Consumers ought to put up their guard when they spot ads that use the words weight loss and free trial especially when those phrases are used in combination.
Weight loss is rarely as easy as taking a pill, and free trials are not, as some ads imply, physician-managed drug trials.
As for free, dont bet on it.
In the latest Federal Trade Commission strike against inflated weight loss claims and bogus free trials, the agency announced this week that a marketer of acai berry supplements and colon cleansers will repay $1.5 million to consumers to settle charges over its ads and billing practices.
The case is worth reviewing, considering this is the time of year many consumers resolve at least briefly — to shed a few pounds.
The $1.5 million settlement stems from a suit the FTC filed last year against Phoenix-based Central Coast Nutraceuticals. The suit accused the marketer of Acai Pure supplements and ColoPure and Colotox colon cleanser of misleading consumers into believing the products had been endorsed by Oprah Winfrey and Rachel Ray.
Central Coast and four related companies claimed that Acai Pure supplements could flush out excess pounds and that people who wanted to lose significant amounts fast might qualify for the supplement by answering a series of questions.
Regardless of how people answered these questions, they qualified for the free trial, FTC said.