Beware the Vortex! How a $197 hair gadget sparked a three-month fight with American Express

Q: I bought a Vortex Hair Growth Wand and it quit working. The company’s site lists a U.S. address, but when I asked to return the broken device they gave me a warehouse in China and told me shipping would cost $120.

Every time I call, I’m routed to the Philippines and can’t reach anyone stateside. I disputed the charge on my American Express card. I sent Amex the BBB warning and a Reddit thread that said Vortex is a scam, yet Amex still closed the case in the merchant’s favor. I just want my money back. Can you help?

— Joanne Pantaleo, Scottsdale, Ariz.

A: Vortex should have either found a way to repair your wand or offered you a replacement. Asking you to spend $120 — only a few dollars less than the item’s cost — was not reasonable.

The Vortex Hair Growth Wand, which claims to promote growth, stop hair loss and protect areas against future loss, kicks up a lot of warnings when you research it online. I’m no dermatologist, but I’m not sure there’s a magic wand that can make your hair grow back. Color me a skeptic.

You did almost everything right. You documented the defect, gave the company an opportunity to fix the problem, and collected third-party evidence that Vortex was problematic. Then you filed a chargeback under the Fair Credit Billing Act. But Amex still slammed the door — until I knocked.

Here’s what should have happened: once you supplied proof that the merchant misrepresented its location and dangled an impossibly expensive return address, Amex should have reversed the charge on the spot. Under Regulation Z, a card issuer must resolve a billing-error claim within two complete billing cycles. It appears the company also misrepresented its location when you purchased the product.

How could you have prevented this? One word: screenshot. Always grab one of the merchant’s advertised address before you buy. But also, a little research before you made a purchasing decision could have prevented this entire mess. Had you known then what you know now, you might have escaped the Vortex.

You might have also escalated this to one of the Amex executives I list on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org.

As to the question of whether the Vortex is legit, I will leave that for readers to decide. But I take a dim view of any company that makes a product return or repair so prohibitively expensive that it is all but impossible.

After you forwarded your paper trail, I sent your file — along with the Reddit exposé — to American Express. Two weeks later, you received a call from  Amex. The company had reviewed the evidence, quietly acknowledged that the merchant’s paperwork didn’t pass the smell test, and offered you a $100 “good-faith” credit. Although this was not the full refund you were hoping for, you accepted the offer.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at the nonprofit’s site.