It’s a fact; most people struggle with weight loss. So when you are perusing facebook and an advert pops up claiming unprecedented weight loss, it is hard not to have a wee glance.
Wow, these tiny pills have helped hundreds of morbidly obese women turn instantly into tiny sexy bombshells. According to hundreds of testimonies, all you have to do is pop two little acai berry and colon cleansing tablets a day, sit back and let the fat melt aw
ay. And look, how handy; a direct link to the FREE TRAIL.
After punching in your credit card details, for the small shipping fee of course, and clicking the terms and conditions, you sit back daydreaming about your new body, and the miracle pills that will solve your bulging problems are already in the post.
Sound familiar? Well you are not alone; Nurtascience have been making a mint by offering ‘free trails’ of their acai berry supplement, which angry consumers claim, are not so free.
Nutrascience uses bogus claims, fake testimonials and slick marketing tricks, which has led to floods of consumer complaints about the acai berry and colon cleansing supplements.
Many consumers who have bought the tablets claim that the supposed weight loss is a myth. Diet pills that don’t work? That’s nothing new, but buyers are furious because their credit cards have been charged with exorbitant amounts after signing up to a supposedly free trail.
With obesity levels at an all time high, it is no surprise that many woman turn to diet pills claiming miracle weight loss. The weight loss industry is one of the fastest growing industries worldwide. It is estimated that in 2014 American consumers will spend just over $3 billion (€2.3 bn) on diet pills alone. But whether it is Denver or Dublin, the industry has no limits; most weight loss products are now bought online, creating a new market for diet pill scams.
Among the weight loss products plaguing the internet, the acai berry supplement is probably the best known. This ‘miracle fruit’ rose to fame when it was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show and Dr Perricone named the berry as first on his list of ‘top ten super foods’. He claimed the berry was vital, not only for anti aging, but also weight loss.
Oprah said the super fruit tasted like, “a vibrant blend of berries and chocolate” and her celebrity hosting equivalent, Dr.Oz, told viewers it was nicknamed the “beauty berry” in Brazil. Not only have the talk shows picked up on this hot topic, university research teams in Florida, Texas and Oregon provide evidence to support the celebrity claims.
Their findings show the berry contains a combination of antioxidants, amino acids and omega fatty acids. In addition to having all the same vitamins and minerals as most fruits, the acai berry also contains unique plant chemical compounds found in no other fruit on the planet.
But the biggest selling point for the acai berry is one particular antioxidant, anthocyanin, which is hundreds of times stronger than that found in your average fruits. There is no doubt that scientists, doctors, nutritionists and celebrities alike agree on the berry’s benefits. While the berry itself may be a miracle worker many of the supplements, which claim extreme weight loss, simply do not measure up.
So how exactly does the Nurtascience scam work?
Most people who have signed up for the Nutrascience ‘14 day free trial’ have been lured in by advertisements on the internet posing as magazines or blogs. After giving in their credit card details they are sent 30 days worth of acai berry and colon cleansing tablets. However, the free trail is only 14 days, so if you do not want to be charged the whopping €85 for the product you must return it within 21 days.
This information is all available in the terms and conditions. The reality is, though, most internet users rarely read the terms and conditions. TJ McIntyre, IT solicitor and lecturer of Law at UCD, says that, “the average person visits 1400 websites a year, each website has an average 2500-word condition agreement, which means that if you read all the terms and conditions on every website you would be reading for 76 days straight.”
But while the guidelines are technically stated in the terms and conditions, the website provides no return address, and many consumers have found that the contact number is consistently on a busy tone. And the deal only gets worse; if you do not cancel the product, every month at a price of €85, you will receive another batch delivered to your home.
Jane Reilly, a schoolteacher from London, was one of the many customers who felt scammed when her purchase of the acai berry and colon cleansing products from Nurtascience cost her £250 (€300). She was also targeted by an advert over Facebook, which she thought, “was an article written by the Daily Mail.”
She says: “Nutrascience messed me around, delayed their response and has now left me in debt and completely terrified. They are cold-blooded criminals.”
A spokesperson for the National Consumer Agency in Ireland said they have so far received some complaints about Nutrascience. But in England the complaints are far more prevalent.
Online forms are swamped; Scambook.com has received 62 UK complaints, canyoutrustthem.com have recorded 45 and moneysavingexperts.com has a whopping 343 complaints. The product is also being complained about on reviewtalks.com, theyscam.com and several personal angry consumer blogs.
Nutrascience maybe new to the Irish and English punter, but in America a very similar money making scam was has been going on for years and was finally shut down by the Feds in 2010. This January, the company, Central Coast Nutraceuticals, was forced to shell out $1.5 million (€1.2m) in consumer refunds. The American Federal Trade Commissioner (FTC) banned the American based company from selling anymore of the acai berry and colon cleansing products.
The FTC also faulted Central Coast Nutraceuticals for not disclosing adequate information in the terms and conditions, charging consumers credit cards without their consent, making claims the product results in weight loss without competent and reliable scientific tests, and publishing deceptive and false statements for financial gain.
The Better Business Bureau in America named the acai berry and colon cleansing ‘free trail’ as the “top scams and rip offs in 2009”. While Central Coast Nutraceuticals have been shut down in America, Nurtascience are still operating in Ireland and the UK. But why?
The problem seems to be tracking down Nutrascience. According to the Irish Company Registration Office, there is no company with the name Nutrascience registered in Ireland, yet on the website, they give an Irish phone number, which is in operation. When I placed a call to the Dublin number, they were eventually transferred to an operator, who reluctantly said the products were produced in America and shipped to Sheffield England. The agent was answering phones in Sheffield.
According to Company House in the UK, Nutrascience, which was located in Durhum, was dissolved in April of 2011.
A few of the lucky buyers were able to obtain the return address. The return address for the Nutrascience product is: PO Box 4802, Sheffield. This is the same address to which American customers, who bought from shut down and sued company Central Coast Nutraceuticals, were told to return the product.
Not only is this the return address for Nutrascience and Nutraceuticals, but, also a host of other diet product companies. Pro Action, Pure Meta Boost and Slim Pure Hoodia all operate from this Sheffield office. This is also the return address for Pro Lash, a product that claims to lengthen eyelashes. And angry consumers have been sending products back to this address from Ireland, England, America and France. The scam has no boundaries as it is advertised online.
So it seems Nutrascience is just one of many companies operation incognito. The acai berry and colon cleansing products trade under Nutrascience, just like the eyelash extension product trades under Pro Lash. But these products are under an umbrella company, a company that could be operating from anywhere in the globe.
So until this web of scammers is caught be careful of false advertising and slick marketing tricks. As weight loss season approaches the online diet products are only likely to increase. But buyer beware; the only thing that these products will shrink is your wallet
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