Working with Canadian law enforcement, the Federal Trade Commission is trying to shut down a Canadian-based online scam it says is worth US$450 million. The scam has snared consumers in at least five countries – the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – by promising “free” or “risk-free” trials either of snake-oil …

COMMENTS

House rules Send corrections

This topic is closed for new posts.

Friday 20th May 2011 00:20 GMT JaitcH

FTC: Clean up your US acts first ...

as one of the things the US continuously complains about is on-line Canadian pharmacies (chemists in the UK).

I was recently in the US and I was given a prescription for Biaxin XL 500 milligram tablets for which several pharmacies wanted USD$38.02, plus dispensing fee.

I went on-line to a Canadian dispensary and the generic of this, Clarithromycin, was only USD3, plus express mail and dispensing fee of $4.

So FTC, close your scammers down first, before chasing down Canadian entrepreneurs.

0 0
1. Friday 20th May 2011 19:05 GMT Anonymous Coward
  
  re: I was given a prescription for Biaxin XL
  
  I don't know what the situation is over there, but in the UK if a prescription is for a brand name drug then it's not legal to supply a generic instead.
  
  0 0
  1. Saturday 21st May 2011 09:59 GMT JaitcH
    
    Name Brand versus Generic
    
    In most Canadian provinces pharmacy customers have to be asked if the want name brand or generic EXCEPT WHEN doctors add, on a prescription, no substitutes.
    
    Not being able to opt for a generic maybe explains why NHS costs are so high!
    
    Many name brands only 'touch up' their formulas in the hope of maintaining a patent, according to a Canadian research paper issued when drug copyrights were being re-legislated.
    
    0 0
Friday 20th May 2011 08:47 GMT kain preacher

JaitcH

"FTC, close your scammers down first, before chasing down Canadian entrepreneurs."

Did we read the same article. these folks in Canada were scamming folks.

"People who signed on for the offers were usually asked for credit card details to cover shipping fees. They then found themselves paying through the nose, with credit charges showing up for the “free” offers, and frequently, recurring monthly charges (usually US$79.95)."

Is that what you call Canadian entrepreneurs?

0 0
1. Saturday 21st May 2011 09:59 GMT JaitcH
  
  Unless you can squeeze money down your broadband you have to use plastic
  
  Canada has quite an able national police force, as well as provincial and municipalities, and it certainly doesn't need the US FTC. A simple message to the RCMP liaison office in Washington, DC is all that is required.
  
  Snake-oil originated in the US, and reading US newspapers they are as active as ever (cancer cures abound). If the FTC had completed cleaning up the mess south of the 49th then perhaps, they can cast their eyes wider.
  
  The US often thinks Canada is it's 51st state, it isn't - that's why both countries have border controls.
  
  The US thinks it is the worlds policeman, it isn't, yet you find the US Coast Guard challenging ships in the East China Sea and other places thousands of miles removed from the continental USA. It pays little heed to the niceties of other countries rights; there are US DEA officials in many countries.
  
  If the offending company did wrong, Canada is more than capable of handling it - without having to deport the operators to the US for their version of 'justice'.
  
  Credit card errors can be resolved through the card issuer and the card issuer is well able to withdraw credit card handling facilities to businesses, of any kind, so they will lose the convenience.
  
  Besides, if Americans are dumb enough to supply credit card details in order to receive a purported 'free' offer, and they are incapable of thinking something is fishy, then they are fools.
  
  0 0
Friday 20th May 2011 14:35 GMT Anonymous Coward

@JaitcH

"I went on-line to a Canadian dispensary and the generic of this, Clarithromycin, was only USD3, plus express mail and dispensing fee of $4."

You hope.....

0 0