Examples

“BBB can’t speak to the restorative or weight loss properties of acai-based products, but we are taking companies to task for their misleading sales and marketing practices,” said Steve Cox, BBB spokesperson. “Many businesses across the country are using the same selling model for their acai products: they lure customers in with celebrity endorsements and free trial offers, and then lock them in by making it extremely difficult to cancel the automatic delivery of more acai products every month.”

As examples, the BBB singled out two companies that market products made from acai as well as hoodia—a plant that supposedly suppresses appetite—and use a similar sales model:

• FX Supplements.com sold products such as Acai Berry Maxx and Maxx Slim Hoodia and socked customers with monthly charges of $85.90 when the trial period had ended and the product hadn’t been canceled. As of July, FX’s site was no longer accepting orders for Acai Berry Maxx, but the company has another site that still markets the Maxx Slim Hoodia. Consumers said they had difficulty canceling their subscription by phone—the number listed was either out of service, continually busy, or went to voicemail—and by email. “Several customers reported that they were forced to close down bank accounts and cancel credit cards to stop recurring charges,” the BBB reported.  
• Central Coast Nutraceuticals (CCN), which carries eight products—including acai, hoodia, and male enhancement products—generated more than 2,400 complaints in the past 36 months. It too uses celebrity endorsements and offers free trials that land you with a monthly subscription if you don’t cancel in time. Again, consumers complained of unauthorized charges and said it was difficult to contact the company and cancel the subscription. The site was still up and running at last check in July. (And by the way, it’s tricky to exit the site; dialogue boxes pop up encouraging you to stay, so read carefully before clicking.)

However, on June 16, the BBB serving central, northern, and western Arizona reported that the Arizona Attorney General’s office issued a consent judgment against CCN and its president “for acts and practices that violate the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act. The settlement resolves a consumer fraud lawsuit that alleged deceptive online sales practices by CCN. Additionally, the Attorney General alleged that CCN used a variety of deceptive tactics marketing low-cost ‘risk-free’ trial offers of health supplements.” The company will pay $1 million in civil penalties to the state, $350,000 in consumer restitution, and $25,000 to cover the state’s legal and investigative costs.

Those aren’t the only companies drawing the ire of consumers. In a completely unscientific search, we went to the national BBB site and looked up businesses that used “acai berry” in their name. Of the 13 companies that popped up, all but two had “F” ratings from the BBB because of the number and seriousness of the complaints or licensing issues. Of the two remaining, one received an A-. When we looked up businesses that used “hoodia” in the name, 12 of the 19 companies that came up were rated F; there was only one A-.

In February, two dietary supplement marketers agreed to settle FTC charges that they violated federal law by making false or unsubstantiated weight loss and related claims, failing to disclose adequately that ordering a “free” sample automatically enrolled consumers in a continuity program that would charge their accounts, and other related charges. Read the charges and settlement agreement at the FTC’s site. In April, the FTC weighed in on hoodia products by charging suppliers with deceptive advertising for claiming that using the product would lead to weight loss and appetite suppression. Read more about those charges at the FTC’s site.