Avacor

Written by: Tina Laramie

In 2003 the maker of Avacor, Global Vision Products, Inc. was sent a letter by the Department of Health and Human Services inquiring into some of its advertising claims. It also inquires into misleading labeling of the products because they do not list active ingredients to help users counteract hair loss. The department wanted the maker of Avacor to conform to FDA requirements because "the Avacor products are new drugs and require an approved drug application for marketing." The http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/g3938d.htm website contains the letter written to Global Vision Products, Inc. on April 3, 2003, at that time they had not filed an application for the distribution of a new drug.

The National Council Against Health Fraud creates a newsletter published on the web. http://www.ncahf.org/digest03/03-17.html On April 29, 2003 it reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had warned Global Vision Products, Inc. that it cannot legally market its Avacor Hair Care System without FDA approval. The FDA classifies Avacor as a new drug because it contains minoxidil. The advertisements claim that Avacor has a high success rate which is unlikely.

Better Business Bureau National Information System website located at http://www.bbbnewyork.org/businessreports/Default.aspx?id=8341 contains a report on Global Vision Products, Inc, the creators of Avcor. It states necessary contact information of Global Vision Products, Inc. and then it tells about complaints in a general format. In the last 12 months there were 20 complaints. 11 were resolved with consumer satisfaction. 3 resolved with partial consumer satisfaction. The other 6 complaints the consumer was not satisfied with the outcome.

The complaints against Avacor widely ranged from advertising issues (2), credit or billing disputes (3), customer service (1), guarantee issues (2), product quality (1), selling practices (1) and service issues (1). The majority of the complaints were with billing/credit (5) and refund practices (4). In the last 36 months the company had 44 complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau.