Updated 10/12/2009
If
Oprah Winfrey endorses a product, you can bet millions of people will rush out to buy it. The same goes for
Rachael Ray.
Problem is... some products apparently use Oprah and Rachel's names quite loosely, and consumers are getting burned.
Now, Oprah is suing a half dozen people using her name to sell products like
Acai Berry and other supplements. The Florida Attorney General is filing several suits of his own as well. He says hundreds of people have fallen for these ruses.
Billed Again and AgainOne of them is Denise Cull, who is normally skeptical of most weight loss claims. But she remembers hearing Oprah talk about
green tea. And when she saw a website for a type of green tea called
"Wu Yi", with photos and testimonials from Rachael Ray and Oprah, she was sold.
"It said this tea was
endorsed by Rachael Ray and Oprah. And it was free, all you had to do was pay shipping."
So Denise ordered a box of tea....along with some samples of dietary supplements. All she would have to pay was shipping.
She says "I think it came to total of $16.88....I was fine with that, I thought I'd try a few of those things."
But then came more supplements ...and more with bills. "This one is for $30. I just got it 2 days ago," she says.
That's nothing: Another bottle resulted in a credit card charged of 74 dollars! Total cost so far? More than $200!
Denise says "$200, $300 later, I'm in debt, and sending these things back."
Buyer Beware when it comes to "endorsements"It turns out Oprah and Rachael Ray do not endorse any brand of weight loss tea: they simply had segments on their shows about the benefits of drinking green tea.
If a product claims a celebrity like Oprah is endorsing it, do some homework. A quick check of Oprah's website finds that she does not endorse any brand of tea or weight loss supplements.
As for Denise, with the supplements now coming from all different companies, she had no choice to cancel her credit card.
That way you avoid trouble and you don't waste your money.Im John Matarese.
