Oct 9, 2009 8:44 pm US/Pacific
Call Kurtis: Look For 'The Hook'
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ―
A warning for all consumers: read the fine print when ordering dietary supplements online.
"It's a scam." Barry Goggin doesn't pull any punches.
As president of California's Better Business Bureau, northeast chapter, he's seen thousands of complaints filed nationally against online supplement distributors -- more than 5,000 for one company alone: FWM Laboratories. And he says the complaints are nearly all the same.
"People having a problem getting the damage stopped" -- damage to the tune of hundreds, even thousands, of dollars each.
You've likely seen the ads on the net, trial offers for a sample of Acai berry detoxifiers, colon cleansers, fat burners, and male sexual enhancers. The banners claim there's no risk. And they say the sample is free because they know you'll be completely satisfied!
"That's garbage," says Goggin. "They're getting you to buy into the free samples
because they can send you more of this stuff and charge you for it whether it works or not."
And that's the hook.
Goggin says they don't tell you that, or they hide those terms on a hard-to-find web page.
"That kind of marketing approach is a scam," he warns.
"I know I got scammed. That's how I feel about it," says James Ong.
He thought the trial offers he found online sounded good -- one bottle each of Acai berry detox and colon detox. If he liked them, he'd order more. But before he could decide, more bottles arrived. And those charges added-up quickly in just two months.
"Under $600," James says with a conceding laugh.
James felt sucker-punched. He'd let his guard down, and exposed his trust.
"I'm upset that they took advantage of me," said James.
Last March, we enlisted the help of a sister station to confront a major supplement distributor based in Salt Lake City. Jason Brailow, the head of "Crush Direct Response" responded to complaints that those free trials aren't really free.
"Well that's one thing that we don't do," Brailow says. "…we don't advertise the word 'free' on our websites."
Actually it does, right on one of his sites for Powerflush 500 — "free trial" and "risk free."
Brailow also claimed that anyone who wants a refund can easily get one. Tell that to James Wetmore; he couldn't get his money back. We had to go to Brailow to get it for him.
"If James Wetmore wants a refund absolutely we want to refund him" Brailow told us.
And they did refund him. But that doesn't lessen the need for the BBB's warning.
"You're gonna get product, you're gonna billed, and you're not going to expect it, and you're probably not going to like it, and you're probably not going to be able to cancel it easily" says Goggin.
We can't say it enough -- rarely is anything free. Look for the hook -- someone's gonna take your money somehow. The BBB's gotten more than 30 complaints locally; too many, they say. Always look for the fine print, and read it.
One final note, James Ong found those same supplements at a local warehouse store for a quarter of the price he was charged.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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