ComplaintsforGem

• Initial Complaint

  04/04/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I'm here to report predatory subscription practices, illogical processing controls, ultimately leading to poor customer service.- They bill every 25 days, which does not allow for customers to consistently monitor their subscription - They do not communicate / remind the customer of upcoming ******** - They automatically change your order to be 100% of their products each month without consent from the customer - Upon being notified or an error, they refuse to refund stating that they cannot accept returned food; The fact that they will process an order, at midnight without communication and offer no flexibility for cancellation or modification is a blatant choice to not provide quality customer service but to rid themselves of inventory on unsuspecting customers - They do not allow for reviews of their services on their platforms so future customers are not warned. I've found similar complaints via Reddit and this website Personal experience: I had my subscription set to the 25th (which was the case for ******* and February) for ONE of their products ($50) and was billed for $170 for all of their products on March 21. I notified them immediately (7 hours after processing) and they refused to change the order or stop shipment. I received a notification later that day (around 5) that the items were shipped. I refused the package and returned to sender and still have not received a refund.

  Business response

  08/15/2024

  Hi *******, I am so sorry to learn about your experience with GEM. We've provided feedback to our customer service team as we recognized you could have had a higher level of service with us. We have refunded your card $170 for this purchase. I have also passed along feedback regarding the subscription management process within the customer portal and how we can make it better for our customers moving forward. Lastly, we've improved our order communication emails, including upcoming order notification (3-day heads up), order confirmed, order shipped, and order delivered. We appreciate the feedback and hope we can make it up to you. 

  Customer response

  08/20/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. The refund has been processed. 

  Additionally, I'm very pleased to hear the company will / has made changes. The product I tried is excellent and deserves the same level of management. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************************

• Initial Complaint

  11/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On or about 11/7/23 this company removed $10.24 from my checking account. I did not order anything from this company. I tried to call 2 times to to talk them to remedy the situation. They only have an answering machine so I left a message. I want my money returned

  Business response

  12/20/2023

  After completing an in-depth review and investigation of our platforms, we were not able to locate any account information for *********************** nor any charges for the amount specified. Our team searched for any data that could be associated with the shipping address, customer name, or email address. We can confirm that there are no records of an account being created or any previous interactions with ***********
  
  We understand this situation is frustrating and want to do everything we can to help resolve the issue. We kindly ask that you review the charge in question again and confirm that the merchant name reads: GEM Health **** If it does, please reply to the email we sent you on December 11th with a photo of the processed transaction and we will re-investigate.

• Initial Complaint

  09/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Thank you for your assistance. I purchased on 09/02/23 vitamins from Gem & the next ship date would be 10/02/2023. I received on 09/25/23 a notice that they were processing a new order. I wrote back to please cancel this order, since it's only being processed & not shipped out as of yet & it's a cancel anytime policy. They went ahead a charged $99 on my Chase account without my permission. I am a Senior Citizen & am home sick. I never authorized them to charge my account. This company has numerous complaints with the Better Business Bureau.

  Business response

  09/29/2023

  Hi *****, were really sorry you didnt have a good experience with GEM. We would like to brief the interactions. We would be more than happy to offer you a refund; however, once you open a dispute with your bank, we are unable to do so because your bank then takes over the final resolution. Rest assured, it typically results in your favor, and if it doesn't, please report back to us, and we will find a peaceful resolution. Since the order has shipped, there is nothing we can do, so please just discard it. We want to extend our apologies for the confusion here. After reviewing your account, we see that you reached out to cancel your last order processed on September 25th. Unfortunately, the cancellation request took place after the order had been processed and charged between midnight and 3:00 a.m. of that same day and was unable to be cancelled. Our customer service team let you know that, as outlined in our policies, cancellation requests need to be made at least one business day before the charge date. You were also instructed by our team about the reminder we sent via email 3 days prior to your order being processed. Please note that the frequency set on your account was for an order to be processed every 25 days, rather than a month. Unfortunately, we were unable to make a refund exception because of the dispute over the order. We hope that these details bring some clarity to this situation, and please accept our heartfelt apologies. We appreciate you giving GEM a try!

  
  

  Customer response

  10/04/2023

  Dear Better Business Bureau,
  
  I have reviewed the response made by GEM in reference to complaint ID ********, and I am satisfied with the resolution, on the condition that the bank rules in my favor and reverses the charge on my account. If ********************** cannot uphold their end of the solution, I will reach back out to the Better Business Bureau.
  Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
  

  Sincerely,*********************

• Initial Complaint

  08/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I canceled my subscription with this company because of the price. When I went to my account to change the flavor they tried to charge me twice the amount of the original amount so I canceled the subscription immediately and in plenty of time for them to cancel. Then I received an email saying that they were shipping an order. I sent them several emails proving that I had canceled but they processed it anyway. I live on my SS and have had my bank account compromised. The customer service team is horrible and didnt seem to understand what they needed to do and they claimed that they didnt receive any cancellation notice from me after I sent them the proof of cancellation. I feel like I have been scammed by them for this reason. They clearly state that you can cancel at any time.

  Business response

  08/09/2023

  Hello *****,
  
  We are sorry to learn that you had a bad experience. We just reviewed your interactions with GEM, and we see that you cancelled your subscription on July 30th. Unfortunately, the cancellation request took place after the order had been processed and charged between midnight and 3:00 a.m. of that same day, so we were unable to cancel it.
  
  Seeing that price was your cancellation reason, our **************** team offered you a special discounted price so you could continue to receive GEM's benefits, but it was declined. We also informed you of our order processing time and cancellation window. This was in addition to the email reminder we sent 3 days prior to your order being processed.
  
  The team then issued a full refund for you on August 4th. We hope that this is the resolution you were hoping for. Thank you for giving GEM a try, and please let us know if there is anything else we can do to remedy your experience.
  
  Best,
  GEM

• Initial Complaint

  06/29/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Website glitches specifically around cancelling subscription or delaying deliveries. One has the sensation the company is intentionally making it difficult to cancel. Their help pages show clear instructions of the process to unsubscribe, but when this is attempted (from multiple devices and browsers), an error message of "processing" is all you can get. They ostensibly have an option to text to cancel, but this also does not work.

  Business response

  07/20/2023

  ******** apologize for the issues that you experienced on our website on June 28th. Unfortunately the day that you attempted to cancel we were experiencing a bug with our subscription software provider, which was fixed the next day on June 29th. You emailed us on June 28th to alert us to the fact that you were having trouble using our site and we helped you to cancel on June 28th, the same day. We hope that this issue doesn't prevent you from enjoying GEM products, if they were helping you. It is normally very easy to delay your next order, in just a few clicks. Please reach out to ****************************************************** if we can be of any help to you moving forward. 

  Customer response

  07/20/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and provided no further charges are made to my card after the date specified, find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  01/18/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I ordered a few weeks' supply of vitamins from Gem online. I did not want a subscription. I wanted a one time purchase, and that was what I believed I ordered. But then a few weeks later my bank account was charged over $55. I immediately went to the Gem website and had a terrible time figuring out how to cancel my subscription, the website malfunctioned, and was hard to navigate, and frankly the information to cancel was not easily found. I tried to use their chat feature, but because it was late night, no one was available. I chatted with them online in the morning and got the runaround. They made a point to tell me that because their vitamins are foodstuffs they cannot be returned for a refund. I explained I did not order a subscription and they told me I did. I told them their website was confusing and I honestly believed I did not order a subscription. They told me I should've received an email about the order coming. I couldn't find it. They insisted on having my phone number so that a manager could call me. When they did call me all they tried to do was tell me how great their subscription plan is. I did find the email in my junk mail folder eventually. I told them I was sorry I misunderstood. I did not want the vitamins and I wanted a refund. They promised me an email by the end of the day that never showed up so the next day I wrote back and asked them and after sometime they wrote back and told me they were giving me a "partial" refund. I was refunded $28 out of over $55. I think this company uses deceptive practices, their website is difficult to navigate, and it kept booting me out as well. I want the rest of my money refunded. I will never order from this company again, because of their deceptive sales practices, and further deceptive and manipulative practices around cancellation.

  Business response

  02/01/2023

  ********, we are very sorry that you did not have a good experience with GEM. After reviewing your account, I see that you were unaware of GEM being a subscription purchase and wrote in to ask for a refund after your second charge had gone through. We provided information and screenshots of our subscription terms (which are presented at checkout) and re-stated that you are unable to make a purchase on our site without agreeing to subscription terms. However, our team issued you a partial refund as a courtesy. Our supervisor reached out to you so that we could gather more feedback from you on how we can make this more clear to customers, as we our subscription agreement to be extremely clear. Ultimately, we issued you a full refund on 1/20/23. We hope that this is the resolution you are looking for and we appreciate your feedback and you trying GEM!

• Initial Complaint

  01/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Purchased product it was delivered and I tried it. I called and canceled the subscription. The same day my bank was charged for $55.00 for a new shipment. I got in touch thru chat and was told they had already sent out another shipment and I was out of luck. I want no part of this product and simply want a refund but they refuse.

  Business response

  01/30/2023

  ********, we are very sorry that you did not have a good experience with GEM. After reviewing your account, we see that you started a subscription on December 16th, 2022 and you cancelled your subscription on January 12th, 2023. Unfortunately, you cancelled at 2:00pm ET, but your next order had already processed and charged between midnight and 3am of that same day and was unable to be cancelled. Our **************** team issued you a full refund of $55 on January 13th, 2023 and explained the processing times and the best windows to cancel. You have been fully refunded and cancelled, we hope that this is the resolution you were hoping for. We appreciate you giving GEM a try!

• Initial Complaint

  01/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  This "business" is a scam. I ordered this vitamin a year ago and received one package. Once I realized it was a subscription service l immediately cancelled it. ONE YEAR LATER i was randomly charged $55 for an order i didn't place and emailed a message letting me know my order was on the way. I immediately called my bank to dispute the charge and also contacted Gem. I got an apology, a promise for a refund, and told they would remove me from their database. Now, 19 days later i received ANOTHER email telling me my order is on the way! I am now disputing this corrupt company again with my bank. Stop scamming people!!

  Business response

  02/01/2023

  Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2023/01/30) */ ******, we are so very sorry that this happened to you. As we communicated via our Customer Support team on 1/17/2023, we discovered that there was a developer test error which caused your subscription to be re-activated for one charge on 12/19/2023. Our team refunded you promptly and ensured that your subscription was cancelled. We've done a thorough investigation of this and have concluded that this was a one-time error, that only affected your account. We recognize the inconvenience and poor experience that you had with GEM, and we are taking steps with our developers to make sure this doesn't happen again. Please contact our customer support team if they can assist you with anything further. Thank you for your understanding and we hope that refunding and cancelling your account was the resolution that you were hoping for. Consumer Response /* (2000, 10, 2023/02/01) */ (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

• Initial Complaint

  05/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  This is a one star from my experience only. While I do believe GEM (***********) has good intentions and products, I haven't received anything in the mail that I ordered. It was a continuous mail order. I did not realize that. But that aside, I thought there was some kind of delay and was confused. The items seemed like they were still being processed , but when I checked my bank statement/transaction history, a somewhat huge chunk of my balance was gone towards GEM for order(s) I had never received. None of the packages came when my correct shipping address is there on the site. It confuses me because I know mistakes are made and we are all human. But for every single order to be a no show? That isn't good. So today I cancelled my subscription. If a refund *cannot* be provided, then all I ask for is an apology. I'm not wishing ill will towards GEM, but even if there are things we as customers could provide for general businesses to help us better, I as a customer ask us as business and customers to use teamwork. We do our part, they do theirs. Here I will provide a bigger picture. I got emails letting me know about processed orders. Maybe I could have gone on the site to check and see what was being sent. But I'm not the reason none of the orders made it. I have a life. My health isn't in the best of state. I am aware of mistakes I make. I ask that GEM does not overlook whatever mistake happened on their end. As I said, I believe they have good intentions.

  Business response

  12/09/2022

  Consumer Response /* (2000, 17, 2022/12/08) */ (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.) I have received my refund months ago and am happy that GEM acknowledged my experience and concerns. I would not like to proceed with the case as it has already been resolved. I am grateful. �

• Initial Complaint

  04/20/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I received an email confirming an unauthorized order, I immediately canceled the order. I was not able to log in and the reason given to me was there was no account with my email. Upon receiving the order email , and emailing to cancel it , I also made sure to cancel with a text message. Gem vitamins sent the order out anyway. I have sent them several emails concerning this and they basically said it was already sent out and they will not accept returns. I told them the order was not authorized, I was not able to log in because they claimed my email was not in an account with them and when I never received the text they sent until Sunday April 3, I canceled immediately. I want a full refund for this order. I will send them their unopened package back. I have given them almost 3 weeks to come to a solution and they keep giving me the run around. This is the USA , companies are not supposed to force or trick people into buying their products.

  Business response

  07/01/2022

  Consumer Response /* (2000, 9, 2022/05/06) */ The complaint has been resolved. Thank you for your time.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩