Risk Free Trials of Acai Berry Products Prove Costly
Posted by admin on Oct 13, 2009
The acai berry has been causing a storm all over the world as health-food junkies discover the numerous advantages of an acai diet. The acai berry (pronounced aa-sai-ee) contains high levels of antioxidants, fiber and fatty acids. There are a large number of acai berry products on the market, including everything from juices to powders.
With the increase in popularity of these products has come a surge in the number of con artists looking to exploit the situation. Scammers set up websites offering “risk-free” trial period of acai berry products, but rather than finding themselves a great deal, thousands of people have ended up out of pocket after being stung for products they didn’t order.
“The number of scammers out there has certainly made it harder for legitimate businesses like ours, but that doesn’t mean that people don’t still want to get their hands on acai products. Although some people have been ripped off, the companies people should avoid have now been widely publicised,” said Bryan Nettles of Pure Acai Products, which markets acai berry supplements in America.
Celebs such as Oprah Winfrey and Rachel Ray have featured acai berries on their talkshows. However, with many people turning to the Internet to order these wonder-berries, many shoppers have fallen victim to the scammers.
“People who want acai products need only do a bit of research to find out that there are companies out there that aren’t going to rip them off,” said Nettles.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) issued a warning about acai free trial offer scams on January 6. Online fraudsters tempt Web surfers with offers of free trials, but when people try to cancel their orders, they find themselves having inadvertently signed up for more acai products than they bargained for.
The dodgy dealers put up and take down new websites every day, making it virtually impossible to keep track of them. Shoppers who sign up for these free trials have within an allotted period to cancel or else they end up with monthly deliveries of bottles and credit card bills of $85.90 each time. The trial period typically lasts only 10 to 14 days from the date the order is placed.
Canceling an order isn’t as simple as it sounds, however. Try phoning one of the companies involved and you will find yourself on hold indefinitely, if not cut off altogether. How can you cancel an order if you can’t get through to the company?
“These companies are simply abusing general acai berry endorsements from well-known, trusted celebrities by using it as a tacit endorsement of their company and products specifically,” said a BBB spokesman.
Acai berries are big business. Last year, sales of acai berry products were close to $15 million, while in November, Google recorded more than 1.5 million acai-related searches.
Acai products are sold in health-food stores and many regular grocery chains. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that drinks giants Coco-Cola and Pepsi are planning to launch a range of sodas containing acai.
Acai products come in various forms – juices, powders, capsules, jams and so on – and their popularity is showing no signs of slowing, despite the presence of fraudsters.
vanalli
http://www.articlesbase.com/nutrition-articles/risk-free-trials-of-acai-berry-products-prove-costly-731419.html