Health

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Albertsons Baits Shoppers Then Discloses the Real Deal

Star Market and Shaw’s in New England are part of the Albertsons family of supermarkets. They recently send emails with the subject line: “Get up to $20 off groceries this August.” With the price of food, who wouldn’t be interested? Similar offers were probably made to customers of their other supermarket chains.

The main offer was inviting customers to create a Sincerely Health profile and you would receive a $10 off coupon (among other money back opportunities).

Get $10 coupon

Of course, there is a nasty asterisk after the $10 off promise which leads to not very helpful fine print.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Star Market fine print

That tiny type says to see the rewards account for minimum purchase requirements.

Only when checking the terms online, do you learn that a $50 minimum purchase is necessary to use the $10 coupon.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Star Market offer details

A company that values playing it straight with customers more would not play games like this. They would simply say, “Create a Sincerely Health profile, and get $10 off a $50 a purchase.”

Is this too much to ask?

We asked Albertsons some pointed questions about this promotion twice, but they did not reply.

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These Eyeglasses Automatically Adjust to Your Vision?

NoBlu eyeglassesIt must be a miracle. NoBlu Vision claims that their eyeglasses automatically adjust to your vision. [See their NoBlu-glasses video.]

Nearsighted, farsighted, it doesn’t matter. “Gone are the days of eye tests and endless lens changes,” the site claims.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Automatically adapts

Could any of this be true? MrConsumer contacted an optometrist who is a former member of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Optometry, Dr. David Schurgin, and asked him that very question.

The good doctor called the company twice and got different answers each time. The first representative said the glasses adjust to near and far by sliding them up or down your nose.

The second rep said that these glasses were not adjustable and are just for viewing a television or a computer. That is mentioned nowhere on the website.

The website also claims the glasses filter UV and blue light. But, the doctor was told the lenses were made of glass which he says is unlikely because glass does not usually block UV light unless they are sunglasses.

Our optometrist concluded, “The only adapting of the lenses are that they change to a darker color when exposed to UV light or sunlight.”

We wanted to verify if the nearly perfect five-star TrustScore at the top of the website was a genuine reflection of consumer reviews:

Trust score

But, looking at Trustpilot, the website that establishes the TrustScore based on actual consumer reviews, the company has very few reviews and a low rating.

*MOUSE PRINT:

No-Blue TrustPilot

Lastly, the website boasts a string of big name media logos on it suggesting the product has been written up by all these respected media entities. We could find no evidence of that.

news logos

Oddly, another version of their website has eliminated all references to the glasses automatically adjusting to one’s vision. It still shows that it received five-star reviews but it omits the TrustScore identifier.

Needless to say, we think you need to cast a skeptical eye on this product. And in the doctor’s opinion, “what a ripoff.”

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Mandatory Arbitration Requirement Found Hidden Inside Nutrition Product Package

Vital ProteinsCompanies generally do not like to be sued by consumers particularly in class action lawsuits. So, many of them have incorporated mandatory arbitration clauses into their contracts, or sometimes buried in the terms and conditions section of their websites.

Consumer World reader Dave L. recently wrote to us pointing out a most novel way that one company was attempting to foist a mandatory arbitration requirement onto its customers.

I recently bought my wife some Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides protein powder dietary supplement at BJ’s (Stoneham, Mass.) and noticed the packaging had changed. … After she opened the new outer container, she noticed fine print on a seal that said she was bound by terms and conditions …

*MOUSE PRINT:

Vital Proteins inner lid

There, under the new paper cap, is a disclosure that says:

READ THIS: By opening and using this product, you agree to be bound by our Terms and Conditions, fully set forth at VitalProteins.com/tc, which includes a mandatory arbitration agreement. If you do not agree to be bound, please return this product immediately.

What chutzpah of this company ignoring basic contract law that requires disclosure and agreement BEFORE a contract is entered into! You have already bought the product and destroyed the new paper package’s top, and you are then supposed to return the product if you don’t agree to these terms? As our consumer wrote, “this is nuts.”

In addition, on the company’s website, part of its terms and conditions, seeks to absolve itself of errors, including incorrect prices and inaccurate product descriptions.

*MOUSE PRINT:

V. Availability, errors and inaccuracies

… The information found on the Service may contain errors or inaccuracies and may not be complete or current. Products or services may be mispriced, described inaccurately, or unavailable on the Service and we cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information found on the Service.

Why is this company, now owned by Nestlé Health Science, doing this? It seems they have been subject to various legal actions before by a competitor and a public interest health group, and they had a product recall in 2023.

We asked Nestlé twice to comment on why they thought they could rope purchasers into a mandatory arbitration agreement that was only disclosed to them after they bought the item at a retail store. They did not respond.