Complaint Review: NutraFit LLC

1. NutraFit LLC makes false claims about what its product can do.  Under the 1990 Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, the 1994 Dietary Supplemental Health and Education Act and the 1997 Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act, this can be considered "misbranding" which is against the law.

2. NutraFit LLC uses deceptive advertising on the Internet which is prohibited by the Federal Trade Commission Act which states (in part and summarized here) that an omission is deceptive if it is likely to mislead consumers and affects consumers' behavior or decision about the product.  Specifically, it is illegal for the retailer to make disclosures (i.e., the fact that you are siging up for a "subscription" plan if you buy the product initially offered at a reduced price) hard to find, tough to understand, obscured by other elements in the ad or buried in unrelated details.

3. My experience is not an isolated case as evidenced by other reports of these deceptive practices by others.

4. NutraFit accused me of the following:  "both stealing the product and attempting to attain a refund for a product that has either already arrived or is still on its way" unless it was returned properly with an RMA; that I "acted against their Terms and Conditions by not attempting to contact NutraFit before informing my credit card company of the fraudulent charges"; and that 'NO' attempt was made by me to contact them.  This statement is not true because I did call them as soon as I realized these charges were put on my credit card.

5. As one of the other consumers noted, there is hardly sufficient time to go through NutraFit LLC's process for returing the product and getting a full refund under their "arbitrary" rules that are set up in such a way that makes it impossible for a consumer to comply with.  This is also a reason why they are breaking the law under the FTC (see #2 above).

6. When I proposed a reasonable solution to the "misunderstanding" (on my part of what the offer consisted of), they summarily rejected it (which was to send back the four bottles I had received already) because it was a chargeback to the credit card company and that my "case" was now with their legal department.

7. In discussion with my credit card company, I was informed that this was not the first incident with NutraFit LLC, and that they had many similar complaints.  They (my credit card company) also reassured me that their accusatory language (see #4 above) was common.

8. On June 17, 2014, Mary Koelbel Engle, Associate Director, Division of Advertising Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, testified in Washington, DC, before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection on "Protecting Consumers From False and Decdptive Advertising of Weight-Loss Products" about these false and misleading practices by the weight loss industry in the US.  An FTC survey done in 2011 summariazes their findings and is available at http://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/reports/consumer-fraud-united-states-2011-third-ftc-survey/130419fraudsurvey_0.pdf

9. It is important to report NutraFit to the Federal Trace Commission at www.ftc.gov, thelstate Attorney General and to report NutraFit on line to the Center for Food Safety and Nutrition at the Food and Drug Administration online at www.fda.gov, especially since in their resource for consumers titled "Beware of Products Promising Miracle Weight Loss", they specifically mention as an example of tainted products Garcinia cambogia since some of these products also contain hidden active ingredients contained in prescription drugs.  Furthermore, the FDA's "Guidance for Industry: Substantiation for Dietary Supplement Claims Made Under Section 403(r)(6) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act", in footnote #3, states that "the misleading nature of a claim made unclear under section 403(r)(6) that is not substantiated cannot be cured by a disclaimer stating that the claim lacks support. (See http://cfsan.fda.gov/guidance.html )