Viapren, the great breath tab scam: Makes breath really hot!

Feb. 9, 2008: Viapren, marketed by a group calling themselves Pharmazone, is committing nothing short of fraud, selling what appears to be peppermint breath strips as some type of sexual enhancement compound. These people operate as scammers of the worst sort.

Not only do they charge $10 for "free" samples; they then compound the scam by charging an additional $48 for the first shipment. In my case, the sample and the first shipment arrived on the same day, with the associated charges appearing on my American Express account.

When I saw the charges on my bill, I immediately called the company. A female, apparently one of only a few employees there, indicated on Dec. 27, 2007, she would issue a credit and that there was no need to return the product.

No credit appeared, so I contacted them again. The same woman lied about what she had said earlier and said a credit wouldn't be issued unless the product was returned. I did on Jan. 12 and notified American Express I was putting the amount in dispute. On Feb. 8, I received a letter from American Express indicating that the scammers claimed they had not received the return and that American Express could not issue a credit.

I am providing a copy of the return letter, as well as a USPS Delivery Verification receipt as a follow-up to Pharmazone and American Express and will provide information about the results.

It is indeed unfortunate that scammers are allowed to not only advertise in reputable publications like USA Today, and then can attempt to deny refunds, using American Express as an accomplice. More to come on this, I'm sure.