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LEGAL Aid Queensland has been inundated with complaints about nasal spray impotence treatments, fuelling concerns vulnerable clients have been pressured into signing expensive, binding contracts.

More than 50 Queenslanders had sought their advice about the Advanced Medical Institute since July last year, Legal Aid told a federal parliamentary investigation into erectile dysfunction medications.

“Given the embarrassment that most males feel about discussing issues of this nature, this is a significant number of clients in such a short period of time,” its submission to the health committee said.

A Legal Aid dossier of 23 cases catalogued complaints from men aged 26 to 77 alleging they were “bullied” into signing contracts, denied refunds or told they risked serious health problems if they didn’t begin treatment.

One example of the hard sell tactics emerged when a 70-year-old man was told by a woman at a clinic that if he did not take the treatment he could die.

The man indicated he wanted to speak to his wife before signing but was told it was too late to back out because the sales rep had already ordered the treatment.

The man had not even signed a contract.

Legal Aid said it could offer no examples of AMI doctors discussing treatment options other than AMI products and that the medical interviews appeared “brief, often involve no physical examination and are frequently solely conducted by phone”.

Legal Aid also was concerned about contract terms which required customers to try up to four different treatments – including a penis injection – before they became eligible for a refund if the nasal spray didn’t work.

“Clearly many would have been daunted if they had understood the drastic measures required to obtain a release from the contract,” it said.

In its submission, AMI defended the quality of its phone consultations and said its patient questionnaire was more thorough than most GPs.

AMI said its doctors “routinely advise erectile dysfunction patients that erectile dysfunction is a precursor of heart disease”.

It acknowledged it was the subject of consumer complaints but blamed “inaccurate defamatory comments” on its critics, saying they did not relate to the quality of health care provided to its patients.

The company, which said its revenue last financial year exceeded $72 million, reported its average contract term was less than six months and cost $2000 and that it often provided refunds without requiring customers to try injection or other treatments.

Viagra manufacturer Pfizer told the committee that it was concerned AMI’s consultations were insufficient to assess a man’s overall health and the underlying causes of erectile dysfunction.