Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals Rip-off!! Raleigh North Carolina

My name is Tammy and I also was SCAMMED out of 79.99 by this Berkeley Nutraceutical.Yes I mean literaly scammed.I have set here reading all these comments wishing I had known about this site before I ordered my (FREE )30 day trial(yea right)of Suvaril. You can read my complaint I filed a rip off report also.I guess what bothers me the most is that this has been going on for a good while but no one knew about it unless of course you read the rip off reports filed. I was livid when I was treated like an Idiot by BN when I called to tell them I had cancelled and had a copy of the cancellation in front of me.I then found out all these other names that they are going by and all the different addresses I knew I had been had.I immediatley went to the bank with documents in hand and cancelled my card.(you can read all I went through on my report)I also talked with an employee at one point during my adventure who just kept apologizing to me but he was whispering I almost thought he was going to cry as I was demanding to talk to a supervisor, which I could hear him ask for someone then someone would say somthing like tell her thats our policy!(only they yelled it at him)This is the first I have heard about the layoffs at BN there should not have been layoffs because this place should have been SHUT DOWN!!!!! along time ago. I have been a Nurse for 27 yrs and I too am a single parent trying to help my oldest 21 through college and my other son 15 get through high school I work too hard for my money to let someone take it the way they did.I applaud all who complained and wrote to BB offices and filed with Attorney Generals Office as I did.I am sorry for those who lost jobs but if I knowingly worked for a company that demonstrated the deviant ethics that I encountered during this whole ordeal I surely would be looking to invest in the most flame retardent casket that I could find as I understand it is extremely warm where I certainly would be headed!!!!! GOOD LUCK AND THANKS AGAIN TO ALL THAT KEPT UP THE PERSISTENCE!

Kathryn,

While I am sorry you lost your job, do not blame the people who are "trying to take Berkeley down" - blame BERKELEY!!!! I did "get it" about the "value program" - I am not stupid. What I GET is that I did not authorize future shipments or use of my credit card past the $4.90 for free supply. I checked the box that said, "free sample only".

I have 3 children and I work from home as an MT and I am barely making ends meet. Hey, if you're going to give us your sob story, you have to listen to mine. The reason I wanted to try Avlimil was because of anti-depressants I am on.

When that $70 was taken out of my account, I had planned on using that money to buy my kids' school clothes and supplies for the upcoming school year. When it suddenly disappeared I was forced to ask a relative for money. Now what would YOU do in this situation? Wouldn't you do everything in your power to get your money back?

That is all these people are doing here, including me. I finally got in touch with the CEO, Steve Warshak, and he was absolutely wonderful to me and gave me my refund right away.
I do believe he is an honorable man. But it is not fair to blame all of us for wanting our money back. I'm sure you would do the same thing if it happened to you.

I am completely for any action anyone wants to raise against this company. I consider myself pretty scam savvy, but they fooled me. We all I'm sure expected a level of honesty from a company states in their commercials that this is not a miracle cure. If they're honest enough admit that, then they must be legitimate right?

The fact that thousands of people don't get it is a definite statement about Berkeley's practices. Does it occur to any of the employees who are defending this company that if sooo many people are feeling deceived, then maybe it's not us. Maybe it is the company. If the Value Added/Mange Care whatever the heck they want to call it at this time program was legitimate and something that potential customers would want then why would the company have to automatically enroll people??? If they simply stated the benefits (in big bold letters, just like everything else on the site) and offered it to people instead of shoving it down our throats we would be clamoring for it, wouldn't we.

For every person who simply wants their $70 back, I'm sure there are hundreds more who didn't notice this slide through on their bill, didn't care to fight back or may have actually wanted it. If this were an honorable company they would refund the people who ask and take it as something they tried, but weren't able to put over on that one. They would still be making tons of money from the rest of their customers, they wouldn't be getting so many complaints written about them and their employee might still have a job. (Although I sincerely doubt they give a rat's a## about their employees either.)

This is for Kathryn who blames everyone for thousands of people getting laid off from Berkeley Nutraceuticals. Did you ever stop to think this company may be losing money because the products they push on people are lousy and don't work? People are finally wising up to the slick "Free Sample" ads and are not ordering and are getting the word out to other people not to order. If you will look at all the complaints on this website alone, Berkeley's problems started a long time ago.This is nothing new. Yet, they kept ripping more and more people off. I, for one, wish the entire company would go down the tubes.

Kathryn, quit your whining. If you are going to knowingly work for a company that uses deceptive marketing practices, at least be adult enough to admit you got busted because of it and THAT'S why you and your cohorts are out of jobs. You should never have had jobs in the first place as this is not a legitimate business.

Regarding NOT being able to evaluate a product's effectiveness with a 30 day sample (hence the 12 month purchase requirement to receive a refund), that's baloney. When I get medication, either over the counter or from the pharmacy, results are seen in 30 days or less. I use antidepressants and they can be very tricky to evaluate, but always I have been able, even with slow moving antidepressants, to determine whether they were having an effect or not. IT DOES NOT TAKE 12 MONTHS TO FIND OUT IF A PRODUCT WORKS FOR YOU.

Your ludicrous suggestion that anyone wanting a refund should call AFTER 10:00 pm defies belief. Are you really expecting ALL THESE PEOPLE to be able to call after 10:00, and get helped before you close at midnight, because no other time of the day is "good" for you all to do your jobs (when you had them)? I, for one, am always in bed well before 10:00 and I most certainly should not have to stay up and literally lose sleep because your call center is so overwhelmed with angry callers that I can't get through unless it's the middle of the night. You never bothered to mention the time zone either which, if it's pacific time, makes the suggestion even more outrageous.

It's sad you defend this company cause it makes me think if you are in an abusive situation, you will probably be able to rationalize that, too. Your company abused you by asking you to participate in a program that on its face was clearly intended to deceive consumers and maximize credit card charges without the KNOWING consent of the cardholder.

Susan from Fairless Hills: ROCK ON! And Ruby, too! I felt compelled to respond due to Kathryn wanting to blame THE VICTIMS for the loss of her sleazy job, but you all spoke very well and clearly, thanks so much for voicing what I couldn't put into words.

I said previously that without the Managed Care/Value Added Program the company would go down because the product would not sell itself or carry the company. The company was profitable because it entrapped consumers and the "free sample" brought in the money. I also said people would not pay big bucks for a pill that gives the same high as coffee. As consumers wise up the product would fail. Apparently without the rip off plan they don't need you. Blame your company, not the ripped off consumer. The new web site claims refunds are now available for purchases after Aug 16 by returning the product and a doctors note not required, there will be a 10 dollar fee to process refund. Maybe they figured out that asking for a doctors note saying the product did not work or was not good for the consumer was not a good business practice...what company wants to collect all these doctor notes that reflect badly on the product. It was stupid but designed to discourage the consumer because it meant telling your doctor how stupid you were and how you got ripped off in the first place. Manipulation. Business does it all the time. As for not needing to defend your company anymore because you lost your job...why did you? Your statement on the caffeine reads like a commercial and you also advise the consumers you are blaming for the loss of your job on how to get a refund. At this point..if we cost you your job...why bother? Why do you go into such detail about the product and praise it and its effects and continue to advise consumers how to get a refund if indeed the consumers backlash cost you your job? Maybe it's because your "rebuttal" is really part of the sales and marketing ploy. Nice try.

As a recovering cancer patient with lymph edema re-sulting in weight gain I was desperate to naturally lose weight and resolve some of the edema. I foolishly responded to a free offer and agreed to pay shipping charges only. I then found that unless I cancelled a membership that I had never agreed to that my credit card would be debited $140.00 a month automatically and sure enough less than three weeks after the free product the company applied the charge to my credit card. I spent hours and hours on the phone burning up precious cell phone minutes. In over a week I have not been able to reach anyone but only hear product commercials over and over. The credit card company finally accessed the website and cancelled my non existent membership. The new charges had already been submitted and now the Attorney General and Division of Consumer Affairs and someone at The Federal Trade Commisssion in Wash.,D.C. are assisting me. Further my Dr. has said the products could be harmful to me and that it is lucky that I did not take them.This has consumed many hours of my time, upset me and resulted in the loss of available credit on my charge account. I was advised to cancel my credit card and apply for a new one. Should I have an emergency I am without a credit card. I plan to file charges against this company with any and every civil and government regulatory agency that I am able to avail myself of.I am also contacting the FCC and Postal Authorities.I am planning to join the class action lawsuit and complain to the local media for carrying this misleading advertisement.

I would like to say thank you to the thousands of people who live their lives to bring Berkeley down. I tried to defend my company and now look where it got me, me and hundreds of others, laid off. Thanks to all of you who just didn't get it about the Value Added/Managed Care program and who didn't understand the true purpose of it, I am now unemployed. You guys are just winning all over, No more program, and major downsizing. Which probably explains why customer care has been so empty and there is nobody even available for an hour of hold time over there.

Anyway, look if you want your money back, I don't have the fax number, but if you call customer care (and wait forever now due to lay offs) and get it and have your doctor fax in a note stating that you cannot take the supplement because it made you sick or it is unhealthy for you then as long as they get it you should be refunded within a few weeks. Just save the confirmation letter when it goes through and call them 48 hrs later to see if it processed. The best time to call is usually after 10:00pm.

And even though I don't have a job anymore and There is no sense in defending a company I have no ties to, for the record the Altovis is not loaded with Caffeine, it has 100mg of naturally derived caffeine from Green Tea Leaf Extract which equals about one cup of coffee. I take Altovis and Dromias because I was working a second shift job and I needed something to help my body go against what we were trained was awake and sleep time since we were children. Getting home from work at 2:30am because its 24 hours, can do a number on your cycle, I used the 2 to balance out my cycle.

Good luck to all those fighting to get their $70 back, I wish you luck, but I am off, goodbye. And again Thanks to all those out there determined to bring Berkeley out of business. I hope you can sleep at night knowing that you all worked to put about 500 people out of a job.

Assuming Kathryn is an employee...isn't it sad that she has to be online at 1 a.m. responding to complaints about her company because she is worried about her job?? If the value added program has been dropped it is due to consumer complaints to the Ohio Atty. General. I was enrolled in the Managed Care Program which preceeded the value added program.

They changed the name to value added because Managed Care implied it was related to insurance. In fact the plan description started out with references to insurance which is probably where consumers stopped reading and did not go further to learn they would be enrolled automatically by purchasing the "free sample".

Why would any consumer only interested in trying the product for the first time be interested in a "Managed Care Program"? The caveat that enrollment was automatic for all consumers who purchased the "free sample" was not in eyes reach on the site where one signed on for the "free sample"...by the companies own admission it was in the "fine print" which turned out to be in the Managed Care Program description.

Deceptively hidden so consumers would not catch it. Sorry, but the company has a moral obligation under the circumstances to refund all the 70 dollar charges. A no refund policy based on the inability to resell the product is not acceptable and a phony excuse to keep the money. According to various business web sites this company's owner is raking in millions..laughing all the way to the bank.

I have no intention of trying the product...did not use the sample..after reading the ingrediants and finding out it was loaded with caffeine I realized it could cause problems with my heart rate. I can get the same results drinking lots of coffee all day. To pay 70 dollars for a caffeine high is absurd.

The caffeine is packaged like a pretty little pill giving the consumer the impression he is taking medication...and that is a bad idea for the consumer. I have every reason to believe this company is headed for a shut down...if there truly are no more consumers ripped off..the company is destined to go under because the product will not sell it self because consumers will get wise and figure out it is just expensive caffeine.

As for taking the products herself. Katherine admits to taking Altovis for energy and Dromias to help her sleep. Does anyone see the contradiction here? The Altovis is caffeine loaded...and she needs the Dromias to help with sleep. If she stopped taking the Altovis she would not need the Dromias. But then the company would lose another customer...even if it is an employee. Poor Katheryn is buying her company's products to keep her job. Very sad indeed. And the owner laughs all the way to the bank.

Dear Susan and others reading this,

My name is Kathryn and I am a present employee at Berkeley. I assure you that I am sitting in my own home looking at this because I am honestly worried about the company I work for, and more importantly, my job. Without my job, I cannot survive. Anyway, moving on, regarding the $70 charge, that is something called the Value added program. I work in the sales department and I know that if the disclosure at the end of the call is not read and we get a yes from the customer, our compliance department will reject the order and you would not receive your sample. And if you ordered online, the information is available there as well and you do have to agree to it. I am sure by now you have cancelled the program and if you haven't you can call customer care at 866-834-1715. They have been really busy so I would recommed calling after 10:00pm eastern time, they are open till midnight except sunday.

I apologize that they have a no refund policy, but if you will just look at it from the company's stand point, and a legal standpoint. We charged you for a product we shipped out. With healthcare products (anything that would need to be ingested) we cannot resell them if you send them back. So even though the customer did technically agree to the program, we would still be out the money, because it is illegal to resell that product. That is why the no refund policy exists. So again, I know it doesn't mean much from a measly sales rep, but I do apologize.

Anyway, I know this will not benefit you specifically now, however I did want to show you that the company is making a change for the better. Berkeley has gotten rid of the Value Added Program (if you are still on it you will remain on it until you cancel), all new orders have no further billing WHAT SO EVER!!! Now to get more of the product, the customer does need to call back in to order more. They are listening to the consumers. I just really thought that everyone should know that, that Berkeley is listening, and while all of you still feel you were scammed, the program was agreed to. So I know it doesn't help you with your past order, but now that Berkeley is changing, maybe you might want to think about giving the product another try if you began to notice the results.

I personally would not want to continue doing business with a company that I didn't like how it operated, so I could see the sudden negative opinion for the products as well. But they do work for most people, I take Altovis and Dromias myself. We are listening, and I hope you as the consumer will see and understand that.

Kathryn
Cincinnati, OH

I think it is very odd for "employees" to be responding to the complaints. Is this an on the job activity for which they get paid? or are they perusing at home and do they get paid for their home time defending the company they work for? Shouldn't the company be defending itself through the press? or on t.v. with a new ad apologizing? ...or maybe these "employee" responses are from the company officials..designed to look like employee responses.

Chandra,

I understand defending a company you work for. They pay you a salary. But, if you will take a moment to look at the hundreds, if not thousands of complaints about this company on this website alone, you will see that obviously, something has to be wrong! I could understand it if it were a handful of disgruntled customers who didn't read the "fine print" as you put it, but the number of people who have been ripped off by this fly by night company is high!

I not only talked with customer service reps, but also supervisors there her were very rude and not in the least interested in what I as the customer had to say! On one occasion, I almost felt sorry for the customer service rep I was talking to because I asked to speak to a supervisor, and she couldn't even get one on the phone! They let her take the brunt of my anger!

I don't beleive these products work, but that's my opinion. But, if your customer care dept, "cared" what the customer thought, that would help. It is almost like they know it is a crock, so they want to get you off the phone as quickly as possible! No good company lures you with a "free sample", then sticks it to you! And, it's not that it takes a year for some of these products to work, it is so the company can suck you dry for an entire years cost of these products.

It is indefensible to offer a "free sample" for the cost of shipping for consumers to try the product if indeed it requires 12 months consecutive use to determine it's effectivness.

Clearly the "free sample" offer is a "hook" to attract the consumer and the caveat about automatically being enrolled in an auto ship program is deceptively placed in an area on the site that consumers interested in just a sample to try would not be looking.

NO legitimate company interested in good customer relations would require a "doctors note" to get a refund after the last purchase. If the product was effective and a good product it would sell itself..and would not require entrapment to get a consumer to buy it. "Free Sample" implies that to use the sample amount it will be sufficient to determine continuous use.

Furthermore, when your customer service rep said to me.."you didn't read the fine print" that tells me clearly the company is willfully putting the caveat in "fine print" where the consumer is not likely to look.

You are correct, if we receive wriiten confirmation that a doctor has advised you not to take the prod, we can issue a refund for the last shipment. I never stated that we don't ever issue refunds. And, I'm sorry if the representatives that you spoke with came off as rude, but often times when people don't get the response that they want, their perception of the person responding is that they are rude.

Susan: The reason our money back guarantee is upon 12 months of continuous use is because everyone's body is different and it may take a longer period for some to see results than others, and our products, like anything else out there, is not guaranteed to work for everyone. We figure if a customer is commited to using our prouct for a full year and sees no results that the product will probably not work at all for them and we will issue a full refund for the purchase price of the product (minus the cost of shipping and handling).

Listen, I am an honest person. I work for Berkeley because I beleive in our products. And for every 1 person I speak to who is upset about our policies, I speak to 2 people whose lives have been changed by the product(s) for whatever reason (i.e. "Avlimil saved my marriage." "Altovis gave me the energy to spend more quality time with my kids.") I hear this every single day. I've even spoken with people who have read what's on this site and others like it and have told me, "I guess what I read about you guys isn't true." When I have the opportunity to sell the products (I'm in the customer care department), I make sure that my customers have all of the information regarding automatic shipments, return policies, etc. I won't pretend that we don't have "order takers" who only want to get the sale and get the customer off the phone, but 99.9% of our reps are providing the information that we are required to provide. The reps that aren't will not continue to work for the company. We do record all of our phone calls, so, we can find out who's not doing their job and get rid of them pretty quickly.

I hope this information has been useful. If you've had a bad experience, I know I probably won't change your mind. I know when I've had a bad experience with a company I tend to not do business with them any more unless it's a necessity. But for anyone who has not done business with us before, or has but has not had a bad experience, I hope that you will not be swayed by the negative comments you've read on this site.

Chanra the employee rebutted saying the company did make refunds. She failed to read the fine print also. Or maybe she was just being disingenuous. The refund policy reads as follows: "After purchasing a full 12 month's supply, if you aren't completely satisfied with the results we will give you a full money back refund. Customers must have taken Altovis for 12 consecutive months." Now, who needs 12 consecutive months to know a product is not working...they count on you to give up.

Linda,

This is what you have to do. Don't pay any attention to Chandra. She is just afraid she may lose her job because when all these lawsuits hit the fan, she will definitely be out of one! Anyway, do what I did. Contact your doctor. Tell him or her those pills absolutley do not work and ask him or her to write you out a doctor's statement to that effect.

Then, fax it to the company. Follow up with a phone call. It really doesn't pay to be nice to these people. Every single person I talked with at Berkeley have been rude and crude. Tell them you sent a fax. They will tell you that thier faxes are "all backed up." Tell them that is not your problem and you expect your money within 2 weeks. I was very firm with them.

Within a week and a half, my money was returned to me in full. You have to stay on them. There are hundreds of complaints about them all over the internet. If you need any more help, just ask. Also report them to FDA, BBB, and there also is a class action lawsuit you can join.

First of all, Linda, if you ever had actually called into our company, you would know that we do not EVER say that our prods are pharmaceuticals....we tell every potential customer that they are natural supplements, we will tell them the ingredients and what those ingredients will do for them if the customer has specific questions. As for being able to purchase those ingredients in a health food store, you are absolutely right, but you won't acheive the same results....our prods are a PROPRIETARY BLEND of those ingredients, and you would probably have to spend more money purchasing all of those ingredients many times over to find the right mix that would even come close to what we are able to provide. As far as the telephone numbers are concerned....the numbers for the sales department will vary based on product, but the Customer Care phone number (if you wanted to cancel)is always the same: 1-866-834-1715. Depending on what time of day you call there may, in fact, be high call volumes. But I urge you to call, they will definitely set you straight. And lastly, even your location of the company is wrong...We are not located in North Carolina..... It's a dangerous thing when ignoramuses like you have access to the internet and can spew forth your all-together incorrect information and try to bad-mouth a company. The bottom line is that our products work - not for everyone, as is true even with PHARMACEUTICALS (synthetic medications)- but they do work for a majority of people who try them. We offer an alternative for people who are tired of trying PHARMACEUTICALS that their physicians get kick backs for, and who are tired of putting chemicals in their bodies. And, by the way, our company does offer a money back guarantee if the products don't work for you. You won't get that in any health food store. If you spend all that money buying all the ingredients and don't like the results that you get, you're S.O.L.

So, Linda, as you've encouraged readers of your posting to do their research, I would encourage you to do the same before putting this garbage all over the internet.