Acai Advanced - Live Lean For Life Apparently ordered, without my knowledge, "Weight management online support group" when ordering the acai berry bogus FREE trial. Portland, Maine

This company masquerades as trying to help people get into shape by promising "free" trials of the acai berry. What they don't tell you is you are automatically enrolled in a "weight loss management support group", whether you want it or not.

I ordered the acai berry product for my husband. When it finally arrived 35 days later, and when he tried it and it gave him constipation - actually the exact opposite of what it's supposed to do - I tried to return it, only to be told that the 30-day money back guarantee had expired.

I guess it had, since it took 35 days from the order date to the date we finally received it. Needless to say, I cancelled all further shipments and specifically told them to cancel anything else that went along with it.

While going through my statements recently - usually I just go through them quickly, checking amounts, etc. and had an eyeopening experience when I noticed their website on my statement, charging me $24.95 TWICE for the month of March.

Imagine my surprise when I went back and checked my other statements from months ago, and I do mean months, as I originally ordered this product last June, that Live Lean For Life has been charging my debit card $24.95 since then for this online support group that I never agreed to.

I called the company and was basically told "you do not qualify for a refund". What that essentially means is they ripped me off and too bad, too sad. According to them, I have had access to this website since my original order back in June 2009.

Well, I can tell you that I never received an email from this company to access my "support group", didn't know it existed, and when I tried today to access it, I had to have a username and password just to access the site, which I did not have, because I never received an email from them with instructions on how to go about it.

And no, I never received an email from this company welcoming me to the program.

I had to call the bank and unfortunately for me they can only investigate the charges that are up to 60 days old. Fortunately, this does include the month of March where the two charges appeared, and I can be reimbursed for those charges.

This company is a total ripoff. I have filed a complaint with the AG office in my state to seek restitution.

Fair warning to all out there contemplating future online purchases of any "free weight loss management" product: Go to a health food store. Pay the extra for a dietary supplement. You'll pay less in the end, you'll have no headache or stress, and it will be worth it in the long run, trust me.