AMSR – PREVENTING FRAUD ON THE INTERNET

Colorado online pulmonary therapy device retailers offers consumer checklist to avoid Internet fraud

American Medical Service and Repair and its Oxygen Concentrator Store developed the Top Ten Ways to Avoid Internet Sales Fraud after years of experience helping customers who were cheated by unscrupulous web merchants

CENTENNIAL, CO – American Medical Service and Repair and its Oxygen Concentrator Store, one of the country’s oldest and most respected retailers of pulmonary therapy devices and the world’s largest online merchant of oxygen concentrators, has long faced competition from some disreputable operations and has created a consumer checklist of the Top 10 Ways to Avoid Internet Sales Fraud, applicable for any product category.

“We are an online retailer and, as individuals, we also shop the Internet for a variety of goods and services,” says Jennifer Hopkins, AMSR CEO and Partner. “The Internet is an amazing place to shop for just about anything, but it is unfortunately also a convenience that the unscrupulous use to rip-off trusting consumers. We developed our checklist to prevent online fraud and to help Internet shoppers get what they paid for from reputable companies who stand behind their products and services. This is particularly important for consumers buying expensive products.”

The Top 10 Ways to Avoid Internet Sales Fraud:

#1 – Buy only from a business accredited by a reputable source, such as the Better Business Bureau. If a business says it is accredited, a consumer can visit the website of the accreditation agency and confirm its standing. For the BBB visit www.bbb.org/us/consumers/, click on “Check Out a Business or a Charity,” and then type in the URL (the website address) of the online retailer in question.

#2 – Validate that the business is an authorized seller by the manufacturer of the product. Most manufacturers maintain a list of authorized retailers and/or dealers on their own websites; it’s the only way to ensure that the product’s warranty will be valid.

#3 – Validate the businesses phone number. Some websites are just marketing portals created to make a business look or sound legitimate. Look for online vendors with a telephone number listed in their “Contact” information, and validate that the salesperson on the line is in the same state as the business contacted.

#4 – Validate that there is a physical address. Check the address on Google Maps. Many disreputable web-based companies operate either out of their homes or vacant lots. Also Google the address to see if the business is listed as being there and to see if a different business comes up.

#5 – Verify what product and model number you are purchasing in the checkout process. Keep a written record of exactly what is being purchased to confirm that you receive the proper merchandise. As models change, some suppliers say they are shipping the latest model when they are, in fact shipping older models.

#6 – Verify that the exact warranty start date is the date of your invoice. Some manufacturers start the warranty on the date the product was shipped to the retailer. If the product sat on the retailer’s shelf for a year, you might think you are getting a 3-year warranty when in fact there is only 2 years left on the guarantee. Also ask who is providing the warranty. A warranty from a retailer is only good if the retailer stays in business; a manufacturer’s warranty is typically more reliable.

#7 – Verify that you are receiving the product that was promised. When you buy a car, particularly a new one, you can be reasonably sure that the mileage on the odometer is accurate. Other products, such as oxygen concentrators, have built-in electronics that verify usage; more than 20 hours would indicate that the unit was rented before being sold. Also, check the packaging for signs of repacking which might indicate prior use.

#8 – Watch out for bait-and-switch. Some disreputable online retailers may “optimize” their website with brand names that they don’t actually carry or for which they are not authorized to sell, and then attempt to sell you a different brand (they might claim the original brand is out of stock). Go to an authorized reseller.

#9 – Call the company’s service department to see if they really answer or to see how long it takes for them to respond to either a phone or email query. Reputable merchants will either be on call or respond in a reasonable manner (they might give business hours; check the time zone before expecting a prompt answer or return call).

#10 – Craigslist rarely has the best deal. Listings on Craigslist with a toll-free number (not a private party) may be scam artists, like the proverbial guy with a raincoat filled with “brand-name” watches. You can almost always get the same product, with a warranty, from a reputable dealer.

“We developed this consumer checklist because we have customers who have been cheated by online retailers, particularly some of our older clients who are less familiar with the Internet,” says AMSR’s Hopkins. “We want to tell people not to be afraid of buying from an online company; the Internet offers an astounding array of products and services, often at prices far less than can be found at local stores. Our Top 10 Ways to Avoid Internet Sales Fraud is an admonition to be an informed shopper.”

AMSR and its Oxygen Concentrator Store is a full service respiratory company with a showroom, repair center, and education facility helping oxygen therapy patients understand the workings of both portable and home oxygen concentrators. For complete information on new and refurbished oxygen concentrators, flexible financing options, rental programs, and repair services.

AMERICAN MEDICAL SALES AND REPAIR – PRESS RELEASE

World’s leading oxygen concentrator sales and service company offers flexible financing options

American Medical Sales and Repair and its Oxygen Concentrator Store features 90-days-same-as-cash and lease-to-own plans for both home and portable oxygen concentrators so patients can breathe easy

CENTENNIAL, CO – Respiratory patients relying on oxygen concentrators to maintain active lifestyles now have financing options available from American Medical Sales and Repair (AMSR) and its Oxygen Concentrator Store that will let them breathe easy on their medical expenses.

AMSR, working with a financing partner, is offering 90-days-same-as-cash and 24 or 36 month lease-to-own financing packages for both its home and portable oxygen concentrators that give patients an affordable way to get the relief they require.

“Our job is to help patients get the oxygen they need in the most cost-effective way possible,” says Jennifer Hopkins, AMSR CEO and Partner. “We do this through offering both new and used oxygen concentrators – for home use or portable concentrators – at the best prices in the country, and with the best possible terms for those who prefer financing options. We have years of experience in this industry, we know our customers’ needs, and flexible financing was one of the key services some customers requested.”

An estimated 10 million Americans suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including such conditions as emphysema, chronic bronchitis and alpha 1-antitrypsin disease, and require oxygen on a regular basis to combat symptoms and maintain an active lifestyle. The oxygen is delivered through an oxygen concentrator, and AMSR sells both home and portable units from the leading brands in the business, including Invacare, Respironics, Devilbiss, Oxlife, Inogen, and Sequal. AMSR also has oxygen concentrator rental programs that allow patients to try out a unit before purchasing it to ensure that it meets their medical needs, and also for short-term rentals of airline-approved units for patients planning to travel.

With more than 20 years of experience, AMSR and its Oxygen Concentrator Store are one of the oldest and most experienced oxygen concentrator retailers in America, and is the largest online merchant of such devices in the world. The company recently became a Better Business Bureau of Denver/Boulder Accredited Business, and holds a BBB A+ rating. Based in suburban Denver’s Centennial, Colo., AMSR has a retail store, service and repair center, and offers its products and services worldwide through its website at http://www.oxygenconcentratorstore.com. What separates the Oxygen Concentrator Store from many competitors is that it is one of the few oxygen concentrator organizations that also services what it sells, so patients have the confidence that it not only stands behind its products, but can handle repairs swiftly and provide another unit during the repair process so there is minimal downtime.

“We don’t have any sales people,” says Hopkins. “Just highly trained Customer Care Agents, respiratory therapists and technicians who can answer any questions about our products and services and make the right decision without delay. We are here to make sure an oxygen therapy patient ends up with the best oxygen concentrator for his or her specific needs.”

AMERICAN MEDICAL SALES AND REPAIR – PR RENTAL PROGRAM 05-19-10

AMSR portable oxygen concentrator rental program get pulmonary patients traveling

American Medical Sales and Repair and its Oxygen Concentrator Store brings both continuous flow and pulse portable oxygen concentrators to a flexible rental program that delivers therapeutic mobility and opens travel to COPD patients

CENTENNIAL, CO – Pulmonary therapy patients who use oxygen concentrators to maintain an active lifestyle face difficulties in planning travel because home respiratory units are not portable and patients can’t be off of oxygen for extended periods of time. American Medical Sales and Repair and its Oxygen Concentrator Store, the country’s largest online purveyor of such equipment, recently revised its portable oxygen concentrator rental program to bring these patients the flexibility they need for therapeutic mobility and travel.

“We have expanded our rental fleet of portable oxygen concentrators from three popular brand name units to four and added the two newest and lightest units. The fleet now gives patients four options for pulse concentrators and two options for continuous flow concentrators,” says Jennifer Hopkins, AMSR CEO and Partner. “We have also added daily rentals (7-day minimum) to our formerly weekly-only rental programs so patients have the flexibility of paying for just the mobility they require.”

An estimated 10 million Americans suffer from some form of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, COPD, including such conditions as emphysema, chronic bronchitis and alpha 1-antitrypsin disease, and require oxygen on a regular basis to combat symptoms and maintain an active lifestyle. The Oxygen Concentrator Store sells and services new and refurbished home-based units and portable concentrators, and has created a rental program to accommodate patients who wish to try out a unit before making a purchasing decision, and also for those who regularly use a home concentrator and need a short-term rental of a portable unit for travel.

The Concentrator Store, with a physical store and service facility in suburban Denver and available nationwide online at www.oxygenconcentratorstore.com, has six popular brand-name portable oxygen concentrators in its rental program: SeQual Eclipse and DeVilbiss iGO, both of which are continuous flow units; and Inogen One , Inogen One G2, Invacare XPO2 and Respironics Evergo, which are all pulse units. Rentals may now be arranged on a daily basis, with a 7-day minimum rental period, and customers may apply the full value of their rental to the purchase of a new portable concentrator. In addition, all of the oxygen concentrators in the rental program are approved for airline travel.

With more than 20 years of experience, AMSR and its Oxygen Concentrator Store are one of the oldest and most experienced oxygen concentrator retailers in America, and is the largest online merchant of such devices in the world. The company recently became a Better Business Bureau of Denver/Boulder Accredited Business, and holds a BBB A+ rating.

The Oxygen Concentrator Store is a full service respiratory company with a showroom, repair center, and education facility helping oxygen therapy patients understand the workings of both portable and home oxygen concentrators. For complete information on new and refurbished oxygen concentrators, flexible financing options, rental programs, and repair services.