FRESNO – A web site offering to buy back unused diabetic test strips is getting a prickly reviews from users and a warning from the Better Business Bureau.
Better Business Bureau serving Central California & Inland Empire Counties issued a warning to Valley consumers earlier this month regarding Chicago online business Cash Now Offer at its web site: cashnowoffer.com.
Cashnowoffer.com advertises a program to buy back diabetic test strips from patients, however, when BBB Serving Chicago and Northern Illinois investigated the company, they found that over 200 consumers nationwide had never received payment.
To date, Cash Now Offer has 254 complaints, 71 negative reviews, and an “F” rating from BBB, which is the lowest possible rating. There are also 7 consumers in our service area who have been affected, with the majority in the Inland Empire.
In their complaints, consumers allege they sent a shipment of diabetic testing strips to the business, with an understanding from the business that payment would be made within 24 hours. They allege the business failed to provide any payment after shipment was received, and they failed to receive an answer from the business after contacting them regarding the status of their payment.
One consumer from Victorville, Calif. complained to BBB in an online comment in February 2018.
“Me and my son sell this company our unused test strips for cash and this company has not paid us for test strips that we sold them back in November of 2017 and we’ve been contacting them and we have not got a answer from them about status of payment!”
Another consumer from Fresno, Calif. submitted comments in October 2017 saying they had not been paid either.
“They stated on their web site that they guarantee a next day payment its been 48 hours since they received the package I sent them. They don’t pay when they say they do. Also, you try to call them by the 844 number on the web site, it goes directly to a voice mail. I have emailed them over 4 times to see what the issue is with the payment and get no response but [an] email [asking] if I need another pre-paid kit to sell more test strips to them. Up to this day, no payment has been issued.”
BBB Serving Chicago and Northern Illinois spoke by telephone with Jonathan Avila, the current owner of the business in January 2018 and March 2018. In these conversations, Mr. Avila conveyed his intent to “clean up all of the complaints of the former owner of the business.” However, to date, the business has remained unresponsive to all consumer complaints on file, as well as to all mail correspondence. BBB has sent and resent three pattern of complaint letters to the business which Mr. Avila has failed to respond to.
The BBB will continue to monitor complaints, but advises any consumer to be aware of this business and the pattern of consumer allegations.
In some states, the sale of over-the-counter medical devices, such as diabetic test strips, are limited to licensed distributors, making the sale by patients to entities such as Surplus Diabetic Supplies illegal in those states, according to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. This is because there are major patient safety concerns related to how these medical devices and supplies are transported and stored. If test strips are not stored at the proper temperature and humidity, they may lose accuracy and as a result patients may dose themselves with incorrect amounts of insulin, which can lead to serious injury or death. Finally, consumers must beware of sites purchasing and reselling supplies that were paid for by insurance or a government program because this is illegal and both the seller and the buyer could be prosecuted. The California Board of Pharmacy can advise you on what is required of such distributors in your state. The agency can be reached by calling 916-574-7900 or visiting www.pharmacy.ca.gov.
For more than 100 years, Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2017, people turned to BBB more than 160 million times for BBB Business Profiles on more than 5.2 million businesses, and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at bbb.org. There are local, independent BBBs across the United States, Canada and Mexico, including BBB Serving Central California & Inland Empire Counties which was founded in 1950 and serves Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono, Tulare, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.
