DiscPete
Motivated by you lot!
To anyone who was wondering...
As mentioned in another thread I wrote a letter of complaint to Lipotrim letting them know I and others weren't happy with the higher prices in Ireland (North and South) and that they had lost me as a customer. My complaint wasn't necessarily directed at Liptotrim, but rather at the pharmacists, or perhaps a combination of both. Anyhow, this was their reply; read into it what you may, but it sort of makes sense to me (not that it makes it any better) and it was decent of them to take the time to reply...
Dear Peter,
Thank you for your letter. It is always a pleasure to hear feedback (good and bad) from our dieters, and I appreciate your taking the time to write to us. Congratulations as well on your successful weight loss. I am very pleased to hear that you are doing so well.
Your concerns about the cost of Lipotrim in Northern Ireland are perfectly understandable, and I do sympathise with the situation of you and other Irish dieters. Please be assured that it is not our intention to take financial advantage of the Irish Market.
The reason for the price discrepancy is simply because Lipotrim in Northern Ireland is distributed exclusively through a supplier based in The Republic of Ireland. As the ROI is not part of the UK, there are extra costs involved in the export, training and monitoring which is why the price is slightly higher. Many Irish Pharmacies have outlets across the whole of Ireland, which is one of the reasons the Irish distribution is not completely straightforward.
There are of course many competing Very Low Calorie Diets (VLCDs) on the market at present, and the ease of selling online allows many companies to cut their costs to a bare minimum. We have chosen to distribute Lipotrim through Pharmacies chiefly because Total Food Replacement really needs to be conducted under competent professional supervision. It is very important to monitor the dieter continuously throughout the process, especially if there are any underlying medical issues. TFR with Lipotrim cuts the calorie intake to the lowest safe minimum as you know, while providing the body with its daily nutritional requirements. This should not be done casually, and there are many situations in which this sort of regime is neither appropriate nor advisable. A company selling VLCDs over the internet has no control over the way its product is used, or by whom. We feel that this practice is irresponsible and puts would-be dieters at unnecessary risk. Even private councillors, while usually sincere, will generally not have the medical expertise that is needed.
For this reason, Lipotrim is made available exclusively through qualified pharmacists who are given additional specific training in the particulars of Very Low Calorie Dieting. We expect a great deal of our pharmacists, and if we find that they are not providing their patients with the proper care and supervision, we stop their permission to supply. In our view it is very important that profit should not be put ahead of the safety of the dieters.
As I say, I have every sympathy with the situation of dieters in Northern Ireland; I realise that it seems as if you are being asked to pay for an imported product in your own country. For the reasons above, however, we are not able to make Lipotrim available direct to the consumer; such a move would be unethical and dangerous. We are also currently unable to provide Lipotrim to pharmacists in Northern Ireland directly from England. While I realise this doesn’t do much to help you financially, I hope it at least explains the situation, and reassures you that we are not callously squeezing money from Northern Irish dieters.
Once again, thank you for contacting us. I wish you every success with your continuing weight management.
Kind regards
S. Kreitzman Ph.D (Nutritional Biochemistry)
R.Nutr (UK registered nutritionist)
As mentioned in another thread I wrote a letter of complaint to Lipotrim letting them know I and others weren't happy with the higher prices in Ireland (North and South) and that they had lost me as a customer. My complaint wasn't necessarily directed at Liptotrim, but rather at the pharmacists, or perhaps a combination of both. Anyhow, this was their reply; read into it what you may, but it sort of makes sense to me (not that it makes it any better) and it was decent of them to take the time to reply...
Dear Peter,
Thank you for your letter. It is always a pleasure to hear feedback (good and bad) from our dieters, and I appreciate your taking the time to write to us. Congratulations as well on your successful weight loss. I am very pleased to hear that you are doing so well.
Your concerns about the cost of Lipotrim in Northern Ireland are perfectly understandable, and I do sympathise with the situation of you and other Irish dieters. Please be assured that it is not our intention to take financial advantage of the Irish Market.
The reason for the price discrepancy is simply because Lipotrim in Northern Ireland is distributed exclusively through a supplier based in The Republic of Ireland. As the ROI is not part of the UK, there are extra costs involved in the export, training and monitoring which is why the price is slightly higher. Many Irish Pharmacies have outlets across the whole of Ireland, which is one of the reasons the Irish distribution is not completely straightforward.
There are of course many competing Very Low Calorie Diets (VLCDs) on the market at present, and the ease of selling online allows many companies to cut their costs to a bare minimum. We have chosen to distribute Lipotrim through Pharmacies chiefly because Total Food Replacement really needs to be conducted under competent professional supervision. It is very important to monitor the dieter continuously throughout the process, especially if there are any underlying medical issues. TFR with Lipotrim cuts the calorie intake to the lowest safe minimum as you know, while providing the body with its daily nutritional requirements. This should not be done casually, and there are many situations in which this sort of regime is neither appropriate nor advisable. A company selling VLCDs over the internet has no control over the way its product is used, or by whom. We feel that this practice is irresponsible and puts would-be dieters at unnecessary risk. Even private councillors, while usually sincere, will generally not have the medical expertise that is needed.
For this reason, Lipotrim is made available exclusively through qualified pharmacists who are given additional specific training in the particulars of Very Low Calorie Dieting. We expect a great deal of our pharmacists, and if we find that they are not providing their patients with the proper care and supervision, we stop their permission to supply. In our view it is very important that profit should not be put ahead of the safety of the dieters.
As I say, I have every sympathy with the situation of dieters in Northern Ireland; I realise that it seems as if you are being asked to pay for an imported product in your own country. For the reasons above, however, we are not able to make Lipotrim available direct to the consumer; such a move would be unethical and dangerous. We are also currently unable to provide Lipotrim to pharmacists in Northern Ireland directly from England. While I realise this doesn’t do much to help you financially, I hope it at least explains the situation, and reassures you that we are not callously squeezing money from Northern Irish dieters.
Once again, thank you for contacting us. I wish you every success with your continuing weight management.
Kind regards
S. Kreitzman Ph.D (Nutritional Biochemistry)
R.Nutr (UK registered nutritionist)