In a competitive marketplace some companies will do anything, say anything and stoop to any level in order to make a buck. A water ionizer company, Life Ionizer, has been plastering all sorts of information on the Internet, claiming that their products are the best around and telling consumers that they should specifically stay away from the Enagic SD501 water ionizer. This report was created after a thorough investigation to provide consumers with pertinent information about Life Ionizer to help them decide if this is a company that they should take advice from or do business with. After all, you must consider the credibility of the source when they are providing information that will influence your buying decision. After reading this report, you be the judge. The Company – Who’s Word Are You Trusting? The investigation started with extensive Internet based research about Life Ionizer. Researchers started at the home pages of Life Ionizers, there are actually two separate websites, www.lifeionizer.com and www.lifeionizers.com. The contact information of both sites were compared to verify that they were the same. Below are the results: www.lifeionizer.com www.lifeionizers.com Contact: Rick H. Cabados Contact: Rick H. Cabados Address: 2335 Camino Vida RobleBuilding B Address: 2335 Camino Vida RobleBuilding B Carlsbad, CA 92009 Carlsbad, CA 92009 Screen Shot: June 8, 2008 Screen Shot: June 8, 2008 The Company – Who’s Word Are You Trusting? (con’t) The next discovery was that the name “Life Ionizer”, which is extensively used and promoted on the Internet as the company name, is not the company name. The official company name is EarthTrade Water. In fact, it was discovered that this company is only one in a long list of other companies listed under the main name EarthTrade. Address: 2335 Camino Vida RobleBuilding B Contact: Rick H. Cabados Carlsbad, CA 92009 Address: 2335 Camino Vida RobleBuilding B Screen Shot: June 8, 2008 Carlsbad, CA 92009 Screen Shot June 8, 2008 Between the three main Life Ionizer websites, www.lifeionizer.com, www.lifeionizers.com, and www.earthtradewater.com, investigators discovered a number of inconsistencies in the information being provided to consumers, which ranged from misleading statements, to deceptive advertising, to providing downright false information, First, the home page of www.earthtradewater.com states “EarthTrade Water (ETW) is a team of experts in the field of water treatment, health and nutrition who are dedicated to researching, testing and locating the best technologies and providing them to you, your family and business.” (See page 4 for website screen shot) According to a Better Business Bureau report on EarthTrade Water, the so called “team of experts” consists of 2 employees, Rick Cabados, listed as the Owner, and another unnamed individual. (see page 3 for website screen shot) Most reasonable people would agree that representation of a “Team”, in this context, would mean the company consist of more than just the principal and one other person. The Company – Who’s Word Are You Trusting? (con’t) Screen Shot June 8, 2008 The Company – Who’s Word Are You Trusting? (con’t) Screen Shot June 8, 2008 This was only the first of numerous questionable representations by Life Ionizer. The next item was the representation that Life Ionizers is the “exclusive manufacturers” of the Life Ionizer products, which was found on the www.lifeionizer.com website. Being the “exclusive manufacturers” not only does not correspond with the fact that the company only has 2 employees, but it also completely contradicts information provided on the www.lifeionizers.com website. On that website it states: “…Life Ionizers are manufactured by the largest ionizer company in the world with sales of over 100,000 units per month - buy with confidence from a company that has the best quality units in the World and the latest technologies.” By making this statement, Life Ionizer is clearly admitting that they ARE NOT the manufacturer of their products, which means their representation of this fact is untrue, which means they are lying to consumers. (See page 5 for screen shots) The Company – Who’s Word Are You Trusting? (con’t) The Company – Who’s Word Are You Trusting? (con’t) In addition to contradicting the claim that they are the actual manufacturer, the statement about the number of monthly sales is also completely false and blatantly misrepresents the number of units being sold by the company that is actually manufacturing the private labeled Life Ionizer machines, which investigators believe is Jupiter Science. After more extensive research, investigators came across the information they believe was the basis for this misrepresentation. On the website of IonLife, another private labeled brand of water ionizers manufactured by Jupiter Science, investigators discovered a claim that the manufacturing facility of Jupiter Science had the production capability of over 100,000 units per month. It did not, however, state that they sell 100,000 units per month, as represented by Life Ionizer. In fact, investigators were unable to find any single brand of water ionizer with monthly sales of this quantity. The same page that made the false claim that Life Ionizer was the manufacturer also led investigators to another inconsistency. Below the statement “ We are the exclusive manufacturer and worldwide distributor” there is an Underwriters Laboratory (UL) logo, meaning that their products are UL Certified. A search was conducted, based on the information that Life Ionizers was the actual manufacturer, using the Underwriters Laboratory Online Certification Directory. The names Life Ionizer, Life Ionizers, EarthTrade and EarthTrade Water were all used in the search, all with the exact same result: “Sorry, No Match Found”. Screen Shot June 9, 2008 The Company – Who’s Word Are You Trusting? (con’t) Investagotors also learned that Rick Cabados, listed as “Owner” of EarthTrade Water, has been involved in numerous online companies that have something to do with health and wellness. Based on the collected information, investagotors believe that he private labels products and promotes them on the Internet. The following are different companies / websites investigators found associated with Rick Cabados: Life Ionizer, Life Ionizers, EarthTrade, EarthTrade Water, Doctors Health Supply, Alternative Health Stores, CostPlus Appliance, HealthStores.com, Natural Cures Products, Submission Pros, www.lifeionizer.com, www.lifeionizers.com, www.earthtrade.com, www.earthtradewater.com, www.6869.com/health, www.doctorshealthsupply.com, www.healthstores.com, www.costlessvitamins.com, www.naturalcuresproducts.com, www.costlessjuicers.com, www.dhsupplements.com and www.commonscentsaromatherapy.com. Additional research into these numerous different businesses uncovered some very disturbing findings about the business practices of Rick Cabados. A very informative report from the Better Business Bureau about several of Rick Cabados’ other businesses, which actively promote and advertise the Life Ionizer products, was discovered. Investigators believed that the information contained in this report was pertinent, in that it shows a pattern of business dealings. Both of the websites shown below are included in the long list of businesses run or operated by Rick Cabados and are also included in the “Unsatisfactory” Better Business Bureau report. (See page 8 for screen shot). The report included the following complaints: 3 for advertising issues, 2 for billing issues, 8 for delivery issues, 2 for product issues, 10 regarding refunds, 1 for selling issues & 1 for service issues. Screen Shots June 8, 2008 The Company – Who’s Word Are You Trusting? (con’t) It was discovered that the Better Business Bureau had received 27 different complaints over 36 months, with several of them completely unanswered. The Product – Who’s Word Are You Trusting? In addition to an extensive investigation into the Life Ionizer company, researchers also investigated claims that the Life Ionizer products were superior to others on the marketplace. The following are some of the most pertinent findings: 1. Life Ionizer is not the manufacturer of their products. All collected data indicates that the Life Ionizer product line is simply a private labeled version of Jupiter Science water ionizing machines made in Korea. This would mean there is no quality difference between the Life Ionizer products and the Jupiter Science products, as they are one in the same. 2. Life Ionizer promotes that they use “MESH Technology” on the plates in their ionization chamber. It has been discovered that this “MESH Technology” is also used by and promoted by Jupiter Science. The following is a quote regarding “MESH Technology”: “…the absolute zenith of cutting-edge electrode technology. It employs the new “mesh electrode” which effectively increases surface area. When a cross section of an electrode is examined at 700 times magnification, you can see that the electrodes are now covered in a “super fine” mesh with very distinct high points and valleys.” Investigators discovered that these “distinct points and valleys” on the plates are actually clever marketing terms for holes. They also discovered that maximum alkalinization of water is achieved by running the water slowly, over the largest possible negatively and positively charged surface area. The surface area of the Enagic water ionizer was found to be as much as 450% larger than that of other water ionizers. In addition to producing a higher negative oxidation reduction potential reading, the larger, solid plates also increased the potency and life of both the negative ORP and the alkalinity of the water. Larger electrodes and slower speed resulted in higher readings, increased potency and an extended lifespan of the water properties. Trying to convince consumers that less surface area will produce the same or even greater results is like trying to convince them that a chain link fence is just as sturdy as a brick wall. Unfortunately, many consumers are duped by fancy images and slick marketing / advertising campaigns. The Product Warranty – Who’s Word Are You Trusting? Investigators also uncovered interesting information regarding the warranty of the Life Ionizer products. Several of the Life Ionizer products claim to have a 5 Year Warranty, which is the same duration as the Enagic SD501 product warranty. There are, however, some major differences in the actual warranties. The first major difference is that the Enagic 5 Year Warranty is actually for 5 years. It is a “Bumper-To-Bumper” warranty, including parts and labor for 5 years from the date of purchase. The Life Ionizer “5 Year Warranty” is actually only a 3 Year parts and labor warranty, with an additional 2 year warranty on labor. Researchers learned that the additional 2 Year Labor warranty is a recent addition, believed to have been added so that they could represent that the warranty was the same as the Enagic SD501. Screen Shot June 8, 2008