CHOICE Consumer Law Expert Julia Steward – Images:
Revitalife has received a CHOICE Shonky award for targeting older Australians with a misleading “health survey” and selling expensive “therapeutic” beds with questionable benefits.
CHOICE investigated the company following a number of tip-offs from the CHOICE community and community legal centres.
“Revitalife uses a ‘health survey’ to target older Australians with health worries and then proceeds to put the pressure on to sell them an expensive bed with dubious health benefits,” says CHOICE Consumer Law Expert Julia Steward.
“We believe Revitalife has breached the Australian Consumer Law by engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct. For this reason, we’ve written to the ACCC asking them to take action on Revitalife and this rotten business model targeting older Australians.”
Community legal centre Consumer Action Law Centre says Revitalife has harmed a number of senior Australians with their sales tactics.
“We have helped a number of elderly Victorians with Revitalife complaints,” says Barbora Ježek, Solicitor at Consumer Action.
“We helped a couple who were visited by Revitalife salespeople at their home after a phone call. The salespeople pressured the couple into buying an expensive Revitalife bed. These beds can often cost thousands of dollars and there’s a lot of high pressure sales techniques as part of that sale. The couple told us they never would have consented to Revitalife doing a house call if they’d known the intent was to sell them a bed.”
CHOICE’s Julia Steward says the wide range of potential breaches means Revitalife must be investigated as a matter of urgency.
“Revitalife is a sales scheme that needs to be put to bed. It’s simply unacceptable to target older Australians who are worried about their health and sell them products based on the flimsiest of evidence. We hope the ACCC can act quickly to protect people from this shoddy sales scheme.”
