Two stories — and what they have in common
First: one of my readers received an invitation to a “free arteriograph vascular examination”. At the end of the examination, they diagnosed severe narrowing of the arteries and a “critical” condition — then persuaded them to buy the “solution”, a magnetic device, for 275,000 forints. Once home, they discovered that it was not suitable for any of the diseases listed in the report. Second: an elderly couple were invited from a Facebook advert to a “full health assessment” at a hotel. The “super-modern” device found something alarming in both of them, and by the end of the day they had a 600,000-forint offer in front of them — with a “discount” valid that day only.
I often hear similar stories, and the script is always the same. This article exposes that script: I will show you why a health assessment cannot be free, how the manipulation unfolds step by step, what the “examination” and the purchased device are really worth — and most importantly: what rights you have if you have already signed.
Key point
No business examines people for free. A “free health assessment” is not an examination but a sales set: the goal is not your health, but your signature. Do not go — but if you have gone and signed, know this: you can withdraw from a contract concluded outside business premises without giving a reason within 14 days, and this right cannot be waived, whatever they made you sign.
How does the scam work?
In Hungary, the state healthcare system invites people for free screening examinations: lung screening, mammography, cervical screening and bowel cancer screening — by letter, through the GP or at the screening centre, and you do not have to buy anything afterwards. If you are invited not by a state institution but by a company — by phone, in a Facebook advert, on a leaflet, to a “hotel presentation” or “health day” — then a business is behind it. And a business does not work for free: the examination, room hire, the “doctor’s” fee and the complimentary lunch are all built into the price of the product. The free assessment is not a service but the most expensive advertising you have ever received.
It is always the same.
Step one is the invitation: “full”, “free”, “today only”, often with a gift (lunch, a trip, a “health package”).
Step two is the “measurement”: they sit you down, stick an electrode to your skin, attach a clip to your ear, the device flashes and beeps for a few minutes, and the staff put on concerned expressions.
Step three is the “report”: a multi-page, colourful printout with anatomical diagrams, on which almost every organ is marked red or yellow.
Step four is the scare: the white-coated “doctor” (typically a salesperson) spends up to an hour listing everything that may happen — stroke, heart attack, a wheelchair.
Step five is the “solution”: the device that “treats all of this”, originally priced at 700,000–800,000 forints, but available “today only”, “for you only” at 150,000–250,000.
Step six is the signature — on the spot, immediately, because tomorrow the “discount expires”.
Because it is built not on reason but on four ancient reflexes. Fear: the vision of our own death switches off our ability to weigh things up. Authority: a white coat, “doctor”, instrument, report — people obey someone who appears to be an expert. Reciprocity: you received lunch, an “examination” and attention — leaving empty-handed feels uncomfortable. And time pressure: “today only” — there is no time to ask your child, your GP or the internet. These tactics affect even a calm, well-rested person; a 75-year-old, worried person living alone — the target group — almost certainly. It is not foolish to fall for it. The person committing the wrongdoing is the one who runs it.
What is the “examination” worth? Genuine and fake assessments
The point of a product-presentation “health assessment” is that it looks like an examination. Here is how to tell the difference:
| Criterion | Product-presentation “assessment” | Genuine medical examination |
|---|---|---|
| Who performs it? | “Expert”, “therapist”, white-coated salesperson — without a medical stamp, name or registration number | Doctor or healthcare professional, with name, registration number and signature |
| The device | “Quantum bioscanner”, “aura”, “cellular”, “bioimpedance” — measures “every organ” in a few minutes | Laboratory (blood sample), blood pressure, ECG, ultrasound, X-ray — each method measures one thing, with known accuracy |
| The report | Colourful, illustrated, “finds” 8–10 problems in everyone; the next day the same report is given to another person | Numerical values with a reference range, date, doctor and institution; the “report” does not frighten you but informs you |
| The conclusion | Serious, urgent, “immediate” — and treated by a device available on the spot | If it is genuinely serious, you receive an immediate medical referral — they do not sell you a device |
| The timing | “Today only”, “now only”, “there is no time to think” | There is time. Anyone who pressures you is not trying to help |
A simple test: ask the name of the device, which medical-device class it belongs to, and whether the examiner will sign the report with a medical registration number. If the answer is evasive, you can stand up and leave.
What do you get for your money?
In my experience, devices sold at these presentations almost without exception have four things in common.
They are mass-produced Chinese products, with a wholesale price ranging from a few thousand to a few tens of thousands of forints: for example, a “terahertz device” offered for 2 million forints at a presentation is sold for a few dollars on one major Far Eastern wholesale website.
They are not medical devices: they do not have valid CE conformity under the medical-device regulation.
Their supposed mechanisms of action are based on scientifically non-existent concepts (“quantum energy”, “terahertz frequency”, “cell information”).
And their effect has not been demonstrated for any of the diseases they claim to address — narrowing of the arteries, diabetes or cancer.
Checking medical-device status is not complicated and can be requested for every serious device: the declaration of conformity (EC/EU Declaration of Conformity) must refer to Directive 93/42/EEC or Regulation 2017/745/EU (MDR), and to the notified body. A standalone “CE” mark — which concerns electrical safety only — is not medical-device certification. If neither reference appears on the declaration, the product is not a medical device and must not be recommended for healthcare purposes. I wrote a separate article about how to recognise a genuine therapeutic device: Soft-laser scam: LED lamp and shower laser →
Your rights — what they do not tell you at the presentation
A product presentation is legally a contract concluded outside business premises, and Hungarian law provides particularly strong consumer protection in this situation — something the organisers of these presentations deliberately keep quiet about.
| Your right / rule | What does it mean in practice? |
|---|---|
| 14-day right of withdrawal | You can withdraw from the contract without giving a reason within 14 days of receiving the product, and the business must refund the full amount within 14 days1,2 |
| The right of withdrawal cannot be waived | If they made you sign a declaration saying “I waive my right of withdrawal”, it is invalid — you still have the right2 |
| No penalty, deposit or reservation fee can be demanded | If you withdraw, the business cannot retain a “penalty”, “handling fee” or “deposit”2 |
| Deadline extended by 12 months | If you were not informed in writing about the right of withdrawal, the 14-day period is extended by 12 months because of the missing information1,2 |
| Credit at a product presentation: prohibited | Since December 2015, providing or arranging credit at a product presentation has been prohibited — if they arranged “instalment payment” for you on the spot, that is in itself unlawful3 |
| Advertising gifts or discounts: prohibited | It is prohibited to entice people to a product presentation with a gift, prize draw or “today-only discount”3 |
| Customer service | The organiser must operate an accessible customer service so that you can exercise your right of withdrawal3 |
If you have already signed — what to do within 14 days
First: do not use the device, and do not throw away the packaging or paperwork. Second: write a withdrawal statement — one sentence is enough: “I withdraw from the contract concluded on [date] under Government Decree 45/2014”, with your name, address, date and signature — and send it by registered post with acknowledgement of receipt to the address shown on the contract; keep the posting receipt and acknowledgement. Third: send the device back (as a registered parcel, keeping proof of posting) — you normally pay the return postage, but this is only a fraction of the purchase price. Fourth: if they do not refund you within 14 days, contact the consumer-protection department of the government office responsible for your place of residence and the conciliation body — this is free of charge. If they gave you a false report, pretended to be a doctor or the company cannot be reached: report it to the police as fraud.
Who is particularly vulnerable to a “health assessment” like this?
The measuring and “treatment” devices of unknown origin used at these presentations are a danger not only to your wallet:
- Pacemaker, implanted defibrillator – “bioimpedance” meters placed on the skin and conducting current, as well as electrical or magnetic “treatment” devices sold at the presentation, may interfere with their operation; do not allow an unknown device to be applied to your body.
- Known heart, vascular or cancerous disease – the greatest danger is that, because of the false “report” and the promise that it “also treats this”, you neglect genuine treatment; a device received at the presentation never replaces your medicines.
- Pregnancy – the use of uncertified electrical, magnetic or “frequency” devices is ruled out during pregnancy.
- Older people prone to anxiety who live alone – not a contraindication in the medical sense, but the target group: the frightening “report” can cause weeks of panic, sleep disturbance and unnecessary examinations. If you have an elderly parent, talk to them about this article before they receive an invitation.
Important information
If you are worried about a disease they “found” at the presentation, there is only one right course: your GP. They will arrange genuine examinations — laboratory tests, blood pressure, ECG and, if necessary, specialist care — free of charge, and if there is a problem, it will be treated.
Home therapeutic devices also have their place — but after a diagnosis, for a known indication, with a certified device, and never by signing a contract in a hotel hall.
What do the law and the authorities say?
“Can I return it if I have already signed and paid?”
Yes. Under the government decree on contracts between consumers and businesses, you can withdraw without giving a reason within 14 days of receiving the product from a contract concluded outside business premises — including at a product presentation; the business must refund the purchase price within 14 days and, in the event of withdrawal, cannot retain a penalty, deposit or advance payment.1 The consumer information published by the Hungarian Competition Authority specifically highlights that making you sign a “waiver statement” concerning the right of withdrawal is unlawful and invalid — you still have the right.2
“Why did they arrange credit for me on the spot if it is prohibited?”
Because the organiser broke the law. An amendment that came into force at the end of 2015 prohibited the provision and brokering of financial services — credit — when selling products connected with a product presentation (only payment by bank card remained permitted), prohibited enticing people with promises of gifts, price reductions or prize draws, and made customer service compulsory so that buyers could exercise their right of withdrawal.3 The Magyar Nemzeti Bank also issued a specific warning about the risks of credit arranged at product presentations.4 If they made you sign a credit agreement at the presentation, you can report this to both the consumer-protection authority and the MNB.
“Where can I turn if the company does not respond?”
There are three places, and all are free of charge. The consumer-protection department of the government office responsible for your place of residence (to report the infringement — failure to provide information, credit, refusal to accept withdrawal), the county conciliation body (to recover your money without court proceedings), and the Hungarian Competition Authority (in cases of misleading advertising or aggressive commercial practices).2 If they gave you a false medical report, pretended to be a doctor or the company cannot be reached at its registered address, it is a matter for the police: fraud.
Frequently asked questions
If the invitation comes not from the state healthcare system (GP, screening centre, hospital) but from a company; if it is “free”, “full”, “today only”; if they promise a gift, lunch or a trip; if they invite you to a hotel, restaurant or community centre; or if they do not say exactly what examination will be performed and who will perform it. Any one of these is enough. All of them together: certain.
No — the presentation “report” has no medical value and typically “finds” the same things in everyone. If it still worries you, take it to your GP: they will clarify the issue with genuine examinations — laboratory tests, blood pressure and ECG — and that is the report that matters.
Often, yes. If you did not receive written information about the right of withdrawal (this is common at presentations), the deadline is extended by 12 months — check your paperwork, or take it to the consumer-protection department or the conciliation body. If you found the product defective or unsuitable for what was promised, there may also be options based on statutory warranty rights and deception. Do not give up on day 15.
Talk to them — beforehand, not afterwards. Show them this article, discuss the script (invitation → measurement → scare → “today only”), and agree on a rule: they must not buy any healthcare product on the spot; they should call you first. Most scams fail if there is a pause long enough for one phone call between the fear and the signature.
No — and that is precisely the harm these companies cause: afterwards, those affected also turn away from genuine medical devices. The difference is simple: you buy a genuine device with medical-device certification (MDD/MDR), for a known indication, after a medical diagnosis, calmly and after comparison — from an online shop or specialist retailer, where you can return it within 14 days just as usual. Not in a hotel hall, out of fear, on the same day.
Summary – Quick overview
Sources
- 45/2014. (II. 26.) Korm. rendelet on the detailed rules for contracts between consumers and businesses. Nemzeti Jogszabálytár. njt.hu
- Gazdasági Versenyhivatal. Gondolja végig higgadtan: termékbemutató, áruvásárlási szerződés, elállási jog, kölcsönszerződés. Consumer information. gvh.hu
- 2015. évi CXCV. törvény on amending certain acts necessary to protect consumers in product sales connected with product presentations; GVH press release on the stricter rules. gvh.hu
- Magyar Nemzeti Bank. Figyelemfelhívás az árubemutatóval egybekötött termékértékesítés pénzügyi fogyasztóvédelmi kockázataira. mnb.hu
