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Woman Gets $200 Bill After Ordering 'Free' Green Tea

If Oprah Winfrey endorses a product, you can bet millions of people will rush out to buy it. The same goes for Rachael Ray.

The problem is some products apparently use Oprah and Rachel's names quite loosely, and consumers are getting burned, reported consumer reporter John Matarese.

One of them is Denise Cull, who is normally skeptical of most weight loss claims. But she remembers hearing Oprah talk about green tea. And when she saw a Web site for a type of green tea called "Wu Yi," with photos and testimonials from Rachael Ray and Oprah, she was sold.

"It said this tea was endorsed by Rachael Ray and Oprah. And it was free, all you had to do was pay shipping," she said.

So Cull ordered a box of tea along with some samples of dietary supplements. She would only have to pay shipping.

She says, "I think it came to total of $16.88....I was fine with that, I thought I'd try a few of those things."

But then came more supplements and more with bills. "This one is for $30. I just got it two days ago," she said.

That's nothing: Another bottle resulted in a credit card charge of $74. Total cost so far? More than $200.

Cull says, "$200, $300 later, I'm in debt, and sending these things back."

Buyer beware when it comes to "endorsements."

It turns out Oprah and Rachael Ray do not endorse any brand of weight loss tea: they simply had segments on their shows about the benefits of drinking green tea.

If a product claims a celebrity like Oprah is endorsing it, do some homework. A quick check of Oprah's Web site finds that she does not endorse any brand of tea or weight loss supplements.

As for Cull, with the supplements now coming from all different companies, she had no choice but to cancel her credit card.



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