Free weight-loss pills have hidden cost

Quebecers are being warned about a website with a fake blog promoting a new weight-loss program and offering free samples that turn out to be anything but free.

The website also uses the logos of reputable companies, including the CBC, to promote its product.

The province's Consumer Protection Office said Friday it has received about 2,500 complaints about the website.

Claudia Sanchez told CBC News she learned about the Cberry weight-loss product by reading the blog on the website that purported to be the testimonial of an average woman who lost a lot of weight thanks to a pill containing the so-called "super fruit." (Açai berries are the fruit of the açai palm tree.)

'If it looks too good to be true, maybe it's not true.' —Claudia Sanchez

When she applied for a free sample, she was asked for her credit card number.

But Sanchez soon learned the promise of a free sample wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

"They've been charging on my credit card, and I'm up to 400 bucks now," she said.

After a bit more research, Sanchez was shocked.

"I found a website from France with the exact same pictures. Instead of Claudine, [it was] Julie."

The website conceals the fact that by requesting a free sample, and providing a credit card number, customers are actually agreeing to a contract, according to Jean-Jacques Preaux, a spokesman for the Consumer Protection Office.

Preaux said that's a violation of the province's consumer protection laws.

If customers are unable to get a refund from the website, Preaux said, they can ask for a refund from their credit card company.

The CBC says it too has received several complaints, and its lawyers are trying to track down the people running the site to have its logo removed.

In the meantime, Sanchez says she has learned a lesson.

"If it looks too good to be true, maybe it's not true," she said.