Website Alerts / Fraud Cautions
- This page may seem a bit extreme, but there were so many alleged frauds and possible deceptions by Rite Weigh Digital (now closed and renamed Pocketscales.net) that we had to put up a whole page dedicated to them. It seems there is some sort of relation between Rite Weigh Digital and Xactica (AKA Exacta Digital). We'll maintain and update this page until they close up their business permanently or are shut down by the authorities for possible fraud. Note that whenever we post evidence below, Rite Weigh Digital usually changes the text or pictures on their website to adapt. We always save the originals and can supply them if needed by a consumer or investigator.
- We try to post the information below in an unbiased manner, but it is difficult for us to remain objective. We take great insult at these alleged fraudulent activities below, they cast a dark shadow over the entire scale industry and our digital scale community.
1) Their "Warehouse", as shown on their website (FYI, they work from home actually).
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Hello Digital Scale Seekers!! |
Our Warehouse
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Our prices are rivaled by no-one! And that's a
guarantee. Our warehouse is stocked full with all the items we carry so
you can rest assured you'll receive your scale in a timely fashion. The selections are huge, but we have prepared hot buy banners for you, in every category. These will be guaranteed lowest prices on the internet anywhere!! Enjoy our website and we hope you find everything you need. Have a wonderful day!! |
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If you review the site, you'll see that they contradict themselves many times. For example they claim above to have this huge stocked warehouse, then on the next page they say:
| RiteWeigh Digital is the leading distributor in the northwest for digital scales. Offering the lowest prices available anywhere on the net. While maintaining the highest standards of quality. We are able to provide these low prices because we maintain a very low overhead. By having most of our orders dropped shipped right from the manufacturer, we elilminate the middle/middle man. |
As of mid March, Rite Weigh Digital seems to have a new alleged fraud scheme. They now have a "sweepstakes" to win a supposed trip for 2 to Hawaii and "cash back for every 5th customer". However based on the information given it is clear that this does not comply with federal or state regulations regarding sweepstakes. There is no independent body to monitor who wins the "prize" or the cash back (if there is any actual prize or cash back). Based on Rite Weigh's multiple other actions, we assume that this is yet another scam by the Rite Weigh / Exacta People. We again encourage you to file a complaint with the Washington State Attorney General. Let's put scammers behind bars where they belong!
2) The alleged "Cash Back Scam", now how would you know if they actually gave any money back to every 5th customer... (good idea for a possible scam, these guys are outright brilliant!)
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To make matters worse, they began this above "campaign" on March 14, then on March 15 they posted this fake review:
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Rebecca Adler had a lot of shipping
to do lately since her new-found |
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As you can see from the spelling mistakes and timing (she would have had to receive the scale the day she bought it AND suddenly saved $50 on shipping bills THEN emailed Rite Weigh AND had this posted - all within a few hours...), this was probably written by Rite Weigh Digital themselves. Of course after we posted this, they removed this false review - then they reposted it the next day (very peculiar).
3) The famous "Sweepstakes Scam", they've since removed this one from their website because of blatant legal concerns but it was really shocking while they had it up.
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4) More possible fake gifts scams, in our test purchase they actually sent us a small vinyl pouch for our pocket scale and the calibration weight that came with it anyway :(
5) They give the consumer with false information, here's one of their almost humorous descriptions word for word (complete with spelling errors):
Here it is folks. The originator, the most time-tested and the highest durability for the buck. What you get with a DW-200b is PURE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION GUARANTEED!! You are looking at the lowest rate of return on any scale in the industry!! Try saying that with the other guys's stuff. The outer hard shell casing provides years of protection to the weighing tray.
A quality scale should never be lite in weight. In other words, in relation to it's size, a digital scale should weigh rather hefty. This is what will determine the inner weighing mechanism's quality. The liter the scale, the lower the precision and overall performance. Heavier cars are usually safer to ride in, due to the fact that there is more material and more reinforcement.. The exact same concepts apply here.
The DW-200b is one of the most useful little pocket gadgets. WHY?? Good question; the tray is designed after the tanita 1479, which is the original concept for digital scales,circa 1992. Before then, scales were simply oversized and heavy balance beams. They call it Triple Beam. Soon people realized it is a lot more practical to shrink the size and increase the capacity. And now you have Digiweigh to fulfill all your weighing pleasures.
Now here's the truth: Digiweigh has been in business for less then a year and does not have a good reputation. It would be impossible to claim that they have the lowest return rate of any scale in the industry. The scale that has the lowest rate of return in the industry is the Vibrating Wire scale by Shenko. A scale actually SHOULD be light in weight, this way if it is dropped there will be less shock and damage to the sensors. The lighter the scale, the less the shock force value if it is dropped (think about dropping a scale that has a weight of 800 grams onto it's 100 gram max capacity load cell...) Before 1992 there were many digital scales, and balance beam scales are called "Balance Beam Scales". Last but not least, we encourage you to look at a Tanita 1479, the tray of the 1479 is completely different then the Digiweigh scale pictured. The Tanita is a very high quality Japanese instrument and should not be compared to the Digiweigh.
6) Use of well known brands (without permission) and falsely endorsing a product:
3/17/04: Latest Possible Fraud: Illegal use of the Atkins brand:
According to the Atkins Foundation, they have not actually recommended or endorsed this product above. Ironically, the scale is shown with sugary fruits on the tray... We notified Atkins legal staff (you can reach them at jpayne@atkins.com) who will likely be sending a "cease and desist" to Oliver Toth / Rite Weigh Digital shortly.
ATKINSTM, DR. ATKINS®, ATKINS DIET®, the Atkins A® logo, ATKINS NUTRITIONAL APPROACHTM, ATKINS NUTRITIONAL PRINCIPLESTM, ARTHRIJOINT®, ATKINS DIET ADVANTAGE BAR®, ATKINS DIRECTTM, ATKINS CONTROLLED CARBOHYDRATESTM, TARGETED NUTRITIONTM and the ATKINS ENDULGETM logo are the exclusive property and trademarks of Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. reserves all rights in the premises, including all rights applicable under the U.S. and international trademark laws, including, without limitation Section 1125 of Title 15 of the U.S. Code (Lanham Act Sec. 43). Atkins has not authorized or endorsed this weighing instrument nor has Atkins given permission to Rite Weigh Digital to use the Atkins name or logo. It appears that this is an illegal use of the Atkins intellectual property
3/18/04: Update on Latest Possible Fraud: Trying to continue their use of the Atkins Name:
After we posted the above evidence, Rite Weigh Digital updated their image to "Atkins Friendly". This is still an illegal use of the Atkins name. Rite Weigh may hope that they can get away with using the Atkins name and logo by using "Friendly". Let's all hope that Atkins will sue Rite Weigh Digital and take them out of the scale market permanently.
7) Watch out for what they might be up to next:
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"** There are companies or products not reviewed on this page that will be available for review in our upcoming on-line and in-print INDEPENDENT SCALE REVIEW MAGAZINE Coming out in December 2003" |
We assume that they intend to post a fake rendition of our Scale Magazine where they may try to further mislead consumers. Maybe this will be the "International Digital Scale Association" that they posted a fake award from (see below).
Consolidation of Rite Weigh Digital's Consumer postings:
Alert: "Rite Weigh Digital"
Posted 10/15/2003, Complaint via Email
Quoted Summary: Website has fake seals and logos. I bought a scale from them and it arrived broken. They didn't reply to any of my emails so I tried to file a complaint. They have a seal on the bottom of all pages that says "BBB Online" for better business bureau. But when I contacted the BBB at www.bbbonline.com, they told me that this was not one of their registered merchants and that the logo had been pirated. So, then I contacted www.truste.com and they too said that this wasn't a genuine merchant and the logo had also been pirated.
So then I tried to lookup their information in the internet database, it got even worse. They put their address as "666 Hell Street" and the phone number listed is not theirs - I called it and got a lady who told me she had gotten many of the same calls and had no clue who riteweighdigital was. I also noticed that they had only been open since September 9, 2003 which is totally different then what their website said. I'm very bummed and I am now going to file a fraud report with Paypal.
Attempted Resolution by Digital Scales.com Staff: We contacted Rite Weigh Digital in an attempt to resolve the matter. There was no response and the emails actually bounced. Next we notified Truste, BBBOnline and other parties (some of the web pages were clearly copied from other scale company's websites). We received an email from Truste notifying us that the website had been temporarily shut down by the internet service provider due to the suspicion of fraud. We figure that's about as much as anyone can do. Often companies like this will reinvent themselves with a new name or just find a different web server. So we suggest you keep an EXTREMELY cautious eye out for this company. Odds are they'll be back online shortly...
Additional Alert: "Rite Weigh Digital"
Posted 3/2/2004, Complaint via Email
Quoted Summary: Website has false and misleading information. I tried to buy a scale from them but the prices in their carts was different then what they had quoted me. Then I did some more research and came across your site. I'm really peeved and thought you would get a kick out of what they posted on their website. Take a look at what these scammers did: They made a fake award for themselves from the "International Digital Scale Association" which doesn't exist! These maroons have only been in business for 6 months yet they somehow won this magical award for being rated top in customer satisfaction for 2 years? I checked, there is no such thing as the International Digital Scale Association. Why are there so many scammers and such fraud on the internet?
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- Evidence of RiteWeighDigital fraud
Attempted Resolution by Digital Scales.com Staff: We contacted Rite Weigh Digital again but have received no reply. They seem to be somehow related to ExactaDigital, they share a phone number and address in one of their domain registrations. We have received more complaints about RiteWeighDigital and ExactaDigital then all other scale merchants combined. We have contacted - and we suggest that you contact the Washington State Attorney General to file a formal complaint for fraud.
UPDATE ALERT: ExactaDigital & RiteWeighDigital are now seemingly out of business. The old websites of Exacta are run by or property of "American Weigh"
We strongly encourage you to shop elsewhere online or visit your local store to examine and test scales first hand.
We openly invite Rite Weigh Digital to explain all of these alleged occurrences of fraud, deception and false information. We will post their response - if any - here.
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