This article appeared on MSNBC local news site on Jan 14th 2009 and talks about one company scamming people out of their money over the Acai Berry Supplement Scam.
BOCA RATON, Fla. – The acai berry has been hailed as a cure-all, capable of fighting cancer and promoting weight loss. But the Better Business Bureau is advising consumers to stay away from one South Florida supplier.
Boca Raton-based SFL Nutrition makes grand claims about the acai berry supplement it markets on the Internet.
“They’re alleging that it’s curing cancer and that it’ll prevent cancer,” Better Business Bureau spokesman Mike Galvin said. “It’s alleging that you’ll have a high-energy level and weight loss. All these things are not documented with any type of research whatsoever.”
But it’s not those claims that earned the company an F grade with the Better Business Bureau. Most of the 2,000-plus unanswered complaints against SFL Nutrition accuse the company of cheating customers.
“They’re indicating that it’s a free trial for 14 days,” Galvin said. “But on their Web site, they ask that you provide the credit card number, and once they receive the credit card number, they start sending you the supplies.”
One customer wrote on the Better Business Bureau Web site of having to cancel a credit card instead of waiting eight hours on hold to get hundreds of dollars refunded.
“In today’s world, in these desperate times, people will not tolerate that and they try to get their money back and there’s no response whatsoever,” Galvin said.
WPBF News 25’s Brian Albert called SFL Nutrition and got no response. No one answered the door at the company’s Boca Raton address either.
“My partner tells me he thinks they may have moved out,” Debbie Wexler, co-owner of the Two Fat Cookies bakery next door, said.
Wexler said she’s been hounded on the telephone and in person by angry SFL Nutrition customers.
“People have been calling looking for the company at this address and people are telling me that they’re being overcharged on their credit cards for merchandise that they did not order,” Wexler said.
The Better Business Bureau claims that another company in the same business park is part of the alleged scheme.
GlobalNet Pharmacies deflected questions about its sister company, even though it shares the same owner as SFL Nutrition. Now, the Better Business Bureau is warning consumers to stay away from both companies.
“Consumer beware: If it looks too good and sounds too good to be true, it normally is,” Galvin said.
Read the entire article below.
Better Business Bureau Warns Of Acai Berry Supplement Scam – News- msnbc.com.
