ConsumerWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ― They're trial offers on websites hawking supplements. Products such as acai berry pills and colon "cures" which are advertised for weight loss or "cleaning" your system.

The ads say those products are "risk free." But are they really? And who is behind the sales of some of those products?

Larry Contey was looking for products to improve his health and saw a "risk-free" trial offer for something called Extreme Acai Berry pills.

He expected to receive a trial bottle and pay just $3.95 for shipping and handling as the advertisement indicated. But to make absolutely sure, Contey said he called the company.

"I said, I don't want any orders to be sent ahead of time, because I want to try it first," Contey said.

But a few weeks later along with the trial offer came a full order of Extreme Acai Berry, and when Contey checked his bank account he said $89 had been withdrawn.

James Wetmore got a bottle of a product called Powerflush 500 he said he hadn't ordered along with a charge for $89.

"We hadn't ordered it," Wetmore said.

And Melinda Felice said she got charged for two products she didn't want, one a bottle called "14 Slimtabs" and the other was a monthly membership to something called Pricelimbo.

"I had no idea where they came from," Felice said.

Many people have probably seen "risk free" offers in emails or pop-ups but they often don't realize a trial that begins with a $4 shipping and handling charge often winds up costing much more. At times just asking for a sample can trigger automatic shipments of products they didn't want month after month after month.

And some consumers told us when they tried to cancel, it was difficult.

"The number they gave me didn't work", said Felice.

"I called, talked to the company five times, but each time I couldn't get anywhere", said Wetmore.

Larry Contey said it's frustrating. He called the company once again during a CBS 5 Investigates visit. Contey said, "(the phone representative) just kept on saying 'I don't know anything about it.'"

David Newman of the Federal Trade Commission said the offers are part of something called "negative option marketing" programs. And he said consumers often have problems with the programs.

"There will be a 1-800 number that never answers or the cancellation requirements are so short that you literally can't do it," Newman said. "By the time it shows up on your credit card it's too late to cancel."

CBS 5 Investigates wanted to find out who our complaining consumers were really dealing with so we asked internet security consultant Alex Stamos, of San Francisco's ISEC Partners to find out.

"There's a whole system set up that leaves a trail," Stamos said.

Stamos tracked our consumers' websites to a computer in Salt Lake City, and a company called Crush LLC that has 254 domains registered.

The man who runs Crush LLC is named Jason Brailow. CBS 5 Investigates and Salt Lake City CBS affiliate KUTV interviewed Brailow about his trial offer programs.

"It's a great opportunity and clearly thousands of customers love it daily," Brailow said.

Yet CBS 5 Investigates found a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission filed against Brailow and his former company JAB ventures just last year, for among other things, failing to disclose enough information to consumers on his websites about what they were really signing up for.

"Buried in the fine print or buried in the terms and conditions page that's very hard to find is the fact that what you're actually buying is a plan that's going to deliver the product month after month after month. That's what the charges were in Mr. Brailow's case," Newman of the FTC said.

Brailow said the lawsuit was settled with no admission of liability or wrong-doing and "we were a younger company then", he told CBS 5 and sister station KUTV during an interview.

Responding to consumers' complaints about charges on their statements, Brailow told CBS 5 Investigates everything is disclosed on his websites. Brailow also said, "We make it very clear to call and cancel for a refund if they are not happy with the product."

Brailow also claims all the customers who asked have gotten refunds.

But at the time of CBS 5's interview with Brailow, James Wetmore was still waiting. And Brailow said, "If James Wetmore wants a refund, absolutely. We want to refund him and we want to take care of him."

Wetmore said just days ago, he did get a refund. But instead of $89, it was 89 cents.

Now Wetmore said, "I am not that concerned about the $89 any more. I am past the point of anger. I just don't want to see other people scammed like I was."

Melinda Felice said she finally got her charges canceled after spending hours dealing with the matter. Larry Contey said he also got some money back after CBS 5 and KUTV contacted Brailow's company.

But Brailow told us he feels bad that some customers had problems and that anyone who is unhappy "can get free products for life" now.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)