Consumer Digest Weekly review: false advertising 32

I came across the CDW article and was intrigued after noticing something dodgy within the review section. I looked in to it further by checking out the tooth whitening suppliers website and discovered the fine print terms and conditions there. Obviously a scam, i went back to CDW to post the following review alongside all the other glowing ones already on there... and was given the response of "your message is being reviewed". Ha, obviously will never make it up there! Dishonest, dodgy scammers!

Message to CDW:
Funny how the following review has been posted exactly the same twice by two different people:

"My teeth are pretty yellow from drinking coffee and I'm not about to give that up, LOL. i can see how this might work better, can't wait until my trials get here."

Also, if it takes about one week to receive the product... then you only have about one week remaining to cancel the trial (and thats if you can get through on the number provided) before you start getting charged extortionate amounts of £... according to these t's and c's below. Seems dodgy to me!

TRIAL OFFER TERMS
Your trial includes a 1-month supply when your pay £4.95 for s&h. You have two weeks to try PRODUCT. If you do not contact us within two weeks, you agree to be billed £69.95 for the trial and become a member of the Home Delivery Program. As part of your membership, you agree to be shipped a new 1-month supply every 30 days and billed £69.95 to your credit card until you cancel. You can cancel your membership by calling [protected] Monday – Friday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Return/Refund Policy: All orders are subject to applicable sales tax. Shipping and processing fees are non-refundable. Note that we cannot accept and process packages marked "Return to Sender".

I was on WBZ TV channel 4 11:00PM news on Aug 16 Tues night
2011 this year. They did an article on these scams and warned the public. I want to do more about it. I have arecording saved to my computer and also on my Facebook. I will put it up on YouTube and I plan on bringing it to the Massachusetts Attorney General to try for a class action lawsuit. Anyone out there who is a lawyer please contact me at Electric123@juno.com These ads originated from the site...
Whitepages.com and Dailyconsumer.com

I have just seen the ad - this complaint is what it says beware I was nearly taken in by it today but read the small print it is totally misleading - why is this allowed to ?

As of today, Stacie is testing Acai UltraBerry Slim and Colothin Extreme Cleanse (she claims they were the most credible products). Another poster mentioned two other Acai and colon cleanse products that Stacie tested. I'm thinking Stacie must weigh about 50lbs right about now. I fell for a similar deal but I can't remember the name of the site I was on - I think it may have been a sponsored link through CNN. I didn't see ANY fine print about monthly charges throughout the entire S&H order process. I only noticed I was being charged when my credit card statement came in. Fortunately, I was able to cancel the automatic shipments, even though the time in which to cancel had already passed. I am curious though, do any of the products advertised actually work as described?

i was also drawn in by this tooth whitening scam, only when i recieved my first product with a copy of the terms and conditions i realised i had signed up to a contract taking £149.99 a month out of my account with additional shipping costs. i havent yet recieved the second product. i contacted my bank who informed me that 4.95 and 126.99 were due to leave my account, i desputed this and spoke to the fraud team at my branch and was told that they had had 100s of calls from other costomers in the same situation after ordering these tooth whitening or diet supplement trials. They also said there wasnt much they could do as it is all in the "small print" . The only way i could stop these fee's coming out of my bank was to close my account, IT IS A COMPLETE SCAM PLEASE DONT BE SUCKED IN!

I have only just seen this post!
after yesterday when i bought the products!
how do i cancel?!?!
im a student and i really cannot afford loosing any money in the slighest!

This is Michal, I'm CEO of Illumi-brite.com - based out of Las Vegas Nevada - all our product/contact/customer service information can be found here:

http://www.illumi-brite.com/commerce/label.php

We don't do monthly automatic billing. Never have. The "Illumi-birte" listed here simply isn't us.

I also got scammed by this company I ordered the free trail which I never received but my bank account keeps getting charged, I have tried contacting them to cancel by email and by phone and the numbers so far does not work. Now I am having to go thru my bank and pay them to reject these charges, I was looking up their number on their website and again today I got a email saying thanks for your order. They still have my information from the first order 10 days ago and now every time I go on the webisite they email me and charge my card again for another order, and all I'm doing is trying to get a contact number that will work for them.

I have been a victim of this scam too...and I was surprised to see that they have also managed to replace some pages on the internet that contained complaints with more false advertisements.

I just got scammed too. It is awful that people and companies do this. My credit card company sees this as a scam and has taken proper action to stop the payment and to report to authorities. They have also changed my credit card number and are rushing me a new card, free of charge.

Please please help me! I ordered the new products yesterday, if i cancel the orders tomorrow, will i still be charged? Please i am desperate. thank you

I dont understand, and am in need of serious help! I just ordered both the new teet whitening products today, will i still be able to call and cancel the orders tomorrow?! please i really need help! what can i do if i have already been charged? please please help me!

I agree with everything everyone has said. But! Consumer Digest Weekly is not a so-called scam because they tell you the truth in everything they say except for the things there is no way anyone in the world could prove to be false. For instance, when Stacie said she did the time and paid the dime for Acai Optimum and Advance Colon treatments I'd like to see anyone prove she didn't and that it did or did not help her lose 25lbs, unless maybe you could strong-arm her mother into telling the truth. Good luck proving she did anything deceitful even mom believes their little girls to be Angels. This company is just very careful with their wording, rather than a scam, they run on the fact that a large percentage of the consumer population is in a hurry and do not read every single word in an advertisement. Now, if they do read it, they really don't comprehend it totally. They bank on that with most of us and I do mean "bank on it". Now, as for the packaging, they can send the product in a blank container and all they have to do is prove the validity of product inside is the same and they can. There is one way to protect ourselves and that is by using a debit card to pay for the item(s) then you will have the best protection of all. I have mine through US Bank. I have had a few problems with these smart people and all I did was file a claim through my fraud department at my bank. They will install money back in my account to cover the loss then proceed to deal with the culprits. We're not allowed to call them crooks. Now for all those moms in the earlier comments you need to call these cheat companies, if you can get a hold of them, and play a little scam of your own. You need to rely on their sympathy, the operators are usually just hourly paid individuals who have a heart and tell them how much you rely on this money. Be very nice. Ask them to help you. Say please as much as you can and be nice. Let them know that you messed up not that they cheated you, and be nice. One more thing, pray to God to soften their hearts, try not to lie to them, and once again, no-no I ain't-ta gonna, yes-yes I'm-ma gonna, okay please remember to be real nice. They are really not the ones that put you in this predicament. They do have to return your money as long as you followed the rules, many times they will return the money even if you don't follow the rules. They really don't want the publicity of taking your money. What they try to do is stall you on giving it back because the longer they keep it in their bank account, along with 10, 000 others; they make interest for every day it is there. Do the math that is what they are really after and of course the people who cancel after the first month’s payment and don't complain because they think they messed up. Good luck to all, Thank You!

Hey...WhoBetterButter, how exactly did you successfully cancel the membership in time? They just got my mom yesterday, May 26. Cancelled on the illumi-brite website and with the phone numbers they left, which only sends you to voicemail. If anyone else knows how to avoid the crazy charges, leme know. Thanks!

The teeth whitening products the website alleges to sell do not even come under the same name or in the same packaging as suggested. The information on the website changes as the IP address of the person accessing the website changes, listing a different hometown for "Amy." The represented expiration date of the offer also changes regularly. Having read the fine print, I was able to get the products and cancel my membership in time, although the process is made unnecessarily complicated and time consuming. This may not completely be a scam but the advertising is false. What you see online is not exactly what you get. I received one box (not the one featured on either of the linked websites nor with either of the linked website's "brand name") which had the website www.vividwhitesmiles.com on it. Visit that website if you want to get a taste of what this company is all about-- facades, misrepresentation, outright deception, and the hope that people aren't paying enough attention as to be easily duped and manipulated out of their money.
But, with patience and perseverance you can get some kind of whitening gel for a little less than 10$ (not the 5$ as the website suggests).
The possibility of legal action against this company or organization might be worth looking into.

All reputable telecommunication outlets including Washingtonpost.com, MSNBC.com definitely should remove this link (which can be found under Sponsored Links) as I have had a bad personal experience with it:

Mom Discovers $3 Whitening Trick
Dentists Do NOT Want You To Know About This Teeth Whitening Secret!
ConsumersDigestWeekly.com

The link is a scam, it did send out the first whitening sample for the shipping cost only, however, everyone has to provide a credit card # to pay for the shipping cost.
Once they get your credit card number, they keep charging each month and sending samples even though nowhere in the form at the time you request the first sample they indicated that by requesting the sample you automatically sign up for their monthly supply.
When you get the credi card statement, you realize that's what they do. So you will try to give them a call. The voicemail for the phone number provided on the credit card statement is full so you can't leave a message or get to talk to anyone...,
If you notice in the article, they make the date for the coupon codes to be still valid so close to the date the reader reads the article, it's always the date plus 1 (+1). For example May 18 is the date your reader accesses the article and clicks on the link, they'll make it May 19; so the reader feels a sense of urgency to act on it. I first found link and the article on Washingtonpost.com with a different date. I was frustrated so I went back to the article and used the Comments section at the bottom to put my comments and feedback, once I completed entering my message, there was a pop up message saying that they will sreen my message before posting, I still don't see my message posted. isn't this a scam or what? There's nothing anyone can do to stop this madness?

It is complete false advertisement. Although their disclaimer is on the bottom, shaded out to make it harder to understand the entire site (pick any of them - acai; whitener; etc) is a phony. In that same barely readable shaded disclaimer they pretty much retract their entire sites marketing scheme. To the point of admitting that they purported the article and cannot "be taken literally or as a non-fiction story." The photo of the reporter at the top, "Melissa Sandler" is really a photograph of French journalist Melissa Theuriau.

This site/company are banking on people to not be able to read the fine print, the shaded area and lock in your credit card to insane costs. None of their products even bare the FDA stamp.

bright white smiles is another one of the many products being advertised on the Consumer Digest Weekly...it also is a consumer scam...we consumers do have a responsibility to be careful but deceptive practices should also be curtailed when they are detrimental to the public...I worked in public service for 30 years...on this case I have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau and Attorney General's Office and called the company to advise what actions have been taken...the conversation was recorded and I stated my position quite clearly for the record...you might try the same

For anyone who purchased after clicking through an ad on weather.com, send your complaints to the company that owns weather.com - Landmark Interactive in Norfolk, VA. Here's the contact info for the president of the company:

Michael Alston
President
Landmark Interactive
150 Granby Street
Norfolk, VA 23510
Tel: [protected] (probably not his direct number)

malston@lcimedia.com
info@landmarkinteractive.com

I almost felt for it, too. When I first read the article which at that time didn't notice it was a sponsored link/ad from msnbc, I believed them.
People can easily fall for it since they're redirected from a trusted big name news source.

What didn't make sense to me was the fact that you have to place an order or pay for the supposedly S&H BS I don't believe in any of that c*ap. It would make more sense if it was a product that can be purchase from your local pharmacy.

Those comments at the bottom of the page are fake.
http://www.consumersdigestweekly.com/?n=171&k=msnbc:news

This is for those thieves
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DO NOT TRY FREE SAMPLES ON TEETH WHITENING OFFER!
I AGREE.. FRAUD!

It is False and I am not in the middle of fighting with my credit card company to try to get the UNAUTHORIZED charges off my bill.. it all happened before I even received my billing statement from the credit card company, I happened to log in to my account online and see all these random charges! very frustrating that 1)option to get charge off may never happen and 2) Credit card company informed me that even if I changed account numbers, they could still charge that UNAITHORIZED monthly fee! I learned a painful and expensive lesson for sure.

The scam website offering this product - teeth whitening - is advertising on www.weather.com and they are making big money off this advertisement. Don't use or visit www.weather.com or watch The Weather Channel. consumersdigestweekly.com will get shut down eventually. But not until The Weather Channel makes a ton of cash off of them.

I was also ripped off by this company.

I did not notice a trial period. The initial offering of $3.95 was followed by a charge of $149.95.

The advertisement appears to be a great offer if you use the promo code.

They are using the Consumer Digest Weekly heading to appear proper.

Visa/MasterCard international should be notified and have this company's ability to accept credit cards terminated.

Fell for the same thing teeth whitener, tried to call and cancel but number is not correct goes to an attorneys office. How do I cancel it now?

Wow! I just fell for this scam. My first order got in today. Can't believe scams are so available on the internet. How can we protect ourselves as consumers?

I just read one of consumer digest weekly's ads for an acai berry supplement. It reeks of falsehood and fakery. Even the spelling of certain words is wrong. They are riding on the coat tails of a legitimate magazine called "Consumer Reports" while stealing CNN's logo. These are bad people trying to make a dishonest buck. If you fall for their scam, you'll probably have no recourse.

This is a big scam. I to fell for it and was charged over $150 for one and for over $50 for the other. Tried to cancel, could not get thru to one and the other just did not cancel it. Called my credit card company and had the charges reversed. I will never fall for these scams again!

A few of the teeth whitening products they are trying to scam you on are Everbrite Smile and Smile Whites Pro. Has anyone actually tried to cancel before the 1o days were up? Did they actually cancel and not charge you other than the shipping? Please let me know if you have. My mom just fell for this an is trying to cancel.

consumer digest is a fake! they are very deceptive. after you sign up for free product you get charged hundreds of dollars. When you try to contact them to cancel GOOD LUCK! BIG RIP OFF! Stay clear.

Consumer digest weeekly also advertises other products such as electronic ciggarettes. They do not produce them, and they are not featured on any of the news channels which they claim to be on. They are just a small company using false advertizing. They have freedom of speech, and abuse it. If any channel like CNN said "you illegally used our logo to sell your product, " the company could be sued for a lot of money, and since they used a lot of logos, they could probably be sued everything they're worth.

I would never buy from them. Their prices are simply a scam. Their products can be found for much less elsewhere. Get the free product, read the label for the company it came from, then immediately cancel your membership -abuse them the same way they're trying to abuse you.

Offer Details: By placing my order, I agree to the Terms of Offer, which explain that I must cancel within 10 days of today to avoid annual membership fee of $149.95 and enrollment in monthly delivery program. Delivery program ships fresh supply and charges $12.95 monthly. All charges will be charged to same card provided today. To cancel anytime: [protected]

above is the fine print for the ad you have underwritten for saving money with free tooth whitening systems

What is the name of the teeth whitening product about which you are complaining?

May I ask why you are complaining about Consumer Digest Weekly rather the tooth whitening product with you're upset?