with Ms. [redacted] it was determined that we needed to refund Ms. [redacted] in the amount of $119.94. We have done so via company check # 78538 which was mailed to her today. From everything I have been told, this resolution is to the satisfaction of Ms. [redacted]. If for any reason it is not, please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly at [redacted] . I will see to it that Ms. [redacted] is satisfied if she is not at this time. Respectfully submitted,Patrick H[redacted]Director of OperationsInstitute for Vibrant Living

I found the product I ordered from IVL minimally effective and wanted to return it for a refund as advertised. They state that a RMA (return merchandise auth) must accompany the return item and to obtain the form call customer service #. However, I found it impossible to get a person on the phone to request such a form. I called many times during the designated hours of business and got a very irritating recording that said they valued my business, but could never get beyond the recording to a real person. I would let the recording play for hours on speaker phone so I would know when they answered. They never did answer after many attempts. What phoney advertising, and lousy customer service. I will never deal with this company again.

Review: Institute for Vibrant Living scams people. After hearing a radio ad, I called and ordered what they were offering: a "free sample" with just $7.99 shipping.

I was shocked today to see that they had just automatically deducted $127.96 +$6.99 (shipping) from my checking account.

I NEVER ordered anything, NEVER agreed to an automatic re-order and never heard (as they claim) this crazy condition of an 18 day window after which they are entitled to send you the product automatically. I never received an email about this. They just grabbed my money and now want me to pay for the unasked for shipping charge and return shipping if I return the yet to be delivered item. What CROOKS!!

When I called to complain about $127.96 + $6.99 (shipping) charges, they said I'd agreed to that when I ordered the free sample. They said they record every order. I asked that this recording be sent to me, but they said they can't be bothered with such a low order to find this recording. SCAM SCAM SCAM.

They claim the people taking the orders ALWAYS read from the same script and ALWAYS state this 18 day window condition. Again, they refuse to send me confirmation of this conversation.

These are scammers of the WORST kind, how can you give them this A+ rating??? OMG.

I want them to refund my $127.96, the $6.99 shipping on the unasked for item AND a for them to send a pre-paid mailing label to return the product.

These people are shameless!!!

Denise BreslinDesired Settlement: I want them to refund the $127.96 and the $6.99 shipping charge into my checking account. If they want their product back, I want them to send a pre-paid shipping label.

Business

Response:

To Whom It May Concern,Upon reviewing Ms. [redacted] complaint I went to discuss it with our on-duty Customer Service Supervisor who informed me that she had taken care of Ms. [redacted] issue to the point of 100% satisfaction. We refunded her funds completely and advised her to keep the product that is in route to her. We have also cancelled any future shipments and will bring this issue up with our contracted off site call center to ensure that all respondents are completely aware of and in agreement with continuity program enrollment.I would like to personally apologize to Ms. Breslin for any inconvenience and assure her we do not condone continuity enrollment for any of our customers without their complete consent.Respectfully,[redacted]Director of OperationsInstitute for Vibrant Living

Review: I ordered a all natural energy drink (. powder add to water etc.) from institute for vibrant living. by telephone after hearing thiet saturay add on my local christian radio station. they had a promotion that you could try thier product for 30 days and all you oay is the shipping and handling $7.99. the said that if you do not cancel befor the trial period ends you will automatically be billed for your next months supply. something of that nature. I dont remember verbatim what the guy said on the phone. but one thing was clear. full refund if not satisfied. and two, cancel if you dont like the prodit and uou will not be billed on the automatic payment plan. I ordered the product on june 30th 2013. I recieved my orderthree days ago on july 17th. I tried the product mixed with water on wednesday, the day irecieved it. I literally gagged. tried it with grape juice thursday morning and I gagged again. tried it again this morning with gatorade and it almost came up. I thought to myself, this cant be the product they were talking about on the radio. they made it sound better than a smoothie. I would rather eat my greens. it taste to me like the the stuff collected under the lawn mower because thats exactly what it smells like.well I figure im only out eight bucks. ( I forgot to mention something important. I waited and waited for the order to arrive, and was so mad that it hadnt came yet that ichecked mybank statement to see if I was charged. I was. so I tried several times to call customer service but had to abort each time because the call exeeded 20+ minute. too long for me. so today(friday I found out that I had alreadybeen charged 127.00 buy IVL. I was furious I had two full days to try the pruduct befor they were chrging me for 90 more days of this stuff. so I called I sayed on the linetill they answered(25 minutes). the lady was very rude! and insisted I didnt listen close enouph to the sales rep. well long story short I said I want to cancel. she says it already shipped. theyshipped the new order the exact same day I recieved the forst order.here are the traking numbers 1) [redacted] 2) [redacted]. when I ordered on the phone I was very clear that I am only buying this product because of the promotion. because I want to be sure I like it befure I pay for anymore at regular price. the customer service rep today said to return the product I would have to call back and get a RMA (return merchandise authorization.( more red tape) I said so I have to try and get a hold of you all over again? she said yes. I said no! give it tome right now! she left for a bit. I could hear her talking in the background. she finally came back she gave me therma# [redacted]. so ill see if itall works and see how long it takes to get my money back. you can see the obvious here.Desired Settlement: get the money, and make it hard for them to get it back. most people probably nust fissle out and give up. not me im so tired of this. I once bought an unreturnable item to amazon and they returned my money and said keep the unreturnable product similar story from a company in japan. so there are good practices still out ther.please if you can do any please help me and future customers when dealing with this company. im also going to contact the radio station that airs thier program. thanks so much o

Business

Response:

To Whom it May Concern and [redacted]

As Director of Operations for the Institute for Vibrant Living, I take full responsibility for Mr. [redacted] dissatisfaction. I will see to it immediately that Mr. [redacted] is refunded and all future shipments are cancelled.

Respectfully,

Consumer

Response:

I want to thank you for your support!

I received full reinbursment today. again I thank you. if I recieve anything from them I will fed ex it back as I proposed. sincerley yours

Regards,

Review: I ordered 3 cartons of All Day Energy Greens. They do nothing for me but was advertised as such a great product. I would like to send the 2 unopened cartons back. On invoice it said we must have permission from them first. I have called them numerous times and all they ever did was put me on hold for 5-10 minutes. So I then wrote them a letter. This was first part of July. I have never heard a thing from them. I would like to get the form so I can send unopened cartons back and get my money back. It cost $89.97.Desired Settlement: I would like for them to send me a permission slip so I can get my credit card credited.

Business

Response:

To Whom it may concern,

I will have our customer service manager reach out the consumer immediately to arrange for the return. Thank you for brining this customer service issue to my attention.

Respectfully,

Director of Operations

Institute for Vibrant Living

###-###-####

[redacted]t

I have attempted several times to be removed from their mailing list. Today after receiving yet another propaganda brochure I called the 800 number and selected the option "to be removed from our mailing list" after waiting for about 20 minutes my call was answered by "customer service"(????????????). The individual taking my call who I assumed would take care of my request advised me to contact Direct Marketing and gave me their phone number which by the way is a long distance call from my location.

Review: I responded to an ad for a "no risk trial invitation" to try their product Reconnect. The ad said "I must be 100% satisfied or my money will be refunded." The product did not do as advertised so I requested a refund. On May 4, 2014 I called them and they said to write them a letter requesting the refund of $139.99 using the reference number [redacted]. On May 5th I sent them a letter as requested. They never sent me my refund. I sent them another letter on July 28, 2014 asking why they refuse to send me my refund. My concern is that this is a scam. Do you think I will ever see my $139.99?If you have any questions or need any additional information please call me at ###-###-####.Thank youDesired Settlement: I would expect to receive a check from them in the amount of $139.99.

Review: In August 2014 I ordered a product from IVL. I did NOT sign up for "auto ship". However, the person I spoke to in customer service claims that I did. This is not true. On 8/7/15 (one year later!) I received a duplicate shipment of the product. I was NOT happy with the product and I certainly did not want nor did I expect another shipment of this product. Today I called the customer service department and they informed me that they expect me to pay to have the shipment returned to them. This is unacceptable.Desired Settlement: I want the Institute for Vibrant Living to pay for this shipment to be returned to their offices in Arizona and I want a credit on my credit card for the $127.96 which they charged me for this unauthorized shipment.

Business

Response:

To Whom It May Concern,Thank you for bringing Ms. [redacted] "complaint" to our attention. I am happy to announce that we have refunded Ms. [redacted] fully ($127.96 on 8/10/2015) and made arrangements for her to keep the product in question. Our Customer Service Supervisor, [redacted] assures me Ms. [redacted] is completely satisfied with the measures we have taken to rectify this situation. Although we do have a recording of Ms. [redacted] authorizing enrollment to our continuity program, a year has gone by since her authorization was given so it is very understandable that she does not recall authorizing her participation in this "autoship" program. We have also cancelled her subscription to avoid this issue in the future. If for any reason someone from your office (or Ms. [redacted]) should need to reach me, I can be reached by phone at ###-###-#### or by email at [redacted].[redacted] .Once again thank you for all you do to protect businesses and consumers alike.Respectfully,[redacted]Director of OperationsInstitute for Vibrant Living

Review: I ordered 3 months supply of "All Day Energy Greens" and they do not work for me....plus I put on weight. So I've tried to call the number they gave

to get an RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) which they say is required to get a refund. (They advertise that their product is guaranteed or money

back). But I've tried several times to call them and they put me on hold for 15 minutes or more. I cannot stay on the phone all day, so I would like to get this resolved somehow. Thank you.....[redacted] (Also.....they shipped it to me under the name....[redacted])Desired Settlement: I hope to get this credit card refund credit within the next 2 weeks

Business

Response:

To Whom It May Concern,

I want to extend sincere apologies to Ms. [redacted]. Although I do not wish to make excuses, our contact center has experienced 117% increase in call volume this year compared to the same timeframe last year. We are expanding our workforce as quickly as possible but we need to ensure all staff members are trained to the highest standards. That being said a 15 minute on hold period is completely unacceptable. I have instructed my customer service manager, [redacted], to contact Ms. [redacted] immediately and to take care of her in a manner that leaves her completely satisfied. We stand by our return policy which we consider the gold standard in our industry. Hopefully with the new additions to our contact center team, we will once again be the gold standard for customer service.

Once again, our most sincere apologies!

Director of Operations

Institute for Vibrant Living

Review: Purchased two products covered by firm's refund policy. Called to request refund and was given two Return Authorization (RA) numbers. Wrote these on the packing slip from each item and mailed to IVL. Eventually received refund on one product but not the other. Have been involved in 5 or 6 phone calls and a recent e-mail trying to get the refund of about $40.00 for the second product ([redacted]). Have been promised by rep. that this would be taken care of promptly and this has not occurred. Was not asked to redo the process getting a new RA number. Seller must have not noticed both packing slips in my request letter. During first call to customer service number I was on hold for 30 minutes and finally gave up and called again later.Desired Settlement: Abide by refund policy and provide the credit asked for.

Business

Response:

To Whom It May Concern,

Thank you for bringing Mr. [redacted]'s complaint to my attention. I have researched this issue thoroughly and have come to the same conclusion as Mr. [redacted]. He has been refunded for one order but not the other. I am immediately going to speak with both my customer service team and our accounting department. The bottom line is I will see to it that Mr. [redacted] is refunded an additional $39.99 today.

And to you Mr. [redacted], I want to express my sincere apologies to you for all the inconvenience. Should you have questions in the future, please feel free to call or email me directly.

Respectfully,

Director of Operations

Institute for Vibrant Living

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,

Review: I returned a product which I do not believe I ordered. I have requested a refund but was refused.

ON the night of 4-14-13 I visited a website advertising [redacted], dietary supplement with weight loss properties. I had decided to order a 3 month supply at the cost of $99.00 plus shipping and handling. Before I could complete my order the screen changed to an offer for an additional "Premium" something at a cost of $49.95 bringing my total to $159.84. This annoyed me as I did not want anything except the initial 3 month supply of the supplement. I exited the site thinking there was no order placed. Several days later I received a package via [redacted]. As soon as I recognized the name of the product I returned it to post office unopened and labeled return to sender. On 4-18-13 I was examining my account and noticed a debit for $159.84 per [redacted]. I thought perhaps processing the transaction might take some time to get a refund. Today 5-18-13 I still have not received or heard anything. I found a telephone number [redacted]. The rudest customer service specialist named [redacted] told me that I had not followed proper procedure and that I was not getting any refund. Extremely rude and overbearing. I asked him for an email address or phone number and he said there was none. Upon leaving him I found an email address:

[redacted]. Someone named [redacted] answered my email and said that she had no order for anyone with my name or email address.Desired Settlement: I expect a complete refund of $159.84. An apology from Joe would be nice but I will not press my luck.

Business

Response:

Hello!

Thank you once again for bringing this issue to our attention. We have reached out to Ms. [redacted] and she is completely satisfied that Institute for Vibrant Living is not the company that has charged her for any transaction. I think we have done everything we can regarding this issue but if Ms. [redacted] is not completely satisified with the measures we have taken then we will readdress the situation until she is completely satisified with us as a company.

Respectfully.

Director of Operations

Institute for Vibrant Living

www.IVLProducts.com

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: I have been taking this company's "Go Ruby Go" for three months and have not experienced one result their testimonials glowingly report. I have written them to take my name off their mailing list and they keep sending me their literature. All I want is to be TAKEN OFF THEIR MAILING LIST!!!Desired Settlement: I do not want to receive any more of this business's literature. I have to deal with too much junk mail as is.

This company stinks and took a very long time to issue my refund and then when they did,they stopped payment on it even though I told them it finally got here and was cashed at my bank.You see their product Greens was so vile tasting it made me sick from both ends it lasted about 24 hours so I returned their nasty product to them.That is why I was having such a hard time in getting my money back.Their customer service rep [redacted] phoned me and left a message that the check was cashed but still put a stop payment on it.I had just called them to tell them that I finally got their check.Most reputable companies would have said well that check was cashed and not stop payment on it thereby having to send me another check.Hope this one is good and they do not put a stop payment on this one too. I had written a complaint to the boss [redacted] about taking so long and in between that time the check had come,Any simpleton would have waited and then said we sent that out just a few days ago and it was cashed,but no they put a stop payment on it making me wait still another day for my money.These people certainly act as if they are con artists and I would be very careful in dealing with them.I won't ever again.I am still trying to tell the president [redacted] about this and he will not respond.What kind of business man is that?.It reflects badly on his company.Mr [redacted] AS WELL.I hope he reads this and responds but I am betting they both will not.Also not a one of them apologized to me for their product making me sick and taking a long time in sending me my refund check.I am a veteran( not a retired one)and have done business with many companies but this one is BAD,!!all others have been quite business like and treated their customers with respect and didn't try to jerk them around as this one did.

Review: I received a brochure in the mail for health products. I decided to order a few products and even elected to do auto ship every two months because it was a much better price. I waited for about 4-5 days and decided to check on the order status. I went to the website and the order status window wasn't working. I decided to call the company because my money had been taken from my account and I wanted to again check the status. Before I called, I tried Live Chat to see how to check the order or thought maybe a rep would do it for me but low and behold the live chat wasn't working either so the message was sent via auto email. I typed a message in live chat and press start and it automatically turned it into an email. It then gave me a message saying someone would answer my question as soon as possible. So now I decided I would just give them a call. Someone answered asking how could she help me. I preceded to ask my question about my order and she became very unprofessional instantly. The poorest service that I have ever received in my entire life. Now, I have concerned about the company if she is a representation of them then who are these people/company. She told me she was transferring me to a rep who would assist me but they were very back-up with calls. I waited for one hour with no one coming back to the phone to touch base with me. At this point, I I became more nervous about having my bank information in the hands of a company that is not representing good business practices. so, I decided to contact Revdex.com to help me to discontinue my auto-ship with company. If I can't get anyone then I can't do business with them. My first order has been paid for and I will except it when it comes but I don't want to do any further business with this company. They are very unprofessional which makes me leery of doing business with them period.Desired Settlement: Discontinue my auto ship scheduled for every other month. Send my products that I have paid for and charge no additional fees/charges. And never contact me again with my personal information I have provided to the company.

Business

Response:

Thank you for bringing Ms. [redacted] concerns to my attention!I will personally see to it that she is contacted by one of our employees who will provide the kind of service she is accustomed to and which I require as a conditions of employment here. I only wish Ms. [redacted] could have provided us with the name of the employee who provided this lack of service. I do however think I have technology in place to make that determination and will provide the employee with the necessary retraining.In the interim, I will get someone who can help Ms. [redacted] to call her. Hopefully we can do something to convince Ms. [redacted] to give us another chance at meeting her nutritional supplement needs. Respectfully,Patrick H[redacted]Director Of OperationsInstitute for Vibrant Living[redacted]

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 for the business to perform this action and, if it does, I will consider this complaint resolved. As long as they discontinue the auto-ship and to also never contact me via my email as stated in our telephone conversation.. She also provided me with the information I was originally seeking which was my delivery date.

Regards,

This is THE WORST business I have EVER dealt with. FIRST, I had to wait FOREVER before actually getting to talk to a person for my order. The recording was SO BORING and kept repeating the same stupid thing. The products were the lowest class I have ever seen and I WILL NEVER waste my money again OR order from these jokers....EVER...

Review: I have asked several times for my name to be removed from their mailing lists.Desired Settlement: I still get their catalogues which do not want. If you can get them to stop, I would appreciate it

Business

Response:

To Whom It May Concern,Thank you for bringing Ms. [redacted]'s complaint to my attention. We are taking every possible step to ensure she no longer receives our marketing. We are going a step further and will be reaching out to Ms. [redacted] to provide her with additional information that will be useful to her in the future should she receive unwanted solicitations from other marketers.Respectfully,[redacted]Director of OperationsInstitute for Vibrant Living###-###-####[redacted]

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,

Review: I placed a order on or around 2/4/14. I received the order. Two or three days later, I received another box of the same order as the first. I tried calling their Customer Service, but all that ever got me was 20 minute holds waiting for an agent. They had a chat line for selling, but I used it to establish contact with customer service. Their excuse for sending me an order I had not asked for was that they had a scanning problem in their shipping department and they agreed to giving me refund. It was not a full refund as they for some reason withheld $7.99. I want this refunded to me. Without me ever ordering this second thing, they charged my credit card without my permission, merelt because they knew the number from the first order. I can't tell you how much I resent this unethical action on their part.Desired Settlement: Refund to my credit card company the remaining full refund. I want a formal letter of apology. I am quite willing to take this matter further to the U.S. Postal Service because I purchased from their advertisements sent to me through the mail and I have retained those pieces of mail. This letter of apology better include what changes they have made in their procedures to make sure they don't send unordered products to customers whose credit card numbers they obtained on good faith from their customers who gave them business in the past.

Business

Response:

Thank you for bringing Mr. [redacted]'s complaint to our attention. I would like to personally apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused him due to our systems malfunction. He has already been refunded in the amount of $89.99 and I am personally seeing to it that he is refunded expeditiously an additional $7.99 that he is entitled to. Please have Mr. [redacted] contact me personally should he feel the need.

Respectfully submitted,

Director of Operations

Institute for Vibrant Living

Review: On January 23, 2015, I ordered ten (10) vitamins from IVL.One order consisted of Daily Start, Relacid, Beautiful Barley,Liver Clear Plus, Stress Agen, Tri Motion, IVL Memory Saver,Estro-Sync, and Osteo Green Complex. The second order consistedof Osteo HA and was ordered on the same day.Yesterday, I received the orders and discovered that although I had been charged $258.66 for the large order, I did not receive the Stress Agen and Osteo Green Complex. I called IVL and was told it was an oversight on their part and the missing vitamins would be shipped to me.The 2nd order for $47.98 for the Osteo HA I had to return, along with the Daily Start Multivitamin, Beautiful Barley, andIVL Memory Saver due to allergies from some of the ingredients listed on the labels. That came to a total of $89.97. I had to call to get Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) on both orders, and pay postage amounting to $10.55 for the return, with guaranteed delivery by Friday, February 6, 2015. I asked for a refund onthese four (4) items.Desired Settlement: Needless to say, I want my missing vitamins that I was charged for, along with my refund for the returned items. IVL is not very ethical in the way they do business, so need to be investigatedin further detail.Thank you for your attention to this matter, as fraud is a serious matter, and there is no excuse for incompetency, the reason efficiency experts exist!

Business

Response:

Thank you for bringing [redacted] complaint to our attention. I attempted to respond to her complaint via your website but received continuous error messages pertaining to "duplication".Because of these website issues I Instructed our Customer Service Manager[redacted]to contact [redacted] by telephone. I am happy to Inform you that the outcome of this call was extremely positive and that [redacted] is completely satisfied with the measures we took to resolve this issue. [redacted] of the funds that [redacted] was wanting refunded to her have In fact been refunded.Please feel free to contact me directly should you have any questions pertaining to the issue at hand or any other reason.

Review: I have repeatedly asked IVL to remove me from their mailing list, to no avail. I have called, written, emailed, and returned their unwanted solicitations as refused. I still receive numerous catalogs from them every month.Desired Settlement: Please remove my name and address from all mailing lists and do not reinstate it in the future. And do not add my email address to your list.

Business

Response:

Dear Sir or Ma'am.I am having a member of my customer service leadership team reach out to Mr. [redacted] immediately to expedite his request. My most sincere apologies. Should he have any questions or feel the need to speak with me I would take his call immediately.Respectfully,[redacted]Director of OperationsInstitute for Vibrant Living