In a suit filed by the FTC it is alleged the FTC investigator called the telemarketing number for NoBetes and “In one instance, for example, the telemarketer stated that the “promotion we have today, sir, is a natural supplement that will help you regulate the sugar levels in your blood.” He then advised that “this product has to be taken one, two, or three times a day, depending on how high are your sugar levels right now,” and then asked for the caller’s sugar level: “Are you in the 200’s, 300’s?” When the caller responded that he was calling for his father, whose numbers were in the “200’s,” the telemarketer recommended that his father take Nobetes twice a day, thirty minutes before lunch and then an hour after dinner or before going to bed. The telemarketer listed many of the product’s ingredients and stated that “altogether, these will help . . .with high sugar levels.”
It’s one very sketchy thing to listen to some of the advice offered by debt relief salespeople, it’s four times as scary to think a commissioned salesperson is providing medical advice and “medication” to someone with high blood sugar levels.
The FTC alleges that the offer from NoBetes Corporation, AKA Side Effects Solutions Corporation, turned into a recurring charge instead of a free trial offer.
The complaint says, “In many instances, one month after Defendants charge the consumer for the trial offer, they automatically ship a second 30-pill bottle of product to the consumer, and charge $50.60 to the consumer’s credit card. Every month thereafter, Defendants ship another 30-pill bottle of product, and charge the consumer’s card an additional $50.60, until the consumer takes affirmative action to cancel the order and request a refund.”
So according to the FTC, the marketers of this product have slipped and fallen into a lake of quicksand by representing or implying the product:
- Nobetes treats diabetes;
- Nobetes reduces high blood sugar;
- Nobetes reduces or eliminates the need for blood sugar
medications such as insulin; - Nobetes keeps blood sugar within normal levels; and
- Nobetes benefits diabetics by replenishing nutrient deficiencies
caused by diabetes.
To back up the claims of the product the FTC says the company has “represented, directly or indirectly, expressly or by implication, that endorser Mitch Darnell is a qualified scientific or medical expert in blood sugar regulation and diabetes treatment.”
It turns out “Mr. Darnell is an actor” and ” not a qualified scientific or medical expert in blood sugar regulation or diabetes treatment.”
There is a tremendous amount of advertising material that handed the FTC material to pursue.
“ANNOUNCER: Is your diabetes out of control? Are your blood sugar numbers dangerously high? . . . You need to try the all-natural dietary supplement called Nobetes. Just listen to what other diabetics are saying.
ON SCREEN: Mitch Darnell, MS, OSM.CTRC
[Mr. Darnell is standing in front of two diplomas]
* * *
MITCH DARNELL: I’m all about natural products that help empower your body to heal without any side effects. . . . I was introduced to Nobetes. . . . It’s an all-natural dietary supplement that helps control blood sugar within normal levels, with the added benefit it leaves you feeling better and really contributes to your overall greater health. Nobetes has 35 supplements in it that can fill the nutrient shortages that diabetes causes. If you were to go out and try to buy all of these supplements at $3 to $4 a piece, it could cost you $150 or more. Diabetics, this is the miracle product you’ve been waiting for, Nobetes.”
You can read the FTC complaint below.
