I am going to stray WAY off topic here, but there is a very good reason. Thousands of people across the country are being scammed by unscrupulous fly-by-night Internet vendors of Acai Berry products, and one of them is my own mother.
Hopefully when people do their research online about Oprah and acai berry this post will pop up in search engines and inform them to run the other way from all of the paid advertisements that get shoved in front of their face.
TAKE NOTE: If a link saying “Oprah’s flat stomach diet” or some derivative of this, or a paid advertisement in Google, takes you to a site that looks like one pictured at your right or below, DO NOT SIGN UP!
(Update: Viewing this post I just realized that when the Google Adsense ads rotate through on MSF, an ad for “Diet of the Year” pops up. I am not allowed to click through it, per the terms of service I have with AdSense, but it looks like another Acai Berry site. Be careful if you click-through to this website as it could very well be one of the sites that is the subject of this acai berry scam post.)
(By the way, do you notice the similarities of these two sites, which are at different URLs? A little curious isn’t it? And just try leaving the websites. You will be inundated with more pop-ups trying to assuage your legitimate skepticism.)
MAIN POINT: Do not sign up for the “risk-free” trail from any of the multitude of online vendors of acai berry claiming that the product was explicitly endorsed by Oprah, Dr. Oz., Racahel Ray, or Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
If you want some explicit examples of people being taken by the Oprah-acai berry scam, follow the link to this post on a forum at Oprah.com:
And it’s not just Oprah. As I just mentioned, these websites offering the “risk-free” trial of acai berry products also claim endorsement by Rachael Ray, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and Oprah’s pal Dr. Oz.
There are two huge problems:
- Neither Oprah, Racahel Ray, nor any of the people cited on these websites endorsed that particular acai berry product or company. In fact, if you look at the fine print, it says that none of the celebrities or sources that they cite actually endorsed product. But many people, like my mom, do not realize that they have to scroll to the bottom of the page to read the terms and fine print.
- The “risk-free” trial is not risk free at all. You are required to opt-out within 21 days or you will receive future shipments of acai berry products (at around $90 a pop) and be signed up for other services like “Ultra-Slim” that are only mentioned in the fine print.
Another thing I noticed is that on every one of these sites, there is a disclaimer saying that none of the claims about weight loss and wellness benefits have been authorized by the FDA.
Here are a few examples of the websites to which I am referring. If you go to any of these websites, run the other direction as quickly as you can:
- Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie acai berry scam
- Oprah acai berry scam – (each of the sites listed here)
- Dr. Oz acai berry scam
Don’t even think twice about this, I’m telling you. When you go to Oprah.com and visit the pages that mention acai berry, the paid google AdSense advertisements do not bring any of these supposed Oprah- and Dr. Oz-endorsed products up. Doesn’t that seem a little ironic? If the products were legitimate, don’t you think they and Oprah.com would want the obvious click-throughs they would get from advertisement for acai berry free trials on Oprah.com? That fact alone makes no sense at all.
Well, when you consider that Oprah and Dr. Oz never officially endorsed these products, it actually does make perfect sense why there would be no ads for these companies.
Again, for all of our loyal sports fan readers, my apologies for straying off topic, but this kind of stuff just pisses me off.
My mom thought she was getting a legitimate free trial of a product endorsed by Oprah. Neither is true, and judging by the recent forum posts at Oprah.com, my mom is not the only one. Sure, more savvy Internet users like me and many people my age would not have been taken in by something as obviously scammy as this — but a lot of people in the generation before me are still relatively new to the Internet and not as savvy at sniffing out scams.
This Oprah-acai berry scam is absolutely designed to capitalize on the timeliness of these supposed Hollywood endorsements (all they said was that the berry itself had anti-oxidant qualities) and prey on people who do not know everything they need to know to look for in an Internet scam.
Please, if you have been caught in this web of acai berry deceit, leave a comment and feel free to leave links to the sites that tried to or succeeded in sucking you in. Let’s expose as many of these frauds as possible.
And before you decide to just give it a shot anyway, understand that when you want to cancel your acai berry “free trial”, or if you have questions about use, your phone calls are routed to outsourced calling centers in India. I have no problem with this practice per se, as many companies do it; but the specific call centers for this product are instructed to give you misleading information and read from a very strict script — meaning that they try to outlast you and get you to stay signed up or not issue refunds. How do I know? I just listened to my mom talking on the phone with them for over an hour.
Okay, I’m done venting now. Time to go watch basketball. Hopefully the right people see this post and refrain from getting suckered by this and future scams.
Moral of the story: If a site that you do not know is trying to get you to sign up for a “risk-free” trail, do your homework first. Online commerce is very safe and practical, as long as you buy from sites that are legitimate and trustworthy. Sites that look like the ones above, and that make bogus claims about “risk-free” trials and celebrity endorsements, are just trying to capitalize on the naivete of unsavvy users.
Bastards.
Don’t get suckered by the Oprah-acai berry scam. If they don’t have links to vendors on Oprah.com, rest assured that the product is not officially endorsed by Oprah and that your “risk-free” trial will result in plenty of unnecessary and unexpected charges and headaches.
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About Jerod Morris
Thanks for writing this article, but it comes too late for me. I only decided to try it because it said that Oprah and Dr. Oz endorced it. I thought, what could it hurt for $4.95? Well it hurts in many ways. First, It gives you horrible diarrhea for days, and that was only taking 2 pills the first day. Second,they charged me $83.80 for the past two months. All I did was order the free trial for what I thought was $4.95. Now I find out I signed up for a membership, and am being charged $83.80 a month. When I called to question the charges, I was told from a rep in India that I SHOULD HAVE READ everything on the website. Going back to the site, I guess I missed the tiny print at the bottom of the page outlining that I was now a memeber that would pay $83.80 if I did not cancel my membetship within 14 days. ARE YOU KIDDING ME????????? I am trying to get the credit card company to take the charges off. What a pain!!!!!!!!!
@Jordan, sorry you didn’t get the information before being taken. That’s how these companies get you. They bury the truth about the “risk-free” trial deep in the terms and conditions, and put up pictures of celebrities who have merely mentioned the words “acai berry” to give the impression that they endorsed the product.
Let us know how it turns out with the CC company. This type of stuff really needs to be sniffed out and stopped. I am sure that many, many other people are going through the same thing you are.
@JRod,Thank you for getting this information out there. I have learned my lesson!!!!!!!!!!
I guess I am another unfortunate gullible who fell for that ad. I received free? bottle of acai pills however I suppose I didn’t read the ad thoroughly because I was billed for $78.61 onmy credit card and it is not refundable because I did’nt call within 14 days to cancel caveat emptor. I feel like a jerk and the pills did not live up to their promo
@pat mcmenamin, call your credit card company and put a dispute through on the amount. I did and they sent it to the ‘fraud dept’. This is fraud because you did not aurthorize the charge. They have been getting complaint after complant I was told today. You can fight the charges, and get your money back. That is what I am doing. I NEVER scrolled down to see that there was a 14 day period. They don’t expect you to. These people are hoping that you don’t. This is a fraud and a scam. you can buy these pills for 7.99 on any vitamin site
Everyone should RUN, not walk, away from anything that ever claims to be endorsed by Oprah- regardless whether she actually endorses it or not. I’m amazed at the number of people who assume “endorsed by Oprah” means something special.What formal training does she have to endorse anything? Is she a physician? a nutritionist? a psychiatrist? and physicist? no! She’s got a degree in speech & drama from TSU. Simply because of her status as a TV personality, we are to believe she is some kind of expert on whatever topic comes out of her mouth. That’s just what all the scammers who sell Acai juice and other hoax products in the internut are counting on…
when ever i go to my favorit recipe websites now there is a photograph of a woman, different each time. the stories are identical though, and often they are from (GUESS WHERE) my own city! it is so obvious, at least after a few name and photograph changes, that something is not right here. i don’t understand why they can’t at least come up with a different script.
I have now had $350 worth of pills billed to my credit card account, and all I signed up for was a free trial for $4.95. I have 3 bottles sitting on my kitchen counter that I never opened and don’t plan to open. I just got a new charge added from a company called PRIMETIME SAVINGS. NEVER heard of them, but according to them I signed up for their membership. My credit card company is investigating it all. I had to fill out 6 pages explaining over and over that i only signed up for a free 30day trial for 4.95 S&H.
Be carefull out there. There are scam artists all over the place.
So for all of you who ordered it, is it or has it worked for you?
Thanks for this information. I almost fell prey to this after seeing the above website. I thought I was on something from Rachel Ray. I’m very sceptical about using my credit card online so right when I got to the pay segment and it didn’t allow for pay pal, I decided to do some more digging. Your article is one of many that popped up in the google search engine about this scam. What I found interesting is the same life changing story was on another site with a different set of pictures!
@Wondering, NO NO NO I tried the Acai berry, and after taking ONLY 2 capsules, it upset my stomach so much that I was in the bathroom for hours and could not leave my house. I tried it again JUST TO MAKE SURE it was the Acai berry a few weeks later and had the same result. I only want to lose about 10 pounds, but it is not going to be with the Acai berry i can tell you that. Had a pharmacist tell me that it is not good for you because it dehydrates you someting wicked. Oh yea!!!!!!!!!
They really got me because of the Oprah and Dr. Oz connection. I, too, didn’t realize I had to cancel within 14 days and am now trying to get the credit charge cancelled. If anyone has had success in stopping this scam, please let me know.
@Joan Jones, That was what ‘got me’ too. When I saw that Oprah, and Dr.Oz were recommending this, I jumped right in. I NEVER saw the 14 day automatic membership either.
When I went back into the site to see how I could have missed it, I noticed that in very tiny print they tell you that Oprah and Dr.Oz are not affliliated with their product. The ONLY way they can sell this is by scamming people to THINK they are affiliated with it. The credit card companies are being bombarded with calls about this. Make sure you stay on top and put the charges through as UNAUTHORIZED.
Complete fraud and when you call they will give you someone who doesn’t speak english and the supervisor is always NOT in. My credit card was charged $130.00 even before the items arrived for the 14 day trial. A constant fight to get these charges removed. Sorry I fell for this fraud.
Hi there,
Thank you for this information, I was just about to purchase my free trial from one of the websites you mentioned. I’m glad I came across your article.
Thx
Sue
@Susan, you’re welcome. Glad it helped. That’s why I put the article out there, and luckily without any backlash from our usual reader crowd of sports fans.
I wish I read this first too. I just got off the phone with these people, trying to get back the $89 from my “2 week free trial”. They refused to give me my money back. Apparently there is some superfine print that says the bottle isn’t actually free after 2 weeks. I talked to a barely-english-speaking supervisor who insisted that it was legitimate and there was no budging. What kind of real business does this?
As far as I’m concerned, no supplement is worth that much. Whatever you do, STAY AWAY FROM ALL OF THESE! Expecially when it lures you in by some local who lost weight from it. DON’T DO IT!
@Stephanie, Call your credit card company and dispute the charges. They are aware of this scam and quite angry. Tell them the charges were not authorized. They will send the charges to the fraud dept and sent you a form so you can explain what happened. These people should be put in jail as far as I am concerned.
A post showing this is a total scam can be found at:
Acai Berry Scam
Thanks for helping to expose these scams. If you do a search for Acai on complaintsboard.com there are nearly 8000 complaints and some of the complaints have hundreds of comments on them from other people who were scammed!
http://www.complaintsboard.com/?search=acai
There is even a web forum called warrior where some of these scumbags promoting Acai are bragging about how much money they made:
“I WILL ADMIT IT.
I sold Acai berry products and made a killing in the process. If people are dumb enough to buy magic weight loss beans I say why not sell them.
Weight loss products are like drugs. If you don’t sell them someone else will.
I make a great living and I sleep well at night. ”
From:
http://www.warriorforum.com/main-internet-marketing-discussion-forum/67925-acai-berry-scam-2.html#post660875
“I have made a lot of money by promoting Acai and other cpa offers, but obviously I know it’s a scam…2
From: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-internet-marketing-discussion-forum/58021-death-acai-berry-products-video-proof.html#post537586
“I have definitely made a lot of money off it! because so called celebrities use it, it gives it a more perceived personal value! I ran a campaign from feb to march and banked $50, 000 from acai berry alone, which was cool! ” From:
http://www.warriorforum.com/main-internet-marketing-discussion-forum/67925-acai-berry-scam-2.html#post670095
I agree with all the above messages. I used a debit card so I immediately knew when I was charged. I complained to the bank, but they couldn’t do anything about it saying when the next shipment came, to return it. I canceled the order, so I never got the second shipment for which I am grateful, but only goes to show that nothing at all was free. Here’s the rub. Your 14 days start when you order the stuff. By the time you get it you’ve already used up 5 days or so. Let’s face it, there is no magic pill. I didn’t lose weight only money. I too spoke to a woman with a very heavy accent who told me the 14 days were in the agreement I agreed to. A very expensive lesson. I am too old for this, I should have known better
@Chuck Turner,
Wow, thanks for the links. Sorry it did not post immediately. We filter comments with more than one link as a safeguard against spam, but the links you provided are certainly very telling.
It is just amazing how much money these people have made scamming people. Unbelievable, but I’m glad that this post has helped to educate a few. Hopefully more people catch on and at least this scam gets nipped in the bud before more are taken.
I had to call my bank and tell them that card was stolen and to issue me a new card with a different number. That stopped all charges altogether. I lot of inconvenience to learn such a necessary lesson.
my friend heard i received this and told me about the whole nightmare with this horrible scam…..thank you, for sharing this with me….
I too fell for it. Another one to watch for “Dr. Acai” anti-aging skin care. Also under the name of L’AVENIR Skin Care. Same deal: I didn’t read the small print at the FAR bottom. I did cancel the order but continue to be charged. I use my debit card (stupid move on my part) now in the process of disputing it and canceling the card. What a pain! Wish I had found this site before . . . thanks for sharing your info!
I am very grateful for this blog. My mother is an avid Oprah and Dr. Oz fan. She saw the ad for Akai berry diete and signed up. I was supposed to sign up for it today, on her recommendation. I am very glad I did not.
Thanks again!
Wow – I ALMOST signed up myself, but I do usually check things out before buying most things that “sound to good to be true on the internet.
I went on Rachael Ray’s website and found nothing. I also went on Oprah’s website and found nothing I definitely thought something was up!
Furthermore, there isn’t even a show on these websites acai websites that you can see Oprah or Rachael endorsing this product. I was pretty convinced this was a scam, but still did more research. That’s when I found this page…
Huge kudos to you for coming forward to what happened to your mom (by the way I feel bad for her).
Hopefully, this webblog gets to the fingertips of more people.
Thanks,
Kim
@Kim, that’s the idea! I’m so glad it helped. I wasn’t really sure what kind of impact a post like this could have on a sports blog, but 3500 pageviews and 27 comments later, it looks like this post found at least a small portion of the people for whom it was intended.
Hopefully everyone decides to go online like you all have and research the product before signing up for the “free” trial. And now that this scam has been uncovered, unfortunately, the question becomes: what’s next?
The lesson: always go online and research before signing up for anything. If it’s not legit, you’ll usually find something.
@Jordan, You are not alone!!! I feel like such a sucker!!
I to got scamed and then found this blog. Im so angry I live in NZ and thought it sounded fantastic! I only purchased it yesterday. Can anyone her me wity info on how to cancel it??? I have called 800-6593588 for it says this number is now inactive!!!
PLEASE HELP
Natalie
@Natalie, my best advice would be to read some of the comments above and how they have handled it.
If the number is inactive, my best advice would be to call your credit card company. There is a pretty good chance that no matter what card you purchased it with, they have heard about the scam and had other unhappy customers calling them. Unfortunately, there is not much else that can be done, but the credit card companies have more power to fight this than individuals do. Make sure they know that yet another person has fallen victim to the scam, and hopefully they will be able to take care of you.
Thanks for the comment. Sorry you had to join the unhappy community of people who have been suckered by these nefarious bastards. Hopefully as more people continue to come forward, this scam will be stopped dead in its tracks.
And you will be spammed to death!
This is nothing new of course, I was scammed by Boca Java coffee out of Florida the same way. I found out, $79 for 4 pounds of coffee.
I am slightly involved in affiliate marketing and have to say that this pushes the envelope. I understand to an extent that selling people junk they don’t need is just part of business, but I definitely think this is going too far. So I choose to stay out of this area of affiliate marketing and check anything I am promoting to see that it is at least somewhat legit.
If you are a victim of this scam, report the fraud to your state’s Attorney General. This is what people in Texas did with a work from home fraud with a similar hidden rebilling method and now legal action is being taken.
See: http://strangelyperfect.tv/3099/google-treasure-chest-its-a-scam-and-a-half/
@Bill, thanks for the input. We do affiliate marketing here at MSF too, and like you, I always check into the program if it’s not a name brand.
Of course, as we learned with this scam, just because a company cites a name brand as a reference doesn’t mean you should believe it. Always, always, always do your due diligence before purchasing online. If you do, you’ll be okay 99.9% of the time.
@Chuck Turner, thanks for the resource Chuck.
Wow! Feeling stupid just won’t go away, I swear that small print about the fourteen days wasn’t on the order form I filled out for my no risk trial. Well after finding the $79.99 charge on my debit card, I found the invoice that arrived with the sample and the customer service number was on it(1-800-790-7456) I called and cancelled the stuff and they told me to cancel another scam they signed me up for without my knowledge, a fit factory subscription That I hadn’t been billed for yet. They gave me three cancellation numbers but I’m still sweating future charges after reading some of these stories about cancelling accounts and all. I want my money back, I could use it to replace all the toilet paper I went through after trying the product!
@brian, This is EXACTLY what I’ve found. I’ve revisited some of the ‘business opportunity’ websites and the T&Cs will have changed in a few days, maybe because of pressure from all the comment such as this.
To everyone, I say don’t feel embarrassed or stupid about your decisions. Remember that everyone makes mistakes and to admit as much helps everyone. The surest way we can put some weight on to the scoundrels is to continually speak out against them. If everyone knows that the ‘money-making-systems’ they promote are just pants, then economic and social pressures will reduce their prevalence, of that I’m sure. It’s no good relying on laws to combat the menace as many are based in basically lawless states, at least from the regulatory viewpoint.
Proactive involvement from Google, which serves many ads would help. Google as everyone knows, IS based in the US and is subject to it’s law. But currently, it’s content to issue ‘warnings’. It’s just sitting on it’s hands. It needs to realise the great disquiet and malaise that it’s generating. There’s a phrase about not shooting the messenger – In this case the messenger knows more than it’s letting on. Serving the greater part of the world’s internet adverts, it should do something.
I don’t wish to blow my own trumpet, but check this post, Embarrassing Pingback Advert for Google Treasure Chest, where I found one of the adverts right at the top of this website! It’s not nice, they are everywhere now. The fact that they shout “this is not a scam” or “watch out for scams” makes it even worse… I’ve had them on my website. It’s awful.
@Strangely, AHHH! That’s awful! I wonder how I get that ad removed from the network that services that ad spot? I need to find that out. The last thing I want on this page is advertisements for more scams!
Thanks for bringing that to my attention Strangely. I need to look into this…
@JRod
John Henry has made a comment here on my original posting that may prove some relief for all of us.
http://strangelyperfect.tv/3099/google-treasure-chest-its-a-scam-and-a-half/comment-page-4/#comment-1334
BTW. The same mad head appeared in your top right Google ad while I’m writing this! It’s a menace, it’s everywhere! I’ve some research to do following John’s comment, so I hope this helps!
Jrod,
You can filter topics out of your google AdSense. It is in the adsense control panel, it’s called the “competitive ad filter”.
I know they aren’t your competition, but the idea behind the filter is to filter out ads of your competitors. You can use it to filter out ads you don’t want to show of any kind though.
BTW you are the second hit on google for “oprah acai” without quotes. I searched it to see if there was really any sort of endorsement behind these spams. So I think you are accomplishing what you set out to do.
@Gigs, Wow…we are that high!?! That’s great! I guess that helps explain the continued traffic to this post. Good…hopefully as many people see this as possible and do not fall victim.
The problem is that sometimes that ad networks I use run AdSense if they are out of paid impressions for the network ads, and I don’t know if I can control their filters. I’ll have to see. Thanks for the tip though.
Looks like Oprah is starting to go after the evil-doers:
http://www.oprah.com/article/health/nutrition/20090105_orig_acai
@JRod & @Gigs
You’re on a hiding to nothing trying to nail the websites down with the site filter, as I’ve found. It may appear tom be the same ad, but quite often it’ll go to one of a myriad of cloned sites.
Good new about that Oprah lawyer thing. I’ll put the link on my website. It’s what this menace needs – some high profile folks to throw their money and prestige into a head-on attack on the system.
Here is a video clip with some folks discussing the Acai flogs (fake blogs) –
http://www.payperclickformula.com/blog/?p=56
I hope that Harpo’s (Oprah) lawyers, the FTC and whoever else goes after these lowlifes and takes back they money they swindled (ie: stole by trickery) and then some…
There are reports that people made up to $100,000 per day from this scam – unbelievable!
@JRod, When I ordered my free trial of acai, the promotional ad I clicked on said to take the Natures cleanse with it. So I ordered both. After receiving a second bottle of natures cleanse I called to cancel future deliveries and charges, and by the way ,I ordered both from one company, acai gave me directions on returning the unused bottle, but only because, they said that they were unable to charge my account. I don’t know why but I lucked out there. Then I told them I no longer wanted the natures cleanse and wanted a refund upon return of the unused bottle they sent.They told me that it was a different company and I had to call them and they had no # to call so I called the # on the bottle.With shipping I was charged over 95.00 and they told me I could not return or receive a refund for the Natures cleanse because I called after the 15 day trial. I made it clear not to send more or charge my account. They said they wouldn’t so we’ll see what happens. I will call my credit card co. and see what I can do to get my money back. Thanks for opening this forum.
@Chuck Turner
That video should be a de rigeur watch for everyone. Absolutely great and validates everything I’ve discovered on my webpage(s) on the subject. For instance, my latest foray honey-trapped a couple of sites with my seeded unique email address, and within a couple of days I had spam from Google Treasure Chest/Kit/Money Tree/etc, Grant Kit scams, Loans and yes, Acai berry! This spam could have come from no other source except the website that promised “we hate spam as much as you do” and appeared to have a sound privacy policy!
The answer?
Trust no-one on the web. That’s what the guys in the video are saying will happen anyway to their customers (us!), and our attitude to on-line marketing. We’ll trust no-one and buy even less because everyone will have had personal experience of a scam before long!
And a good thing too! There’s no such thing as a free lunch, and if it looks too good to be true – it is!
@Strangely,
Amen to that final statement. Too good to be true almost always ends up turning out to be…well…untrue.
@kat,ave you
I too, was scammed!!
Have you been able to get any money back yet?
If so, how?
I used my debit card and am disputing the charge of $49.63.
Have cancelled the card to avoid any other payments.
Please reply!
I’m considering calling my Congressman and any gov’t agency that might
handle swindles like this.
thank you.
Bev Bev
Kit100Kat@hotmail.com
Here is what i do. If someone advertises that it is free trial i buy a master card gift card for $25.00. i used $19.99 for other purposes and then get the free trial. therefore they can not charge my credit card nothing. i have sucked into these addies way to many time. i decided it was time to put it to them.
Hi: I too got scammed by a Rachae Ray and Oprah and Dr. Oz endorsement of this product. You think it’s only a “risk free, free trial” right??? NOT!!! I got the free trial on 5/6/09 and on 5/7/09 I was charged $89.95 for an auto-ship. You’re supposed to get a 15 day free trial period BUT it’s not from the day you get the product, so you can even have time to try it, NO, it’s 15 days from the date you called in. That alone is a SCAM and then on 5/7/09 they charged me again BUT also today is 5/20/09 and I still don’t have the 2 bottles I was charged for. Chase Bank my Visa bank said that they’ve had a lot of calls on this product scam, and they’re going after their Visa bank, not the actual companies. So I didn’t have to pay for it.
Also, read ALL the complaints at this website – http://www.complaintsboard.com (I hope that’s correct) I’m not so internet savvy – wrong era, but I try. I am not not so trusting, which is sad…….after being scammed a few times recently, it puts a bad taste in your mouth!!! BUYER BEWARE!!!!
@cassie dobbs, A really, really GOOD idea. Thanks – if I EVER do this type of thing again, I’ll remember your idea and stick it to them for sure. Got scammed 3 times in May and that’s 3 times too many!!!!
Have to be smarter than the scammers.
@Jordan, Hi: I did the same thing for Acai – NutraLane and also for MaxColon which is the other product that they said went with it. What a mess from my innocently trying 2 “risk free” “free trials”. Sure will know more and be internet savvy from now on.
Read the comment from Cassie about purchasing a MasterCard gift card for $25. That’s a really good idea – IF I ever do this again, I’ll remember that. And I told my husband, if I ever do this type of thing again, shoot me in the legs!!! not literally, but he got the message of how serious I was!!!
I decided to try out Acai Berry Edge and got sucked into this crap.
I tried cancelling and they tell me that there is no order under my name or email address. If there is nothing under my name I thought I was safe, but sure enough a week later I’m charged $79.99.
Not looking forward to the amount of hours I’m going to spend on the phone getting this changed.
@Old Muley, Amen to that. Look who we got as a President because of Oprah’s endorsement.
Dr Oz brag and brag about the medication, but when I went to get my money back due to the Hives, There were not so quick in returning your money its has been two months and I have emailed them they give me a number and it is alway busy. There in never anyone to talk to. Watch you money its not worth the problems that follow.
@Jordan, Come on dude….get a brain and CANCEL YOUR CC just like you would if someone got your info any other time…thats one sure way to stop the charges in thier tracks…I am actually shocked that the CC company didn’t do it for you on report of a single unauthorized charge…
Just my 2 cents, but I’m always skeptical of any free or trial offer. Typically there’s always something in the fine print for recurring charges on your credit card. The earlier post about using a gift card for transctions is a great idea and should be promoted across the board.
I ordered Akai skin care product and I DID read the fine print but the product took 10 days to arrive so I called immediately, got a cancellation number and sent it back, unopened, the next day. I still was charged $43.00 on my credit card. CC company is now dealing with my refusal to pay. CC company told me to again contact Akai which I tried to do but always got a busy signal.
I was not scammed. I was robbed. I received two jars of pills in the mail from a phony address and threw them away. A few days later I received a call from my credit card company fraud department asking if I had purchased the product for somewhere close to $100. I had not. They said I should cancel the card which I did. Two more mailings appeared during the next week which prompted me to hunt down the culprit. The company answering service is at 1287 N. Research Way, Orem UT, 84097. They had all my personal information including credit card, name and address. They tried asked for my email and when I refused they ask that I confirm that it was noonie@yahoo.com. This is not my email address. I suspect they are hacking into personal accounts and sending fake orders using fake email addresses to their shipping department.
The operation appears to be run by Andrew Miller. He is listed at the same address as the company. His listed phone is 821 765 9765 Fax: 821 765 9755 Email: andrewmiller788@gmail.com. He owns 25,000 domain names! He appears to use them with different ads on different websites All advertise the same thing but with different company names. A number of the sites have a scantly dressed girl making an audio pitch. I have no first hand information on this guy but a websearch suggests that he is a slease all the way. One site shows a picture of him and another guy on either side of Bill Clinton. A hand appears on each of their shoulders but a good look at Clinton shows that his arms are down. Apparently he is not very good with Photoshop. Miller has had multiple disputes with legitimate owners of domain names such as Roche and Merrill Lynch. In each case he was charged with unauthorized use of tradenames and was found to be acting in bad faith.
This guy is a predator. Keep clear and if scammed send complaints to law enforcement officials.
Hi again
For everyone that’s been suckered by the scammers, just remember, in their eyes you are actually a “business opportunity enthusiastâ€!!
It’s true.
You are one of many “… pre-qualified opportunity seekers have shown their commitment towards working from home in the way that matters most to your mailers – by making a purchase!â€
I found all this out in a bit of undercover research (call that ’set myself up to receive loads of spam’) which I’ve detailed here http://strangelyperfect.tv/3485/the-most-annoying-head-on-the-planet/#comment-1330, amongst other places.
The key bit for yourselves is on this page on this spammy marketer’s website, http://datacards.geonmedia.com/market;jsessionid=CF46E147CA811FF142B873936483CBBD?page=research/datacard_print&id=209498 where the full costs of mailing lists and the numbers of names involved, are listed.
Don’t feel bad about getting suckered. Let’s get the bastards and all their hidden professionalism. Complain to your AG, FTC, BBB, FBI etc at every opportunity. Give the law enforcers some proper fuel to hang’em high and dry.
A woman is starting a class action and has asked for as many names and incidents as possible. Her email address and her original posting are to be found here, http://strangelyperfect.tv/3401/google-treasure-chest-phone-and-address-list/#comment-1482
Go For It!!
Lowell J Kuvin esq is filing a class action suit against FWM Labs
lowell@kuvinlaw.com
(305) 358-6800
This atty is a fighter–please get the word out
@Deborah, WHAT IS THE NUMBER TO CANCEL THE CLEANSE I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THE ACAI LINDA
Yes I have been scamed I ordered the diet supplement, It broke me out in hives I called and sent the supplement back but I never received the $79.90 owed me for the supplement. I have e-mailed and called and get no response yes the are great scam artis. I can/t believe Opro put her stamp on this medican, but if it was that good Opra would take it and she would be thin..
I should have known better. But I learned my lesson.
Carol M cDaniel
@Bev Bev, Hi: What a pain, huh?
The only way I got money back was I fortunately used my Visa card. Chase Bank – I did a dispute twice with them and both times I was credited $63.91 and $79.90 and $4.97 even for the supposed “free trial” shipping one. I was charged but never got any of them. Some scam, huh?
So I got my money back because I used a credit card. Debit card is bad!!! it’s like cash! right out of your account. Keep trying!!
I am so sorry. They are using Oprah’s name and Rachel Ray’s name and Dr. Oz’s name ILLEGALLY!!!! They have never endorsed it!!
Oprah is suing all of them!!
Go for it Oprah!
@Carol McDaniel,
Hi: Just read all the comments and see what a huge operation this. Some people have made as much as $150,000 selling these products-one comment was-well, if people are stupid enough to buy it, and other people are making big bucks off them, then why not me as well!!!! See……that’s the kind of mentality these days, everyone out for themselves to make a fast buck on the innocent.
God will get them in the end, someday.
I feel so sorry for people who have used their debit cards and probably have lost all their money. It’s just sickening.
I for one have over-learned my lessons big time….but the bad thing it did to me, is make me less trusting and then I suffer as well.
I was lucky. I used a gift cards which only had enough on it to pay the S&H . They are sending emails and I have emailed them back saying that there is no way they are getting one penny from me. I did read the terms and conditions when I ordered them and they have changed what was written then. I have also found out that only a few of the berry products actually work. I am sorry that so many people have been taken in like they have. Had the pages not showed Oprah, Dr OX and Rachel Ray, I would not have even looked at them.
THanks for this. I came close to being had but wondered why the sites looked so different and, frankly, the hype was more than what I thought Oz would go for.
You saved the day because I was sorely tempted. Keep it up and BLESS YOU!
WEll they got to me, I thought I was fairly safe on what I thought was a “Rachel Ray” web site…wrong there.
I sent for the “15 Day FREE TRIAL” of “ACAI Berry” but got “Magic ACAI” instead. I paid the $4.95 for shipping via credit card. Then the next day I thought to myself, How can a 15 day trial show any effects with a product that requires 30 t 60 days for results. duh me…
Today I called “1-800-509-8829″ to cancel. I was told that I will have to pay for return shipping for the unused portion of the “FREE TRIAL” or I could keep the unused portion for $29.95 and be charged for a subscription fee.
I will be sending the unused portion back via USPS registered mail to “Magic ACAI, 22100 East 26th Ave. unit 100, Aurora Colorado, 80019″ per phone conversation with their customer service rep. Also I maxed out my credit card and notified my CC company that I am disputing the charges.
I plan to carry this to the end, I will be notifing the USPS Postmaster for Northern California that they may have committed mail fraud when they sent me a substitute product, also the California Attorney General’s Office.
@amama, okay the TOPIC is scam not the President. And no Oprah is not all the things you say she is BUT she is a hollywood supersatar which means to an average Joe Smith she is he/she rolemodel.Just by the simple lifestyle she lives. So of course people is going to try it cause her name is on it. And lets not forget she use to be FAT. so of course some people would buy it cause it has her name on it. And do not put the President in it because obvisouly you need to go back to a history class , becuase no one women can not make more then half of the voters vote for him if thats so…. then we are living in a crazy world well bout to go…. think God i used a pre-paid card …… peace, love, and cup-cakes
I didn’t get sucked into the Acai Berry bit, but because Dr. Oz and Oprah and Barbara Walters raved over Resveratrol Ultra…..like a dummy I fell for it..hook, line and sinker. Same old stuff..free trial,etc, except there is no fine print. I saw the fine print after I disputed the claim…spoke to a woman who barely spoke English..and was put on hold for almost two hours. I’ve had to cancel my card and still haven’t gotten it straightened out. I did learn a valuable lesson. America just isn’t the same.
maxacaiboost.com is a fraudulent site with Extreme Wheatgrass as phantom company. I called but they had no record of the order i just put in. I do not know what to expect now, anyone could have my info. This sucks!!!
On 6/25/09 the Arizona Attorney General announced it had reached a record settlement of $1,375,000 with Central Coast Nutraceuticals (CCN). CCN is the company that makes the Acai Pure (acai-pure.com), one of the many so called “free trial Acai Berry Productsâ€.
If You Have Purchased Pure Acai you May Be Able to Get Your Money Back
Under the terms of the settlement, the state of Arizona is receiving about $1 Million and $350,000 is being put into an account to refund to customers who have purchased the Pure Acai from CCN. If you did buy Pure Acai you want to call 1-800-352-8431 by August 17, 2009 so you can file your claim for a possible refund. It is important to note that anyone who has purchased Pure Acai can file a claim (you do not need to live in Arizona).
Let’s All Say a Big Thank You to the Arizona Attorney General
From: http://www.powersupplements.com/blog/132/acai-berry-scam-az-settlement/
See: http://www.azag.gov/press_releases/june/2009/CCN%20Settlement%20Press%20Release.pdf
@Nathan, You are right, and I was thinking about closing my cc, but had so many auto-pay situations, it would be a big pain……….BUT on top of all those scams, someone finally conpromised my card and charged a fraud charge of $126.45 for a car ad in the Kansas City Star (and I live in Wa State). Fortunately I was able to get a credit from Online Services, BUT I did close my cc (with great anguish!!) but now have a new number and no more scame charges from any of these FREE trial companies. I’ve learned my lessons big time. Never again!!
My comments are just a mirror of what everyone else has experienced. Notify your credit card issuer that you are disputing the charges. I did that and ended up having to have a new credit card issued. However, I did get the charges reversed. Please know that they will continue charging to your card so you’re better off just getting a new credit card issued.
is this i just received the product
i am going to cancel my card just in case
has this product worked for anybody
is this true does this product work
?
i going to cancel my card
just received the product
I ordered Acai and was able to cancel before I even received the product through an automated menu. Contrast this with something called Natra Pure which was sold as an accompanying product. I have made three calls to that call center in India for 30 minutes each time and have not succeeded in obtaining a confirmation number for cancellation. My next plan was to dispute the charges through my credit card company. Sounds like I will have to cancel my credit card as well to avoid charges each month forever.
I have a question for those of you who ordered this product. Was the $3.95 shipping and handling fee charged to your account immediately? I am only asking because I just got a call for my “order confirmation”. I NEVER made an order but they had all my info. My name, address and phone number was correct but the email address was not. I cancelled the order and the account. I have checked my bank account and nothing has been charged so far. Just wanted to see if this company charges right away or if it takes a few days. I am also filing a police report to start a paper trail in case of identity thief. Thanks for your help.
Hi,
I concur with what is written above – but the information came too late for me. However, with a lot of emails (not phone calls) i did manage to get out of it by paying full price for the trial bottle. Perhaps the paper trail was my saving grace! Regarding the credit card thing – because you have signed the direct debit directly with the company my Bank inform me that its out of their hands and consequently not easy to stop it Sorry!
Thanks everyone for the info. WOW!!! What a huge scam. I was going to order the Acai Berry and the Colon Clense products today but I’m going to skip that process after all of this. Intersting comment though…I have been looking into this diet program for a while now, just finances said I had to wait. Anyway, I filled out the online form for the trials, but never completed them with the CC info. I rec’d several calls from both companies trying to get me to complete my purchases. I told them that I was going to be out of town and would call them back in 2 weeks after my return. I told them that if it’s a good deal now it will be in two weeks as well. After about the 3rd call I told them to stop calling me that I would call them when I was ready. I then started haning up on them because I had enough. They finally stopped. I haven’t looked into it again until today, and luckily I found your site. Thanks again for helping me not to make a financially bad decision!!!
Abby’s Diet Journal
My name is Abby Johnson. I’m 25 years old and I live in City, State. I have a wonderful family and an amazing fiancee. I lost over 21 pounds in just 3 weeks using this diet combination I saw on TV. Read my story to learn how I did it. http://www.abbysdietjournal.com
Jennifer’s Stretch Mark Story
My name is Jennifer Loca from City, State. I have 2 kids and a wonderful husband. I cured my stretch marks and got my skin looking young again after just two weeks thanks to a show I saw on Oprah and an amazing interview with Barbara Walters. Read my story to learn how I did it. http://curedstretchmarks.com
Coincidentally, both these ladies “live” just down the road from me. Bet they live near you, too! This alone should raise a red flag for many. But for those that it didn’t, the legal disclaimer at the bottom of each “personal blog” should have.
Caveat emptor. Let the buyer beware!
@HylesLineata, haha…thanks for posting. Unreal. The craziest thing is that on the Abby’s Journal one, it won’t even let you close the page without trying to suck you back in with one final sales pitch. These people will stop at nothing to get your $$$!
One year it’s taheebo tea, another acai berry. I’m an Internist and believe me there IS no magic bullet out there for weight loss! Exercise and low calorie density foods are key. There are some non-natural pills in the pipeline that are promising like make you lose 25% of your body weight. When you need to lose 50% or more to save your life you need obesity surgery.
Thanks for your article. Something has been telling me for a long time not to buy the products. I have been looking for this article. To many people were falling on this band wagon and it was making me very leary.Just today after leaving my weight loss doctor’s office in which he had email copies of the acai berry I decided I would look into this once again something just wouldn’t let me sign up. Thank you God for watching over me.
Ok to Monique you have the audaity to tell someone else to go back to History class but your grammar is ridiculous and you cannot spell. Um hello???
For people who have been scammed… please, please report them to the Better Business Bureau. You can do this online by googling it.
The post from Chuck Turner seems like invaluable information for anyone who has been scammed. I would look into that ASAP!
If if sounds to good to be true, you
can take it to the bank. I wish I had
read this article, before I invested
my hard earn cash into the “free trial”. Nothing works like exercise
and pushing yourself away from the table.
thanks for the article. my wife was going to do this until I found this article, this stopped her. I found it suspicious and there was no proof found about Rachael Ray or Oprah endorsing this product. Don’t believe everything you read.
Well, I thought I had done my investigative work. I am not swayed by Oprah and her minions, but Rachel Ray gave it credibility for me, even though I have never watched her. I even tried looking for scam debunking sites, but yours never came up. I sure wish it had. I got another bottle today, though I did not order it, and found I was a member on automatic renewal/charge. To get my money back, they said to go through a web site to get a Return Merchandise Authorization code. Their policy says they won’t accept returns without one. S & H are not refundable and I am subject to a 15% restocking fee. I was mad about that, but after reading some of these comments, I will consider myself lucky if that is all it costs me and I can get everything to stop. My CC company says they cannot stop future charges without closing my account out completely. They charged $64.90 for the bottle I got today, and there is $65.90 pending for God knows what. The CC co. says they sometimes double charge to make sure one goes through. And BTW, it doesn’t work. I didn’t have the problems some folks have had, because I thought taking 2 – 3 tablets a day was nuts.
I’m not usually a sucker when it comes to the web, but I did order the acai berry and nature cleanse together as recommended by Rachael Ray (or so I thought). I can’t thank you enough for this article, I received the nature cleanse yesterday and before taking any of the pills decided to research more.
I was almost completely sold on it before I ran across this website – just called my bank and had them cancel my current card and reissue another w/different number. It took 5 minutes, there have been no other charges yet to my cc. I ordered on July 20 and today is the 26th, so I think thankfully from this site, I am only out the $2.95 and $4.95 for shipping.
THANK YOU!!!!
@Chuck Turner, that number is disconnected. any others???
Hello! Placed an order for both products 7 days ago – thank God your blog shows up in google and I read it. I live in Germany and a company in UK is processing the order (viv3 Labs). I wrote an e-mail to them to cancel to have it in writing and will call them. THANK YOU for the warning!
Unbelievable, on their website under customer service they even threaten you if you accuse them with fraud:
“We would like to inform you that making a false claim is a criminal offense and you will be prosecuted if such claim is made. All information that you provide us, along with all related log files and IP addresses will be forwarded to the local police department and district attorney. In addition the governmental cybercrime agency will use this data to investigate and establish the physical location and computer from which the account was created.”
He is not the president because he was endorsed by Oprah, but because God made a change.
@JRod, Hey, I appreciate what you’re doing. Your comments verified what my instincts were telling me. My wife and I both in our fifties have that uh oh bulge. We were looking and I checked out several of the sites you noted. One took me to a place near where we live which means these sites are targeting you by your IP. Otherwise they would not be able send you right to a site down the block where a poor 35 yr old mom of 4 lives having suffered with uh,oh bulge. I had to shut down my browser to get out and that really smokes my shorts. I really don’t want to wade through all the responses you have although I’ve read several. So my question is this, if one wanted to try this product are there any legitimate suppliers that you are aware of? I must say though nothing sets me off like this kind of marketing. I own my own business for 25 years. If I did something like this the gov’t would have me in handcuffs before morning break. The gov’t says it doesn’t have the resources to procecute every one of these, but they find them to go after small American based ones with no limit on the expenses. Go figure. How do we trust to shop in a universe of caveat emptor?
I would just like to say I was almost scammed by the Acai Berry advertisement and I was going to purchase it but said, huuuum let me research this first. I want to let every know that before purchasing anything on the internet ALWAYS go and purchase a Visa or Master Card gift card and use it, this way you do not have to use your bank card. Companies like this would love to draft from your card any given time for hundreds of dollars. If you purchase the gift card for a specific amount these companies will not have access to your personal bank account.
I watched the Oprah show with Dr. Oz and listend to the discussion of colon cleansing and weight reduction. The promoters of these scams forgot something when they speak dr. oz’s endorsement.When Dr. Oz was on the Oprah show discussing questions about “colon cleansing” and “colon cleansing” products he emphaticaly stated that he did believe in them. He recommeded eating fruits and vegetables, particularly cruciferous veggies, ie broccoli and cauliflower. Hope this helps somebody not to be sucked in.
@JRod,
A good idea before buying online is to research and then make the purchase at a local Whole foods. They have an array of all-natural acai berry products that will at the very least not harm you. Another thing to try is the Apple Cider Vinegar either natural or tabs, that coupled with exercise does help.
Finally, thank you this forum really hepled enlighten me – I almost fell for the acai scam bc of Rachael Ray’s so called endorsement.
@amama, President Obama has nothing to do with this scam. If you recall George W ran the country for the previous EIGHT years and effectively ran it into the GROUND!! And guess what? America is only 13% African American so it’s no possible way that our 13% trumped the rest of America and snuck in a Black president. If you got caught up in the acai scam, it’s no wonder with the kind of uninformed backwoods thinking you are displaying with that asinine remark.
Hey I definatley got scammed.. i got sucked in as well by the oprah and rachel ray “endorsement”. i am definately doing to cancel the free trial today!! i just made the order about an hour ago so hopefully they will cancel it before i get charged with anything. thanks for posting this site otherwise i wouldn’t have known to cancel
oh and i forgot did anyone recieve the promised confirmation e-mails?
I was one that actually DID think I looked everywhere on the site to make sure I wasn’t getting signed up for anything more than my free trial. Silly me didn’t click on the teeny tiny link for ‘terms and conditions’ way at the bottom the page. After not receiving my ‘free’ trail for over 10 days I decided to look at the site again and finally saw that if I don’t concel within 14 days I will get billed $89.99 for the bottle! Funny that I hadn’t received my package yet and in 4 more days would have been screwed! Well, I called and canceled and if they still try to charge me..well the jokes on them because the debit card I used to pay for the shipping of $4.95 is no longer valid. Scammers suck…
I too am a naive victim have order for my wife and niece. I’ve tried to get resolution by phone, email and a certified written letter, all to no avail. Today, Aug. 21st, I have filed a complaint to BBB and to the Attorney General office of California. I further encourage all to contact their state legislators and asked that a consumer bill be passed that states that “unless a consumer verbally, by email or in writing, authorizes the shipment of product and a charge to his credit card, that the party offering the product must assume that the consumer does not want the product”. Why should the consumer have to respond to cancel or reject an offer or be charged.
Hi,
Here is the website that suckered me in:
http://acaiberry-lifecleanse.com/
@Jordan, I made a complaint to the Better Business Bureau and got all my money back within a week or two. You all need to contact http://www.bbb.org/ and file a complaint.
I was also scammed. I am currently disputing the charges with my credit card company and have reported the company to the better business bureau. They are telling me I have to pay to ship the product back to them and then I’ll be refunded but I don’t feel I should have to pay to be refunded for something I was misled on and was told was a free trial. I was also charged for and sent a product I didn’t order and they are saying I have to pay to return this one as well!!! The two websites I went to were http://www.maxacaiboost.com and http://www.colonzen.com.
@Amanda,
Did you pay to send the product back too or did they just pay you and let you do what you wanted with the product? I filed a complaint but have also been told to return the product for a refund meaning it would cost me more. I’m so sick over all of this!
See the first article’s comments for other unhappy experiences with Acai Berry.
Both articles should be read for those who still believe TV weight loss products are safe’
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/2008/12/24/28-weight-loss-products-containing-unlisted-drugs.html
28 Weight-Loss Products Containing Unlisted Drugs
Prescription medicines are in the pills but not on the labels, the FDA says
******
http://health.usnews.com/blogs/heart-to-heart/2008/12/23/weight-loss-potions-have-hidden-surprises.html?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a41:g2:r6:c0.192816:b20441085:z0&s_cid=loomia:28-weight-loss-products-containing-unlisted-drugs
Weight-Loss Potions Have Hidden Surprises
December 23, 2008 04:44 PM ET | Bernadine Healy, M.D.
I NEED HELP! I fell for this. I bought a cleanse and the Acai Breeze I have been charged the $4.95 twice for both, but It has been almost two weeks and I have not received any of the products……….WHAT CAN I DO AT THIS POINT so I don’t get charged monthly for a membership?
@Jordan, you are stupid. It’s your fault you fell for this garbage. However, I feel for you. I feel only anger for these scammers. Give me the people who make these things and a baseball bat, and I’ve become a serial killer.
I recently started working for one of the major credit card companies in the disputes department and I thought I’d post here to maybe help some people out. I see at least half a dozen of these scam complaints a day. And so does each and every person that works in my department.
Unfortunately, a very small number of people actually get the charges reversed on their credit card. But, it’s worth a try, and I’ll tell you a few things that will increase your chances.
First off, as soon as you realize you are being charged without your consent, CALL YOUR CREDIT CARD COMPANY AND TELL THEM. They will close that account and issue you a new card. You may be without a credit card for a week but its better than being charged $60 to $100!
The way these companies work is, you sign up for a ‘free-trial’ and get the pills for $1.99. But if you don’t read the fine print (usually a tiny link at the bottom of the web page) and cancel within 14 days they will start charging you $89.99 per month. Here’s where the scam comes in – when you try to call or email to cancel, you can’t get through.
So, back to your dispute. You call the credit card company to cancel your card and start a dispute. The first thing the cc company does is issue you a temporary credit while they investigate the charge. Let me say that again, A TEMPORARY CREDIT. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to rebill a customers account because they thought the dispute was resolved in their favor and they didn’t respond to phone calls or letters regarding the investigation.
A cc company has 120 days to reverse a charge on an account from the date of the transaction. After that, they can’t do it, so initiate your dispute as soon as possible. These are Visa/Mastercard rules. What usually comes next is that they send a letter for more information to you.
Fill this out as completely as possible. Be very specific, especially when it comes to dates.
When dealing with the Acai Berry company write everything down:
The exact dates you called (whether they answered the call or not).
The names of people you talked to.
Try to get a cancellation number!
Exact date you sent a product back.
Any return shipping documentation (i.e. UPS tracking #)
Save your e-mails
When you fill out the information letter or talk to someone on the phone at the cc company be as polite as possible. I see letter after letter with threats and fowl language. I, personally, disregard these things, but if you catch a dispute associate on the wrong day he/she may just look for ways to deny your claim.
Fill out the information letter as completely as possible and send it back. Then be patient. Usually within a few weeks, you will get a letter back saying whether your dispute has been rejected or charge has been reversed. If the charge has been reversed, beware, it’s not over yet. The merchant still has 45 days to dispute the dispute. If this happens, expect a call from your cc company wanting even more specific information.
This is a long process that may take up to 4 months. Be patient. Good Luck.
My Grandma just was scammed this month! She is a widow and lives off of SSI. She ordered what was believed to be Dr. OZ’s skin care line. She went to get money out of her account and her account had been drained! She has $1 to her name for another month. She tried to call them but couldn’t understand them due to a hearing loss. She said she told them she only received the 15 day sample and not anymore. They told her”Go to all your neighbors in the complex and demand your package or else your out your $$” She told them she just had a hip replacement and couldn’t walk up stairs they didn’t care. She was in tears today as she told me how they ripped her off…I don’t know what to do for her except to listen and hug her :(
I can’t believe I fell for this!
A friend of mine sent me the link and we both thought it looked pretty good, so we decided to share a free trial and then we would decide if we continued with it or not. We ordered both: 1 Acai & 1 Cleanse.
We were extremely lucky cause, for some reason or other, our order was delayed A LOT. After 2 weeks ON THE DOT (14 days!) and we still hadn’t gotten the products for the trial, I decided to call and see what was going on. I revisited the website and was surprised to find no address, no email, only a phone number. I knew it was international and when I tried dialing I got no answer which got me thinking… I kept calling all day, and then suddenly I got an answering machine, but it wasn’t a company, it was a personal answering machine, and thats when I really got worried. I immediately called my bank and told them the truth, I had signed up for something, and it seemed to me it was a scam, and I canceled my credit card and gave them all the info.
But I’m sooo gullible that when I got the product 1 week later I thought, oh well, they’re not a scam after all. Maybe it was delayed since it was shipped from England.
My friend and I tried the pills and she got no effect, and I got a little sick. so I came to do a more thorough search and I find this! I can’t believe it!! We will of course immediately stop taking them, and I am so grateful my card has no more charges except the original ones for the trial.
Thanks for posting this, hopefully more people will find this before they make this mistake!!
@Tami, I’m sooo sorry :( thats awful!!! isn’t there any way she can file a complaint at the bank or the BBB and she can get her money back?? I hope so…
@Caveat Emptor,
The first article begins with the following sentence:
“The Food and Drug Administration recently identified 28 weight-loss products sold in the United States that contain prescription-only medicines. ”
I wish the FDA would make this public! get it on the news, make these companies do a “recall” and return the $ to all who bought it, and they should make them pay penalties for these activities too.
The problem is that there are NO serious consequences for the companies that do this and therefore its easy for them to continue all these illicit activities (unreported ingredients, scams, etc.)
Just my two cents :)
Good thing I decided to do some research. I came upon this blog promoting Rachel Ray’s “acai berry diet.” It includes two links to the acai berry supplement and a ‘cleansing’ supplement.
http://rachelrayblogging.com/
This is what it stated at the bottom of the Acai Berry site:
* These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Acai Berry Tropic should be used as a supplement to your active lifestyle. Please consult your physician before beginning any program. If there is a change in your medical condition, please notify your physician immediately and stop taking the product.
1 Results not typical for any and all claims.
* The individuals shown in before and after shots are paid models, and not necessarily Acai Berry Tropic customers.
All celebrity images were found on public websites and believed to be in public domain. Images posted are believed to be posted within our rights according to the U.S. Copyright Fair Use Act (title 17, U.S. Code.). If you are the rightful owner and copyright holder of any celebrity content, please contact us and the infringing material will be removed as soon as possible.
2 Celebrities neither endorse nor sponsor any of the products and/or services.
Acai Berry Tropic is not affiliated in any way with ABC news, CNN news, Rachael Ray, or CBS news. All trademarks, logos, and service marks (collectively the “Trademarks”) displayed are registered and/or unregistered Trademarks of their respective owners.
Credit card company informed me that the only way to stop them is by canceling my card and I did.
Don't hassle with them as they are eating up your money.
@Everyone …..should now realise that Oprah, since 18th August 2009, has filed a massive lawsuit against a whole host of businesses and individuals who've miss-appropriated her name. She's got ~50 so far and will have another 500 when the case comes to court!
My take on it is here:
http://strangelyperfect.tv/6305/monavie-gillmap-i…
…but also, check out the lazyman blog to see the tactics of one Acai seller (Monavie), at work as they try to attack the blogger.
http://www.lazymanandmoney.com/monavie-scam-was-m…
If you follow the links and read the thousands of comments (yes, thousands), you'll see that the company are threatening to sue him for mentioning the name "Monavie", which they call trademark infringement!
That is a great idea I'm going to have to do it from now on. Unfortunatly I was suckered into it myself and they have managed to charge my card $79.95 four times and I have lost track of how many times they have charged the S&H of $3.99 to my card. I saw it on the rachel ray's site and I had heard her speak of the acai Berry.They are located in greene st, Hollywood,Florida 33020-1037 there number is 1-877-205-5816 in case you can't find their info since I had to get it from my credit card company. However be prepared for bad customer service and don't even bother with asking for management it doesn't exist. I was on the phone for almost 2 hours and finally received some return info. But I won't believe it till I see it being refunded onto my credit card. 2 other girls at work are having the same issue…. I should have known better.
I recently responded to a " free 30 day " trial of a product callled Resveratrol – a weight loss product. I need only pay S & H. …with my credit card. In a couple of weeks I recieved a box with 3 more bottles and charges on my credit card for over $ 150.00! I didn't order them, instead they used my credit card to enroll me in what VISA called "auto enroll "programs. Also a scam ! I called VISA on September 29th and they cancelled my card # and advised me to send the box back with proof from Canada Post and also send an email to the company to create a paper trail for evidence. I immediately went to the website where I intially found the product ( I did however find one that sounded eerily familiar to the one I recieved – different name that sounded similiar). The website I was looking for was non existant and the brochure they sent with the product only had a phone # that was "not in service". NEVER give your card # to these scammers instead do like cassie Dobbs did 19 weeks ago ! But a $ 25.00 Mastercard – spend $ 19.95 and give them that card #
The BEST way to fight this scam is to be PROACTIVE!! Here is the scenario:
If you have a PayPal account (or any other type of account like PayPal) look for their product/service called a "SINGLE USE SECURE CREDIT CARD" (you may have to download and install the PayPal plug-in for your browser).
If they have one (as PayPal does) when ordering the free trial USE THIS SECURE SINGLE USE CREDIT CARD!!! It will not be attached or be identified to your bank/charge card accounts and will prevent unauthorized charges to your account!!! * (see below) Don't forget to save your receipt for the transaction…. Read More
You will be able to obtain the free trial, and not have to cancel the account as the Credit Card will be dead *. (see below) Or in my case, fail to cancel the subscription BEFORE the 19 day trial period for a 30 day trial of the product! * (see below) Which is how they "get you", assuming that they will bill you for the next round of product(s) BEFORE you see the credit card/bank statement!!!
* NOTICE: PayPal SECURE SINGLE USE CREDIT CARDS can be processed by a merchant more than one time!!! I found this out the hard way.
It seems that a "single use" card can be "hit" up to FOUR times by the same merchant for things like multiple ship orders, or SUBSCRIPTIONS!!!
Since the free trial is considered a subscription, the merchant was able to "hit" the card again 19 days after the first charge of 99 cents (for the free trial offer).
THE WAY AROUND THIS is to log on to your PayPal account and CLOSE the SECURE SINGLE USE CREDIT CARD as soon as it has been charged the first time for the 99 cents!!! (On PayPal, just click on the menu item on the right side of the page that says "PayPal Plugin", then there will be new menus on the left side that will enable you to view secure cards and close any open ones) Since the card was a "single use" card, you have done nothing illegal or wrong by closing this card. You have not violated any terms of agreements or any other convoluted "fine print" that the scammer has made you agree to in the free trial offer.
I assume other companies may have similar types of secure credit cards, just check out if they can be processed more than once by a merchant.Then see how to close them as soon as the first charge for the free trial comes in.
Good Luck, and if we do this right, we can put these scammers out of business, because they won't be able to exist selling their product for 99 cents and wasting time trying to collect from dead credit cards.
Pass this info around, the more who know how to defeat these opportunistic bastards, the better!!!
I just orderd this like an idiot, and I've been on the "live chat" website to try and cancel it and it keeps saying its waiting for an operator, but on the phone it says to go to that website and there is no wait. I need to cancel this RIGHT now. Please help me! E-mail me, please amanda_rynders@yahoo.com
I got caught, also, to the tune of $177.00 for both products. I spent 45 minutes on the telephone this morning trying to get a refund, to no avail. They put me off telling me to send an email to their billing department in order to get the refund. I'm now going to my bank to try to get it denied and then I'm going to the State Attorney's office, to get them onto the company. They're supposed to be a Delaware Corporation. My pills didn't arrive until after the 15 day deadline for cancellation. They're cute.
I am yet another victim. Sounds like I better go to the bank Monday and see about getting a new cc. I was charged $88.64, suppose to be for the "free trial bottle" and the 2nd bottle… never did receive the 2nd bottle. When I called and asked for a refund, I was also told to email the billing department. I was also told to mail back the 1st bottle, even if its empty to get my refund. I received my package back yesterday… they never picked it up. This is the site that I had ordered from: http://www.acaiberrytropic.com/
DON'T GO THERE! Thank you all for your posts… now I don't feel like the lone ranger… want to get word out so that others don't fall victim as well.
I had only just signed up for a 'trial' and then came across this blog. I have already contacted them telling them I dont want the product and to cancel the 'trial' I have also contacted my Bank and asked them to block any attempted withdrawals from the company. Fingers Crossed that's enough.
Agh I only wish I had stumbled across this 15 minutes earlier… I'd been struggling with the idea of pursing this cause I wanted some extra help in addition to my training. Lesson learned…follow your instincts!
Thanks for starting this up, hopefully more people will wise up to the dangers of a 'quick fix'
I came across the add today and clicked on the link because the lady was supposed to be from my home town. But when I saw the young white lady in cowboy boots who supposidly lived here with her family I thought something was up. I don't think my hometown has ANY young white families living here anymore. So I had my Aunt log on and the same white lady told a similar story using a different name. . . .and she was from CHIcago this time. The comments on the 'blog' were exactly the same as the one I found. LIARS!!!
I was scammed also to the tune of $60.00 every month. I cant get the 1800 number to work to stop the draft from my account! My card did credit my account one month but cant do it again until I get the cancellation name, which I cant get because the number doesn't work.
I was also dupped into the $4.95 acai berry scam. Hit my debit card with the 4.95 and the 49.95 and the 87.26 and today the 24.86 for "elite package membership"????? Well I closed my checking account and my debit card today. I guess they win. I was told because I didn't check a tiny box at bottom of webpage indicating I didn't want subscription, I get it and they are protected by a clause saying "No refund"!!!!! I didn't even receive the product before the 14 days were up. It's a no win scam apparently. I am single, one income earner and this has hurt. How can people be so damn greedy and dishonest.
Can't believe I got suckered into this. Originally I went to this website:
http://www.monicasblogger.com
And I fell for the scam that it was a product that worked for Rachel Ray…
What a scam! I never received the trial product, and then I was charged $86.42 on my credit card for some membership that started after the trial period…a membership they NEVER told me about. You know how usually when you are about to make a purchase, you have to agree to certain terms/conditions and check a box, well they don't do that! They really make it appear as if all you'll be paying is the shipping for the free trial.
I am so upset. This really makes me never want to buy anything on the internet. How do these thieves just get away with this?
I too wish I'd found this site first. I ordered the free trial……….by the time it arrived I had decided not to keep it or open it. I didn't cancel right away but then I saw $59.95 debit I called them. She was pleasant and said I had called during the 30 days so please return product and they will issue a credit. My big problem was with the Colon crap. THEY charged me $88.87 and when I called they said they would cancel and credit me 50%! I said no, I haven't opened it and I want 100% refund. The Indian was adamant and firmly told me (after I got adamant with him and said I would call my bank) that I can return and get 85% and the 15% was for restocking! He wouldn't budge when I objected so I said fine. I will wait for the refund then I will call the bank re the 15%. The Slim crap that I didn't know I had "ordered" I will get 100%. It was a nightmare of a morning with these unsavory people. Stupid me!! If I don't get the refund I will put a claim thru my band. I liked the posters idea of using a Gift Card CC for things like this. That's my plan for future online free trials!
I too was scammed by the Acai Berry and colodetox. i had a $.099 shipping rate for one and a $2.49 shipping for the other. i noticed i was being charged for ultimate vitamins?? overall my card was charged almost $200.00 i called and screamed at the company for probably an hour each time. they deactivated my account but did not reverse fees so i called my bank and reported them. they issued a credit to my account and i have recently cancelled my debit and credit cards since i noticed i was still being charged random things. my bank told me that they have alot of claims against them and they hand out credit information to 3rd parties… cant believe people are getting away with this.
i will never ever ever ever order anything like this again. EVER
Oh boy, did I ever get scammed. In a weak moment, I lost my head and ordered two products. One using my debit card and the other using a credit card each for only the shipping on the "free trial" products. Ended up having to cancel both my debit and credit card in order to stop the companies from continual $88.64 charges to my accounts. Each of the charges, by the way, were equal in amount, but were made by DIFFERENT company names (like VP/Nutrition, Pure Nutrition, etc…) and each entry on my credit statement left only a partial phone number. Claims had to be made to my bank to get the monies back.
Thanks for the tip to contact the State Attorney General's office. I will definitely do that. (I'm in NY State if anyone else wants to do it too!!)
There is one common link here. . . The Credit Card Company/Bank. They make money collecting funds for the rip- off company. they are in business to rip people off. If the credit card company stopped the collection immediately after notice of fraudulent charges . . they wouldn't make any money. They make money allowing months to go by before stopping the charges by allowing you to cancel your credit card. why do they pay the companies who are ripping us off?… They get a portion of all money charged . . and they are not going to miss a month or two simply by allowing you tostop payment immediately. THE CREDIT CARD COMPANY GE MONEY . . IS THE REAL RIP OFF……………. NOT THE COMPANY THAT TRICKED YOU INTO GETTING THEIR PRODUCT FOR MONTHS ON END… THE CREDIT CARD COMPANY IS IN PARTNERSHIP ;WITH THE FRAUD COMPANY…………
GE MONEY IS THE RIP OFF…NOT ACAI BERRY RESELLERS………………………
WAKE UP PEOPLE……………….
JOHN CANFIELD
It scares me to read this post. I have had problems with the company and other companies since september. I have recieved phone calls frequently through the past two months about money saving offers and gift cards. With the company claiming that there is no charge. I yelled at one company this morning and threatened them and they hung up. If any one using this product has any common sense, they will cancel immediately! AND be sure to call your bank and have flags put on any of the companies charges or cancel your card. This is the first scam I have been pulled into in several years, and I plan for it to be the last. If it sounds to good to be true. Then guess what? ……………….It is………………………………………….Chris, KY
My mom and me just got scamed. They took out $39.97 then turn around and took out $79.98 then took $280 out of my moms account and bounced all her checks. Why people got to be like that does any one know if i can do anything bout it?
Yup, I was duped! I never saw the teeny tiny print that says terms and conditions on the very bottom of the web site. I looked through the ad and did not see that you have signed on to be a" member" or signed up for future shipments. Continuing to allow them to deduct money out of your bank accounts or charges on your credit card like I have ordered in the past for other products.These people are making millions of dollars from what I can see. There are many places these ads show/pop up on the internet. And from reading these posts I know that I am not the only SUCKER out there. Loads of people want that flat stomach etc.
Now the concern I have is……what exactly are you getting, that is IF you receive anything at all? What is the so called supplement made up of? Is it anything I want to ingest? Many people have complained of diarrhea and or gas. I haven't heard of anyone whose has gotten a flat stomach or any other positive results. And why is it an international charge? Where are these so called supplements coming from? Who are these people?
WARNING: do not take them, just throw them out because you don't get a refund anyway. How these shysters get away with this is unbelievable. I for one feel like a complete fool! At least these post will help others to NOT get suckered in and throw their money away for these a-holes to get filthy rich!
ALWAYS REMEMBER& NEVER FORGET, IF IT SEEMS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, THEN IT PROBABALLY IS!!!
Hi,
We would like to apologize if there was any confusion regarding our trial offer when you placed your order. We would like to help you resolve this situation as soon as possible. We try to make the terms of our trial offers as clear as possible which is why they are displayed right at the top of the order page. These terms explain how our trial offer works, however we understand that misunderstandings sometimes happen. In addition to providing the terms and conditions of our offer on the order page, they are also displayed on the terms and conditions page which can be found by clicking the link at the bottom of the order page, and the homepage.
To help resolve the situation we ask that you please contact our customer service department toll free at 1-888-947-8745. Here you will be able to speak to one of our highly qualified and expertly trained customer service representatives for a full refund. Our customer service department is available Monday through Fridays between the hours of 8am and 9pm EST. We are also open on Saturdays from 8am to 4pm EST. We are happy to assist you with ANY questions or concerns you may have.
Once again, we apologize for the inconvenience and we truly want to keep our customers satisfied with our products. We are always open to suggestions for improving our offers and we would love to hear yours! We look forward to helping you resolve any problems that you may have.
Thanks,
Joe C
Superviosr
WHAT IS A SUPERVIOSR AND IS IT AFRAID TO WRITE IT'S NAME??????
WHAT IS A JOE C ?????? Neil Burgess
Did that work? Canceling the card before they could charge you?
i fell for this. i was going to try abby's diet. with the acia berry & colon cleanse. i signed up for the risk free trial of both. and before my trial was up i had already been billed 39.95 & 79.99 which overdrafted my account. i called & cancelled told them the money better get credited into my account. the acia credited it back after i sent back the attomatic shipment that was sent to me. but the colon cleanse i got stuck with. this happened on 9-11-09 for me. and now a little over 5 months later some gym web site has billed my card 39.95 without my permission. i called the # on my bank statement & they won't put the money back into my account when i never even approved this. so my bank is at least. if u do this my word to u is make sure u use a visa gift card or cancel your debit card after u order. they give out your info to other websites.
if u do this my word to u is make sure u use a visa gift card or cancel your debit card after u order. they give out your info to other websites.
Acai berries might be small in size but they are rich in Anitoxidants.
Whatever happened to actually going (physically) to a store to purchase stuff? Go to the store, check out the products and actually hand them cash or a paper check. Internet shopping and credit cards have made it extremely easy for dishonest companies to con money out of people. The internet may have lots of "pros", but the shopping side of it sucks…..
I was scammed big time, and still haven't received nothing. The customer service telephone number do not work, the pills probabley don't either. I do not like for people to take advantage of others. Who ever is behind these scams are just like the devils that work for the AntiCrist in the bible. The bible clearly states that God's people parish for a lack ov knowledge. We must learn to read all of our instructions before we start to assemble anything. If you know that everything you purchase come with instructions and we through them away and try to put the product together by looking at a picture. Well, the same goes with our book of instruction for life. This is my receipt below. If you get one that look like this, you probably will not be receiving a thing. I hope this will help someone. Thanks
I put my so called receipt on the very next post. It was too long, so I had to split it up.
Dear P.E.,
We are pleased to inform you that your order # 2286276 has been placed!
Charges on your credit card statement will read:
maximum burn xtrm 8886540959
Please see order summary below for details.
If you have any questions regarding your order, call us at:
8886540959
Monday – Friday from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm EST
Be sure to reference your order # 2286276 when contacting us.
As a way of thanking you for your order today you now have BONUS access to our exclusive Online Weight Loss E-Book Library. To access your diet and health books go to: http://www.freebooklogin.com
Order Summary
Ha Ha….
Exclusive free book library? I've just checked and anyone can access the wonderful "free" bonus that you've received!
What a pile of poo this whole thing is. What domain or website did you order from?
Does anyone have the phone numbers to the acai slim and fibra detox??
I ordered a free sample of acai berry. 3 days later I received a phone call from a customer service rep. who aggressively tried to strong arm me into buying a months supply with the promise that it would be a one time order, at a discount and I would have to call them each month to reorder. He gave me his direct line phone number for reorders. I had no interest in ordering from him and he became more aggressive. The red flag was inching up the pole when this person with a very pronounced east Indian accent said his name was Mark Johnson. I said, your name is really Mark Johnson? Goodbye. Don't know what would have happened if I had ordered from him, but my gut was screaming NO!
The same thing happened to me when I ordered on 11/14/10. Not only did I never receive the product, the phone no. given – 888-654-0959, stays 'busy'. Does anyone have their website and phone no. so I can cancel this 'scamming non-order?
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