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Shame on you, Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals

by amandabrenner on Mon 26 Jul 2004 01:11 AM CDT | Permanent Link

Shame, shame, shame.

Google these guys and before you even get to their actual company website, you'll see the complaints about them. The Rip Off Report. BadDealings.com. The FDA even has a sponsored link regarding complaining about such companies. There is even a class action suit a-brewing!

The rub is that Berkeley offers free samples for all these products, and then enrolls you in a "managed care" program. You get all these products auto-shipped and auto-billed right to your doorstep! And they aren't cheap. And it isn't easy to get out of it either, if you read the complaints.

Lovely.

I knew this company had problems. So it absolutely floors me the amount of money they have available to spend pelting me with glossy TV advertisements 24/7. Especially on CourtTV. I have actually turned off CourtTV because of this! Yes, CourtTV!

Avlimil for the ladies. Enzyte for the guys. Altovis for fatigue. Dromias for the sleep-impaired (more on that one later). Suvaril for weight gain (as usual, it's not your fault). Pinadol for stress (and if you are the office oaf). Rogisen so you can see at night, you old coot (and why haven't you fallen, and can't get up)! Berkeley Nutraceuticals is the yatta yatta of vitamins.

Avlimil is just stupid. "Even when I was in the mood, I was just too tired," the commercial states. That makes no sense. If you are too tired, you aren't going to be in the mood. And, if you read the ingredients of Avlimil (see the website), you can probably get the same results by eating a bunch of leaves and berries. I guess forest animals are often in the mood. If Americans want women to be "in the mood", American women should become stay-at-home wives. Whoa! Who let June Cleaver out?!? Just for that crack, I think I will wear a dress and heels while I do the housework tomorrow.

Enzyte! Smilin' Bob. Another example of how men are all big jokes according to the television.

Then we depart from the gender-specific line.

Dromias is for people who can't sleep. But, they have two commercials that they play back to back. Over and over and over... One is dignified and for the ladies. It is so plain that I can't even describe it at the moment. The other shows an overweight clumsy man who didn't get enough sleep, again, dumbass, and so puts his shirt on backwards, pours hot water into a jar of instant coffee, and eats cat food instead of cereal. There is clownish music in the background with a complaining cat sound when he pours milk on the cat food. His wife and child let him do all these things, all the while just shaking their heads in disgust at this poor excuse for a human being. As usual on American TV, the man is an idiot and the whole family accepts this.

According to the Berkeley website, Dromias is Valerian Root and Jujube extract. I can get the Valerian Root at WalMart or Whole Foods for, like $4. Jujubes I can get at the drive in theater, or even Walgreens if it is 3:00 a.m. and I am still sleepy.

One thing that I find to be an interesting tell-tale trademark of Berkeley is their packaging. It all looks amazingly like oral contraceptives! Little attractive colorful packs of colorful pills that let you push a brightly-colored tablet through foil once or twice daily. And I think they would like for you to think you are buying medicine instead of leaves and bark and road gravel.

It's all flash and no substance. And a class action suit to boot!

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Re: Shame on you, Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals

by Bob on Mon 26 Jul 2004 10:12 AM CDT | Profile | Permanent Link

Sorry to rain on your parade, Amanda, but Dramias contains WILD jujube extract--I believe the jujubes in the bright green box (my favorite candy ever) come from the domesticated, farm-raised jujube, which doesn't contain nearly as much of the "special sauce" as the wild stuff.

Seriously though, those guys are really sad. They're selling placebos to the feeble-minded and making tons of money. And while I'm sure none of their stuff works, I bet there are tons of insecure men out there who keep ordering more and more Enzyte each month and deluding themselves into believing their weiner has grown...

Re: Re: Shame on you, Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals

by amandabrenner on Mon 26 Jul 2004 10:37 AM CDT | Profile | Permanent Link

Okay, Bob. The jujube thing was a joke. "Wild" jujubes are brown in color to blend in with their natural habitat and protect them from predators like you. DUH!

I don't know if I would call all of their products placebos (although the Enzyte thing is the stupidest thing out there). I have valerian root that knocks me out cold AND gives me a nasty headache the next day. I think they are ripping people off with the fancy pharmaceutical-type packaging and the "managed care program" when you can get the same herbs for less at Wal-Mart and Whole Foods.

It floors me the amount of money they have to spend on advertising though. It's non-stop throughout the night on most channels. Today I woke up humming the tune from the Dromias commercial.

Re: Shame on you, Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals

by Anonymous on Mon 02 Aug 2004 04:40 PM CDT | Permanent Link

I am having problems with Berkeley/Warner also. I just called them and told them I wanted my refund (one year guarantee)and they told me that I didnt qualify for any refunds. When I signed up a year ago they told me I could get my money back after one year. Now they say it was only if you signed up after SEPT 1, 2003. I dont know what to do. I am now out $420.00

Have you had any success with getting your money back or do you have any suggestions for me.

Thanks.....

Karla jkbrum@hotmail.com

Re: Re: Shame on you, Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals

by amandabrenner on Thu 05 Aug 2004 07:56 AM CDT | Profile | Permanent Link

We have not lost any money to these people as we have not ordered their products. I researched them out of curiosity and was apalled at the volume of complaints.

From what I read, Berkeley will not voluntarily give any refunds and they have a lot of fine print to prevent anyone from cashing in. My suggestions to you are:

1. Dispute the most current charges with your credit card company. There is usually a 90 day cutoff imposed by the credit card company for disputes (as they have the right to take the money back from Berkeley for that long), but perhaps any of your latest shipments would fall into that window. You'll have to write a very good explaination letter to your card company, and a phone call will not do.
2. Contact Jim Petro, Ohio Attorney General. On some complaint sites, victims of Berkeley have claimed partial success with the help of the Attorney General. Here is the link:
http://www.ag.state.oh.us/consumer_protection_enforcement/index.htm
3. Scan complaint sites to see what tips other victims have to offer.

From what I've read, Berkeley has no interest in refunding money, so even if they agree to a refund, do not let the matter drop until you have the money credited to your card.

Good luck to you!

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