Newsroom

OFT takes action against promoter of 'fat burning' capsules

169/07    6 December 2007

The OFT has obtained assurances from a Hong Kong based company that they will no longer market their 'fat burning' Gi Capsules in the UK.

Global DM Licensing sent mailings to UK consumers, under the name Nuturhealth Care Trust, claiming that by using one Gi Capsule a day slimmers could burn off at least ten pounds in the first week and six pounds every week thereafter without any diet, exercise or effort. The mailing further promised that the Gi Capsules melt off fat and cellulite to guarantee the 'size 10 body of your dreams' and worked so fast that 'slimmers must check weight loss every day to prevent over-slimming.'

Gi Capsules were marketed as 'the fat burning power of the Glycaemic Index in a pill', and claimed to contain a 'special fruit vinegar' that slowed down the release of carbohydrates and sugars from food. Mailings also included consumer testimonials detailing how some women had lost up to 102 lbs in 16 weeks without diet or exercise. The capsules cost up to £25 for a 90 day supply.

The OFT contacted Global DM Licensing to express concerns over the potentially misleading claims being made, and requested evidence to support these claims. The company responded by stating that their product had been tested and the results were as claimed, but they were unable to provide satisfactory evidence to back up claims made in their mailing. The company agreed to stop their marketing campaign in the UK and gave an assurance that any future healthcare mailings would be truthful in respect of the claims made.

Mike Haley, OFT Head of Consumer Protection, said:

'Consumers should be very wary of products that promise significant weight loss without dieting, exercise or effort. We will continue to crack down on misleading claims that exploit people desperate to lose weight.'
 
Consumers who have recently been the victim of a misleading weight loss mailing should send a copy of the mailing they received and the envelope it was sent in, together with details of how they were misled, to:

The ScamBusters Team (slimming mailings)
Office of Fair Trading
Fleetbank House
2-6 Salisbury Square
London
EC4Y 8JX
 
The OFT is unable to advise or assist individual complainants, but it may be able to take action to stop other people being misled in the future.

NOTES

1. Research commissioned by the OFT involving 11,200 interviews found that an estimated 200,000 UK consumers fall victim to misleading miracle health and slimming cure claims every year, losing around £20 million.

2. The OFT previously obtained assurances from Global DM Licensing in relation to claims made about another product 'Slim-Choc' (see press release 4/07).

3. Consumer Direct is a telephone and online consumer advice service funded by government and managed by the Office of Fair Trading. It offers clear, practical and impartial advice and information about consumer rights.

Back to:Press releases