I also got scammed by this company, and my bank suggested I file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission & the Attorney General, as the Better Business Bureau does not have the ability to prosecute. Here's the letter that I submitted to the FTC - I would recommend that other consumers do this is also, as they do not prosecute individual complaints, but rather investigate entities with numerous complaints of a similar nature. I know it seems like overkill, and I was about to just let it slide, change my card number & move on, but I feel that if everyone does this, it'll never stop.
Letter:
I willingly ordered a health product from an advertisement that popped up on Facebook for "Acai Burn" & "Acai Force Pro", using my debit card as payment during the middle of August 2009. I was only to be charged for shipping, which I was. I later discovered that the company/shipper was international, so I was also hit with an international surcharge; however, that was my mistake, although I feel that should have been disclosed.) I did receive both products.
Later in August, I received numerous calls from a 623-239-4511 number, that I at first ignored, but because the calls became constant and came during work hours, I finally answered, and discovered it was associated with my Acai purchase. I asked them not to call me during work hours, but continued to receive calls until I finally became angry with one of their representatives, and have thankfully not received further calls.
On the morning of Sunday Sept. 20th, I logged into my checking account to make sure everything was in order. I noticed a charge for $79.28 billed on Sept. 16th with an associated fee of $2.38 for an international surcharge. The online description only listed the words "improvehealth" so I called my bank and the only additional information they had for the merchant was a phone number, 866.807.7356. I quickly called this number & received an automated greeting that failed to disclose the company name and asked me to call back later, which struck me as odd. I decided to google both the number & the term "improvehealth" separately and came across numerous complaints of a similar nature. Others also ordered a free trial of a product and then noticed mysterious charges deducted straight from their checking account without further authorization. These same complaints also linked charges bearing the name "improvehealth", "elitepack", "nutritionalsupp 888-433-4416" & the phone numbers 866.807.7356, 623.239.4511, & 888.433.4416 with the same entity. After looking at my checking account, I noticed that I had been billed with charges from all three. The general advice from other ripped off consumers was that the only recourse was to change your card number (which I did), and attempt to dispute the charges, which I am also pursuing, but the latter seemed to be an arduous task.
Luckily I caught this early on with relatively small charges, but I'm dismayed that a company like this is still in existence. (I've also realized there are no shortcuts to proper health and fitness!) It's bizarre that they are even allowed to advertise on Facebook, or other sites, when their profits are clearly derived from a series of unauthorized charges beyond their free trial. And I cannot recall any mention of further charges being disclosed. I know some companies, like my bank even, will offer you a free trial period for a product, but it is clearly disclosed that you need to contact them before your 30 days is up, or you will be charged. That is not the case with this company.
I hope that other consumers have also complained and hope that this company is put out of business and those responsible are prosecuted.
Thank you for your time and consideration. |
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