Acai Berry Complaints about Free Trial Scams
The acai berry known for its fat burning and antioxidant properties has unleashed a landslide of “free trial” scams. The acai has been promoted by celebrities, gained exposure in print media and can be found all over the internet. The health benefits of the acai berry have not been confirmed by the FDA so any claims you read about its effectiveness are purely based on someone’s opinion. There is no known side effect but the suggestion of superior health gain has not been scientifically proven. Acai berry powder, supplement and juice has become a multi-billion dollar nutritional supplement industry so its not surprising that there are many people out there that are looking to take advantage of this supplements fame by jumping on the bandwagon.
The most noted scam of acai supplements is the “free trial.” Pop-ups appear on internet sites and emails are packed with “free trial” offers. The issue is not the first bottle of acai berry supplements that you apply for, these will always arrive as promised. The drawback is that shipping and handling charges must be paid in advance via credit card. The credit card, along with the consumer’s personal identification information is stored in a rotating data bank. Each month a new shipment of acai berry supplements is sent and the credit card is billed for the shipping and processing charge plus the amount of the supplements. The price of the pills is generally not posted with the “free trial” advertisement you have applied for in order to prevent you from being scared off. You can eventually find that you have been charged hundreds of dollars for the supplements if they have not canceled their order.
The companies always ensure that cancellation of an account is the responsibility of the consumer and no notice will be issued of an upcoming shipment. Information about the monthly fee is generally in fine print and missed by many consumers. The cancellation process can be difficult with calls being rerouted, and it may take several attempts to remove the personal information from the data base. Once the consumer attempts to discontinue the supplements, they may be pestered by sales people trained to persuade the them to continue purchasing the product. The only way to avoid these problems is to stay away from any free Internet offers that seem too good to be true.
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