What begins as an innocent offer of free skincare samples at a shopping mall can reportedly turn into a costly experience for unsuspecting shoppers.
An NPR investigation has uncovered a network of skincare stores where customers say they were pressured into spending thousands of dollars on products they never intended to purchase.
Among the most shocking cases involved an elderly Michigan man with dementia who was charged $42,000 for skincare products and beauty devices.
According to NPR’s investigation, his family discovered the charges only after his credit score dropped.
The investigation examined more than 50 customer accounts, hundreds of online reviews, nearly 500 consumer complaints and court records.
Reporters traced connections between stores operating under different names and Mazal Group, a California-based company associated with dozens of skincare brands.
Customers described being approached by salespeople at shopping malls and offered complimentary samples of anti-aging creams.
However, some said that once they entered the stores, they encountered aggressive sales tactics and pressure to purchase expensive skincare products and treatments.
One particularly alarming case involved a woman in New Mexico who was sold a $30,000 red-light therapy device.
She also alleged in a lawsuit that an additional $78,000 was charged to her for sales tax without her consent.
Another shopper in Hawaii, a woman with a disability, alleged that a salesperson took her walker during a supposedly free facial appointment and refused to let her leave for hours until she spent $2,600.
The investigation also uncovered the case of Mary Ellen Eckhert, an 82-year-old retired teacher in California. After accepting a free skincare sample, she eventually faced $53,500 in charges across four credit cards.
Her son, Marc Eckhert, questioned the enormous bill, telling NPR, “What kind of a spa charges anyone $54,000?”
The investigation raised additional questions about the products being sold. NPR commissioned laboratory testing of a Voupre anti-aging cream advertised at $1,300. The laboratory could not detect vitamin A or vitamin E, two ingredients listed on its packaging.
The report also found that some products had suggested retail prices dramatically higher than their wholesale costs. One Voupre mask, for example, had a wholesale price of $23 but a suggested retail price of $3,000.
Mazal Group’s lawyers denied that the company owned or operated the retail stores or manufactured the products. The company and the family behind it have also denied wrongdoing.
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