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I was looking for Weight Loss sites and clicked onto this company. Boy, was that a BIG mistake! Received the trial sample I ordered for $ 4.99 on 2-6-09 and to my surprise my credit card was charged $79.96 on 2-26-09. Red flags should have been raised when my bank left a message on the day I ordered to see if I o.k.'d this purchase for $4.99. Since everything is automated I just approved the charge and forgot about it. HUGE mistake. I should have checked further into it. My bad. I was lucky to find a 1-800 number under "complaints" when you Google their web site. Called the number - waited forever for a representative - finally talked to "Marvin" who informed me that yes, I did sign up for my account to be charged $79.96. I asked where did it say that and he told me that it was in my e-mail confirmation and I informed him that I have my e-mail conformation and it said no such thing and the packing list I received with my order also said nothing about canceling anything. An even bigger surprise was that "Marvin" told me that I also signed up for "Fit Factory" AND "Cost Smashers" when I "agreed" (NOT!) to sign up with them. I asked him to cancel my "membership" and he also canceled my "membership" to the other 2 companies. I also informed "Marvin" that I would be filing a complaint and contacting my credit card company at once. He said he was going to go ahead and "credit" my credit card with the $79.96 that I was charged. I got conformation #'s for that, my "membership" to Natures Acai, Fit Factory and Cost Smashers. After reading other complaints I feel pretty lucky that I was offered a refund. As of yet my credit card has not been credited but I will keep a close eye out for that and any other unauthorized charges to my account. Like they say "There should be a law!" This is downright FRAUD! Do not get sucked into their scam. I will never EVER order anything like this again!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I was supposed to receive a sample/trial of this produce at a small charge of 4.99 but I did not receive it. Later I see an unauthorized charge on my credit card for $79.96 and when I called, the rep said that there was nothing she could do abpout the charge. I have to pay $85 dollars and receive nothing for it. I am EXTREMELY angry about this unauthorized charge to my credit card and did not/will not receive the produce. I bought only "air" from Natures-Acai recommended by Oprah. This is not right in any case.
Most of these Acai Berry sites that sell a "free trial, " of their product, do say that you have X amount of days to call and cancel from the date you gave them your card number. Whether you've recieved the product or not, by then, they WILL CHARGE YOU, since they do not show you called to cancel within the X amount of days. These sites/companies pretty much count on people NOT to read the "fine print." They hope you will just keep clicking submit, continue, and OK all the way to the end without reading much more, than those buttons. If you go to a site that says "FREE TRIAL, " and then a page or two later they're asking for a card number, checking acct number, and a routing number, DON'T TYPE A THING... THEY WILL MORE THAN LIKELY CHARGE YOU SOMEWHERE DOWN THE LINE. Read the fine print, print the fine print for your records BEFORE YOU GIVE THEM ANY FORM OF PAYMENT. If you cancel BEFORE the trial period ends, be sure to get a cancel confirmation number, take note of the date, and get the name of the person you spoke to, this will help your financial institution if they will try to dispute your charge. If the merchant has all of their terms posted out there and you the consumer are in too much of a rush to receive your "free trial" of the world's latest/greatest product and you DON'T READ THE FINE PRINT... YOU SHOULD BE CHARGED EVERY PENNY.
On behalf of Nature's Best Acai Berry, I would like to apologize for any problems or concerns you may have had during the shipping of your order. Thousands of orders are received every day and our agents do their best to ensure that all mailing addresses have been properly entered, but occasionally a mistake might be made. For this issue, we apologize. Feel free to contact our customer service representatives at the listed number [protected]). Our agents will be more than happy to look up your order and verify that the address has been entered correctly and then reship you our fat-burning Nature's Best Acai Berry Supplement. Also, I would like to apologize for any miscommunication of the nature of our risk free trial offer of the acai berry supplement. With so many health benefits, including increasing energy, burning fat, and reducing the signs of aging, the company and its affiliates offer an amazing product! All of the terms are fully disclosed to any and all of our valued customers and thus customers agree to a continued membership upon sign-up. If you have changed your mind, remember that you have the option of canceling your orders at any time by contacting our helpful customer service representatives at the number listed on our site [protected]). Your satisfaction is our number one concern, so feel free to contact us to resolve any issues. Thank you and have a great day!
I just ordered the FREE sample and less than an hour I was charged for Costsmasher and Fit Club. NOT EVEN AN HOUR! I called right away and was told in the small print on the chargecard site it said that I was also going to be signing up for these two site AND a monthly shipment of these pills. I must just be blind that I didn't see this. I am trying not to be too angry about this but WHAT A RIPOFF. I received confirmation numbers to cancel all of these items but I am still very concerned that they will not do it. Do not buy this product from these people.
I had the same thing happen to me. I was on a weather site and saw an ad showing a local woman losing weight. I clicked on this site and it went on about not having to pay a big amount to get this product. I did not see (and I looked for it) any disclosure about a future shipments or charges. I now found out that not only was I agreeing to future shipments, but I was agreeing to other ?products and additional charges. My Charge card company representative started defending the acai berry company as if she was in their employee. Fortunately I had gotten a cancellation number.
The best rule of thumbs for online buying is to make sure you know the company before agreeing to purchase anything or giving your card number out. Definitely do not click on any advertising from another site which transfers you to these trial product/service pages. I will guarantee that you will regret it every time you do. In fact I recommend having a program that blocks all advertising when viewing web sites.
Warning: Another gimmick out there is the government grant information sites. Read the fine print!
found this on this website and it's just part of it:
Two dietary supplement marketers that lured consumers on the Internet with allegedly deceptive weight-loss claims and bogus "free" sample offers, and then debited their bank accounts or charged their credit cards for continuing shipments without their consent, have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they violated federal law. With the increase in Internet marketing, the FTC staff has issued a report providing guidance for marketers to help them avoid deception in making online "negative option" offers. (With negative option marketing, a company takes a consumer's silence or failure to cancel as acceptance of the offer and permission to bill them.)
Unless people file charges, they will continue to get away with it. They need to file charges.
Federal Trade Commission online
Attorney Generals Office online
Do it with whatever State you got your product from, if you want to go further with a criminal investigation:
ic3.gov online
I had the same thing happen to me, except for one thing ...I DID call a week before the deadline, and I was assured that my product would be there by the 18th and that’s when MY free trial would begin. I even repeated what she said... my product would be there by the 18th, and my free trial would begin and she said YES...I even told her that I wanted to cancel it before I was charged... So I called on the 20th because I now have a $79.96 charge... then they said that my free trial ENDED on the 18th... These people are making a killing! I DID read the fine print, but she LIED on the phone! WHERE DO I FILE CHARGES?
I had the same charge on my card and when i contacted the company (at the number listed) they said they could not find any information on me (4 times i called!) Also, they kept me on hold for 30 minutes after each call telling me that i needed to hold for a supervisor since they couldnt find me in their systems...I finally just contacted my credit card company and put a block on my card as well as reported them as fraud.
I had the same experience. I just returned from a week long trip hoping to find my trial package. When I found it hadn't been delivered yet I called customer service. I was told it woud be 5-7 days (which it had been) and to wait another day or two. I became suspicious when the rep reminded me that there would be a $80+ charge for my monthly supply. I haven't even recieved the product! I found your comments online and immediately called back to cancel any activity with the company, current or future, with regards to my credit card. I recieved a few cancellation confirmation codes and I am hoping that nothing further is charged to my card. I am contacting my bank to block charges from them and to report the suspicious transaction. Thanks for sharing!
Posted on this website:
by Nance
Call ACAI BURN [protected] to cancel.
Then go on their chat log and ask to cancel. Cut and Paste the Chat for evidence to send to Attorney General’s office.
Also call [protected] to cancel INSIDER SECRETS
[protected] Comprehensive Weight Loss e-Book
Write complaint to internet fraud:
www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx
Also report as fraud charge on credit card. Ask to put "flag" on ACAI BURN, have another credit card issued.
Tom Miller
Consumer Protection Division
Attorney General of Iowa
Hoover State Office Building
1300 E. Walnut, Des Moines, Iowa 50319
[protected]
E-mail: consumer@ag.state.ia.us
It’s price gouging, unfair consumer practices, mail fraud (either NOT sending product or sending then charging outrageous amount, more than most legit Rx) and internet fraud, plus a host of other disclaimers (Dr Oz, Oprah, CNN.com, USA Today endorsing them, plus the trainer on Biggest Loser).
I too got scammed into this deal. They say, Call the FRIENDLY customer service? Well, the stupid ###s don't answer their phone!
I am sure they have a reason for that. Maybe they are to busy ripping other people off. I will send complaints to every office that I can to stop this kind of legalized STEALING. By the way, the 'fine print' is hidden on another link at the bottom of the page. At the top of page where the offer is made, there is NO reference to the gimmick.
Nature's-Acai, what can I say, like others before me, I did not have a pleasant experience with the Acai product nor the customer service. I was well aware of all the guidelines of the fine print, stating you have to call to cancel your "FREE" trial, subscription and the refill of pills that will come to you every month afterwards before your 14 day trial is over. Well I was charged $79.96 well before my 14 day trial was up and when I questioned this, I was told and I quote "We are receiving an aunflux of calls, could you please call back in one hour, Thank you." Needless to say I called back the next day and spoke to "Jan" and she went on to explain how great the product is and how I can really benefit from it, but at this point, I just want my money back. I was able to cancel everything, plus I am returning the pills I never used, not even breaking the seal on the bottle, and still I cannot receive a refund. WOW, you still have people who follow the rules and you still cannot receive your money back, now this is what you call a RIP-OFF. Thanks Nature's-Acai
Oprah should be held responsible for allowing this to be backed by her. I thought she would be someone we could trust on health issues. She supported the false advertising for this product and the colotox and all the other scams and rip offs. She should have been warning us NOT do get involved with this stuff! I am greatly disappointed in Oprah AND the Consumer Protection Agency for not making it manditory that the 'tinee tiny print' be posted LARGE AND LOUD AND CLEAR on anything that is advertised as FREE!
You are just dealing with Scam Artist that use Oprah's name and other high profile names that are out there. These Scam Artist are just taking advantage of that.
Some of these Scam Artist or Crooks are not even in this Country and hard to catch.. why? They don't have the same penalty that We face here in Our country so they suck us dry on Our credit cards which is so easy to do online.
Then again, some of these crooks lie here in Our own Country... they give you a bogus product with a bogus address and change their names but keep the Acai berry just to suck us dry of Our hard earning money
They change their names just so they don't get caught for their online crime and move State to State with a bogus addresss
Here's a Complaint I did find on this website even tho' it was last year... but it continues...
57 days ago by fairgame 0 Votes
First off call your bank and cancel your credit card, also immediately file a Chargeback. If they recive enough chargebacks it will screw up their merchant account and get them blacklisted. Don't bother calling the numbers or live chat it is totally useless. Anyways here's some info on these people:
The people who run this whole scam operation are:
JUAN ZUETTA (Runs the whole show, tells everyone what to do)
ANTHONY PELLEGRINO (Designs the scam websites, graphics, etc.)
VLADISLAV SKORO (Programmer who maintains entire scam e-commerce system, domains, server, etc.)
SERGIO PADRON (Funds the whole operation and has already been blacklisted by VISA/MasterCard for chargebacks)
DIEGO D. RODRIGUEZ
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They operate under many different businesses to mask their shady operations but Aton Solutions is the office they work out of (they tend to relocate):
ATON SOLUTIONS, LLC
123 NW 13TH STREET
SUITE 212
BOCA RATON FL 33432
www.atonsolutions.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JUAN ZUETTA Contact Info
Email: jzuetta@atonsolutions.com
Skype: jzuetta
ANTHONY PELLEGRINO Contact Info
Email: apellegrino@atonsolutions.com
Skype: apellegrino
Mobile: [protected]
Age: 29
D.O.B: 01/27/1979
VLADISLAV SKORO Contact Info
Email: vskoro@atonsolutions.com
Skype: mk_2017
Age: 38
D.O.B: 10/20/1970
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They also operate these companies which all revolve around the same scam:
NETPLEX, LLC
123 NW 13TH STREET SUITE #212
BOCA RATON FL 33432 US
SFL NUTRITION, LLC
127 NW 13TH STREET SUITE #4
BOCA RATON, FL 33432
GLOBALNET PHARMACIES, LLC
134 NW 16TH STREET SUITE #4
BOCA RATON FL 33432
GIC, LLC
129 NW 13TH STREET SUITE #27
BOCA RATON FL 33432
NUTRAVIN, INC
129 NW 13TH STREET 27D
BOCA RATON, FL 33432
E4 MEDIA, LLC
8770 SW 72 STREET #364
MIAMI, FL 33173
Fictitious Name
PHENTREMINEDIRECT
8770 SW 72 STREET SUITE #364
MIAMI, FL 33173
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All the products they sell are a scam:
Phentremine Civ-xR, Total Cleanse, Colon xR, White Tea with Acai, Body Trim, Acai Berry Supreme, Acai Berry Ultimate, Total Pomegranate, POM 500, and MyColonRemedy.
All of their scam product landing pages are located in subdomains on http://www.ebizprogram.com
Ok, first of call any purchase you make with you credit card is your responsibility- if you were to buy a car, you would most certainly read the terms of the purchase carefully to understand what you are agreeing to- this is the same for any situation, especially when you order online. I have purchased the Nature's Acai product and when I got to the order page where you put your credit card information, I read everything on there before I put any information in. It states right on the order page, under the submit button and the information for the fit factory trial you receive, that you have the 14 day trial for the product which starts from the date you order. it also explains that if you do not cancel within the trial period you will be billed 79.96 and then 85.91 every month after that. It also has their customer service number and their hours of operation. I don't know how they can make it any clearer- and of course it's not this huge bold print writing, but they do disclose all of the possible charges-it's not their fault you didn't read everything on the page before you gave them your credit card. I called before my trial ended and not only got my trial extended, but they also lowered the monthly price to $20 bucks a month! Their customer service people are extremely helpful and nice, and are only doing their jobs. You can go ahead and report it to whoever you want, but just so you know the BBB and the FTC (and the AG I believe) all have copies of their websites and approve them because it is perfectly legal. They are not breaking any law, if anything they maybe taking advantage of mentally handicapped people.
My suggestion? use this as a lesson. Anytime you put your credit card number in ANYWHERE, read what you're agreeing to and pay attention. Everything is right there on the order page for you to see, again it is not their fault if you are too lazy to read the whole page or the terms and conditions (the information is located in there as well) They are not breaking any laws, just teaching you a much needed lesson.
I experienced the same thing as most others on this board because my teenage daughter used her debit card to buy the free trial. She didn't notice the fine print at the bottom of the page, but she will be sure to read more carefully in the future! I am a big proponent of taking personal responsibility for such things, but this company's tricks are clearly intended to mislead consumers and it pissed me off. If they are so confident of the product, they shouldn't construct the page in that way. My daughter came to me in embarrassment when she realized what happened and I made the call. It took about 30 minutes but I finally hounded a refund out of the guy. We started with canceling everything that they were planning to charge in the future ($85 per month for the supplement, 29.95 per month for the Fit Club, and $2.95 per month for Customer Assistance!) and then I just politely, but repeatedly, told him that these practices were unacceptable and that there was no valid reason for not offering me a refund for a product that I had not yet opened. I told him that I would return it immediately without even opening the envelope. He continued to say he couldn't do that because we did not call within the 14 day period. I finally just said that I would be contacting my credit card company to dispute the charge and that I don't plan to drop the issue. He immediately said OK and gave me a return number. I guess they are really concerned about having folks deal with their card companies over this? I mean, isn't it obvious that we would do that, or are they just hoping people will be too embarrassed to go there? I don't know, but it worked. It took almost a week for the credit to show up on the card, but it did and there have been no further charges. That was about two weeks ago.
First, I have to say I am so glad I read all these comments first before I called. Like everyone on here I too was charged 85.91. Yes, my fault for not reading fine print. I have learned my lesson on that! Luckily, I had no problems canceling everything. Make sure you cancel the supplement, the Fit Club, and Customer Assistance. I made sure there was only these 3. You should get 3 cancellation confirmation numbers. The women told me my refund for the 85.91 will appear on next months billing statement at the VERY latest. So I will hopefully have luck with that! My advise- stay calm but firm, explain the charge you have received, and tell them exactly EVERYTHING you want canceled, (again, I was told only the three i mentioned above) and write down their name and all your cancellation confirmation numbers. Remember, nothing is ever free!
BTW... It did take awhile to get through. After 15min on hold I hung up but then called back right away twice. That last time I got through less than 5min. Good Luck!
How do I cancel the fit club part? We totally got scammed too...and because of these charges it over drew our checking account and I have 5 NSF fees!
Please tell me how I should go about cancelling the other things. I cancelled the future shipments and I was told I would be refunded but nothing yet!
DO NOT ORDER THIS PRODUCT! THIS COMPANY IS A SCAM AND WE ARE HAVING OUR BANK KICK BACK THE CHARGES AND I WILL BE CONTACTING THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND BBB TO REPORT THIS. THEY HAVE HIT OUR ACCOUNT TWICE EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE TOLD THEM TO STOP. WE WILL HAVE TO CANCEL AND CLOSE OUT OUR ACCOUNT AND START A NEW ACCOUNT TO GET THIS STOPPED. BANK OF AMERICA SAYS THEY ARE HAVING TROUBLE WITH THIS COMPANY AND THEIR PHONE NUMBERS AND ADDRESS KEEP CHANGING.
PLEASE DO NOT ORDER THIS PRODUCT.
I recently purchased the free trial of Nature's Acai Berry and cancelled it immediately following my reading of these complaints. It took me several attempts to get customer service on the phone, but once I did I was able to cancel future Acai shipments and the Costsmasher and Fit Factory clubs. I received a confirmation # for each product/program so I hopefully won't be charged. I also documented, for my purposes the date and time of the cancellation just in case i need to dispute this with my cc company.
Leslie,
On behalf of Nature's Acai Berry, I would like to apologize for any miscommunication of the nature of our risk free trial offer of the acai berry supplement. With so many health benefits, including increasing energy, burning fat, and reducing the signs of aging, the company and its affiliates offers an amazing product! All of the terms are fully disclosed to any and all of our valued customers and thus customers, for whom satisfaction is assumed, agree to a continued membership upon sign-up. I'm glad that our customer service representative was able to assist you and resolve the issue that you were having. As for the other products that you agreed to sign up for at the time that you received your free trial of Nature's Acai Berry, please keep in mind that any doctor or nutritionist will recommend using supplements as part of a well-rounded and multi-dimensional dieting program. We at Nature's Acai share that health concern and thus off to our customers the chance to sample products and services from other companies as well. Those companies are not actually a part of Nature's Acai, nor are they required for membership in our own elite program. Hopefully, however, everything has been resolved for you. Your satisfaction is our number one concern, so feel free to contact us with any future issues. Thank you and have a great day!
I also ordered and understand that my card will be charged. But I never received the product and my card has already been charged. When I try to call customer service, I have been on hold for over 20 minutes and the next time I called was told their system was down so they would not be able to access my information. I'm very unhappy with the way they conduct business. I understand that I'm responsible for cancelling the product. Can not do that if I'm not able to get in contact with customer service. I would not order this product at all. It is a scam. I was leary about doing this in the first place and will not do anything like this again. But you shoule be able to at least cancel and not be charged before you receive the product. Please be aware of this scam and do not order this. Carol
My story is sadly the same as everyone else's. I ordered on line. i DID read the fine print. I cancelled the fit club and customer service immediately and got confirmation numbers. I was told I had 14 days to cancel the Acai Berry pills without a charge going to my bank. A charge for $85.91 hit my bank 8 days later. I called my bank (Wells Fargo) who was less than helpful, basically telling me I had to do all the leg work. (I guess I'm changing banks too). When I called Nature's Acai I got through to a rep first try...who told me he couldn't help me, please hold for a supervisor, and then immediately hung up on me. Amazingly, every time I've tried to call since I've gotten a recording that says due to the high call volume..please call back. I'm not letting this go. I will keep hounding my bank and keep calling Nature's Acai until someone listens. I don't know about everyone else, but I read the fine print..i played by the rules, and I got screwed. I don't have $85.91 to just give away for nothing. Don't order from these guys. They are liars, thieves and frauds.
I had the same thing happen to me. I never received the trial and I was charged again. I never received anything and I have been charged for the trial and the second bottle. The fact that they do not refund, is absolutely absurd!
It is obvious that company employees are adding to this site - at times without admitting this. I called to cancel the minute the charges started hitting my account and have cancellation #'s for
Fit Factory
Dinner Save
Clubmaster
Nature Acai and others - 5 cancellation #'s in all.
However, they still are charging me - today it is $85 plus some change - I CANCELLED the acai before it was even received and again after I had the product with the letter stating to cancel - Just a rip-off company who has no customer service.
I have notified the credit card fraud dept - she had handled 3 calls about this company just today - and the BBB as well as the Attorney general. Why are they still operating?
I just got off the phone with them for the second frustrating time. As most people on here are saying, I never received the initial trial product. I called to check on it, and then realized I'd already been charged the $79.96 plus the initial $4.95 shipping fee for NO PRODUCT. The customer service lady I spoke with kept repeating herself and must have asked me for my mailing address 3 or 4 times. I am not easily angered, but this is ridiculous! I told her that I never received the product, that the address on file was in fact correct, and that this is a mailbox I check EVERY day. She just said over and over again..."It takes 5-7 days." It had been 13 days. And I was already charged for the next month's supply of a product I hadn't even been able to try. At that time I cancelled and received the 3 different confirmation codes which were rattled off at the speed of light. I wrote them down frantically. She also told me that she would send me a bottle of the product. Well, guess what...it has been 2 1/2 weeks and NO BOTTLE. This time that I called again I was asked to confirm the address multiple times and she insisted it had been shipped. I asked for a tracking number. She back-tracked and said she would make sure it was shipped. I think this is ridiculous that people are being ripped off in this way without a good explanation when they call in frustration.
Ah well, you live and learn. No more free trials of anything for me!
My experience is the same as the above. Not receiving product and being charged. I called and they do nothing! The company is a complete scam! I filed a complaint with our State Attorney General. Do NOT buy any of the products from this company or you'll have HUGE regrets! One more reason not to listen to Oprah.
Posted: 2017-02-26 by Frustrated with Untrustworthy People
Fraudulent Enrollment in additional services
Complaint Rating:
Company information:
Fit Factory/ Costsmashers
Florida
United States
fitfactory.com
DO NOT order the "free" Natures Acai Berry supplement. Although they state that they will only charge you $4.95 for S&H and indeed you will receive a bottle of "acai berry, " you will also be plagued with having given a random company your credit card information. In addition, Nature's company will happily give your information to 2 other companies, Fit Factory and Cost Smashers, who will then enroll you in a "free 21-day trial" of their products. This is not mentioned on the Nature Acai Berry website, not even in the fine print. Lesson #1: You are better off physically walking into a store and purchasing this supplement rather than giving out your credit card information to random third parties. It may cost a little more initially, but the money you will save on not being involved in this scam is huge! And by the way, the acai berry supplement contains mainly Chromium at 63% of the total capsule, in addition to, Green Tee Extract of 225mg, CAFFIENE of 135mg (very healthy for you...sense the sarcasm?), Acai extract of a mere 50mg, and finally L-theanine of 8mg. I am a physician and I have never heard of L-theanine in my career, so the ingredients are likely a farse.
After more than 45 minutes on the phone with the representative at [protected] to cancel Fit Factory and Cost Smashers, I was given 2 confirmation codes; one for each company. After attempting to get the rep to agree to send a written letter of confirmation to my home address, she insisted that I give her my email address. I asked her, "You sent me two emails already enrolling me in your product line and you are telling me that you do not have my email address in your system already?" She beat around the bush for many minutes and I refused to give out my email address, since they already have my physical address, b/c she made me verify it upon answering the phone. I then asked for a physical address for the companies and she again beat around the bush with me and acted like she was typing something, which sounded like it must have been a novel for all the typing she was doing! Again I asked for a physical address and she answered with, "Ok, I am just sending you a confirmation to your email address." Now all of a sudden she had my email address on file and was sending me a confirmation. Again I went back to the question, "Can you please give me the physical address of these companies, " and this time she said hold please and immediately placed me on hold. I thought this was the end of the call and that I would be dropped shortly. However, she came back on the phone and gave me this address: 2620 South Maryland Parkway Las Vegas NV, and no zip code. Then I asked if she was physically located at this address in a call center or the like and she responded, "No, I am in the Phillipines." Super, I thought.
In the background during my phone call I heard people coughing and sneezing, I heard loud noises like heavy machinery in addition to many other bizarre noises. At American call centers, from having worked for Sprint Telecommunications years ago, the headsets they use filter out that type of background noise and also the cubicles are set up to ensure that other noises do not interfere with the call. Why do I address this issue? Because this clearly indicated to me that this girl, who probably has no idea who she is working for, is in some factory or sitting in her "house" answering calls for $2/hr from some company in the States that doesn't even physically exist!
I was infuriated, to say the least, that some company would distribute my information without a disclaimer regarding it on their website. However, I realize now how ignorant and naive I was to actually have believed that I could safely order a supplement online from a website that I now realize had no credentials. It wasn't like I went to walgreens.com or GNC.com or some other credible American company. Lesson #2: If you haven't head of the company before, and you cannot find any other information about them by Googling the name besides websites about it being a scam, chances are, its a scam!
I hope that my bad experience with these "companies" will at least be a testiment to others so that you do not fall for the same scam that I did. Please, please, for your own good, do not order Nature's Acai Berry unless you have the extra time to call your credit card company to request a new card with a new number, call Nature's and sit on the line for 30 mins before getting anyone to answer, and have the tolerance to put up with ignorant people.
Someone posted this here on this website
Acai Berry SCAMS - Beware Free Trial SCAMS
Got this from doing a search through CNN.News.com
"FREE TRIAL OFFERs" FOR ACAI BERRY ARE NOT FREE!
In fact they will cost you more than 4 TIMES AS MUCH as it should cost per bottle. These scammers will charge your credit card at least $80 per bottle each month. That more than twice as much as quality freeze-dried acai berry should cost. And to make it worse, they send you crappy drum dried Acai Berry, which cost about 1/2 as much to produce. So you end up paying at least 4 times more per bottle than you should.
YOU WILL BE SIGNED UP FOR A SUBSCRIPTION
Yes, they say they just charge you for shipping. If that were so, it wouldn't be bad. But in reality, they just want your credit card number and will bill you every month for a subscription you didn't sign up for. They bury the fine print in their terms and conditions.
YOU WILL SPEND HOURS TRYING TO CANCEL THE SUBSCRIPTION
There will either be noone to contact to return the crappy product, or they will say you have to call their customer service number to get return authorization. When you do, you are put on hold and shuffled between different people until you give up. Don't believe me? Before you purchase, call or email them and say you did not sign up for a subscription and please stop sending the product. You will get the runaround
THEY WILL SHIP YOU A CRAPPY, NEARLY WORTHLESS NO NAME BRAND OF ACAI BERRY SUPPLEMENT
They don't expect you to be happy with the product. They don't care, so they make even more money by shipping you crap. Acai Berry supplements must be freeze dried, or else they lose most of the nutrients and antioxidents. These scammers use cheap, heat processed Acai that cost 1/2 as much. Read more about choosing a quality supplement
THEY OFTEN BUNDLE OTHER PRODUCTS IN THE SUBSCRIPTION TO CHARGE YOU EVEN MORE
It's really obscene what some of these scammers do. We've listed a common offer below, where they bundle additional offers if you do not deselect the checkbox (it's checked by default). Some are hitting people with $150 a month in charges.
and this:
Consumers Warned to Avoid 2 Supplement Sales Sites
BBB warns consumers of 2 companies that use Oprah, other celebrity names, to sell supplements
NEW YORK January 7, 2017
The BBB on Monday named Central Coast Nutraceuticals Inc. of Phoenix and FX Supplements of Arlington, Texas, as two companies that engage in misleading sales and marketing practices. At least part of the issue is their use of "negative option marketing" techniques that require customers to cancel recurring orders or membership in ongoing programs they may or may not be aware they've signed up for. BBB said it received numerous complaints from consumers who found it difficult to cancel the orders, and were often charged multiple times.
BBB also criticized the companies for using what appear to be endorsements from Oprah Winfrey, Rachel Ray and other celebrities for their products to lure customers in. "They knew they had a gold mine here by using Oprah's name, " said BBB spokeswoman Alison Preszler-Southwick.
Both Web sites feature photos of and comments made by Winfrey and others regarding the reported health benefits of acai (pronounced AH-sigh-ee), along with identical photo montages of other stars who have purportedly used acai to boost their diets. While neither site specifically claims endorsement of their products, the BBB said the tactic misled consumers who thought the products were getting the nod of approval from their favorite stars.
Also found this here
Natures ACAI Berry
Posted: 2017-03-03 by Lister
fraudulent marketing/business practices
Complaint Rating:
Company information:
A.S.N. LLC, Amir and Sanchez Mktg, Nature's Acai B
20100 S. Vermont Ave.
Torrance, California
United States
Phone: 1.800.983.7968 (Don't Bother)
trynaturesacaiberry.com
I placed an order for the free trial of Acai from these people also.
AFTER entering my CC info, they sprung the "terms agreement" of :
1. ongoing monthly automatic Acai shipment at $85.91 per month, PLUS
2. some OTHER membership thing called Fit Factory for ANOTHER $29.95 per month, PLUS
3. some OTHER thing called Cost Smashers for $2.95 per month.
There are 3 separate numbers to cancel these 3 separate little piggybacks.
Thank God I emailed it to myself to read it, since it didn't show until AFTER they had my card #.
When I call to cancel this it either:
1. Hangs up without ringing
2. Comes on with a voice recording which says please hold, then proceeds to fritz the connection and disconnect
3. Never rings at all.
It is very clear that these people don't WANT to be contacted.
So I have called my bank and cancelled the CC; Thank God no further charges seem to have been made so far.
This company is named Natures Acai Berry,
Their return shipping address is:
A.S.N LLC
20100 S. Vermont Ave.
Torrance, CA 90502
I notice that their name apparently USED to be 'Natures Best Acai Berry', they're apparently trying to dodge their own fallout..
This stuff is distributed by an outfit named:
Amir and Sanchez Neutraceuticals
5425 E. Broadway Rd #282
Tucson, AZ 85711
By the way, this stuff has ALMOST NO Acai berry in it; It actually consists of:
Chromium (Metabolic booster)
Green Tea Extract (High in Caffeine) 225 mg
EGCG (A component of Green Tea which suppresses allergic reactions!) 135 mg
Caffeine 200 mg
Acai berry extract 50 mg! (Must have squeezed a single berry over the vat)
L-Theanine (Another Green Tea component) 8 mg
So- What it REALLY is, is Chromium, Green Tea, Caffeine and a tad of Acai.
What rot.
I am posting this here hoping it will help somebody else NOT get taken...
I feel for you, in fact today, I just discovered the same thing as you did. I found that an unauthorized charge to my PERSONAL account of $79.96 was made & I was INFURIATED! I got the website info. off of my account & visited it. It was basically a commentary page to the customer service regarding the billing that may have been made (imagine that!), so at the bottom, I wrote a very informative yet precise to the point of the matter of why I shouldn't have been charged $79.96. Think I got a call back? No. I had to call them 6 hours later. No one had even got my comments, yet. I told the lady on the phone that there was an UNAUTHORIZED charge to my account, complained about the fact that when I had recieved the product that there were no paperwork with the information (such as a telephone numer, about the product, etc.) & that the money needed to be put back into my account. She simply (repeatedly) said "Sorry, M'am. We cannot do anything about it." I was pissed! I told her that I was NOT impressed by it by any means, which ladies and gentlemen, as good as all these talk show host claims that this product is to be...this product SUCKS! The thing is, is that this product is FREE TRIAL for 14 days if you like it, fine, you'll be charged with an unauthorized amount of $79.96 but if you don't, BE SURE TO CALL BY THE 13th DAY because you will be charged with an authorized amount of $79.96! GO TO A LOCAL HEALTH STORE, DO NOT BUY ONLINE. THEY STEAL MONEY OFF OF YOU!
-Shan
I too was only interested in "trying" this product. I received it about 9 days after ordering it not realizing that there was a 15 day clause attached to the order. Lo and Behold, when checking my bank account yesterday there was a $79.96 charge on my statement. I was also charged a $ 29.95 charge for some silly internet fitness membership! After about 2 hours on the phone with the company, (they hung up on me 3x) and informing them that they would hear from my legal councel and from my bank, they agreed to reverse the charges. (I am grateful for this but it was a difficult task to achive.) I am to return the product to them as I never had a chance to open the bottle and try it! This company is a joke. They have shoddy business ethics and are out to do nothing but SCAM the public. They are preying upon people who are trying to find some natural supplemental help in losing weight. I took Rachal Ray's and Oprah's recommendations and got scammed. I'm not an ignorant person. I run and own my own Computer & Electronics business. I 'm disappointed that two women I admire would support this company.I won't make this mistake again. STAY AWAY FROM THE NATURE'S ACAI BERRY COMPANY!
I too was only interested in "trying" this product. I received it about 9 days after ordering it not realizing that there was a 15 day clause attached to the order. Lo and Behold, when checking my bank account yesterday there was a $79.96 charge on my statement. I was also charged a $ 29.95 charge for some silly internet fitness membership! After about 2 hours on the phone with the company, (they hung up on me 3x) and informing them that they would hear from my legal councel and from my bank, they agreed to reverse the charges. (I am grateful for this but it was a difficult task to achive.) I am to return the product to them as I never had a chance to open the bottle and try it! This company is a joke. They have shoddy business ethics and are out to do nothing but SCAM the public. They are preying upon people who are trying to find some natural supplemental help in losing weight. I took Rachal Ray's and Oprah's recommendations and got scammed. I'm not an ignorant person. I run and own my own Computer & Electronics business. I 'm disappointed that two women I admire would support this company.I won't make this mistake again. STAY AWAY FROM THE NATURE'S ACAI BERRY COMPANY!
Interesting article here by one of the CPA ad networks giving tips to their publishers/affilaites on how to get ads onto Facebook: http://www.convert2media.com/blog/2017/06/24/tip-tuesday-using-social-media-as-an-advertising-source/
Yes, this is one of those CPA networks who promotes the acai trial offers etc: ;)
http://www.convert2media.com/blog/2017/12/15/6-new-offers-and-33-email-submits/
http://www.convert2media.com/forum/index.php?topic=70.0
And the grant scams, and the teeth whitening:
http://www.convert2media.com/forum/index.php?topic=108.0
And this explains the flood of ads on Facebook:
"Facebook has lifted a lot of restrictions allowing Affiliates to flourish right now so I want to get some ideas over to you."
http://www.convert2media.com/forum/index.php?topic=98.0
Not to mention our old favourites:
Google Money System
Google Money Tree
Earn Cash From Google
http://www.convert2media.com/forum/index.php?topic=111.0
and many more :
http://www.convert2media.com/forum/index.php?board=5.0
So if you have been scammed and can't get hold of emillionaire et al then contact one of their ad networks and complain to them ;)
Convert2Media
Address:
358 South 700 East, Suite B147
Salt Lake City, Utah 84102
Email:
info@convert2media.com
Telephone:
800.689.1260
http://www.convert2media.com/blog/contact-us/
Other networks running these ads on behalf of the free trial acai companies include pepperjam, hydra network, maxbounty and several others..
Count me in on being caught up in the Nature's Acai scam (as well as another company, Acaiburn) so I'm dealing with double trouble and feeling doubly DUH! In this comment, I'm only addressing the Nature's Acai issue. I did receive the 14-day trial. I took one capsule and within a short time, my face turned very red and splotchy. A few days later, when I checked my bank account on line there was a $79.96 charge on 02/17, plus a charge of $29.95 to an online fitness program. I went on line to the fitness website. They did refund the $29.95 charge. I called the Nature's Acai customer service number which was answered by a female with a strong Asian accent who kept repeating in a robotic manner something about having to complete the 60-day trial, return unusued merchandise, and then I would get a refund, etc. etc. It's hard to return unused merchandise when I have received NO merchandise other than the 14 day trial.
I contacted my bank, filed a claim, and blocked my debit card. However, on 03/04 there was an $85+ charge by Nature's Acai. My bank added this to the claim and put a block on both companies being able to make charges to my account. The bank has given me "temporary credit" for the full amount of the fraudulent charges -- which is over $300 at this point. However, they explained that if the money is not recovered from these companies, it's my responsibility.
I intend to file complaints with any and all consumer protection agencies at my disposal and report these companies on as many other websites such as this one that I can.
In all fairness to Oprah and Rachel, I'm thinking any company as unscrupulous as these companies are could fraudulently use celebrity names without those individuals knowledge.
I also purchased the "free " trial for $4.99... It took more than 14 days from the date of purchase to get. Then the customer service person said it was 14 days from when the product was shipped out.I got no receipt or confirmation e-mail. I have called my credit card company and they are investigating. It is not about not reading the terms, it is about them lying to you and then ripping you off. $79.96 for a bottle of 60 pills? They also tried to charge 29.95 for a membership fee . I was on the site while on the phone with cust.service...Could not find it and neither could she. That got refunded.. These people are rip offs and not cooperative...
BUYERS BEWARE!
I have also ordered from Natures ACAI. I have yet to receive the shipment at the end of the trial period (2 weeks!). When I reached the customer representative (after several phone calls and over 25 minutes of wait-time), I have requested that my order and all future charges be canceled since I have never actually received the service. They have refused to cancel my refund, stating that it has been shipped.
CANCEL ALL YOUR CHARGES WITH YOUR CREDIT CARD FROM THIS CON ARTIST, CALL THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE TO CANCEL IMMEDIATELY, AND CALL THE BBB AND THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION TO FILE A COMPLAINT.