0 Comments | Linlithgowshire Journal & Gazette (Linlithgowshire, Scotland), Jan 22, 2010
Trading Planet Ltd, believed to be based in Spain, is under investigation by UK trading standards officers as well as officials abroad.
The company has used independent pharmaceutical distributor Phytoscience on Mill Road, Linlithgow, to send out orders over the past year.
But customers complained after they signed up for a “A[pounds sterling]1 trial” of “Life Cleanse” and “Acai Berry” products.
The terms and conditions contain clauses which allow it to send more batches at a cost of up to A[pounds sterling]79 plus A[pounds sterling]3.95 postage if the buyer fails to cancel the agreement within 15 days.
Michael Connarty MP said: “I am receiving correspondence from many justifiably angry consumers who have been duped by the acacia berry scam which sadly has a section based in Linlithgow. Even those working in Linlithgow must realise that they are involved in a dubious enterprise, with the numbers of people complaining that more money has been taken from their bank account than they wished or knowingly agreed to now over 30,000.”
But Chris Swainson, director of Phytoscience, stated that the Linlithgow firm merely shipped the products and unless there was evidence that the company was doing something illegal, they were contractually obliged to do so.
West Lothian Council’s Trading Standards urged internet shoppers to make themselves familiar with all of the terms and conditions before agreeing to buy.
editorial@journalandgazette.co.uk