“A product priced at 499 yuan can help you lose 35-40 catties” “No dieting, no exercise” “Ensuring 100% healthy weight loss” … Due to her belief in the promises of a weight loss consultant, Ms. Shi from Shandong recently became embroiled in a controversy over weight loss products.
The sales consultant promised that 499 yuan could help shed 35-40 catties.
Over the past three months, following the advice of the “Green Lean” brand’s weight loss consultant, Ms. Shi spent 170,000 yuan purchasing hundreds of health products from the “Green Lean” brand, “I have to eat at least 8-9 kinds of them every day. Sometimes they require me not to eat anything for three meals a day, only their products.” Ms. Shi said that the other party would induce her to continue buying by claiming that not eating the products would cause irreversible harm from the breakdown of fats to the body.
The Green Lean consultant required her to consume Green Lean products three meals a day.
However, after successfully losing 21 catties, Ms. Shi’s previously healthy body began to develop various problems. She was ultimately diagnosed by the hospital with immune system disorders and abnormal liver function.
Attributing the abnormalities in her body to the consumption of weight loss products, Ms. Shi demanded a full refund from the involved company, Guangzhou Green Lean Health Consulting Co., Ltd., but was refused. The other party was only willing to refund about 32,000 yuan for the unopened products. Ms. Shi could not accept this proposal, and the two sides have yet to reach an agreement.
The list of products purchased by Ms. Shi, a one-time consumption of 40,000 yuan.
In response to the above situation, staff from the parent company of the company in question, Guangdong Yi Health Health Industry Group Co., Ltd., told The Paper that all products sold by the company undergo third-party testing, are qualified products, cannot be fully refunded, and will continue to negotiate.
Spending 170,000 yuan on weight loss products in three months
Ms. Shi explained that in December 2023, while browsing Taobao, she saw a short video where a woman had a significant weight loss effect after consuming a product called “Non-Aging Berry Plant Fiber Compressed Candy.” This intrigued her as she was planning to lose weight, “I thought for less than 40 yuan a box, it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try.”
She told The Paper that a few days after receiving the product, she received a call from a staff member at Guangdong Yi Health Health Industrial Group Co., Ltd., who claimed to be a consultant from the “Green Lean” brand and said that the Non-Aging Berry candy needed to be consumed along with other products from Green Lean for better weight loss results, and asked Ms. Shi to add her on WeChat.
“She recommended a 499 yuan Green Lean package product to me, saying that when paired with the compressed candy, it could help lose 20-25 catties in 40 days.” Ms. Shi said that after adding her on WeChat, the other party would send her product recommendations, before-and-after usage comparison images, screenshots of others placing orders, and promotions for weight loss packages daily on WeChat.
The chat records provided by Ms. Shi show that the other party often used phrases such as “in 6-8 days, your belly will shrink” “No dieting, no exercise, plant-based, no side effects” “Fat circulation, affects health,” along with promotional activities to market weight loss products.
On January 28, 2024, after sending weight loss product package information multiple times and emphasizing “urgent activity, last day,” Ms. Shi decided to make a purchase, “I asked her how many catties could be lost with a purchase of a 499 product at least? She said 35-40 catties, and there was no need to consume any other products later. So, I bought a set to try it out.”
Ms. Shi said that she finished the 499 yuan product in three days as requested by the other party, but she then received a call from a health consultant at Green Lean Company, “The other party said that the next stage would involve fat breakdown and that I should purchase a 3,000 yuan product from the company. I thought 3,000 was not a small amount, so I hesitated. Then the other party said that my fats started to break down and needed to be expelled. If not expelled, they would flow everywhere in the body through the blood, causing harm.”
Under the persuasion of the consultant, Ms. Shi began frequent purchases of Green Lean products. The chat records show that starting from March 2024, Ms. Shi’s three meals a day were all matched and supervised by Green Lean company’s nutrition consultant, with a daily intake of 8-9 different Green Lean company products. By the end of April, the nutritional consultant recommended a daily intake of up to 15 Green Lean company products.
Some of the products purchased by Ms. Shi.
“As long as I eat a little vegetables or meat, I won’t lose weight or even gain weight on the scale. Once my weight increases or stays the same, the consultant will tell me to ‘lightly fast,’ consuming only their products for all three meals.” Ms. Shi said that besides the products, she was only allowed to eat small amounts of meat and vegetables, along with exercise. “With this weight loss method, even a fat person can lose weight.”
Meanwhile, the quoted prices by the health consultant to Ms. Shi gradually increased, with costs ranging from tens of thousands to tens of thousands per phase. Transaction records show that from March to April alone, she remitted over 80,000 yuan to Green Lean Company. Ms. Shi said that whenever she expressed that the product prices were too high to afford, the consultant would warn her that if the fat broken down was not expelled from the body, it would cause irreparable harm to her body. “Every time I heard this, I would be apprehensive and afraid of health issues.”
According to the delivery list provided by Ms. Shi, the total amount spent on Green Lean products exceeded 170,000 yuan. “I was asked to buy the next set even before finishing the current one. In the end, when I ran out of money, the teacher asked me to borrow some. I didn’t dare to tell my family that I had spent so much money, so I could only secretly borrow from friends.”
Body experiencing abnormalities, full refund request rejected
During her weight loss journey, Ms. Shi’s discomfort gradually increased, experiencing leg pain multiple times, “I told the consultant about this situation, and the consultant said that a similar problem had occurred in a previous client, which resolved after the weight loss ended.” After hearing this, Ms. Shi did not pay much attention. By mid-May, Ms. Shi’s pain continued to intensify and spread throughout her body, “My whole body hurt, arms, hands, to the point where they couldn’t be raised, and I felt unable to take care of myself.”
On May 18, Ms. Shi went to the hospital for a comprehensive check-up, with the results showing poor liver function. She was subsequently hospitalized for treatment, “The doctor said it’s an immune system disease, abnormal liver function, and asked me to stop taking the weight loss products.” At this point, Ms. Shi realized that after consuming the Green Lean products, her monthly period that had been regular before completion of consumption also became irregular, indicating a potential impact on her body. However, during her hospitalization, the consultant informed her, “The doctor means that during hospitalization, you shouldn’t take it, but once you stop the medicine and leave the hospital, you can resume taking it. This is a dietary supplement with no side effects.”
According to the medical records provided by Ms. Shi, multiple indicators in her tests showed abnormalities, with the admission diagnosis indicating “poor liver function.” Ms. Shi said that shortly after giving birth, all her pre-delivery physical examinations showed no issues, suspecting that weight loss products led to abnormalities in her body.
During her hospitalization, Ms. Shi had informed the Green Lean health consultant of the situation, believing that the products affected her body and requested a full refund from Green Lean. However, the company stated that its products were not “weight loss drugs” but health supplements. They claimed that Ms. Shi’s bodily issues were unrelated to the products, and if she insisted that the products affected her health, she could have the product components tested at a testing center. If the test results showed product problems, Green Lean would take full responsibility; otherwise, no refund would be provided.
After several negotiations, Green Lean stated that they could refund only for unopened products, totaling 32,000 yuan. Ms. Shi did not accept this, believing that her extensive consumption of the company’s products had caused bodily issues. Aside from the refund, she believed that Green Lean should provide her with compensation.
As per Ms. Shi, immune system diseases cannot be cured, requiring continuous medication. After her first 15-day hospitalization, Ms. Shi was hospitalized again in July due to bodily pain.
Company insists products are qualified
Images provided by Ms. Shi show that over the past three months, she purchased products such as protein bars, lactose probiotic powder solid beverages, ume and green plum mixed fruit juice drinks, low-fructose drinks, etc., with the external packaging showing the brand name “Green Lean.”
According to business information, the Green Lean brand is owned by Guangzhou Green Lean Health Consulting Co., Ltd., established in July 2015, with business scope covering health food (pre-packaged), food internet sales, food operations, etc. The company is wholly owned by Guangdong Yi Health Health Industry Group Co., Ltd.
The Paper noted that on March 15 this year, a former sales consultant of Green Lean company revealed the insider information about product sales, stating that Green Lean company attracted consumers by promising weight loss effects of the products. During communication with customers, the brainwashing and rhetoric used by salespersons were provided by the company, with scripts for first-time orders, fat decomposition, and metabolic fat scripts. Additionally, the former consultant revealed that the so-called weight loss products sold by Green Lean were just common foods such as probiotics, enzymes, green plums, and the package prices were determined after the consultant probed customers’ economic situations.
On social platforms, there were also numerous reports of threats to consumers by the Green Lean brand. Users who claimed to have purchased Green Lean products expressed that when they refused to continue buying Green Lean products, the consultants warned them that the fat cell membrane had already fallen off and without further use of the product for metabolism, they would gain tenfold weight when eating in the future, continue to gain weight, and be incurable in the hospital, only liposuction could solve the issue.
Through searching the keyword “Green Lean” on consumer complaint and rights protection platforms, The Paper reporters found a cumulative total of 1299 complaints. The complaints mainly revolved around “inducing consumption,” “false marketing,” “unprofessional doctors,” “ineffective products,” among other issues, with the rhetoric and tactics being similar to what Ms. Shi described.
In light of the above situation, on July 26, The Paper contacted staff from Guangdong Yi Health Health Industry Group Co., Ltd. The staff members said that the company’s sold products undergo third-party testing, have obtained relevant qualifications, and all test results are qualified. “We can provide a detailed testing list, and the market supervision bureau would come for random checks periodically, and all of them are qualified.”
When asked about the presence of inducement and threat during the sales process, the staff member stated that to prevent sales staff from inducing consumption, Green Lean company has a specialized monitoring system to track employees’ WeChat accounts. If employees send out sensitive words outlined by advertising law such as “first,” “highest,” the company would give a warning immediately and penalize the salespersons by fines for the first time, and direct dismissal for the second time. The staff member mentioned that the inducement of consumption as shown in Ms. Shi’s chat records was an individual salesperson’s behavior, and the company would conduct a strict investigation.
In response, Ms. Shi said that the sales consultants mostly contacted her through the phone and completed the transaction via WeChat transfer after telephone communication. As a result, she realized afterward that she had not left complete evidence.
The above-mentioned staff member stated that the company is currently negotiating with Ms. Shi. Based on the feedback from the after-sales service, Ms. Shi has lost 21 catties. According to the company’s regulations, part or some of the funds may be refunded to Ms. Shi, but a full refund cannot be guaranteed. “After all, we are a company selling products and services. Every day, we track some customer situations, and the majority of the service fee plays a significant role. Therefore, the specific refund amount must be negotiated with the customer.”
Source: The Paper Journalist Li Siwen Intern Hu Xiaoyue
