Acai Optimum is a website that offers acai weight loss supplements through a free trial offer. It is also one of the last acai websites still allowing its affiliates to market their product through deceptive advertising. If you heard about this company chances are it was through one of the many advertisements plastered all over the internet.
The ad that you probably saw is one of the sneakiest marketing strategies developed to date, and frankly I would not be surprised to find out if it was technically illegal. When you click the advertisement you’re taken to what looks like a newspaper article profiling the Acai berry and making it out to be the miracle cure of the future.
The site is designed to look like a professional news outlet using everything from weather charts to videos and other tricks to make you feel like you’re at a legitimate news source. However this is not the case; the site has only one page on it and contains no real reports or articles, it’s strictly created to sell you Acai Optimum.
Click the image on the right to see an example of such an article. You can see that at the very top it even says “Advertorial” and you can be sure that none of the links work, they simply take you to the acai trial offer.
So is Acai Optimum a Scam?
The claim made by Acai Optimum is that taking their supplement will help you increase stamina and help your body minimize fat storage of foods that you eat. They imply that this will help you lose weight, but at the bottom of the page they do stipulate that none of the claims they make are evaluated by the FDA.
Now, I’m not a dietitian that has studied the acai berry, so it’s not my place to debate the health benefits of these products. I can tell you my opinion is that the whole Acai berry craze has been completely blown out of proportion with so many baseless claims being made you’d think it’s the next miracle cure. It may very well be healthy for you but I can almost assure you it’s no miracle cure-all.
The other aspect to Acai Optimum that causes many people to call it a scam is in their business model. Their whole purposes is to get you signed up for the trial period, however the trials is immediately followed by continual monthly billing.
It’s called a “negative option billing”, meaning you have to take action to stop being charged, and it’s pretty heavily frowned upon by the FTC. If you don’t read the terms and conditions you might miss this information which states that,
If you do not cancel your order within the 14 Day Trial Period and return the Product to us within 30 days after you cancel your order, your credit card on file will be charged $79.98. If after your 14 Day Trial Period you wish to continue to receive AcaiOptimum, simply do nothing, and in approximately 30 days and continuing every 60 days thereafter (a Recurring Order), you’ll be shipped out a fresh new 60 day supply of AcaiOptimum for the low price of just $49.00 per bottle with FREE shipping. For your convenience, we will bill the credit card you provided us for your initial order.” Remember, you can cancel at any time by contacting our Customer Care Department at 1-877-825-1528 or online at acoptimumcs.com.
From what people are saying, canceling the Acai Optimum trial seems like a nightmarish headache since they want you to first contact them for a Return Merchandise Authorization RMA number and then ship the product back to them. Many customers have complained of telephone numbers not working and staff being unresponsive. If you need more canceling instructions call them at the above number.
Acai berry products are in really high demand right now and their price reflects that. No one is giving them away for free and if you have signed up for a seemingly “free trial” I can assure you that you’ve just signed up for an overpriced continual billing plan and that you will have a heck of a time trying to cancel it.
After doing a fair bit of research, I’ve found only one legitimate business that sells acai supplements online. They’re certified by the BBB with zero complaints, sell 100% pure freeze dried Acai (highest form available), and offer their products cheaper than the scam sites and with no sneaky re-bills.
AcaiBerrySite.com is by far the most reputable retailer of Acai products so if you do decide to try it, I would definitely advise you to purchase it there.
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Because of this.. I was able to get the last laugh!
And to Bev, I did speak with them and they assured me that there wasn't any other charges. So they lied outright to me. Also, on the terms and agreements it didn't say anything about canceling within 14 days or you will be charged.
Moral of the story, if it sounds too good to be true, it is. Good luck to you all on your refunds.
But folks, if you want to get rid of the credit card charges, just contact your credit card company and they will reverse the charges and probably will ask you to if you want them to block these scammers from ever charging your card again. This is EASILY done.