My Maddenings

Attorney general Terry Goddard has done a great service to the Acai industry. He has forced Central Coast Nutraceuticals to pay a huge settlement, and to make strict assurances about their future trading standards.

CCN were guilty – allegedly – of using underhand tactics to force buyers into signing up for subscriptions that they didn’t want. Often the buyers didn’t even know they were signing up. In almost every case, once a subscription was formed it was impossible to cancel by virtue of CCN’s refusal to communicate with acai berry buyers. It was this acrid combination of mis selling, deception, and ultimate lack of customer care which prompted disgruntled purchasers of CCN’s goods to complain in such huge numbers to the AG’s Arizona office.

Goddard’s quick action resulted in a quick settlement by CCN – obviously they came to the conclusion that refuting the allegations wasn’t an option – and some of the money received will go towards restitution of CCN’s customers.

This is the not going to be the end of Acai Free Trial offers by any means: there are hundreds of other groups out there operating in the gray area of the law. Unfortunately while people are still signing up for the offers, there will continue to be a thriving – and highly lucrative – market.

Perhaps the one disappointing thing about this settlement is the size of it: it’s too small! The figure of $1,375,000 is just too small to represent any real punishment to a company like CCN. Whilst it might deter them from selling Acai and other health products in this manner, it will not act as a sufficient deterrent to other companies with similar business models. This, they may well rationalize, is just the cost of doing business.

Filed under: Acai Berry, featured by admin