SKIN & GROANS
Beauty co. charges aren’t pretty
Dear John: I’ve been scammed for $186 by a company called Luminary Skin Care, which is owned by Vanna White of “Wheel of Fortune.”
I had initially ordered two samples of their product for $9.85 with no obligation. Then I was subsequently billed for an additional $187.66 to my credit card, which was not authorized.
I have contacted the company, and I have received no satisfaction. P.N.
Dear P.N. Vanna White has nothing to do with this company. She’s still happily turning letters on “Wheel of Fortune.”
But whenever you have trouble with a company like this, don’t drive yourself crazy. Just call your credit card company and file a complaint. It will either cancel the charges (if you didn’t receive the product) or tell you what step to take next.
Trying to handle this on your own is like trying to fix your own plumbing. Leave it to the pros.
Dear John: I amwriting to you after I read about a struggling auto shop owner in Neptune, NJ, whois working without heat because the power company would not turn his heat back on.
I would like to contribute money to the owner to help get the heat back on. No one should be working in those conditions. I recently purchased a home in that area and would like to help. Please let me know where I can send the check. M.M.
Dear M.M. That is very, very nice of you.
Let me update you on the business owner’s situation.
When I called New Jersey Resources, a publicly traded company that owns New Jersey Natural Gas, it refused to allow the owner to make payments over time toward the $2,000 it would cost to turn his gas back on.
After reading about the situation in The Post, two elected officials who represent the Jersey Shore area took up the cause and again asked NewJersey Resources to work with the guy so he could keep his shop open. This guy has been in business for decades and ran into some financial trouble last year, which is why he tried to save money by turning off the gas. That’s why he doesn’t have heat.
The elected officials had only a little more luck than I did. New Jersey Resources cut the price of turning the gas back on by a bit. But it still demanded all the money up front. This guy just can’t pay it. I will let the owner know of your generous offer. But it might be too late, because the shop probably couldn’t stay open through this cold spell. The owner explained that the temperature needed to be 70 degrees for them to paint cars properly.
The next time NewJersey Natural Gas goes to the state utilities board for a rate hike, I and the elected officials will bring up the company’s lack of cooperation in saving the jobs of the handful of people who work at the body shop.
Let’s see if payback really is a bitch.