Ads for LA Weight Loss give hope to people struggling with the scale, but for many Central Valley residents, that hope is turning to despair.
The Better Business Bureau says the company is basically pulling a bait-and-switch, inviting people to sign up for a low price, then pressuring them into buying more and more weight loss products.
Manuel Garcia of the Better Business Bureau said, "They feel intimidated and they feel they need to buy it to lose the weight, otherwise the regimen is not going to work."
Catherine Wolf, a former LA Weight Loss customer, said, "It was something different because, like a lot of people say, I tried everything"
Catherine Wolf considers herself one of the lucky ones. She spent more than $100 dollars in two days on the program, but saved more than $1,000 dollars when she backed out of her contract.
"I slowly started catching on to these sales tactics of theirs. They're really pushy and I just started getting a bad vibe" said Wolf.
Wolf says the company offered her half her money back if she met a specific weight loss goal after six months. But she says they didn't mention the agreement was only valid if she bought LA Weight Loss meals and nutrition bars.
The company refused comment on the Better Business Bureau's alert. But when Action News first investigated LA Weight Loss eight months ago, we did find some success stories, people who gave it credit for incredible weight loss.
But Wolf says it's exploiting people at a very emotional moment.
"Knowing that they're getting away with taking advantage of people and taking so much money from people that are desperate" said wolf.
When Action News first reported the problems at LA Weight Loss in May, the company resolved all six complaints brought to its attention and reimbursed customers.
Action News first looked into 6 complaints against LA Weight Loss in May 2007. Those were resolved by the company after our story aired. But now the Better Business Bureau has issued an alert, saying it has received 27 unresolved complaints against the company in the last several years.
Do you have a story to tell about L.A. Weight Loss?
Consumerwatch is looking for former or current customers as well as sales counselors willing to share their experiences.
Click Here for the LA Weight Loss contact form...
