Another fraudulent product is exposed

I never believed the claims of Power Balance for its 'hologram therapy' bracelets. I'm delighted to learn it's been forced to admit that its products are a sham, a fake and a fraud.

A wristband worn by high profile sports stars that claims to improve athletic performance has been exposed as a sham by the consumer watchdog.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has ordered Power Balance Australia to refund all customers who feel they were misled by the supposed benefits of Power Balance bands.

The wristbands were touted as providing better balance, strength and flexibility by working with the wearer's "natural energy field".

. . .

ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said in a statement: “Power Balance has admitted that there is no credible scientific basis for the claims and therefore no reasonable grounds for making representations about the benefits of the product.

“Its conduct may have contravened the misleading and deceptive conduction section of the Trade Practices Act 1974," Mr Samuel said.

. . .

Power Balance acknowledged it had breached the code and said the relevant claims had been removed from its website.

. . .

Consumer advocate group Choice found the bracelets were just rubber bands with plastic holograms.

"The band was tested at CHOICE under controlled lab conditions which showed it did little else than empty purchasers' wallets," Choice said in October.

There's more at the link. Italy has also fined Power Balance for making unsubstantiated claims in its advertising.

In one of the most brazen displays of bare-faced gall I've ever seen, Power Balance is still trying to market its products to gullible consumers!

The company unleashed a torrent of its own tweets, playing off the word "admit."

In one, it said: "Power Balance Admits products have been worn during the last world series, nba finals and super bowl champions!"

. . .

Power Balance, for its part, doesn't claim to have science on its side, said Adam Selwyn, a spokesman for the Laguna Niguel, Calif.-based company.

Rather, it relies on testimonials from famous athletes and users to tout the products' effects. The company says it pays some athletes for the right to use their images wearing the bracelets, including O'Neal and Odom.

Josh Rodarmel, one of the company's co-founders, said in a statement he knows there may be skeptics. "We're not trying to win over every person in the world," he said.

Again, more at the link.

Power Balance bracelets join horoscopes, fortune-tellers and other quacks and quack nostrums on the long, long list of frauds perpetrated on the gullible. I sincerely hope those guilty of this crime do hard time in jail.

Peter