This is an update, I received from the office of Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum:
--- On Wed, 8/26/09, AG <
[email protected]> wrote:
From: AG <
[email protected]>
Subject: From Attorney General Bill McCollum
To:
Date: Wednesday, August 26, 2009, 3:37 PM
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum received your email regarding your
concerns with Elite Acai Blast. Attorney General McCollum asked that I
respond.
Our office reviews complaints to develop information about patterns of
questionable business activities. If we discover a pattern, what
originated as a private dispute between buyer and seller may become a
matter of broad public interest and thus warrant the Attorney General's
intervention under the state's consumer protection laws. We will keep
your correspondence for future reference. Please note that our office
does not mediate individual consumer complaints.
Please contact the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer
Services, Division of Consumer Services (DACS) to file a complaint. The
DACS is the state clearinghouse for consumer complaints and has a
voluntary mediation program to assist individual consumers. You may
contact DACS at:
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Division of Consumer Services
2005 Apalachee Parkway
Tallahassee, Florida 32399
Telephone: (850) 488-2221
Toll-free within FL: (800) 435-7352
Website: http://www.800helpfla.com/
You may also wish to contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center, a
combined effort of the National White Collar Crime Center and the FBI to
combat Internet fraud, by telephone at (800) 251-7581, or visit that
agency's website at:
http://www.ic3.gov
The following websites may be helpful to you:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menus/consumer/tech/online.shtm <Federal Trade
Commission "Online Shopping"
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre28.shtm <Federal Trade
Commission "Billed For Merchandise You Never Received?"
http://myfloridalegal.com
(follow the path at Consumer Protection/Protecting Yourself Against
Consumer Fraud)
In addition, you may contact the following consumer agencies as you seek
to resolve your individual complaint:
Better Business Bureau of Southeast Florida (serving Miami, Ft.
Lauderdale, West Palm Beach areas)
Telephone: (561) 842-1918
Internet: www.seflorida.bbb.org
Broward County Consumer Protection Office
Telephone: (954) 357-5350
Internet: http://www.broward.org/consumer/
Finally, Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act provides
individuals with a private remedy to bring an action for damages,
attorney's fees and court costs. If you need help finding a lawyer, The
Florida Bar offers a Lawyer Referral Service which you may contact
toll-free at (800) 342-8060. If you cannot afford to hire an attorney,
you may be eligible for low cost or pro bono assistance through a local
legal aid office. The Florida Bar can assist you with this process.
Thank you for contacting Attorney General McCollum's Office. I hope this
information proves to be helpful.
Sincerely,
Travis Dudley
Office of Citizen Services