(WXYZ) — A Southgate woman said she lost nearly $200 to what she believed was an insurance-approved prescription order, only to find out her insurance company didn't know anything about it. So, she emailed me directly asking me to look into the issue.
Ordering medication online is supposed to be safe and easy. But for Karen Rightenburg, the experience turned into a costly ordeal.
See the full story from Alicia Smith in the video below
The demand for GLP-1s has not let up. Whether it's for diabetes treatment or weight loss, many consumers have been waiting to get the drugs, including Rightenburg.
"You were hoping to get approved for a GLP-1 medication. Had you heard from your insurance yet?" I asked.
"No, but my doctor had put in for this," she said. "I had been calling my insurance, and no, I wasn't approved yet, but then I got this text at, you know, 5 o'clock in the evening. And so I thought, wow, this is real, you know, it's finally happened. So, I was really happy."
She responded to the May 5th text and was encouraged to sign up for a three-month supply of semaglutide, paying for only one month first.
"How are they pressuring you to pay?" I asked.
"Well, he said I had to pay right now," she said.
So, she texted the man representing "Direct Meds" her debit card number, and she was charged $179.00.
"When did you start being concerned about this transaction?" I asked.
"Well, as soon as I was paying it," she said.
The next day, she called her bank to put a stop payment on the transaction. Her bank reimbursed her and has been investigating the claim.
I went to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy's Safe Site Search Tool and typed in "DirectMeds.com." An alert popped up saying, "DirectMeds.com has not been reviewed by NABP. Additional information is not available."
I looked up the site on the Better Business Bureau's website and found that that telemedicine business, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, is not BBB accredited.
"How many complaints has the Better Business Bureau received about Direct Meds?" I asked the BBB's Melanie Fox.
"Right now we currently have 239," she said.
"What are the typical complaints about Direct Meds that the BBB has received?" I asked.
"We've received some billing issues. There might be like a subscription they don't realize they've signed up for. A customer service issue if they're calling in and emailing and not receiving the response. And those are the two biggest [complaints] that we are seeing right now," she explained.
I reached out to Direct Meds multiple times through calls and emails, requesting an interview or statement about Rightenburg's concerns and the BBB complaints.
“I would like to set up an interview with them via ZOOM or they can send responses back to the questions I’ve listed on that email," I said on the phone when I reached a person on the Direct Med's team.
So far, the company has not responded to my requests for comments.
On Direct Med's website, it states "Our pharmacy partners and providers follow the highest standards for medication safety and testing..." and explains, "Our medications are compounded in licensed U.S. pharmacies that adhere to rigorous safety protocols..."
In the fine print at the bottom, it reads, "Compounded medications are not FDA-approved. They are prepared by licensed compounding pharmacies under the supervision of healthcare providers."
The Food and Drug Administration's "BeSafeRX" website has information on how to safely buy prescriptions online. The FDA says an online pharmacy may be an unsafe website if it:
- Does not require a doctor's prescription
- Is not licensed in the U.S. and by your state board of pharmacy
- Does not have a licensed pharmacist on staff to answer your questions
- Offers deep discounts or prices that seem too good to be true
- Charges you for products that you never ordered or received
- Does not provide clear written protections of your personal or financial information
- Sends medicine that looks different than what you receive at your local pharmacy
You can report a suspicious internet pharmacy site to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.
Rightenburg said she's told Direct Meds to cancel her account, but she said she's still receiving almost daily texts from them asking her to "start her weight loss journey."
"You were concerned enough to contact 7 News Detroit directly. Why?" I asked.
"Because I don't want anybody else caught up in this," she said.
