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Just one of the Acai Berry weight loss scams
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The issue taken with the promotion of the
Acai Berry pills has to do with misleading people about receiving a "free sample" for just $4.95, and claims that various recognized health organizations and celebrities have actually endorsed the pills. An e-mail blast went out claiming to have been sent by "The American Health Association," and then in the subject line states that "American Dietary recommends Acai Berry." In doing a little due diligence, courtesy of the Google search engine, the American Health Association (AHA) is all about helping people who have no health insurance get medical treatment at the same cost as those who don't have health insurance.
Nowhere on the AHA's web site was there to be found a recommendation for Acai Berry pills or a link to "American Dietary." "American Dietary" doesn't even appear to be an actual organization in existence as no trace of them can be found on Google. It's a fairly safe assumption to make, given the mission statement of the AHA, that they haven't endorsed Acai Berry pills. What's even worse is that many health-conscious people, upon receiving an e-mail claiming that the sender is the American Health Association, may think that a health-conscious organization has recommended Acai Berry pills for whatever ails them. In trying to respond to the alleged AHA "e-mail," the reply address goes to an affiliate marketer of the Acai Berry pills, not the AHA. In fact, if you read carefully under the smiling picture of Matt Lauer, celebrity newscaster, you'll see that "this offer was sent by a 3rd party affiliate."
The hype in the e-mail advertisement features a pull-quote from Matt Lauer, suggesting he said, "one of the most nutritious and powerful foods in the world," but doesn't successfully link this alleged quote from Lauer to the Acai Berry pills. There are logos of CNN, ABC, NBC, and CBS pictured next to Matt Lauer, and then the pitch, "Try it Now Free!" with an asterisk after the word "FREE." The asterisk is quickly explained outside of a red bubble that you "just pay for shipping." When you click on the red bubble to find out more, you're directed to an order page which mentions the product as being "free" three times, and explaining that all you have to do "is pay for shipping." The celebrity endorsement of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie features the two of them at the Golden Globe Awards. Does anyone logically believe that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie endorsed the Acai Berry product at the Golden Globes?
What comes next is really odd. According to the medical "expert," Dr. Nicholas Perricone, the Acai Berry is "one of the most powerful and tasty antioxidants available in the world of fruits and vegetables," and yet the Acai Berry is shipped in "pill form." It's difficult to determine what you're getting, if you sign on to this, since there's no description of the pills. The advertising for this product continues to claim that "you'll flush out 50 pounds, your mental clarity will be improved, and your cholesterol levels will be normalized." Wouldn't it be nice to have explained exactly "what 50 pounds is being flushed," or "how you'll be able to tell if your mental clarity improves," and what constitutes a "normalized cholesterol level?" The claims of what the Acai Berry pills will do, seem to be very vague and impossible to measure, although it appears that there is a muted claim that a user of these pills will drop 50 pounds. You have your choice of either "losing unwanted pounds," or "flushing out 50 pounds" (of what, body fat?), or "watching the weight fall off."
Nancy from New Jersey wrote:
"I sent for a free bottle of Acai berries at the cost of shipping only $4.95 and to my surprise another bottle arrived after a few weeks and my credit card was charged $74+ dollars. I called my credit card company to tell them I did not sign up for this program. I looked at the website again and saw that the terms and conditions under the submit button is blocked out and not readable. Since I was not purchasing anything, or so I thought I did not go to the bottom of the page to read terms. Has anyone else had this problem? The terms are unbelievable - you can not just send the package back unopened - no refund. If you don't send the package back before 30 days from the free shipment of the sample then you don't get a refund. Do send for any item that says it is free, they may sign you up for auto delievery."
The real deception occurs when someone believes they are getting a free sample for $4.95, when in reality, they are being asked to give out their credit card number to pay the shipping cost, and agreeing to a $74.95 per month recurring charge on their credit card to continue shipment of the Acai Berry pills. (as of October 2008 the price has dropped to $ 44.95) The credit card number and the recurring charges to that card number appear to be the real motive behind this campaign to sell Acai Berry pills, and not the claimed health benefits. For most people, they won't find out about the recurring $44.95 charge to their credit card until it posts to their account and they receive their statement. Most likely, the company charging them the $44.95 won't be a recognizeable name, and if too much time passes by, the $44.95 will keep being charged to the credit card until the cardholder notices it and decides to dispute the charges. By then, some of the charges may be past the disputing stage.
So why spend so much time examining the claims by the marketers of the Acai Berry pills in this instance? Because it's symptomatic of how many products are marketed on the internet. There may be nothing wrong with the Acai Berry pills as a dietary supplement and they may actually promote some health benefits. But the claims seem dubious and difficult to verify. At $44.95 a month, this vender appears to be overcharging for them, as the Acai Berry pills are available through other sources for $20 or $30 a month, and don't require an autoship plan through a credit card. It's interesting to note in the fine print under the "Terms and Conditions" section, which the merchant conveniently "checks" for you in the order box that claims you've read and understood everything, that if you have complaints about the product, you send any remaining portion to an address in Orem, Utah at your expense, and if any kind of legal issue arises (like trying to get your money back?), the agreed upon site for litigation would be "the state and federal courts located in Arapahoe County, the state of Arizona, United States of America," quoting directly from their Terms and Conditions section under "Governing Law." The problem is that there is no "Arapahoe County" in the state of Arizona!
For further info or to place acomplaint about a scam go to Complaintsboard.com
