Predatory Weight Loss Company
PeachyCarol
Posts: 8,029 Member
I saw this story on CBS News this morning, and had to look it up on the internet. I was appalled. The gist is that Roca Labs, a purveyor of a weight loss gimmick peddled to people -- one forula as an alternative to gastric bypass surgery --had buyers of their product under some sort of gag clause by including a paper with the product once you received it saying you agreed not to post negative reviews online. They turned around and started suing people for getting the word out that the products were a scam.
The FTC is rightfully coming down on the company.
Here's one story I found:
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/FTC-Weight-Loss-Supplement-Roca-Labs-Sued-329814761.html
The FTC is rightfully coming down on the company.
Here's one story I found:
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/FTC-Weight-Loss-Supplement-Roca-Labs-Sued-329814761.html
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Dang, I thought you were starting a new venture with a transparent name.0
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I'm playing a long game here, Tex. Just hanging back to see the response to this thread.
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PWLC, Inc.0
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Why would anyone be stupid enough to pay a company that told them they couldn't write negative reviews? Surely, that would immediately cause alarm bells to ring.0
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Their target market may not be the most rational demographic out there.kyrannosaurus wrote: »Why would anyone be stupid enough to pay a company that told them they couldn't write negative reviews? Surely, that would immediately cause alarm bells to ring.
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I'm guessing that the NDA wasn't disclosed upfront and arrived in the shipment with the product.0
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These companies are the lowest of the low( right along side of mlm products )
They prey on desperate and naïve people who don't realize what a joke these weight loss products are.
I'm glad this company is in a jam . they all should be brought down . how can these people sleep at night knowing they have sold a false hope to desperate people and scammed them of their money.
Yes it would take a very uneducated person is actually buy into any of these products, but still I just wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing I scammed and lied. Shame on these companies.
For anyone reading who may be thinking about trying weight loss products- for weight loss all you need is a calorie deficit . cico! No need to take these potentially harmful useless products. Just eat less then you burn and you'll lose weight!0 -
I think that unless the NDA was disclosed prior to purchase it isn't going to be enforceable and that they are going for sheer indimination.0
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Thanks for posting, I'll bet all MLM scams do this. Some of the posts I have seen point to this with their blind faith. It's ridiculous.0
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StellaRose227 wrote: »I'm guessing that the NDA wasn't disclosed upfront and arrived in the shipment with the product.
Exactly what happened.
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It was in fine print on that triple folded rice paper included with the product no doubt.
May the company die an ignoble death. I can say that as I have never bought their product.0 -
queenliz99 wrote: »Thanks for posting, I'll bet all MLM scams do this. Some of the posts I have seen point to this with their blind faith. It's ridiculous.
I agree . Mlm is the lowest form of pond scum. They spend tons having negative reviews removed . they also sell these uneducated ignorant people a false hope and make millions from it. Their products are low quality junk . the only ones who give the products good reviews are the ones profiting from it ( coaches ) .0 -
I'm just really hoping that this was some CEO's idea and they didn't actually pay a lawyer who thought this would fly. That would be a new all time low for the type of lawyers our law schools are churning out.0
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I was also wondering about the legal aspect ( how did a lawyer think that this would actually work ?)
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IIRC that the highest prevalence of fraud in any sector in the US occurs within weight loss products - a person is far more likely to be scammed in this area than any other.
The weight loss industry is awash with garbage and shady practices. The fitness industry is increasingly pumping out useless tat and is not far behind.
There is an antidote to this sickness however.
It is us.
The people.
Sharing ideas, discussing experiences, giving others the heads up. We can overcome.
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DeguelloTex wrote: »Dang, I thought you were starting a new venture with a transparent name.
Pretty sure with the word predator in it, you could get people to sign up for a cross-fit "box" with the name Predatory Weight Loss Company.0 -
Ever installed software on a computer? Ever looked at what is actually in the EULA (End User Licensing Agreeement)? People "agree" to legal terms all the time.kyrannosaurus wrote: »Why would anyone be stupid enough to pay a company that told them they couldn't write negative reviews? Surely, that would immediately cause alarm bells to ring.
One of my favorites is all the times I spot "you agree to go to arbitration with an arbitrating company of our choosing and forfeit the right to seek damages in court". I chuckle at that one because one of the decent protections my state does have for consumers is that those agreements can't be legally binding, but I've still heard of companies that use their generic lawyers and generic legal boilerplate to intimidate people in this state to give up on going to court. There's something pretty wrong about a company being able to choose who will judge them, particularly when it means they can go to the same group repeatedly.0 -
thorsmom01 wrote: »queenliz99 wrote: »Thanks for posting, I'll bet all MLM scams do this. Some of the posts I have seen point to this with their blind faith. It's ridiculous.
I agree . Mlm is the lowest form of pond scum. They spend tons having negative reviews removed . they also sell these uneducated ignorant people a false hope and make millions from it. Their products are low quality junk . the only ones who give the products good reviews are the ones profiting from it ( coaches ) .
That's silly. Isn't Beachbody an MLM? Lots of people like their workouts. I love the one I have. And a lot of companies of all types remove negative reviews, and even more add false positive reviews.0 -
I saw this story. It was absolutely appalling. To trick people into signing an agreement that actually states they can't follow up their experience with the product with any type of negative review due to a non-disclosure agreement? Any judge worth his or her salt should throw this entire lawsuit right out the window, and the clients should have the right to countersue for emotional damages. Not only did the hooey product not work, but the company followed up their crap product with a nice kick in the pants.0
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »thorsmom01 wrote: »queenliz99 wrote: »Thanks for posting, I'll bet all MLM scams do this. Some of the posts I have seen point to this with their blind faith. It's ridiculous.
I agree . Mlm is the lowest form of pond scum. They spend tons having negative reviews removed . they also sell these uneducated ignorant people a false hope and make millions from it. Their products are low quality junk . the only ones who give the products good reviews are the ones profiting from it ( coaches ) .
That's silly. Isn't Beachbody an MLM? Lots of people like their workouts. I love the one I have. And a lot of companies of all types remove negative reviews, and even more add false positive reviews.
Too bad the workouts aren't the part of the MLM that they're basing their sales on.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »thorsmom01 wrote: »queenliz99 wrote: »Thanks for posting, I'll bet all MLM scams do this. Some of the posts I have seen point to this with their blind faith. It's ridiculous.
I agree . Mlm is the lowest form of pond scum. They spend tons having negative reviews removed . they also sell these uneducated ignorant people a false hope and make millions from it. Their products are low quality junk . the only ones who give the products good reviews are the ones profiting from it ( coaches ) .
That's silly. Isn't Beachbody an MLM? Lots of people like their workouts. I love the one I have. And a lot of companies of all types remove negative reviews, and even more add false positive reviews.
Too bad the workouts aren't the part of the MLM that they're basing their sales on.
I'm not sure what that means. The workouts aren't free.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »thorsmom01 wrote: »queenliz99 wrote: »Thanks for posting, I'll bet all MLM scams do this. Some of the posts I have seen point to this with their blind faith. It's ridiculous.
I agree . Mlm is the lowest form of pond scum. They spend tons having negative reviews removed . they also sell these uneducated ignorant people a false hope and make millions from it. Their products are low quality junk . the only ones who give the products good reviews are the ones profiting from it ( coaches ) .
That's silly. Isn't Beachbody an MLM? Lots of people like their workouts. I love the one I have. And a lot of companies of all types remove negative reviews, and even more add false positive reviews.
Too bad the workouts aren't the part of the MLM that they're basing their sales on.
I'm not sure what that means. The workouts aren't free.
It's just an add-on.0 -
Companies asking to own reviews is actually a growing trend in consumer issues.
I've heard of it including things as odd as dentists putting in the new patient paper work that the dentist owns the rights to any reviews of their service.
It goes hand and hand with the rise of consumer reviewing sites like Yelp - which Yelp also has its own fraud problems: there are stories of Yelp promoting negative reviews that seem to stop being at the top once a company signs up for Yelp promotion packages. There have been a few states arguing about implementing a consumer rights to review act - I think CA might have actually passed one.
I found it surprising that such laws were actually ones some legislatures wanted to argue against. I got say, it takes some real brass to stand up and say, "no, I don't think my constituents want to be protected against being sued for telling the truth about companies. I think there is real value for people in letting companies demand they own any reviews of their service."0 -
Maybe they thought it should be left as a matter for standard contract law -- contracts of adhesion and whatnot -- rather than adding even more laws to the tens of thousands already in place.Companies asking to own reviews is actually a growing trend in consumer issues.
I've heard of it including things as odd as dentists putting in the new patient paper work that the dentist owns the rights to any reviews of their service.
It goes hand and hand with the rise of consumer reviewing sites like Yelp - which Yelp also has its own fraud problems: there are stories of Yelp promoting negative reviews that seem to stop being at the top once a company signs up for Yelp promotion packages. There have been a few states arguing about implementing a consumer rights to review act - I think CA might have actually passed one.
I found it surprising that such laws were actually ones some legislatures wanted to argue against. I got say, it takes some real brass to stand up and say, "no, I don't think my constituents want to be protected against being sued for telling the truth about companies. I think there is real value for people in letting companies demand they own any reviews of their service."
It could be view similarly to "texting while driving" and all the other "while driving" stuff that gets created because people want to do something. We already have reckless driving laws.
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So for what they offer at $480 for a 4 month supple, you can get online for about $11.95. Basically does the same thing.
This is another example of why there should be no DSHEA. Unless it's reported, and it does take a significant amount of reports to the FDA for them to do anything, people get scammed by the exaggerated claims of many supplement companies.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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And this folks is why I think the FDA should be able to check supplements. I've heard of hotels doing this too, but honestly, did they really think this was going to work?
I agree. MLMs are terrible. No better that pyramid schemes that you with people's health.0 -
This reminds me of the outing of "Ubervita" the company on Amazon which was making a TON (over 1,700) fake reviews.
They were sending things like the above to people. Essentially, you go on Amazon and write them a 5 star review and then they will send you a bottle for free. Once you receive your first free bottle then they continue to charge you monthly. If you wrote a negative review they would sue you because part of "receiving the first bottle free" was promising to not write anything negative about the product or the company.
The owner of the company also owned several other companies that he would send these promotions through so that the main company selling the product was not liable for any side-effects/legal problems.
Needless to say, if it sounds too good to be true, it is! And don't trust reviews if they seem too good to be true either.0
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