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Business Profile

Medications

Winona Inc

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Medications.

Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

  • 5 total complaints in the last 3 years.
  • 4 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

If you've experienced an issue

Submit a Complaint

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

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Complaint status

Complaint type

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:05/20/2025

    Type:Service or Repair Issues
    Status:
    ResolvedMore info

    Complaint statuses

    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I never received my medication. I called to report missing medication but no response

    Business Response

    Date: 05/21/2025

    The patient reports that she reached out regarding her missing package and received no reply. Attached screenshots demonstrate that she did receive a reply and had several exchanges with our patient care team. Additionally, she reports in the conversation that the mail person has a tendency to place items in the wrong mailbox, which likely explains the non-delivery of her package. Nonetheless, we are sending a complimentary replacement to her today. We would ask that this complaint be dismissed, as the issue has been resolved and the patient is aware. Thank you for your time and consideration. 

    Customer Answer

    Date: 05/21/2025

    Better Business Bureau:

    I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

    Regards,

    ***** ******
  • Initial Complaint

    Date:03/24/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    AnsweredMore info

    Complaint statuses

    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I explored options for hormone therapy with Winona, **** and went as far as filling out a questionnaire to identify needs and an online doctor created a treatment plan for me. I did go as far as to provide payment information. After hearing from my primary care, I hesitated and did NOT authorize or engage any services or purchases. In December, I was charged $219.00 and $27.00 from Winona. I contacted them immediately to let them know I was not interested any longer and asked for everything to be canceled. They issued a refund. This month, I was charged the same amounts again out of the blue. I have gone back and forth several times via email with two representatives who are not able to provide any paper trail of information. I have shared screenshots from my bank account showing the refund in December. They are unwilling to provide a refund to me.

    Business Response

    Date: 03/26/2025

    The patient has disputed one charge with her bank and all other charges had been refunded. Once a charge is disputed, it cannot be refunded as the system no longer has an option for a refund. The patient has been made aware via a message thread exchanged with our patient services team. Her payment record is attached for your review. 

    Customer Answer

    Date: 03/27/2025

    Complaint: 23080205

    I am rejecting this response provisionally until I have received the full refund amount I am owed. Regarding the dispute with my bank, I have disputed two charges, not one. I am thankful that Winona has sent an email regarding a $27 refund (see attached). In Winona's response, I see an attachment stating that the additional refund is marked "34 days till results." Respectufully, I do not consider this matter settled until I receive the full amount I have requested, which would include a refund for $219.

    Regards,

    ******* ********

    Business Response

    Date: 03/27/2025

    The patient filed a dispute with her bank to recover her funds. We use ****** as a third party platform to manage all payments, refunds and disputes. As stated in the previous message, once the dispute is filed, we do not have the option to issue a refund. The timeline noted on the dispute message is one that is provide by the patients bank, not determined by us or Stripe. I have included a screen shot showing the details of that dispute for reference. We cannot contact the bank and ask that the dispute be resolved sooner, as many of them are resolved via the system and not a real person. We have reached out to stripe and asked them to do what they can to resolve this matter, but we are unable to have them resolve on our timeline. They have simply said that they will get the appropriate team member involved. As of this morning, we have not received any update from them. We suggest that the patient reach out to her bank and inquire about the status of the refund. Again, the timeline for this to be resolved in now in the hands of the patients bank, as we are unable to refund an amount that was disputed. There is simply not an option for that entry to perform a refund. If we could, we would, so that this can be resolved immediately.
  • Initial Complaint

    Date:10/23/2024

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    AnsweredMore info

    Complaint statuses

    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I filled out the Winona questionnaire for a free online doctor visit to see about being prescribed HRT hormone cream for my menopause symptoms on October 20,******* concern started when the *** immediately just filled the prescription, within a couple of hours of my completing their intake form, without asking any follow up questions about my families health history. My mother passed from a stroke and my father from a heart attack. According to the *********** article below family history SHOULD be considered before taking hormone therapy.********************************************************************************************** I had also forgotten to add a facial cream I am prescribed for my rosacea on my intake form so I followed up with a message to the *** after he had already filled the prescription. It took him almost three days to finally reply to that message. When I was not hearing back from their *** I contacted the Winona customer support asking about my message and subsequently about my families health history as shown in the attached email communications.I was only told by their customer service it was my fault for not adding the facial cream info. and that their company DOES NOT take family health history into account when prescribing hormone therapy. I found this to be disturbing and forwarded them the *********** article and stated I would not be taking any medication prescribed by one of their "doctors" as I feel the entire business is only a scam and preying on those looking for relief from their menopause symptoms.I am filing this complaint since my last email communicating my concerns about their practices they have not followed up to offer any additional assistance in the matter. I have canceled my membership with them and will be throwing out the medications they are mailing to my home address. I would like a full refund due to their suspicious prescription filling practice.

    Business Response

    Date: 10/28/2024

    We have received the complaint filed by Ms. ********** and have reviewed it in its entirety. Here are the facts of the case and our formal response to that complaint.

    First, we have thousands of patients who complete the onboarding process and are safely prescribed by our board certified doctors. Ms ********** mentioned her family history in her intake. She noted that both her mother and father suffered strokes, but also noted their poor health, which she admits is likely the cause of those strokes. (please see attached document of her intake history where this is noted) These are modifiable risk factors that are not relevant to her personal history. 

    Although she did not specifically ask if her family history was a concern, Dr ***** did provide reassurance in his reply to her prior to prescribing the medications. You will see in the attached document that she simply thanked him for the information and went on to inquire about the face cream. She did not ask for confirmation about the safety of the medications prescribed as it pertained to her family history and her individual risk. 

    We would also like to point out that the article she submitted as evidence that our medications are not safe for someone with a ************************, is not relevant for a number of reasons. First, the article is simply written by the *********** intended for the general public. This is not a scientific article with supporting data. Secondly, the medication used in that study cited was *******, a synthetic oral medication that does have a much higher risk profile than the bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (HRT) that we prescribe. There are risks with any ***, but the known risks with a synthetic medication cannot be compared to a bioidentical medication. In fact, the cardiovascular disease(CVD) risk (which does include stroke) is actually reduced for many women who are prescribed bioidentical HRT. 

    We are including a summary article from PubMed, that outlines the problems of the study mentioned in the *********** article. It actually highlights two studies, since that previous study, that refute the results and demonstrate that *** does actually reduce CVD risk and all-cause mortality in women under 60. You can view that article here: *************************************************

    As for taking family history into account prior to prescribing, our doctors do evaluate family history based on individual factors. In this instance, Dr ***** did not feel it was relevant for her and prescribed accordingly. Additionally, it was only after the inquiry about the face cream that she mentioned her concern about her personal family history to the patient care team. She did not clarify with Dr ***** in her reply to him. Regardless, she would have been told that it was not a concern for her as an individual and the medications are safe for her to use. 
    Had she voiced her concern to him, he would have told her that topical treatment options have even less risk than oral medications. She was prescribed a topical cream by Dr *************** have also included a screenshot of our reply to Ms ********** after her initial message to the patient care team. She notes in her complaint that we told her it was her fault that she did not request the face cream. Please review the message content and you will see that we did not say that, but actually, we let her know we reached out to the doctor on her behalf that she was interested in obtaining it. 

    We are sorry that she did not have the experience that she expected with our service. However, there is no scam here and she was safely and appropriately prescribed by a board certified physician after careful review of her medical intake form. Additionally, she supplied information to you that she thinks substantiates her case, but unfortunately does not. The article she found online from the *********** does not apply here, but the results have also been refuted in many other studies. Had she asked Dr ***** about what she found online, he could have explained that in full detail as well. There is a lot of misinformation circulating on the internet. We are not saying that their article is not accurate, just that it is a situation in which the patient is comparing apples to oranges, and implying that we are scam because of it. 

    We take patient safety seriously and have a system in place to ensure that our doctors can safely prescribe. All patients can ask any and all questions without charge. If Dr ***** had not deemed her a good candidate for treatment, she would not have been prescribed and would not have been charged. If the doctor does not prescribe, there are no charges to the patient. After careful review of her case, we have not and will not offer a refund in this instance. We kindly ask that you review this information in detail and rule in our favor regarding this unfounded complaint. 


    Customer Answer

    Date: 10/29/2024

    Complaint: 22465317

    I am rejecting this response because:


    Does the vendor even have permission to release information I gave the doctor on my intake form? I did not sign anything stating so that I am aware of and am now concerned they do not even follow HIPAA protections for their customers.

    I am insulted they concluded their statement saying my claim concerning my health in using their products was unfounded and again would like to point out how their customer service representative stated family history is not considered when prescribing treatment, when the *********** clearly states it should be. Their practice of prescribing medicine is clearly only motivated by profits and I do not believe they are a reputable company. Their customer service is rude and abusive in the way they handle new customers and do not see how they think this is a good business model.

    I will be looking into contacting the media with these concerns as well.


    Regards,

    ******* **********

    Business Response

    Date: 10/31/2024

    Hello,My name is ****** ******, and I am a co-founder of Winona.

    I am very sorry that our patient services representative offended you.

    We deeply value our patients, and I will personally ensure that your money is refunded.

    Thank you, and I hope you have a nice weekend.

    Best regards,

    ****** ******

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:06/17/2024

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    ResolvedMore info

    Complaint statuses

    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I received my medication in defective dispensers. I cannot get the correct amount of medication to dispense and it had caused me to take the wrong dose repeatedly and now I'm having terrible side effects that are causing me to suffer. I asked for an exchange and was denied my request because they claim their pharmacy does not make errors and refused to assist me further or even investigate.

    Customer Answer

    Date: 06/18/2024

    Credit card statement 

    Business Response

    Date: 06/28/2024

    Im writing in response to the complaint filed by *************************. Here is an accurate account of what happened:

    On 6/14/24, ****************** reached out to our patient services team about an issue (failure to pump properly) with her cream pump. The team provided troubleshooting instructions to her the same day. Please see her threatening response to us indicating that our pumps are trash. 

    We reached out to her again on 6/17/24, as we had not heard back from her about which pump needed to be replaced (she has two different ones). She noted that she had been ill and would let us know when she could. 

    On 6/18/24, she advised us that it was the progesterone pump that was not working. One hour later, a replacement was processed for her. That order shipped later that same day and was delivered on 6/20/24 at 11:30am (please see tracking information included here). 

    Please review all of the communication with the patient and her acknowledgment that we offered and sent a replacement within a very reasonable time frame. She admitted that she went ahead and filed the complaint without giving us ample opportunity to correct the issue. 

    We kindly ask that you dismiss this complaint against our company (Winona, ***** and notify ***************** as well. 

    If I can provide any other information regarding this matter, I am happy to do so. 

    Respectfully,
    *****************
    Head of ***************************************************


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