If you have a complaint about a weight loss product or service, contact one of the following agencies:
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
The FTC oversees the advertising and marketing of foods, non-prescription drugs,
cosmetics, health care services and medical devices exchanged between states.
Most recently the FTC prosecuted Enforma Natural Products, Inc. for deceptive
advertising of their products, Exercise in a Bottle and Fat Trapper.
The FTC also coordinates the activities of The
Partnership for Healthy Weight Management, a coalition of representatives
from science, academia, the health care profession, government, commercial enterprises
and organizations whose mission is to promote sound guidance on strategies for
achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. The AOA has played an important
role in the Partnership since it began in 1998.
Whenever you deal with a provider of a weight loss product or service, ask
if they follow the Partnership for Health Weight Management's voluntary guidelines.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The FDA oversees the content and labeling of foods, drugs, medical devices or
cosmetics. In the past, the FDA has seized and destroyed products from companies
that improperly sold or used electric muscle stimulators for weight loss.
If you find a website you think is illegally selling human drugs, animal drugs,
medical devices, biological products, foods, dietary supplements or cosmetics
on the Internet, complete a form at the FDA's
website, Reporting Unlawful Sales of Medical Products on the Internet .
If you have experienced an illness or injury with a dietary supplement marketed
as a weight loss product, or have a general complaint or concern about food
products, take the following steps:
1) Contact MedWatch, the FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting
Program:
The FDA would like to know when a product causes a problem even if you are
unsure the product caused the problem or even if you do not visit a doctor or
clinic.
When you report your adverse event, problem or concern, have the following
information ready:
- the name, address and telephone number of the person who became ill
- the name and address of the doctor or hospital providing medical treatment
- a description of the problem
- the name of the product and store where it was bought.
2) Report the problem to the manufacturer or distributor listed on the product's
label and to the store where the product was bought.
For Health Professionals:
If you are a health professional, you can report adverse events related to patient
use of dietary supplements. Your patients' identity is kept confidential. Make
your report to the FDA's MedWatch by calling their hotline at 1-800-FDA-1088
or completing appropriate forms on the FDA
Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program website.
U.S. Postal Service (USPS)
Postal inspectors investigate crimes, such as fraudulent marketing promotions,
that use the U.S. Mail. A crime is considered mail fraud if it originates in
the mail, by telephone or on the Internet and is carried out in the U.S. Mail.
According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the law enforcement
branch of the USPS:
"If evidence of a postal-related violation exists, postal inspectors may
seek prosecutive or administrative action against a violator; however, if money
is lost to a fraudulent scheme conducted through the mail, inspectors do not
have the authority to ensure you are refunded your loss and cannot require that
products, services or advertisements, on the Internet or elsewhere, be altered.
Postal inspectors base their investigations of mail fraud on the number, pattern
and substance of complaints received from the public."
In the past, the USPIS has stopped orders from the manufacturer of a nationally
advertised grapefruit pill when the company broke a consent agreement prohibiting
unsubstantiated claims that with their product, consumers would "lose greater
amounts of weight than scientific evidence showed."
If you think you are a victim of weight loss fraud by mail, submit a Mail Fraud
Complaint Form to the USPIS or contact your local postal inspection service.
Attorneys General
Each state has an Attorney General that serves as a representative of the public
interest in addition to providing legal protection to the state's government
agencies and legislatures. One area in which your State Attorney General can
be of help is if you have been the victim of health club fraud.
Better Business Bureau (BBB)
The BBB is a self-regulated organization supported by businesses to provide
reports to consumers about companies. The BBB works with law enforcement agencies
to stop fraud.
- Check out a company, file a complaint, find tips on preventing fraud, and
information on dispute resolution at the BBB
website.
