2023-06-23 17:14:14
They have the largest YouTube channel on health topics and are very controversial: the former mechanical engineering student Roland Liebscher-Bracht and his wife, the doctor Petra Bracht. They advertise not only their videos and courses with back exercises, but also nutritional supplements and massage rollers with promises that consumer advocates believe are misleading and therefore illegal. Therefore, the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer advice center took legal action against this – successfully, as it now turns out.
Not ready to settle in court
After a warning, Liebscher-Bracht had already committed itself to no longer advertising that a product helped “immediately against pain” – or not only publishing very good customer reviews on its website, but also worse ones. The company also wanted to refrain from calling itself “pain specialist no. 1”, as well as from making a statement about several dietary supplements. These said: “Whether you are stressed, suffering from pain, old, young, vegetarian, vegan, athlete or pregnant – our premium nutritional supplements were developed for people of all ages, in every phase of life and with any lifestyle.”
According to consumer advocates, this is misleading, since some ingredients could trigger allergic reactions or cause kidney stones. But Liebscher-Bracht changed the statement only slightly. After a lawsuit against this, the company’s lawyer did not want to enter into a settlement before the Frankfurt Regional Court. In April, it found that the core of the advertising was the same as the original and that Liebscher-Bracht had violated the cease-and-desist declaration.
More complaints received
“People suffering from pain should not be tempted by misleading marketing statements to buy overpriced products whose usefulness is questionable,” said Wolfgang Schuldzinski, head of the consumer advice center in North Rhine-Westphalia, in a statement. “Therefore, we will continue to ensure that the company adheres to the cease-and-desist declaration and will vigorously pursue further violations.”
Hinnerk Feldwisch-Drentrup Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 92 Published/Updated: Recommendations: 28 Hinnerk Feldwisch-Drentrup Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 10
Liebscher-Bracht did not appeal against the verdict, so it became final and the company had to pay a contractual penalty to the consumer advice center. In addition to dietary supplements, the company also offers foam padding with names such as “neck saver”, “shoulder saver” or “knee saver” for a lot of money; Studies on this are in preparation. The consumer advice center has meanwhile received new complaints against the company, which have not yet been processed further.
Transparency note: The German Consumer Protection Foundation, co-founded by the state centers for consumer protection, awarded Hinnerk Feldwisch-Drentrup the Federal Consumer Protection Prize in 2020.
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