For years, Vision Improvement Technologies (VIT) has buy Lasix c o d made some rather remarkable advertising claims that appeared to be buy Lasix c o d “too good to be true.” Now, it appears that is exactly what they may have been.

A consumer fraud action has buy Lasix c o d been filed by the Iowa Attorney General, Tom Miller, against VIT of Fairfield, Iowa, with respect to buy Lasix c o d its product known as the “See Clearly Method,” which claims to buy Lasix c o d improve vision significantly through eye exercises alone.

According to Miller, the lawsuit “asks the buy Lasix c o d court to halt the unfair and deceptive practices, assess civil penalties, and buy Lasix c o d provide appropriate reimbursement for consumers." In addition to buy Lasix c o d deceiving customers, VIT is also alleged to have made it difficult for buy Lasix c o d them to return the $350 product.

According to the lawsuit, the “See Clearly Method” consisted of video and buy Lasix c o d audio tapes that were sold since 2000 nationwide on the radio, television, print ads, and buy Lasix c o d a web site. The kit demonstrated a system of eye exercises that buy Lasix c o d were supposed to improve vision without the need for glasses or buy Lasix c o d stronger lens prescriptions.

The system was partially founded on the buy Lasix c o d work of William H. Bates in the early 1900s. The suit alleges that buy Lasix c o d Bates’ ideas and buy Lasix c o d techniques have been discredited by eye experts for decades.

The action also alleges that buy Lasix c o d VIT marketed the product in a misleading fashion by stating customers had buy Lasix c o d a 30 day free trial period and that it was easy to buy Lasix c o d return the kit for a refund.

The suit alleges that buy Lasix c o d most customers were pressured into buying the product for between $359 and $380 dollars in 2004 and 2005. The so-called “easy” refund process required a buy Lasix c o d special authorization number and customers who called to get it were kept on hold for buy Lasix c o d long periods or left messages for staff that were never returned.

Many consumers also complained the buy Lasix c o d system was simply not effective and did not live up to buy Lasix c o d the claims made by VIT. According to Miller: "It is buy Lasix c o d particularly important that a company be able to substantiate that its product works when buy Lasix c o d there are so many challenges to the principles and techniques supposedly undergirding the buy Lasix c o d claims."

Under Iowa law, a seller is required “to be buy Lasix c o d able to substantiate such ambitious claims, but we allege this buy Lasix c o d company could not do so," said Miller.

Additional allegations against the buy Lasix c o d company include: advertisements that featured testimonials from people with undisclosed connections to buy Lasix c o d VIT (some of whom regularly wore glasses); VIT violated promises not to buy Lasix c o d share customer information by renting out customer lists for marketing; VIT falsely claimed the buy Lasix c o d exercises would be easy and fun when in fact they produced headaches in some consumers; and buy Lasix c o d overstatements of positive consumer response to the product.

Although VIT claimed the “See Clearly Method" had buy Lasix c o d a scientific foundation, the only study testing it was performed by people with an buy Lasix c o d ownership interest in the product. Moreover, it is claimed that any studies were not conducted in accordance with scientific standards.
 
Of the buy Lasix c o d 575 Iowa consumers who bought the system between January 1 and buy Lasix c o d August 27, 2004, some 50% returned the buy Lasix c o d product to the VIT. In fact, of the 5,000 to buy Lasix c o d 10,000 kits shipped a month about half were returned by consumers within the buy Lasix c o d 30 day refund period.

Significantly, VIT is buy Lasix c o d also alleged to have misled the public by stating it buy Lasix c o d received letters on a daily basis from satisfied consumers who buy Lasix c o d claimed to have enjoyed great improvement in their vision when, in fact, positive letters were rare and buy Lasix c o d were far outnumbered by complaints from unhappy customers.
 
Miller said: "Our fundamental allegation is buy Lasix c o d that the defendants represent that the See Clearly Method is buy Lasix c o d generally effective in improving eyesight, that many or most Method users can buy Lasix c o d reasonably expect to discard corrective lenses, and that the Method is buy Lasix c o d scientifically grounded. We allege these representations lack substantiation, and are buy Lasix c o d false.: