Medical device presentations, the new trap for the elderly. How a 70-year-old woman woke up with a creed made without her consent

A 70-year-old woman who went to a so-called free presentation of some medical devices found herself with a credit of 3,000 euros to her name. The woman's grandson says that she was convinced by the representatives of the commercial company to give them the bulletin and the phone, and with her data they concluded a loan for the purchase of some medical devices that the woman had refused. And it wouldn't be the only situation like this.

She went to the center for free procedures but was prompted to buy products

It all started in August, after a phone call, says the woman's nephew, who wishes to remain anonymous.

“She was contacted by a so-called medical clinic, Centru Elixir, which invited her to present some so-called medical products. A presentation during which, they said, he would also receive some free lymphatic drainage procedures. She has some medical issues that require these procedures on an ongoing basis. So they knew when they called her and probably had information about her medical condition. Where did they get the data from? And then they targeted her, knowing that she would probably respond positively to this invitation. She accepted the invitation, went somewhere in Piața Romană (no area in Bucharest) in an office building”.

There, the grandson says, there was also a raffle. And his aunt was declared the winner.

“After the raffle, she was invited to an adjacent office, where a gentleman began pressuring her to buy the products that had been represented: a mattress, a water purifier and an ozone generator. She explained that she was not interested in those products, that she went strictly for the medical procedures. He said >. That it's “an opportunity”, that “you have a discount”. You probably know these very persuasive methods. He told them no”.

The 70-year-old woman allegedly explained to them that she only came for the free procedures and that she could not afford to buy the products. At that time, he would have proposed a loan, which he refused. But things did not stop there, says the grandson:

“Meanwhile, another gentleman appeared, who was apparently this person's superior. They insisted, they said >. Insisting, still putting pressure on her, she gave them the bulletin. They also asked for an email address. She said to them: >. And he answered: >. One of the individuals disappeared with the phone and the bulletin, returned with some papers, while the other was talking. He said: >. She signed, after I understood that this whole thing with this pressure took about 20 minutes, half an hour. He went home with the papers and discovered that he had concluded a sales-purchase contact for three medical products that they had presented there, worth 3,000 euros.”

Bank loan without consent

The next day, the 70-year-old woman returned to the company's headquarters and told them that she did not want the products and that she had been tricked into signing. He also asked to terminate the contract. According to her, a representative of the company informed her that it is possible and that she only needs to submit an application, and then she will be contacted within a few days. This would not have happened, and the woman returned to the headquarters in September, when she was told that nothing more could be done, as the products under the contract had already been delivered to her. Which had not happened.

“After two months, she received a notice from the bank that she was registered as outstanding for a loan made two months ago. She discovered that, in her name, a loan for personal needs worth 3,000 euros had been concluded, an amount that had been transferred to this company. Now, I understand that it happened, I have also taken steps towards this company. When they got out, after taking his ID card and phone, they practically made a credit on the phone. I don't know how it's possible, I don't know the exact mechanism by which this credit can be made without identifying the person in question. My assumption is that the people from this company have accomplices at the bank because otherwise…”

The woman's grandson believes that this is a practice, not a singular case

In the end, the woman was able to get her money back after contacting a lawyer. But the nephew's suspicion is that she was not the only one deceived:

“The proposal of the lawyer of this company was to return the money to her aunt, and on the date when the money is returned to her, she should give a notarized declaration showing that she has collected the said amount and that she no longer has any civil claims against this company. (…) We requested that they also make available to us, before going to the notary, the model of this declaration, so we can see what it is about. When he sent the model statement, he sent a picture of a statement that had already been given by someone else, where he tried to anonymize that person's data by erasing it with a pen. But still they can be seen, the name of the person and the amount can be made out”.

The amount in that statement amounted to no less than 10,000 euros.

“But what is relevant is that another company appears here, from where I deduced that they have a larger number of companies that do the same thing, have the same scheme, this one to sell one and the same kind of products, which are paid by means of loans obtained online or by phone”. thinks the nephew, who wants to sound the alarm. He also submitted notifications to the ANPC (National Authority for Consumer Protection) and the National Bank.

The trading company did not offer any point of view

The truth got in touch with the commercial company to find out their point of view on the situation, but also if they are accredited to offer health and wellness services, as they present on their Facebook page. The so-called center has no official website.

After being told we would be contacted by a representative from the Elixir Center, no one had heard back by the time the article was published.