Watch out for skincare scam in Nassau

[EandD'sMom]

I thought I'd let people know that if you are traveling with anyone vulnerable to Nassau then watch for the scammers at the "skincare" companies giving "free" samples.  I don't know if I can say the name on here.

 

My husband and I took a tour while my older in-laws (late 80's)  walked around Nassau.  My mother-in-law was talked into getting a "free facial."  She is too nice and doesn't know how to stand up for herself.  They also got my father-in-law into getting his "free" facial.  Well, long story short, they talked my mother-in-law into signing up for skincare that they told her was 75.  She thought $75 dollars.  They got back to the ship and the credit card company contacted them and told my father-in-law that there was a suspicious charge for $7,500.  He disputed it and found out that while they were giving him his facial that they had gotten his wife to sign a paper saying she wanted this face cream.  We were hours away from sail away so he returned the cream and all the "free samples."  They took the stuff back.  Well, he gets back to his home and they keep mailing them skincare, which he promptly sends back.  They charged his credit card again.  His credit card company says they have to pay because the company has a "no returns" policy.  

 

This has been a big headache.  I didn't want anyone else going through this.  I feel guilty because we should've been keeping an eye on them the whole time.  These people pray on the elderly and this is a lot of money!  

Edited March 20, 2019 by EandD'sMom
misspell

[lbfluffy]

Unbelievable what people do. I hope this doesn’t ever happen again. 

[DKane]

As I just said in another post, I was pulled into one of their stores as well.  I smelled a rat before I even entered the building.  You can't let them play on your vanity.

[BNBR]

Why would you buy ANYTHING at a Nassau store, let alone skin care! Sorry they are easily taken advantage of. Lesson learned. 

[Mike_DeA]

On 4/2/2019 at 6:45 AM, BNBR said:

Why would you buy ANYTHING at a Nassau store, let alone skin care! Sorry they are easily taken advantage of. Lesson learned. 

Your comments are patronizing.  I'm not sure they were easily taken advantage of as you state.  They were deceived and lied to when they were told the cost was "75", not 7,500. 

 

And hundreds, likely thousand of people buy things at stores in Nassau every single day.

[Arzeena]

On 3/20/2019 at 6:10 PM, EandD'sMom said:

I thought I'd let people know that if you are traveling with anyone vulnerable to Nassau then watch for the scammers at the "skincare" companies giving "free" samples.  I don't know if I can say the name on here.

 

My husband and I took a tour while my older in-laws (late 80's)  walked around Nassau.  My mother-in-law was talked into getting a "free facial."  She is too nice and doesn't know how to stand up for herself.  They also got my father-in-law into getting his "free" facial.  Well, long story short, they talked my mother-in-law into signing up for skincare that they told her was 75.  She thought $75 dollars.  They got back to the ship and the credit card company contacted them and told my father-in-law that there was a suspicious charge for $7,500.  He disputed it and found out that while they were giving him his facial that they had gotten his wife to sign a paper saying she wanted this face cream.  We were hours away from sail away so he returned the cream and all the "free samples."  They took the stuff back.  Well, he gets back to his home and they keep mailing them skincare, which he promptly sends back.  They charged his credit card again.  His credit card company says they have to pay because the company has a "no returns" policy.  

 

This has been a big headache.  I didn't want anyone else going through this.  I feel guilty because we should've been keeping an eye on them the whole time.  These people pray on the elderly and this is a lot of money!  

Thanks for the heads up. These scams are also in some malls over the US, so it is not just Nassau. Also seen it St Martin and St Augustine FL. They start out by handing you samples and then saying oooooo you have bad skin let me show you the best cream! Lure you into free stuff. Claim their creams are 24 K gold infused. All BS hype about how Dr Oz endorses and uses it....(ya and his wrinkles are still there!!!).. So watch out at the malls too.

It is outrageous that your FIL's CC company is not doing anything about a scam. Don't give up on it. Research intensely and get justice.

Edited April 20, 2019 by Arzeena

[sailor05]

They tried the same scam in San Juan last year. VERY pushy with my wife but I finally got very angry and told the guy to leave her the hell alone and he he finally backed off. These people are no doubt making their way into all the ports.

[aceofbase]

Bump so others will see it. Do not go inside either of those stores that offer you sample eye cream.My 76 yo mom was scammed by these people.  I know better and warned her to be careful while in Nassau. I stopped for a smoke ( I know it's disgusting..no lecture please,) mom and aunt said they were just going to look around. By the time I went inside they had cream on one side of my mom's face and she was begging them to please do the other side. The man was extremely rude telling her that she couldn't afford the products and that she was going to go back with one side of her face looking like she was 50 and the other one looking like she was 80. When I confronted him he was extremely rude. He wiped cream off one side of my mom's face and told us to get out of the store and go back to being old,   wrinkly people. While this was going on, another salesperson sold my aunt an eye cream  for $150. Her cc was charged $1500 and they didn't give her a receipt.  Please, Beware of the scams. And be sure others with you are aware also. 

[Shidah]

Another reason to just stay on the ship in Nassau.

[BNBR]

6 hours ago, Shidah said:

Another reason to just stay on the ship in Nassau.

 

Please do.  The less crowds off the ship, the better.

[Shidah]

I meant to post this on the thread regarding the woman getting robbed, but accidentally posted it here.  But it applies here too.  Seriously other than maybe going to Baha Mar, I can’t see a reason to get off the ship, and haven’t the last two visits.

[BNBR]

1 minute ago, Shidah said:

I meant to post this on the thread regarding the woman getting robbed, but accidentally posted it here.  But it applies here too.  Seriously other than maybe going to Baha Mar, I can’t see a reason to get off the ship, and haven’t the last two visits.

 

What point are you trying to make?  Stay on the ship, do your thing.  I love Nassau and so do many others.  It's a large island with a lot to offer.  There is a reason people like Beyonce have homes there, and she, by the way, hangs out at Greycliff where the robbery story happened.  Crime happens, if that justifies you wanting to stay on the ship, then you should probably avoid every port, including Miami and Ft Lauderdale, which gave quite a bit of crime issues.

[Debbers]

Something similar happened to me in New Orleans.  What seemed like a "miracle" eye cream was more like spackle.  By the time I figured that out, I had paid more than $300 for this rubbish.  AmEx listened nicely to my complaint, but said they could not help.  

[jp2746]

I was just speaking to my cousin who was in Nassau a few months ago.  She said that they put some eye cream on her eye and she said no thank you and walked away.  They were really mad and were giving her a hard time. However, the next day she woke up and one eye had visibly less wrinkles.  It lasted for a couple of days.  She is going to find out what the name of the product is for me.   I may be interested in that.  But... for both eyes so I don't look like a dork on the next day of the cruise looking 20 years old on one side of my face and 50 on the other side.  😉

 

[DKane]

On 1/7/2020 at 12:22 PM, jp2746 said:

I was just speaking to my cousin who was in Nassau a few months ago.  She said that they put some eye cream on her eye and she said no thank you and walked away.  They were really mad and were giving her a hard time. However, the next day she woke up and one eye had visibly less wrinkles.  It lasted for a couple of days.  She is going to find out what the name of the product is for me.   I may be interested in that.  But... for both eyes so I don't look like a dork on the next day of the cruise looking 20 years old on one side of my face and 50 on the other side.  😉

 

Oh, it works temporarily and I hear Preparation H does the same thing.

[Tal012]

This happened to me and I am not very gullible, but they got me.  My credit card people will not back me due to final sale.  That was never told to me.  Not only did it break my face out the next day, but I have never received my items.  So now they have ruined my credit rating, cause I am not going to pay for something that breaks my face out and/or never received.  I am thinking about filing in small claims court and see if I can win that way.  I have turned them into BBB.  The Cruise people need to know about this.  This was my first time down there, have no desire to go back due to what happened.  

On 1/7/2020 at 11:22 AM, jp2746 said:

I was just speaking to my cousin who was in Nassau a few months ago.  She said that they put some eye cream on her eye and she said no thank you and walked away.  They were really mad and were giving her a hard time. However, the next day she woke up and one eye had visibly less wrinkles.  It lasted for a couple of days.  She is going to find out what the name of the product is for me.   I may be interested in that.  But... for both eyes so I don't look like a dork on the next day of the cruise looking 20 years old on one side of my face and 50 on the other side.  😉

 

 

[Tal012]

I have some I can sell you.

[Tal012]

On 1/4/2020 at 5:12 PM, Debbers said:

Something similar happened to me in New Orleans.  What seemed like a "miracle" eye cream was more like spackle.  By the time I figured that out, I had paid more than $300 for this rubbish.  AmEx listened nicely to my complaint, but said they could not help.  

Has anyone been able to get their money back?

[Tal012]

On 4/20/2019 at 12:24 PM, Arzeena said:

Thanks for the heads up. These scams are also in some malls over the US, so it is not just Nassau. Also seen it St Martin and St Augustine FL. They start out by handing you samples and then saying oooooo you have bad skin let me show you the best cream! Lure you into free stuff. Claim their creams are 24 K gold infused. All BS hype about how Dr Oz endorses and uses it....(ya and his wrinkles are still there!!!).. So watch out at the malls too.

It is outrageous that your FIL's CC company is not doing anything about a scam. Don't give up on it. Research intensely and get justice.

What were you able to do if anything?

[Tal012]

The Cruise Ships need to know about these Scams.  How do we report them?  If they stop going to these places when they scam their people maybe they will stop!  Has anyone been able to get their money back or file in small claims on them?  I have done research and they have several different company names.  

[rjrpar]

We ran into very similar scams in Cozumel and Roatan last month right at the port side shops.  They always try to get you inside their store/booth to demonstrate the product and then complete the scam

The cruise lines must be aware of this but resist telling everyone that their port stops are risky

[Langoustine]

On 1/9/2020 at 11:36 AM, DKane said:

I hear Preparation H does the same thing.

Preparation H is commonly used by professional makeup people to temporarily make under-eye bags reduce in size.

[mets123]

On 4/13/2024 at 2:02 PM, rjrpar said:

We ran into very similar scams in Cozumel and Roatan last month right at the port side shops.  They always try to get you inside their store/booth to demonstrate the product and then complete the scam

The cruise lines must be aware of this but resist telling everyone that their port stops are risky

You fell for it, plain and simple.. That old saying still carries weight today. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. 

[rjrpar]

2 hours ago, mets123 said:

You fell for it, plain and simple.. That old saying still carries weight today. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. 

Try reading my post again. We didn’t fall for anything, just a warning that it’s in more ports than just Nassau

[Saturngrl]

The cruise lines hold no responsibility for the vendors in the ports.  In 15 cruises, I have seen scammers like these in every port, including facial products, hair products, nail products, jewelry, hair braiding and other stuff.   My personal policy: 

1.  Decline and walk past anyone hawking skin products or a free bracelet charm.

2.  Research prices and availability of products I may want to purchase in port, i.e. Sheridan's liquor or vanilla extract in Mexico.  

3.  Negotiate prices with the vendors.  Their sticker prices are never solid.