AMI is a scam-my experience!

[hopeful]

About 2 years ago, I started to experience problems with getting an erection. In late 2008, as I was about to go to a mens health clinic, I saw an advert for the Advanced Medical Institute (AMI) claiming they had a nasal spray which could easily solve my problem. So I called the number and booked a free consultation at their Harley street clinic. I wish I had never seen the advert and had gone to the men's health clinic in the first place.

I booked the appointment about half an hour before I was due at work, but they kept me waiting for nearly an hour,(In hindsight, I now believe this may have all been intentional ,as by the time I had gone through the process I was already very late for work and had to make a very quick decision).

Finally they called me in to see a doctor. He asked me about my problem and I told him I believed my problem was almost entirely psychological. He insisted they could help. He told me about the various treatments and it sounded encouraging.

They then took me into another room where I met a brash Australian lady. She was very blunt and told me the following:

My girlfriend would probably leave me within 6 months if I didn’t sort my problem out
That Viagra doesn’t work and can kill you
That if I didn’t have regular sex I was risking heart disease.

She said some other things as well which I don’t recall, mainly to shock me into buying their program. She talked about how I needed to get my erections back soon or might only be able to get one with the aid of injections eventually. She said if I went on their treatment program for 18 months I would never need to take anything ever again after that period. She then went on about how in less than 2 weeks I would be a complete stud in the bedroom and wouldn't remember what all the fuss was about.

She then revealed the price…£2,995 for the first 12 months and then £1,000 for the final 6 months. She then said if I wasn’t happy after a month I could get my money back. At first I said I didn't have the money in my account and would need to transfer some from my savings account. She said I could use her pc and do it there and then! What kind of reputable company would actually do that. I admit this was the height of stupidity on my part though. I then did one of the most stupid things I have ever done and agreed to it and signed the contract which I hardly even looked at! I can’t even explain why I did it, except pure desperation, but have regretted it ever since!

So I paid over the first installment and then signed something saying I’d pay the final installment a few months later. At no stage in the consultation, did she mention that in order to get a refund I would have to try all their medication options, including self-injection. There was also no mention of any cooling off period for the contract.

I received the nasal spray a few weeks later and guess what?… It didn’t work. I then phoned up their customer service line to inform them it wasn't working and was told I had to talk to a "nurse" ( though I have no idea if they are genuine nurses or not) and there wasn’t anyone there to talk to me but they would phone me back.

I then went through a routine where the nurse would call but I would be at work (in an open plan office so I couldn’t talk). So I’d call back, but they said I couldn’t talk to anyone and so on. The line wasn’t open after office hours (even though they claim in the contract it is a 24 hour line). I would ask them to call me at a specific time, so I could arrange to be in a private place, to which they would agree, but they would never call at that time or even within 20 minutes of the time. I also asked them for direct line so I could call someone directly, but they wouldn't give me one. I asked if I could discuss the issue by email..again they said not possible.

The only way I could talk to anyone is if I had a day off work and was able to talk in privacy,by sheer luck they called me at a convenient time, or by shouting and persisting for long enough, they finally put me through to someone.

I would have to go through this process every time I tried one of their medications, because despite using them as per the insrtuctions, none of them worked for me. When I did finally talk to a nurse, they just put me on the next medication along, so the whole consultation was pointless!

This is only an example of the appalling customer service I have experienced with AMI. I am convinced that this is all done intentionally so that they can hold onto your money as long as they possibly can. I tried another nasal spray, lozenges and different lozenges. None of these worked in the slightest.

Months had passed now and my second payment was due soon. So I called them and suggested they didn’t take the second payment as I had yet to find any medication that worked. They refused to even consider this and said it would be ok as if nothing worked I would get my money back. I considered cancelling my card to stop them taking the payment, but was worried I would never see my other £3,000 if I did that so decided to just continue with the program.


I then had to try a gel which I applied to my penis. This didn’t work either. Finally I was informed my only other option was the self injections. I didn’t want to try these but felt I had no choice if I wanted my money back. So I ordered a course of injections. I would normally go to Harley street to pick my medication up before work at around 9:00 am when they opened. They would never telephone to inform me when my medication was in (even though I continually requested that they did) so I called and they said it was in. However, when I told them I was picking it up from Harley street they informed me that Harley street now opened at 10:00 am. This made it impossible for me to pick it up.

They informed me they had now opened a clinic in London bridge which was closer to where I worked,so I asked them to send the medication there and let me know when they had done it. A week went by and I heard nothing. I called and asked if it had been transferred . Guess what? No, so I asked again if it could be done asap and again to let me know. The guy promised me it would, but again I heard nothing.

The next week I had a few days off work so I called to see where my medication was. I was told it was still at Harley street. I went there only to be told it was actually at London bridge! I then asked the girl there to call me and confirm it was at London bridge as I didn't want to go there if it wasn't there. At this point I was ranting and raving as I was so furious at the whole thing. I heard nothing as usual so called the next day for someone to confirm it was at London bridge. I was told the medication had passed its use by date and was being sent back to Australia!

I immediately asked to talk to a supervisor, but was told no one was there , but someone would call me within 48 hours. They told me they would reorder my medication. I had already had a delay of 3 weeks due to them simply not being able to communicate with me!

What's more, when I did receive my meds by post they also sent me the original medication which they claimed had been sent back to Australia. In addition I saw the medication has a 3 month life so they were clearly lieing to me though I cannot work out why to be honest.

So I finally tried the injection. I only tried it once, but it gave me a painful erection and sex was not pleasurable at all. I also felt very faint for 5 or 6 hours afterwards. I called their so called emergency helpline but no one answered surprise surprise!


At this point, I decided enough was enough. The ironic thing was by now my erection problems were much improved anyway. I was going through the motions trying their meds to get my money back. So I called up and asked for a refund.

An australian woman called me back and I eventually managed to talk to her. However, even though I explained that I had tried all their medication options she insisted that I should talk to one of their nurses and before they could say I am ready for a refund. She gave the distinct impression to me that I would never get my money back from them. She was very aggressive and also very unapologetic and about the fact that it has been over a year and I have received virtually nothing for my £4,000. I am still waiting to hear from this


I have been trying to get my "consultation" now for 2 weeks. I have again requested they call at a specific time and they never call anywhere near that time. I am astounded that given how long this has been going on, no one of a senior position there has taken any interest in my case. Any reputable company would be falling over backwards to help me.

I have taken some advice and have written a letter demanding they give me my consultation within 14 days. I will not take any more of their medication and if necessary will take them to court to get my money back. I believe I will have a good case.

I would advise anyone on here not to go near AMI. The only product that they have faith in to work is their injections, which is why they insist you must use these. However the only product they advertise is the nasal spray, which was completely ineffective for me. It may work for the odd person, but they rely on taking your money and then making it very hard for you to get it back. They are a very nasty company and I have even heard rumours that Dr Michael Spira (director of AMI ) is allegedly a convicted paedophile. So these are the sort of people I have been dealing with.

Sorry for the length of the post, but thought I would fill you in on all the facts.


If anyone has any other questions feel free to ask!

[Flavio]

Thanks for sharing this with us, Hopeful.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience with them. My experience was far from great, but maybe not as negative as yours.

And yes, I met the horrible Australian woman, too. She's definitely not a doctor and her only job in the company is to extort as much money as she possibly can from the patients. Using her PC to transfer money was not a sensible thing to do.

(I used my debit card and that wasn't such a great idea, either. They debited the correct amount and I haven't had any problems so far, but it wasn't the safest option)

And why on earth did you pay £4,000 for an 18 month supply of meds?! I only paid 1000 Euros for a 12 month supply! Why the difference? Was it because I paid in full?

I got my first supply right there at the clinic, but I had to ask for it. I told them I lived in a foreign country and could have problems with the postal services. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the entire supply of meds right there - which would have been useless anyway, because their meds only last for three months.

By the way, the only thing that really bothered me about their service is the fact they concealled this information from me. Had I known that their meds have a 3 month life, I probably wouldn't have bought them.

Anyway, the nasal spray seems to work to for me, so I'm happy I went there.

To anyone who's thinking of going there, I have a few more tips:

a) Pay in cash - they say they don't accept cash in the premises, but I'm sure they will if you insist.

b) If cash is not possible, then use the credit card - it's safer.

c) If possible, pay in full.

d) Always ask for a receipt and a copy of the contract.

[Flavio]

[...]

At no stage in the consultation, did she mention that in order to get a refund I would have to try all their medication options, including self-injection.

[...]

This is an extremely important information.

I already knew that before I went to the clinic (I had done a lot of research on the Internet before), but I was willing to take the risk.

Injections were never an option to me. If the nasal spray didn't work, well, too bad, I'd rather lose my money.

[hopeful]

Thanks for your comments flavio. Yes I Agree it was incredibly stupid of me to pay 4000 . I cannot explain myself only that I felt very desperate for an immediate solution. I had just started a new relationship with a wonderful girl and was desperate for my problem not to ruin it.

It's interesting that they only charged you 1000 euros . I wouldn't be surprised if because I was wearing a suit she decided to charge me more . This makes their methods seem even more dodgy !

Despite the fact I was stupid I fo not think thus is an excuse for a company to operate in this fashion . I am intending to publicise these charlattans as much as I can and am determined to get my money back

I'll keep this thread updated on my progress

[onefortheroad]

Hi Hopeful

Sorry to read about your experience and the amount you are talking is big bickies.

I am in Australia and AMI is promoted very heavily here.

They are a multi million dollar industry in Australia and Internationally well you can guess.

The injections do work and they know that they will give you an erection they use to actually inject you at the office and ask you if it was hard it got hard almost instantly so its guaranteed. Thats the reason for that clause i would think.

When i went a few years ago now it wasn't quite as cold but the process was basically to get your money. At that time only the injection was available. I used it but have never gone back to it.

I would consider (if you get stonewalled continuosly) to go to the media.

PM me if you like and i can give you some options.

Cheers
OFTR.

[hopeful]

The injections did get me hard but it was a very strange erection sn
and painful so intercourse was not pleasurable . It also gave me some weird side effects so was no good for me .

I have now written to ami complaining about their service and requesting a refund. They have shown no concern about my complaint and have not even attempted to contact me . So I've now written again and if they do not refund my money will be taking them to court to get it back.

[Spursfan1983]

I have had similar problems with AMI in Harley Street London. This company is definitely a scam.

I visited them back in 2009 re: PE and they advised me that if I paid £1000, they would provide me with medication that would definitely work.

I had my initial consultation with Dr Agbaja (a black woman). Dr Agbaja totally mis-led me, she told me that if the nasal spray did not work I would receive a full refund and WOULD NOT need to try any further treatments. I was not shown the terms and conditions until after I had made the payment. This is clearly ILLEGAL.

I was told by a nurse today (27/05/10) 'Claire Kearney' that the UK branch of AMI has gone into liquidation. Nurse Claire advised me to forward all correspondence to Deborah Samuels (AMI Director) at the Sydney address.

I have sought legal advice regarding this scam and have been advised that what AMI did was illegal. It is ILLEGAL to take payment from someone and get them to sign a contract without showing them the terms and conditions first. It is unethical for a doctor to mis-lead a patient. I WILL NOT give up until I get every single penny of the £1000 back.

My suggestion is that we all group together and lodge a joint complaint with AMI. I have contacted trading standards, watchdog and the relevant organisations and I strongly believe we have a cast iron case. I also have a friend in law that has also advised me on my legal standing. I am happy to do all the leg work, correspondence and chasing but I need you guys on board if we are to be successful.

I understand that for confidentiality reason some of you may not want to pursue this any further. However we can still remain anonymous by corresponding via e-mail. Those of you who do want to group together and get back what is rightfully ours please contact me at: spursfan1983@hotmail.co.uk

Regards,

Nick

[eduser_admin]

UPDATE: "The UK council received hundreds of complaints from men who claimed they had been mislead and scammed into immediately buying nasal spray treatments from AMI. " Read the article here

[Flavio]

The controversy never ends. More news on AMI:


"The competition regulator has boosted its crackdown on Advanced Medical Institute, alleging the erectile dysfunction company has failed to inform customers that it is insolvent and might not be able to provide its promised goods and services.

AMI went into administration late last year, one day after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission launched legal action against the company, alleging unconscionable conduct towards consumers."


Read more: ACCC cracks down on AMI