Scammed by acai-berry site? You may be able to get money back
Filed under: Ripoffs and Scams
I recently wrote about the rash of scammers offering 'free' trials of acai-berry weight loss products. Today we learn that some of those taken in by these shady dealings stand to get a little of their money back, as Central Coast Nutraceuticals, Inc. has been ordered by an Arizona court to refund $350,000 to these customers.People who visited one of the many web sites running this scam were promised free trial supplies of the product -- which, by the way, has never been proven to fulfill extravagant weight-loss claims. However, hidden deep in the mouse print of the agreement was a clause that enrolled them in a very expensive, open-ended monthly resupply program. Customers attempting to reach the company to stop the orders when they realized the true cost of the 'free' products had a hard time reaching company representatives. No surprise there.
To file a claim, you must contact the Arizona Attorney General's office by Monday, August 17th. The office can be reached at 602-542-5763 or 800-352-8431 or by email at consumerinfo@azag.gov.
One sign of the scamming nature of the acai-berry business is best illustrated by the web site page shot below, which has a banner carrying the logos of WebMD, The Wall Street Journal, AOL Health, and other top organizations, implying each entity endorsed the site. Believe me, none of them would touch it with a ten-foot acai-berry branch.




Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
6-26-2009 @ 2:39PM
angelo said...
Folks,
Beware these scams even the post above (Emma) is from someone directing you to a website. I suspect the claims made are false. True way to lose weight is proper diet and exercise. I should know I tried everything and am now at my goal weight. If it makes outrages claims like more the 2-3 lbs a week(BEWARE)
If you do want to try the product go to your local supermarket as many are now selling aqui juice. Ther are many reputable sites out there such as weightwatchers, ediet or the free sparkpeople.com.
Reply
6-26-2009 @ 4:10PM
FitAndTrimNow said...
I was lucky enough to never have been overweight in my life. That all ended after the birth of my second child. I got down to 20 pounds over my normal weight but no matter what I did I couldn't lose the rest. I didn't know if was age catching up with me or if somehow my metabolism changed. Whatever the reason, nothing was working. I tried all the bogus "diet" pills that we see all over the internet, but are just scams. All I ever lost with that stuff was money. One of my friends, knowing what I was going through, told me that she had been losing weight using a special plan http://bit.ly/FatLoss4You It laid out the facts in a way I never saw before and had easy to follow meal plans and diets. Not only have I lost the weight and kept it off but I'm leading a healthier lifestyle, mostly from the knowledge I gained from this amazing program.
6-26-2009 @ 2:47PM
Jane Songer said...
I used Acai Berry Maxx. I was aware that I needed to notify them at least 2 weeks before the next shipment was due, if I did not want another charge added. The phone number, as well as the web site to contact was there. I used the web site, & no further product was shipped; no further charges were assessed to me. I did not feel "scammed." I found them to be honest & cooperative.
Reply
6-26-2009 @ 4:07PM
Andy said...
What was that nmber you called to cancel the product acai berry?
Thanks,
Andy
6-27-2009 @ 12:44AM
Jane Songer said...
I am trying to respond to Andy's request for the phone number to cancel Acai Berry Maxx! It is 877-778-9035.
6-26-2009 @ 2:59PM
Lisa said...
I fell for the scam. By the time I received my "free trial" it was 2 days before I was charged an additional $78. I goggled the company and found a blog and emailed the president of the company. He did contact me telling me that they were adding more people to their call center. I took me 2 weeks for a return call because I left a voice mail message everyday. When I got someone to call me back, they actually told me if I wanted to keep using the product I could have it for $8 per month. Needless to say I was more angry that they were ripping people off who actually paid the $78. I was able to cancel my order and have it refunded,however the following month I had another $78 charge on my debit card. This time I went to the bank and filed an online complain. No more charges after that.
Reply
6-29-2009 @ 4:42PM
Cheryl B said...
I also responded to a "free sample" scam. They not only charged me for the shipping, the product had not even arrived before the next month's "refill" charge appeared on my bank statement. But wait... there's more. How many of you were also enrolled in some kind of online "fitness" program for an additional $39.95 a month over and above the Acai product? I had to go through my bank to get a phone number for this company and they were extremely indignant about my cancelling and demanding a refund. I got lucky; they actually did it and I got my money refunded right away, but I really had to jump through hoops first. There is no such thing as "free", at least not on the Web!
6-26-2009 @ 3:12PM
Gayle said...
Everything you think is FREE on the internet ends up being the same thing; COSTLY!!!
Reply
6-26-2009 @ 3:32PM
Bill said...
Similar adds by the same and similar groups for both acai products and teeth whiteners were run on AOL itself. Maybe they should do a story on that.
I did have to stop them from continuing charges on my credit card. Fortunately, I was in contact with the Federal Trade Commission and my credit card companies fraud people blocked their access to my card. They were moving the money to overseas accounts.
Reply
6-26-2009 @ 9:06PM
Kerri said...
Also beware of the "cathy's tooth whitening" scam.
I fell for that.. I am now disputing over $500.00 in charges on my credit card. The charges all came in a two week period. And on one single day I was charged 4 times..
I did everything right.. I sent a cancelation email to the company and called. I've now called the company 6 times. I cannot get a service rep that doesn't have a language barrier.
It's very frustrating..
I am a single mom who thought I had come across a good thing. I've been trying to repair my credit after a nasty divorce and this certainly didn't help.
Reply
6-26-2009 @ 8:06PM
Coffeejunkie891 said...
I'm so sorry to hear that. The credit card company or bank won't block the charges?
6-26-2009 @ 3:31PM
Christina said...
If you see also in the bottom of the type. They want to send you other products and that you have to contact them to cancel those products. I did have a rep from the acai berry company contact me. However, they hung up on me when I told them I did not want the other things. I did not get them though. However, I did cancel my order well within the 14 days they ask and they still charged my card for $42.00. When I called to speak with them the guy was very rude even though I did have an conformation number and he ended up hanging up on me. I ended up calling my bank and reported it. I got my money back plus got a new card so they could not charge me any further.
Reply
6-26-2009 @ 3:26PM
Joseph said...
These online scams will continue to reach ever-higher levels of deceit and deception until the public outcry forces the FTC to take action.
Not that FTC regualation is a good thing, but it probably is the "lesser of competing evils."
Unfortunately, the good folks at the FTC will require 100 times more staff to police the online ripoff artists. So, "let the buyer beware."
Reply
6-26-2009 @ 3:26PM
Sandra Moore said...
I tried to get the free sample they were offering, for shipping and handling costs. I gave them a Mastercard Gift Card with less than $10.00 remaining on it, which was more than enough to cover the shipping and handling they were asking for. They would not accept it. I wouldn't give them any other credit card, so I did not receive the product.
Reply
6-26-2009 @ 3:37PM
KW said...
I warned many people about this scam after I was bilked out of many dollars from it. I hope that this and other companies that have promoted false hopes from their products get theirs now.
Reply
6-26-2009 @ 3:38PM
Lou said...
I see a lot of these scammers posting about acai products on here and about Google products. People don't fail to realize that you can make money with Google FREE! I just got paid by Google today of $119 straight into my bank account so people don't fall into that trap either. I run a website with free programs that people can make extra money from. I never charge them or have them give up personal information because I'm sick of seeing people getting scammed. You guys can visit my site at http://EarningFreeMoney.com and see my proof of payments in my blog. Since now the economy is bad, scammers are trying to find all kinds of ways to get money outta inocent people just trying to find a way to make a living. Also before I go...there is a new scam going on with Cash for Cluckers, which is you get a Incentive when you trade in your old car for a new one. A lot of fake sites are popping up.
Reply
6-26-2009 @ 5:52PM
Richard said...
I think you meant" Cash for Clunkers"..the car incentive program for trading in an older gas guzzler vehicle that gets less than 18 MPG
6-26-2009 @ 3:41PM
Frank said...
AOL and probably other Internet service providers are almost as guilty as the scammers, for continuing to run these ads, even though they had to know they were fraudulent! And what about ads that try to make you believe that President Obama wants you click on a link, to learn how to get your "share" of his economic stimulus money? Or ads that talk about how a "Christian mom" makes money by working from home? Come on, AOL! You know these are rip-offs! Stop letting advertisers rip off your subscribers!
Reply
6-27-2009 @ 1:57PM
Audrey, CA said...
Hi Frank,
I want to commend you for saying exactly what I think! AOL and all the other providers should put a stop to these fraudulent advertisers! If I can ever hear of a provider that doesn't allow these scammers, I'll leave AOL, after being w/ them for eleven years!
6-26-2009 @ 3:45PM
Westie Mom said...
I have a good weight loss tip, dodos - eat less. What would possess anyone to think that goofy things like this work? LOL
Reply