Hi All,
Just joined this forum and boy do I wish I had found it before I bought from Centre Biotechnique Avance! I’m trying to return a laser that cost me almost $4000, but the packaging instructions are just about impossible. Having read a lot of the posts on here I’m now panicking that I won’t get any money back. I bought with MBNA Mastercard so hoping that the dispute process will back me up if they don’t come good.
Can anyone else who bought on credit card advise whether they followed the packing instructions to the letter, and what the outcome was. It’s more than 30 days since the sale but still within the 90 day guarantee period.
Any help appreciated!
I suggest contacting your credit card company immediately. CBA will likely run out your 90-day time period before responding with an offer of a partial refund. Be sure to take photos of what you got before sending it back, and definitely call your credit card before returning it. I also recommend contacting the Better Business Bureau with your concerns.
i would suggest taking photos before sending it back like Andrea said, and making sure to send by traceable method with documented signature delivery. Make sure to keep that for your credit card dispute so that they know you returned the product. Also, print all the materials that state the 90-day return policy. even if they don’t want to refund or waste time with no response to you, with all these documents, the credit card will be able to refund you.
Thanks for your advice guys! I have photographed all stages of the packing process and sent it back by insured courier. Credit card company didn’t volunteer to give me the money on first phone call (yet!) but I am covered under the Consumer Credit Act so a dispute is likely to go in my favour. I’m not going to give up on this one!!!
yes, credit card company has to give them a chance to give you a refund on their own first. if they refuse, then they will give it to you anyways if you have their policy in writing and can prove that you sent it back and within that timeframe.
I was wondering if any body else has a good - or bad experience with this company Biotechnique Avance Laser Equipment
Hi Al, my experience was that their estimated time to cover an area of body with the laser was hugely underestimated (it took 2 or 3 times longer if done properly), and the laser itself was not effective at damaging shaved hairs a la ‘deep tissue thermolysis’. Then the laser stopped working period and I had only used it a couple of times! Hence my post about sending it back…
So unfortunately I’m back to waxing and plucking…
katym, for $4000, you can get a lot of areas lasered professionally. it’s a lot of money. have you considered that? are you male or female? what areas are you looking at? where are you located?
LAgirl - I tried a course with a professional in London before, covering basically everywhere below the waist, upper lip and chin (PCOS induced hair growth). It made a difference, but over a year of treatments 4 weeks apart did not clear the hair and was very expensive. I spent over $12000 on a prepaid course, and that was one of the cheaper options for the areas I needed to work on. So I am still battling with what’s left.
Would I be talking out of turn to point out that one could expect to have permanently removed 60,000 to 120,000 hairs via electrolysis if not more with that kind of time and money?
that brings me to a more important question. are you taking anything for your PCOS, anything to control the growth? if so, what? also, what laser was used? what’s your skin and hair type?
I have type II skin, and mostly dark hair. I have taken meds in the past for the PCOS but am not currently taking anything as am trying for a baby and I haven’t found anything that can treat hair growth without causing major problems for developing embryos.
In reply to James - I did try electrolysis on my lip and chin years back, but it was so slow I can’t imagine how long it would take on large body areas with thick growth. Besides, many of the hairs that were treated returned so I wasn’t convinced of permanent removal. I’m actually quite surprised by the immense support for electrolysis in these forums. Do most people here find that electrolysis is more effective than laser?
the problem with either method is that if your condition is not being treated, neither would work because your body will continue developing NEW hair. either of those methods can only kill the hair currently there.
whether electrolysis or laser is more appropriate depends on what type of hair and skin you have. it’s not a matter of what is most or least effective or efficient in general for everyone. it’s not that simple. it varies based on a lot of factors. you can read about them in the FAQs: www.hairremovalforum.com/faq.cfm. generally, light skin and coarse hair is more efficiently and effectively treated with laser, especially on large areas. however, once the hair gets too fine for laser, you would still need electrolysis if you want 100% removal.
electrolysis works, especially well on the upper lip that you tried to treat etc. the problems you had with it were two-fold. one, the original problem causing the growth wasn’t controlled, and two, you didn’t stick with treatments long enough to see the results. it might also have been an electrologist skill issue, but impossible to tell with the info you provided. given control of the medical issue, a good electrologist, and sufficient time with consistent treatments (9-12 months), you can achieve a clearance.