Vitamin coupon offer not honored, northeast Ohio consumers feel cheated

PARMA, Ohio - Jami Drost has enjoyed buying protein powder and other supplements online from the Vitamin Shoppe. But earlier in week, Drost was left extremely disappointed when she claims the company refused to honor one of its coupons.

Drost showed NewsChannel5 a printed copy of the coupon that was emailed to her attention on Jan. 27. The coupon called for a 20 percent off discount for any purchase, and free shipping for any order over $25.

However, Drost reports when she tried to redeem the offer online, she was rejected and said she was told by customer service the offer was "a mistake."

"I did call their customer care line, and I was told they were sorry, but there was nothing they could do about it," explained Drost. "They said it was just an error."

The coupon offer also generated a series of complaints from customers across the country, posted in the recent comments by others section of the Vitamin Shoppe Facebook page.

"I'm a regular customer," said Drost. "After seeing all the other consumers who ran into the same issue, I feel the Vitamin Shoppe has an opportunity to step-up their response and turn the sentiment around."

5 On Your Side called Vitamin Shoppe headquarters in New Jersey concerning this case, but the company would not honor its coupon, instead it issued the following statement:

“The coupon which was emailed on January 27th, was sent in error for which we are very sorry.  It is never our intention to disappoint our customers and we sent an apology email once the error was discovered." 

"We appreciate our customers’ loyalty and understanding that mistakes do happen, and we made one.”

Meanwhile, the Ohio Attorney General urges consumers to contact his office if they believe they have been the victim of an offer that has not been met.

The Ohio Attorney General's office sited a section of Ohio law that covers exclusions and limitations in advertisements.

"It is a deceptive act or practice in connection with an offer made on the internet, to make any offer without stating clearly and conspicuously, in close proximity to the words stating the offer, any material exclusions, reservations, limitations, modifications, or conditions."

5 On Your Side  will bring you the latest information on this developing story on newsnet5.com and on NewsChannel5 as soon as the information becomes available.