FTC

Well, it finally happened. The FTC has finally taken action against Acai Berry companies that make bogus claims such as: endorsed by Oprah, lose 30 pounds in a month and receive a free trial! In other news, pigs have started to fly!

FTC We Say Thank You and What Took You So Long?

For over 2 years we have been writing about Acai Berry Scams and begging the FTC to take action. Everyday we hear from countless consumers who have fallen victim to these scams (take a look at all the comments on our Julia Milller Acai Berry Scam post). Well, it took a while but the FTC has taken action.

“Too many ‘free’ offers come with strings attached,” said David Vladeck, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “In this case, the defendants promised buyers a ‘risk free’ trial and then illegally billed their credit cards again and again – and again. We estimate that about a million people have fallen victim to this scam. As if that weren’t enough, there were fake endorsements from celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Rachael Ray for a product that didn’t work in the first place.”

- Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Press Release 8/16/2010

AcaiPure – We Couldn’t Be Happier to See You Go

The FTC named Central Coast Nutraceuticals, Inc. (CCN) and their products AcaiPure and ColoPure in the complaint. The FTC has frozen the assets of CCN and basically put the company into receivership as the court actions move forward. This is great news as we have received numerous complaints about the AcaiPure brand and the FTC believes they scammed consumers out of $30 million in 2009 alone.

Consumers Still Need to Be Aware, Other Sharks Are in the Water

Clearly removing AcaiPure and CCN from the marketplace is a major step in the right direction, but consumers still need to be careful. There are still plenty of companies out there that are pulling various acai berry scams and resveratrol scams. Our advice remains the same, avoid any “free trial” supplement deals – as they are never free. If you want to try Acai, go with a 100% Organic and Freeze Dried Acai berry product like the Perfect Acai.

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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) really does want to protect consumers from deceptive advertising, but sometimes it seems like their laws have an opposite effect. This summer, the government agency will issue new advertising guidelines requiring bloggers to disclose when they’re writing about a sponsor’s product and voicing opinions that aren’t their own.

“If you walk into a department store, you know the (sales) clerk is a clerk. Online, if you think that somebody is providing you with independent advice and … they have an economic motive for what they’re saying, that’s information a consumer should know.”

-Rich Cleland , Assistant Director of Advertising Practices for the FTC