LONE TREE, Colo. (KDVR) — Just weeks after losing her boyfriend of 40 years, Constance Steen was shopping as a form of therapy at the Park Meadows Mall in Lone Tree when someone offered her a skin care product sample.

“I was approached by a woman who worked at one of the kiosks,” Steen said.

The woman who worked for Forever Flawless in the mall gave Steen a free sample which led to a free facial. Steen bought three years worth of products which charged $4,500 to a credit card, and she wrote a $10,681 check for a total of $15,181. 

“I got the heavy pressure about buying products with a woman who had pictures of them taken before they started the products and after and telling me I needed to do this for myself,” Steen said “The gentleman that was going to do the facial, took my card and it was declined.”

A declined card from a grieving older woman did not matter. “I told him I was going to Iowa and I’d federal express the rest of the money I owed him which was over $10,000 the next day. So I did,” Steen said.

Steen received one years’ worth of product and was told to text a man at the store named “Romeo” when she needed more creams. 

“I sent him a text. I said you told me to text you and that went on for four months and I got ticked off,” Steen said. 

Four months has turned into two years with no responses and no products that Steen said she paid for already.  

More than just one victim

The Problem Solvers found Steen is not the only unhappy customer. 

“I feel really embarrassed,” Leslie Ziegenbein from Lakewood said. 

Ziegenbein said Forever Flawless offered her a promotional deal on LED lights for skin care. She’s now looking for a refund for more than $17,000. 

“I did tell them I had a history of skin cancer and I wanted to talk to my dermatologist about it before I use this product,” Ziegenbein said. 

The store’s 7-day return policy is taped on the back of their cash register alerting customers to that process. Ziegenbein said she didn’t know if she could see her doctor within a week. 

“They said don’t worry we know you. We have a special relationship and we’re going to give you a special offer. We are not even going to charge your credit card for three months, We’re just going to put a hold on your card,” Ziegenbein added.

A worker signed her receipt saying she could return the items for three months, but Forever Flawless would not accept her return.

“I tried to go back about 11 days later because my dermatologist said it was a waste of money there was no evidence it would help my skin,” said Ziegenbein “I feel violated and that they are carrying on criminal, fraudulent and predatory sales tactics to get people to buy expensive products that maybe don’t even work.”

Complaints against the skin care company

The Problem Solvers found Lone Tree Police have received 13 complaints since 2017 against the skin care store. Most of the reports are from women who wanted to return products after feeling duped. 

The Denver Metro Better Business Bureau also has a dozen complaints and flagged the Park Meadows location issuing a consumer alert in June 2020 in hopes of warning people.

“Patterns we’ve seen with this company were high pressure sales tactics, once consumers brought their issues to the company they got the run around. They said we can’t give you a refund,” Keylen Villagrana, BBB public relations specialist said.

Problem Solvers go undercover to get first-hand experience

The Problem Solvers wanted to see the sales tactics so we wore hidden cameras and walked into the store.  Two men and a woman were behind the counter and the woman quickly approached us. 

“For you I want to do something a little different,” she told us. “Let me be honest with you.”

We were given creams, lotions and gels to touch and feel and a lot of “specials” if we were ready to “feel and look our best” according to the saleswoman. 

“Online it cost $995 for two years. Less than Botox. Less than plastic surgery. But here we have 60% off because of the grand opening it’s only $398 for two years,” the saleswoman said.

When we hesitated, she offered a voucher for a free facial. 

“It’s a complimentary voucher I want to invite you to come here,” she told us. “I can give you my price. The managers are not here. Now, that I’m alone and the managers are not here I can do it number by name. Like I buy for myself.”

A FOX31 producer asked, “Does the white diamond really have diamond dust in it?”

The saleswoman replied, “In this product yes. Diamond dust is very small and can help product penetrate the skin.”

The Problem Solvers also showed some of the product labels to a dermatologist. 

“I don’t see anything bad here, but I don’t know that it justifies the cost,” Dr. Michelle Draznin with Kaiser Permanente said. 

Draznin said dermatologists look for three ingredients: antioxidants, hydroxy acids and hyaluronic acid in creams if you want to see a difference in your skin. 

“Many of these products are really quite inexpensive,” Draznin said. 

Just the opposite of what women are billed from Forever Flawless in Lone Tree. 

“Don’t go there, do not go near Forever Flawless,” Steen said.

“They lie. They are dishonest. Stay away,” Ziegenbein added.

How the company responded to the Problem Solvers

The Problem Solvers contacted Forever Flawless at Park Meadows, and received an email saying they’d look into the complaints. 

Hila Zamir who identified herself as the office manager and customer support for Forever Flawless said, “We have every desire to address your needs and provide the best solution available to resolve the issues mentioned by the customers who approached you as soon as possible.” 

Zamir’s entire email is below:

Thank you for taking the time to communicate to us. We have every desire to address your needs and provide the best solution available to resolve the issues mentioned by the customers who approached you as soon as possible. As advised by Romeo, the Forever Flawless at Park Meadows mall have many happy clients and unfortunately few among them are not. We are doing everything in our efforts to take the best care on each complaint we received. Our refund policy is allowing our customers 7 days for a full refund and 14 days to exchange products. The Forever Flawless store is a franchisee and follows the wholesale prices at the Forever Flawless original website. Our system saves our customers names and receipts so if you would like to share the customer names with us we will be able to search their purchases and see how we can further assist them with their purchase. To be honest, it is the first time I hear about a customer who didn’t received paid for Items or a customer who received a refund extension that wasn’t respected at the store. We are very sorry to hear that and will be happy to address the customer needs as always and take care of their complaint. 

In addition, we will further evaluate how we can prevent this problems from accruing again in the future.
Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience we have caused and feel free to reach us for any further assistance.