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Concerned About Acai Free Trials?

There has been growing concern over increase in so called ‘free trail’ scams for health products such as Acai. The scam sees unfortunate consumers agreeing to pay for what understand to be a minimal shipping and handling charge. Inadvertently, however, the consumer signs up for a regular subscription to the product. If they don’t cancel the subscription – and the company running the scam will sure as hell make it difficult to do this – then they will be billed over the odds for substandard products on an ongoing basis.

Another common scam run by these companies is to include products not ordered by the customer in their shipped order; again the customer is charged over the odds for these products, and again they are very difficult – if not impossible – to cancel.

The recent landmark settlement by Central Coast Nutraceuticals Inc (“CCN”) in response to a case brought by Arizona attorney general Terry Goddard has done much to concentrate the public’s attention on this kind of scam. The settlement weighed in at $1,375,000, $350,00 of which is due to be used for customer restitution.

Unfortunately for other legitimate companies involved the Acai berry market, this episode simply serves to reduce public trust in an industry where dodgy advertising practices appear to be rife. It’s important to remember Acai is an excellent product, and that there are many legitimate businesses dealing in it. Acai is not to blame nor are those innocent businesses that have conducted themselves completely above board; in this case justice seems to have been served.