Is there anyone who hasn't heard of acai berries by now? And at least vaguely you probably have heard that there are wonder-claims for this small berry from South America, including weight loss, increased energy, and greater longevity. Where there are "amazing foods", inevitably will come the supplements, claiming to cram all the purported benefits of the food into a tiny pill. Such is the case with the acai berry (pronounced ah-saw'-ee).
And then, all too often, come the scams.
Attorneys General in at least half a dozen states are now investigating claims of fraud by several different companies selling acai supplements. At least one lawsuit has already been brought, by the Attorney General of Arizona.
A TV station local to me did an investigation of their own, ordering three supplements from three different companies which were advertised as having "free trials" or "risk-free trials". These "free offers" ended up costing over $200 dollars as the investigator's credit card was soon charged for extra merchandise, some of which never arrived. Many phone calls, letters on the station's stationery, and returning product only got the charges from one of the companies reversed. See the video of the news item from KSBW
Ironically, according to the nutritionist in the news segment, the much-touted antioxidant levels in the berries are actually "middle of the road", and that there are much more ordinary and inexpensive foods which have higher levels of antioxidnants. Among foods high in antioxidant phytochemicals are tea (green, black, and white), green leafy vegetables, berries, broccoli, and chocolate.
Some of the names of companies under investigation are: FWM Laboratories, Crush LLC, Central Coast Nutraceuticals, and Advanced Wellness Research.
To be on the safe side, simply avoid these supplements, especially since there is no evidence that they will live up to any of their claims. As Richard Blumenthal, Attorney General of Connecticut, stated: "In reality, consumers lose more money than weight after 'free' trials transition into inescapable charges."
Photo of Acai Berry Harvest © Ricardo AzouryRelated Resources from About.com Health:
- The Science Behind Acai (Alternative Medicine)
- Can the Acai Berry Help With Anti Aging? (Longevity)
Thank you Laura for this valuable information. These companies are a huge scam. I’ll stick to my favorites, artichokes, for a cheap, available source of antioxidants.
Yes! Artichokes very high in antioxidants, to a surprising degree. I had one last night! YUM!
Find it funny how the blog is talking about acai scam and yet google ads promoting acai. Funny
So ironic and true! The Sponsored Links/Google Ads are not endorsed by me or About.com Health.
You can buy ACAI tabs at Walmart
Thank you Laura,
Your warning came too late for me. They got my cc# and will not let go of this info. I am disputing this now with the cc. company. I will make a copy of your letter and send it to them as proof. They won’t believe me. I have not ordered anything nor do I do business with them. I may have to contact the Attorney General of Oregon about this scam.
It should be stopped. Life is too hard on many Americans right now. We don’t need this added.
Geraldina H. Oregon.
Thanks Laura.
Is there anything that you, as a Guide, or we as posters at About.com can do to get the ads off of their sites?
Kari
My mother was scammed by this company. They have taken two payments of $59.95US from her credit card and keep saying we will not be charged any further charges. She never received anything other than a bottle whose seal was ripped off. The bottle had 6 pills in it.
THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A FREE TRIAL … once they get your credit card info charges show up for things you never even ordered. NEVER ORDER ANYTHING THAT SAYS IT’S FREE….OR RISK-FREE TRIAL.
I too signed up. Shortly after I signed up both my husband and myself I saw an article on a major news site. Literally right after I gave our cc numbers.
Immediately I called my credit card companies and told them that yes I signed up for a free trial so sure the shipping was valid for like $5 but any other charges were unauthorized.
Well the Customer Service Rep had processed so many of these claims she did not even argue or make me “prove” anything. She said well if you will need access to any of your funds on your card, go to the bank within the next couple of hours, then we will put a lost/stolen on your card and send you out a new card and pin.
Thank God for that Rep because she was so helpful and knowledgeable. So if any of you are disputing and are trying to keep the same card, cut your losses and change your card number.
I would still dispute if you’ve lost money but changing your card # is worth it because I’ve even heard stories of these companies not charging for months and then all of a sudden start charging again.
Best wishes to all of you touched by this scam and thanks for a great article!
If any diet, gimmick or scam worked Amercians would not be the worse epidemic that this country has ever seen. More people are overweight and unfit than ever. The only way to get healthy is to have good nutrition, exercise and have a positive attitude. Diet’s do not work.
debra mazda
So this product is harful? Or does it really make you loose weight?
I just wanted to point out that all of those “obey this one flat stomach rule, as seen on CBS, ABC,” etc. ads lead to various versions of the acai berry and colon cleanse scams, with “journals” that are made to look as if they are written by real people. Many of them also reference “Dr. Oz” although I’m sure he has nothing to do with these companies. They are literally ALL OVER the internet. Ironically, as I read this article, there is one on this site in the ad space right next to it.
I have fallen into a similar scam with teeth whitening. Acai Advanced and many other companies got ahold of my credit card and charged little fees here and there. They all added up. I cancelled my credit card after these companies wouldnt pick up the phone. beware… these free trials are not “free” at all!
I have got my ACAI product down from 75 dollars down to about 30 bucks.
I am 24 pounds thinner in 3 months.
These are not scams, All you need to do is read the terms and conditions. It explains how to cancel, leave an email then you have proof that you canceled so that will hold up against them.
Read the terms and conditions and ask for a lower price, they will negotiate.
The real story here is not the scam. The real story is whom is endorsing the product. Oprah, Today Show, and Good Morning America all endorsed various versions of the ACAI berry. I personally was ripped off as well, but I never would have purchased it if these programs hadn’t endorsed it.
Is “Perfect Acai” a decent brand of acai berry supplement?
Hi Laura
i did try the free trial and they charged me AU$15 but until now got nothing in my mail box . . .so i tried to surf net to check about it and i came to your blog. . . .
Thank you much. . . .
YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT !
PLEASE PEOPLE READ OTHERS EXPERIENCES, I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT THOSE WHO ADVERTISE FOR A COMPANY , HOW GOOD IT WORKED FOR THEM PEOPLE EITHER.
I wished I had of looked for some other than those smiling faces, sweetning the pot for ADVANCED CLEANSE!, Those who will tell opposite experiences, BECAUSE, they never show those. Approx. 3 weeks ago, I called, and OH how nice they were to me, helping me along with signing up for the trial. I take alot of meds, so I wanted to try it. The operators could hear me just fine, they had time to wait on me , you hear. Well the first thing that went wrong, was the day I ordered it obviously, next, I waited and waited, and thought, well I need to call and cancel it, because if it dont come soon, the 14 days they give me will be up. It lacked almost a week being up, when I called it showed up that day, I was going to cancel because there wasn’t 14 days left, OH how unfair- service rep then offered me a 10 day extention, and said if it wasn’t enough to call back and get another. How nice!@. Well a week goes by, I’m trying it,It really doesn’t work like advertised, so I already knew I was going to cancel it ahead, when I notice they have already grabbed my money- the membership fee and foriegn fees too! Oh God how angry am I…I had at least another week and 1/2, I called that day- to cancel, and ask where my money is, and why wasn’t I given a full trial time. The first rep, after getting my info and retrieving records, she comes back to me, and hangs up, so the second time, same thing, only this one comes back and says I’m sorry you will have to call back and hangs up. They knew I was canceling the trial and know darn welkl how to play this game too. I went and cooled off, went back and the 3rd time I got somewhere, about getting it cancelled that is. But he seen nothing but the small trial fee taken out, nothing else. But at least its cancelled right.
Next day, stilling cooling off. I had written 3x’s on the contact us form they have on their page, not once did they reply back to me and my requests. My husband is giving me down the road on top of it. Finally I went back to phone, tryed once again, with another rep, she finally says they aren’t the ones who took the 79.89 + foriegn fees from my account, I am asking well who did, this is who I ordered from, it shows you did cancel order and we won’t be charging you , nor sending further shipments out, (They have already charged me)- she says not us, finally I get some sense out of her, she will switch me to the ones who did, this is where? India? foriegner speakers. Oh so this is why the foriegn fee. I have to go through the same stuff with this one, verifying everything, spelling out everything, finally yeah! Horray! she see’s where I have cancelled and yes they owe me back my money , except for the foriegn fee. Now as of today, The money has still yet to be returned to my account. That was last week. a few days huh? So I am still battling this problem WEB I got myself into. just wished these Companies would keep their word on their advertising, and make good on what they say. More importantly, if I would have decided to keep it, I still would have cancelled, just for the way I was treated and all the time I wasted on trying to get soimewhere with un-professionals. In another Country ? What is wrong with people here being Customer Reps. ? There are our jobs… Please check something out more better than I did. I will go to the dog hpouse if I lose that money and not able to do something,not that he’s mean like that, if for a good reason okay, but to give away money? nope. The thing too, what little I did get to try, it did not help me at all. sincerely!
Perhaps some folks have not had the opportunity of being ripped off, to notice a scam happening to them, but it does happen, and with these very Companies of these products. I do have proof of emails sent, it does says when you try calling, it is being recording for purposes, but what good does that help, if they hang up, don’t answer, or act as if they don’t understand you, or better yet, tell you by their records they have pulled up, they don’t see such and such, like money they removed from your account, or an extension they give to you. I did read the fine print, I did go about contacting the company as directed. If they want to ignore you, take money from your account, whenever, THEY MOST CERTAINLY WILL !
I have try a lot of diet pills to lose weight, however, it turn out lots of disappointment~ I am so glad that my doctor recommended the Dr Max Powers BURN. I thought it was just for men, but y doctor said his female patients saw great results! So I ordered from the Dr Max Powers website online and I found myself lost more than 10 pounds in two weeks and I highly recommend this product to my friends~!