The humble little Acai berry seems to be all over the internet at the moment. It’s being packaged as a weightloss product– with women the main targets.
Going by the rash of complaints over recent months, it seems that as many wallets are being squeezed as berries?
The Acai (ah-sigh-ee) berry comes from the Brazillian rainforests. It is a round, dark purple berry. The substances found in the berries are reported to burn fat hundreds of times faster than diet and exercise alone.
It is also meant to be a little powerhouse of antioxidants. It can be bought as Acai Berry juice, Acai Berry powder, Acia Berry pulp– as well as the capsule form that is seen at so many websites selling the products to aid weightloss.
Dr. Nicholas Perricone is shown on one website selling Acai berry, extolling the benefits of the Acai berry– although it is not clear whether he supports the packaged Acai berry being sold, or even knows he is being featured on the website. Dr Perricone’s positive comments on Acai berries can be found in his books from years back.
Free trial not so free
Complaints about the free trial offer being offered by Acai berry websites can be found at complaintsboard.com and on forums around the web. One common complaint centres on being charged $4.99 for shipping on a free Acai berry product trial offer turning into being charged hundreds of dollars.
On oprah.com (Dr Perricone’s 10 Superfoods) the Acai berry is reported as being like a cross between chocolate and berry (sounds like heaven!) and it does indeed sound amazing!
If you read through the 200+ comments on the article linked to above, you will see quite a few instances of people complaining about the free trials of Acai berry product found on the internet.
There are also complaints of signing up for the free trial, and automatically being signed up for other weightloss & fitness offers that attract ongoing charges to your credit card.
Some of the Acai berry weightloss websites also ship to Australia. If you’re tempted, be sure to read the terms and conditions carefully before giving your credit card details.
(By some reports, the full terms and conditions may not even be available after you go beyond the first screen.)
If the business concerned is conducted in the US, you could try looking them up in the Better Business Bureau www.bbb.org to see if any complaints have been listed.
