New Diet Plan Lacks Credibility

A positive note for Ashy Bines, the new guidelines being distributed as of 24/10/2012 are a vast improvement to the previous ones which were simply lacking in substance and fell short of market credibility. (This includes the Cookbook).

What is wrong with the new guidelines and cookbook, more importantly the guidelines (still sold on the basis/name of a Diet Plan depending on which page you are on and which post you are reading).

In short:

• Noticeably absent is the ABBBC sub-contractor and employed Nutrition For Life Accredited Dietitians from any endorsement of either of the Ebooks. Julie Masci, dietitian, has not endorsed nor put her name to the products.

• Dan Nimmo is the only named person with the least impressive qualifications, when comparing him to Julie Masci, who endorses the product. One has to ask, given the friendship between ABBBC Director Steven Evans and Daniel Nimmo, is this an arms length bona fide endorsement? How much money has exchanged hands for the only named endorsement on the actual product?

•  The use of pseudonyms to provide advice and endorsements is of no value whatsoever, in fact, they are misleading and could induce a customer to believe the product has credibility when in fact once we contacted the Nursing Federation, and Medical Boards, and we were advised that any endorsement would be acknowledged by the use of name, qualifications, particulars of experience including education, as per Daniel Nimmo's endorsement. Therefore the purported endorsement by the alleged Cardiologist, Nurse and Dermatologist is questionable and attempts to mask the apparent flaws contained in the Ebooks and should be disregarded as a furphy.

• The Clean Eating Plan Video (Sales) contradicts the Guidelines/Diet Plan and in particular, in so far as the inconsistency with the use of supplements which is not congruent with Clean Eating per se.

• The Dietitian Association advises that any diet plan which purports to provide health advice, meal plans, and the like must provide the following:-

(a) Nutritional Value(s) and facts for each snack, meal option suggestions, and
(b)Kilojoules and
(c) For example:- How the food will effect the body:-

Issues like what is the Glycemic Content, whether the meal is low carb/high in protein and its value to the body when eating that portion or size, it fails to advise why if at all you need nutritional supplements and in what circumstances, whether the meal or snack is heart healthy, low in fat, sugar content/artificial sweeteners contained in the supplement recommendations, omega 3 to omega 6 ration, sodium content, (you get the general idea) and how it effects your body?.

Sadly It still purports to provide the unfettered catch cry phase "lose weight fast guaranteed watch your waist shrink in just days" without taking into account:-

(a) The age group ranges,
(b) Possible medical and or mental health issues and how medication can effect the process of weight loss,
(c) To consult a medical practitioner prior to undertaking the diet plan to have your personal circumstances assessed in order to not feel disappointed should your results not be in line with the expected sales pitch.

There are of course a myriad of reasons why a diet will not deliver immediate guaranteed weight loss, why? Because nobody can provide that guarantee having regard to the factors hereinbefore stated. Therefore whilst there is a vast improvement in the size, colour and product presentation, it still falls short of what one would expect of a diet plan particularly when you can purchase a diet plan from Accredited Dietitians for as little as $19 and Clean Eating has been around for so long, there are hundreds of free resources on the internet which provide information of equal if not higher quality and which provide sensible advice and does not promise spectacular results, rather focused on the lifestyle change which will more likely than not lead to a healthier lifestyle but may not yield quick weight loss.

Finally, whilst we have exposed some of the negligent advice Ashy Bines PT and Director has provided on her forums, we note she has Australian qualifications as a PT yet she fails to provide advice on the guidelines preferring to obtain advice from two PT's from Sydney, who are friends, and whom one has a questionable financial background. Does that make the advice invalid? No, but it makes you question the cohesiveness of the Ebook and whether it offers value for money and why you would taint the product with a party which has a questionable public financial history.

Whilst Clean Eating is not a fad diet, in my opinion what Ashy Bines offers constitutes a fad diet having regard to the representations she makes via the Ebook/Product/Sales Video.

Further the lack of structure in including alternatives for the International Market, and using colloquialisms which are foreign to International Customers or options which are available in their own country, makes the product fall short of its International Promise to be universal.

The hero of the Ashy Bines Clean Eating Guidelines - is the Facebook forum. Women who help each other every single day with support and recipes which they share and variances to the guidelines, that is the only reason in my view why the business has survived for so long. They do not realise that it is not Ashy Bines providing the support, it is themselves, and they are the heroes of the whole project.

For example, here is a post on one of the new pages run by ABBBC, which show a picture of the guidelines for the international market, yet refers to it as a diet plan. It cannot be both.

In fact, on 6 November 2012, the page name was changed to Amazing Bikini Body Diet Transformations for what reason? It is unknown, save that there are complaints lodged with Scambook world wide perhaps? In my opinion, the name change is that they are desperately trying to sell their product under as many banners as possible, using social media in order to avoid legislation governing their conduct, with a total of 8 pages now running, selling the same product to different audiences under different titles, as confirmed by Mr Steven Evans, Director of ABBBC.

Who is Daniel Nimmo?

Please note: 

Daniel Nimmo is regarded as an industry leader as a PT, see link. However there are allegations that he is friends with both Directors, Bines and Evans. Herein is the proof, and makes me question the credibility and/or objectiveness of Mr Nimmo’s when essentially he is the only name who underpins the whole diet plan.

http://wellness.edu.au/presenters-2/daniel-nimmo/

Dan Nimmo’s links are:-

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dan-Nimmo-Fitness-C-QLD-Naturopathy-Nutrition-and-Personal-Training/173492996073246

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dan-Nimmo-Fitness-C-QLD-Naturopathy-Nutrition-and-Personal-Training/173492996073246

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwellness.edu.au%2Fpresenters-2%2Fdaniel-nimmo%2F&h=DAQFtwAth

https://www.facebook.com/daniel.nimmo

He has also worked at the Golden Doors Retreat, known as and situated at The Golden Door Health Retreat, Queensland, but it has been confirmed on 16 November 2012, that he is no longer associated with, nor employed by this business, located at:

400 Ruffles Road Willow Vale, QLD, 4209
Phone: 61 7 5540 6100 [(07) 5540 6100 for Australian Residents]
Fax: 61 7 5546 6173 [(07) 5546 6173 for Australian Residents]
Email: info@goldendoor.com.au

Sydney Based Nurse Anonymous:

(Page 60 of the Guidelines)

The use of a pseudonym does not necessarily invalidate the value of the information, but it makes it worthless on the basis that it is not endorsed appropriately as previously highlighted.

Dermatologist Anonymous:

Page 56, same analogy applies.


Cardiologist Anonymous:

Notwithstanding that the purported advice is surprising given the education level, the standard of expression is not only surprising, it is not congruent with in my opinion, an experienced Cardiologist would speak, for example if he were referring to milk products as he does, and asserts he read some interesting information from the Heart Foundation, I submit he would have cited the article as doctors are experienced with writing information, they cite their references in order to not be held responsible for information they have disseminated which is not theirs. Nor is it a habit for a trained doctor especially a specialist to adopt the information from a third party source without full acknowledgement and quotation marks. That being said in my view one ought to have great difficulty believing that this information was in fact provided by a Cardiologist, and the fact that he will not qualify himself nor his practice, says a lot, and should force consumers to ask questions. It does not sound right, it does not feel right, then it is not credible in my view.

Sydney Based PT's who provide advice but do not endorse the products:

Please note I am not suggesting the advice is not appropriate nor competent. However, I find some of the background to be questionable when trying to sell a product and obtain market share, when you are seeking credibility, these issues (which are available publicly) make you question why one Ashy Bines PT did not provide the advice, and, two, why they would choose PT's who have had a colourful history?

Kenneth Cheer (whom is also friends with Scott Mathew Dingwall)

Links located re: Scott Matthew Dingnall

https://creditorwatch.com.au/company/profile/84800631915

http://businessprofiles.com/details/dingwall-scott-matthew/AU-84800631915

ASIC – Searches:

http://www.abr.business.gov.au/SearchByAbnHistory.aspx?SearchText=84800631915

http://www.abr.business.gov.au/SearchByAbnHistory.aspx?SearchText=84800631915

Proof the PT's are friends, which may not be sinister in itself, more collaborative. However, I like to provide evidence for comments which I, and the advocacy page make.

We also note that ABBBC was listed on the NZ Scam Watch Page:-

Scam Watch NZ

https://www.facebook.com/FraudInfo

In my opinion whilst the guidelines/diet plan has improved substantially from its three previous versions, given all the feedback and complaints from customers, which still to this day continue to roll in despite the changes to the current updated version, demonstrates that the product still falls short of the mark. It would have cost them very little overall, in time and expense, to have the plan assessed properly, by, say, Julie Masci, and remove any issues which may give the impression that the product has not evolved on a professional basis. Just because it is prettier to look at and has more content, does not make it a sustainable, nor a product which has intrinsic public value or market credibility.

Like I mentioned previously, but for the incredible dedication of the women on the forum who are simply members and who provide each other advice, recipes and support to each other without expense to the Ashy Bines Brand, ABBBC Clean Eating would have now died a slow death. They are the true heroes, and those who have left the ABBBC Clean Eating Group and moved to Sensible Clean Eaters, which is not only free, but offers incredible advice and support, then one simply has to ask - what are you paying for? In my view, nothing you cannot get yourself free of charge, as many ex customers have worked out for themselves, and, in fact improved the Facebook group model, which is more congruent. The new guidelines are also a platform for Ashy Bines Brand to further spruik her products, such as Tone, which is not an industry leader, and is definitely in opposition to the principals of Clean Eating.

The original article for this piece was written by Anne-Claire O'Loughlin, and can be found here.

Ashy's Unprofessional Rant on Facebook

Surprisingly, Ashy Bines made a rant on her official Facebook page in early December. It was both unprofessional and immature, and, as a director and brand identity, it demonstrates not only a lack of maturity by herself, but her post was factually incorrect.

The post in question below:

Here are some of her customers responses. (Apart from the usual "haters gonna hate" and we must all be jealous remarks by the ignorant)

There were some well worded objections to the content of her post.

Let us now analyse what Ashy Bines has said:

Check out my interview with Beauty Haven !!
As always a mixture of negative comments about plastic surgery and me being a evil money hungry witch,to make it very clear none of the negativity phases me one bit.I actually find it very funny what i see people say if i get the chance to see it ;) My staff do a great job of getting rid of negativity around me :) BEST TEAM!

The fact is you have had breast augmentation surgery, and whilst that is not important on the face of it, the fact that you advocate and use your influence to promote Cosmeditour, which organise trips to Thailand for women to have plastic surgery when none of the surgeons are FRACS qualified, is dangerous and inappropriate as well as irresponsible.

If you are always worried about what people are saying about you ,there is no possible way you could be happy.Life is way to short for that crap!

Love who you are,be proud of who you are and the people who know you are the people who matter.People are always going to make up stories and reasons to hate you without even knowing you one little bit,they will judge ,criticize and paint a picture of who they think you are because they are insecure in their own life's,wishing they had the drive to do what you do,want what you have, or they could be simply having a bad day and they need to let their frustration out on someone or something or just plain bored and picking on people is fun to them.

We do not have frustrations and we are not bored. We expect, that like any other business, whereby you have had months to correct the poor customer service, very little has been done. As we speak, there are so many women who have not received their product, and who are lost on the forum, cannot find their downloads in which they paid for. Perhaps you should focus on your customer base in lieu of yourself?

For example:

I hear so many things about my life that people say that there is just no way its true,apparently Ive had a face lift and butt implants,i inject fake tan and have lipo in my tummy,Ive come from a rich family and never had to actually work.I actually peeled potato's when i was 13 for $5 an hour for my first job and have worked ever since. Fun REAL fact of the day haha!! Wendy George my gorgeous mum can confirm this for anyone who doesn't believe me ! ( I am very glad i found a career i LOVE doing was not keen on ever peeling a damn potato again haha!)

Nobody from the advocacy page has alleged any of those issues. We know you came from a modest background and that your mother is loyal to a fault. You may love your career but you created a false document alleging you have qualification in the UK, which you do not have and that is called uttering a false document. Again, nothing personal, but please accept responsibility for the fact that your business model is flawed and despite more than 14,400+ unhappy customers, plus those who have passed through and been re-housed and assisted with refunds, and OFT complaints, the only reason why you have made changes to your website is because we reported a complaint on behalf of the unhappy customer community forcing you to comply with the law, like any other business is expected to. You are not an exception to the rule. You cannot collect monies and fail customers so dismally.  Why not send them a welcome letter with all the information including the plans each time they join? Provide a generic letter which explains all the terminology and information on how to manoeuvre their way around the forums? Is that unreasonable? Surely by now you would have implemented some sort of strategy.

oh and Im a 40 year old single mum and had lunch with peter foster last week and someone told me to do everyone a favor and put my head in a blender and end it. and guess what??
Its All BULLSHIT STORIES and nasty crap that they make up to make themselves feel better and to try bring me down. I actually laugh at the stuff i read now. Didn't even know who peter foster was until i researched him after someone claimed i was at lunch with him haha!!!

Nobody in the admin team has ever made those allegations. We all know you are 24 years old, but we also know your advice is flawed, your new forum is not providing the service required, that you charge a different price for UK residents £69.00 GBP whilst Australians pay $75.60 AUD, and you still have amendments to make to your web site because it still has flaws which could be construed as misleading. Thank goodness for OFT Queensland issuing your company with strict compliance ultimatums because as at 5 December you were still providing conflicting information which constituted breaches of OFT legislation and ACCC legislation among other things. Lest we forget your screenshot which states your money back guarantee, and your continued advertising mantra of "lose weight fast guaranteed." That is also contractually flawed. Why? Because every person is different.

As for Peter Foster, a spokesperson for the advocacy page made the comment that your business is akin to Peter Foster's business model, which was famous for taking advantage of clients and breaching laws and scamming people. Nobody has suggested you have met him nor had lunch with him, that is misleading and deceptive on its face. Another blurb from you seeking support from your fans, which has diminished your standing in the market place as immature and unprofessional.

Rant over haha Anyways check out my interview below and their amazing website heaps of great beauty stuff on there!!
http://www.beautyheaven.com.au/health-wellbeing/healthy-eating-weight/healthy-eating-tips-from-ashy-bines-clean-living-diet-plan-creator-10084?page=1

|=====================================|

Perhaps you can concentrate on the multiple amount of women who have not received their product, their inability to access forums, and their pleas on your fan page for assistance?

That would be called customer service, which, as a business professional and face of the ABBBC brand, is what you're expected to do.

Instead of ranting like a self obsessed ''poor me," how about you spend the time helping so many women who are lost and cannot log in, desperately looking for the opportunity to download product they have paid for. And whilst your new guidelines are pretty and an improvement, we are going to blog about its flaws once the investigation concludes with ACCC and OFT, including the abuse of your client data base to help a member of your staff cheat in a competition to the detriment of the public and in breach of competition rules.

Now let us assess the false testimonial you altered despite what this amazing girl posted in your forum. Blaming the advocacy page is an absolute embarrassment for you when the proof is tangible and clear. Even Jodie's alleged mother and one of her friends confirmed the picture on the right is not her or has been distorted to the point of unrecognisable, compared to the testimonial she made on the ABCEDP page.

The real testimonial, after five months of hard work, well done Jodie, you deserve to be congratulated on what I call an awesome effort. The kudos is all yours.

The you posted on your page fan page that Jodie's journey took 5 weeks, which was not true, and diminished the achievements of a wonderful customers journey, who trusted you and whom you exploited to sell more product. In your fan page testimonial which you posted, advising everyone that this person achieved weight loss in 5 weeks when in fact it was 5 months, you did that yourself, nobody misled you, you used it to provide false and misleading information at the expense of one of your customers whose journey was incredible.

This is what she posted herself in the online forum:

Proof of a relationship between the woman who made the testimonial and the person who alleged she was her mother?

What Ashy Bines published on her page, which is demonstrably false and misleading, is insulting to her customer, and any other customers journeys whom she may have altered. 

Note that Dot has said it is her daughter. It also does not match her testimonial on the online forum. 

Why are you so desperate to sell or mislead your fan base? No jealousy, and certainly not hating, just shaking our heads at the incredible lengths you will go too, to mislead and deceive women who trust in your testimonials. 

If you trust your product, why not be honest about it? Why delete Dot Daniels comment and ban her from the page? Is the truth too confronting, or are sales and turnover the driving force?

We have received this screenshot in which Jodie claims the transformation as hers. We believe her. 

Her testimonial on the facebook page clearly states she took and * MONTH JOURNEY.(an 8 month journey) SO WHY DID ABBBC CHANGE IT TO 5 WEEKS? Perhaps her mother did not recognise her own daughter or perhaps what her mother meant was this did not happen in 5 weeks!!! READ ABOVE ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

(Amended by Cathy Brophy)

FIVE WEEKS IS AN ABSOLUTE LIE THE TESTIMONIAL BY JODIE ON THE FACEBOOK FORUM PROVES IT - SO WHY WAS IT CHANGED TO 5 WEEKS? 

(Amended by Cathy Brophy)

Perhaps you should concentrate on building brand credibility in the market place, as in the last six months, the same theme of customer complaints, lack of service and non receipt of product has not faltered. If you truly care about your customer base, please stop ranting like a petulant, unprofessional child, and take care of your customer complaints.

For example:

Who can take seriously a pseudonym with the initial "A" blogging about the Ashy Bines journey, with the letter "A" one out of 26 choices to make?

Thank you for taking the time to share and read this blog, which can be originally found here.

Please help the international members of the public. Use the Google function look up Ashy Bines Scam, Google; Scambook and Reviews, and see what the public have to say before you are conned by some dodgy/fake testimonials. 

I will finish that by saying there are some amazing and real transformations, and I congratulate those on their success. 

My issue is: Why not be honest? why alter information? Take responsibility and micro manage the problems which you are solely responsible for as a company. We are not doing this for the pleasure, the advocacy page admins would happily un-publish the page, once you stop thinking that the consumer law is something you do not have to comply with over at ABBBC Pty. Ltd.


Thank you the admin team of the advocacy page, and thank you to those who send in the screenshots.

Concentrate on your growing number of customer complaints please, ABBBC Pty. Ltd.

The Story Behind the Ashy Bines Bikini Body Challenge Saga

Scroll down to "Diet Plan" to view or download.

Ashy Bines and Steven Evans began running Ashy Bines Bikini Body Challenge in 2011. It began with approximately 600 members, and has grown by over a few thousand.

The idea of the plan was to help women achieve the "perfect bikini body" by dieting and working out. Although there were those women who achieved results, there are also an equal, if not more, amount of ex-clients that are unhappy with the claims, service, the plan itself, and the emails received.

I would also like to add: the ex-clients/customers who are/were unhappy, are NOT simply complaining because they thought this was a quick fix, or because they couldn't stick to it. These reasons will be explained further in the blog.

This is not actually a book, nor is her "weekly booklet", a book, which is very misleading.

The plan is also advertised at certain amounts, and most customers don't know they have paid extra in GST until they receive their bank statements or Tax Invoices. You wont receive an actual receipt from Ashy or Steven, as they claim the Tax Invoice is the receipt, when it is not. The fact that they charge GST without adding it to the total advertised price, is illegal.

A claim by Ashy, Steven, or a staff member on the Ashy Bines Bikini Body Challenge Facebook page.

Two different customer's bank statement details. The account on the right has been charged GST, while the one on the left only paid the advertised price.

Half of her before, and afters are also taken without permission from other sites not associated with ABBBC. In fact, a Google search found that some of the images posted were of fitness models who aren't even based in Australia. One of the results was of Franchesca Hartman.

"The forum is full of nasty girls who are Ashys lap dogs. If you don't go with the conformity then your booted and put down. There's a cat fight every night because there are no admins on at night. It's a waste of money. It's very sad because this scamming woman is making a lot of money out of vulnerable girls. It's no wonder none of the original girls are on there."

"I joined the Facebook group for Ashy Bines and was intending to purchase the book but her horrendous spelling on status updates put me off. I know a couple of people who've done the 12 week programme twice and I can't say they look any different. What's wrong with eating fruit, veg, lean proteins and not as much carbs?"

"Ps whoever mentioned the 'cultness' of it all: I totally agree!"

I have put quite a bit of research into this topic, and after reading all of the comments and testimonials from a large chunk of women, I have to agree with all of the above. Nasty, catty, Ashy wannabes who tear people apart if they dare challenge anything or ask questions.

Plus, it's just a high protein, low fat low carb diet, nothing special or amazing, just common sense.

The other thing that put me off was that she claims her 'look' is 90% diet 10% exercise, when really that's untrue. She is a "fitness trainer" and she is burning huge amounts of calories.

I actually agree with the basis of the diet 100%. It's the cost, the revolting "we love you Ashy! Everyone's just haters!" members and the false claims she makes about how to achieve her look, which, as by her own admission, is partly plastic surgery.

I would certainly not recommend this "plan". I say "plan," because it is not actually a plan. It is a couple of .PDF documents filled with info copied and pasted from Google search results, except they have clearly added in plenty of spelling and grammar mistakes.

I was interested in reading the documents which I did find helpful to get me on my path to clean eating, however, the lifetime access to support from Ashy Bines is nothing more than a marketing scam to get you in the door, as I am one of many that have been kicked out of the "forum" that is supposed to give me the lifetime support. I have also had emails go unanswered.

Clearly, I paid $69 + GST for not even a few pieces of paper, for a FREE email and FREE Facebook group "forum."

Both Ashy's and Steven's qualifications are questionable. You can try and ask about them, but you will more than likely get kicked off of the forum and blocked from posting on the public page, though.

One would think, that to show everyone up about "having no qualifications," would be to upload a scanned copy of them, or at least quote the organisation in which you achieved those qualifications. But nothing of the sort has happened. Something to hide perhaps?? There is also evidence that neither of them have even finished their courses, so do not actually have completion certificates. 

The "certificate" Ashy has flashed in her marketing video, isn't even real. When contacted, the institute confirmed that Ashy had not studied there, and that it was not an online course.

People have been given wrong advice, with breastfeeding and expectant mothers told the diet is fine for them, even when qualified specialists don't recommend it. Only recently have I seen a copy and pasted article posted on their page warning them that the diet is not for them. Perhaps they should have asked a doctor and nutritionist prior to selling this plan if it was suitable for mothers and mothers to be. This plan is also NOT recommended for those on medications, or, if you also purchase the supplements and protein shakes, for the lactose intolerant, with out some help from doctors and pharmacists.
Because she is telling people to "Google it" when asked questions, you have around 15,000-20,000 other girls that think they are professionals that add their own opinions, almost shoving them down your throat, because of that advice, which in almost half of the cases, is incorrect info. There is so much incorrect information that can result from a Google search, and Ashy Bines or her team are not there correcting and helping those with these questions regarding their health while on this plan.

For the Diet Plan, recipes and any other info you require, just send an email to:

freeamazingdietbodytransformationsdietplan@mail.com

and they'll be able to help you with anything you need.

• No plan emailed, and no direction or instructions as to where to obtain it, just a link to a facebook group. Newer members may get an email with their personal log in details to a forum, where they are required to download the plan from there, rather than receiving it once the payment has been made. 
• When you finally figure out where to obtain the "plan," it's just a bunch of recipes put together by the forum members free of charge, and info straight off of the internet that has been plagiarized, and made to be Ashy's own recipes. 
• The facebook group/forum is not only not supportive but incredibly abusive. There is a lack of both support and advice from "professionals," and if you have any constructive criticism about the diet or the forum, or any advice on how to improve anything, you'll get shut down rudely, bullied, deleted off of the forum and blocked from everything without warning. 
• The refund policy is simply "no refunds," and apparently Ashy and Steven have the right to delete and block you without any warning, if you say anything that upsets her, or anything bad regarding their work ethics. Australian laws state that offering no refunds is illegal, and since Ashy and Steven's business began in Broadbeach, Queensland, they fall under Australian Laws, and are not exempt. 
• Ashy very rarely replies to any questions like she promises too. On the rare occasion that she does, she'll almost always say "google it babe."

Image taken from one of Ashy Bines - Waste of $ photo albums.

Ashy and Steve only registered the Business 19th April 2012, so any transactions they have made previous to this, they have not paid ANY TAX on at all. So all Profits have gone to them personally. Also, the Company is registered as an Australian Proprietary Limited Company. This means that the company has to have share holders, in this case, there are none, and can be sued or sue, gross operating revenue of less than $10 million for the financial year, assets of less than $5 million at the end of a financial year and fewer than 50 employees at the end of a financial year.

A quote from a concerned customer:

"Some facts that have been uncovered or discovered during my phone calls to my bank, Fair Trading Qld and the ACCC in the past two days:

• Ashy Bines business/company/whatever it is, displays (visible only to my bank, not on my credit card statement) as "Sporting Goods Store" 
• Fair Trading advised that whenever entering into a purchase with any online business that you should ensure that you have their ABN, a phone contact and an actual business address, not just a website address. 
• I did not receive a Tax Invoice, including the GST from Ashy Bines which I should have received. 
• The Ashy Bines Clean Eating Diet Plan website is not an Australian based website as it is ".com" (I don't think this is in breach of anything, but it did alert Fair Trading to thinking that I was dealing with an overseas business, until I advised them that they were based here on the Gold Coast) 
• I have contacted the ACCC and outlined my issues/concerns with the business/company and the product sold to me. They have advised me that they are in breach of Section 18 and Section 48 (Component Pricing - where they have stated a single price, only then to charge a different price that included GST). The ACCC has today logged my complaint against this business and will be following through on that. Should they receive enough complaints, the investigation into this business will then be listed on their website (you will be able to search on their search bar on the main ACCC website if this is the case). The lady I spoke to was unable to tell me if they had received any other complaints against this business as all calls are understandably in complete confidence."

Almost half of ABBBC customers received payment details relating to We United, when they paid for Ashy Bines plan. We United is Steven Evans business and email name.

Her business partner and fiancé, Steven Evans, of Obesity Prevention Australia, and Donate Your Unwanted Fat To Charity fame, has stalked, harassed, and threatened former members. The ABBBC company claim to be taking legal action against the "haters," especially the woman who took the first steps in getting a refund and making a formal complaint, and to have them shut down, for "stealing copyrighted work," harassing, slander, and defamation of the Ashy Bines name, when their own work is plagiarised and not suited for everyone and has no warnings on certain health issues or who it is recommended for. Instead, for this information, Ashy simply states, "why didn't you do your research before purchasing!" And so will her followers, continued by personal attacks and name calling, before being blocked or ignored by staff.

One of Steven's threats was directed at a woman's child, there is one account of her "plan" being directly linked to another woman's miscarriage (as stated by qualified doctors and nurses), and another directly linked to a woman's life threatening heart condition and stomach inflammations (also stated by qualified doctors).

Credit:
Most of these comments can be found on Ashy Bines - Waste Of $ Facebook page, in the notes section.

For more information, or proof on the subject, please feel free to follow the below links. They will take you to comments, testimonials, and evidence of abuse and plagiarism, but also the Ashy Bines Bikini Body Challenge page itself.

If you have any comments, feel free to leave them below. For questions, follow the below link to Ashy Bines - Waste Of $ Facebook page, as they will be able to answer them more accurately.

Thanks for taking the time to read. :)

• Stolen/Plagiarised Article
• Ashy Bines = Waste of $ Facebook Awareness Page
• Ashy Bines Bikini Body Challenge Official Facebook
• Stolen/Plagiarised Article
• Stolen/Plagiarised Article
• Craig Harper's Article
• Tumblr Review

Amazing Bikini Body Transformations

The Trial

With the ABBBC brand under a lot of public scrutiny, Ashy Bines and Steven Evans have turned to a new Facebook page, titled Amazing Bikini Body Transformations, in order to sell the Ashy Bines branded "diet plan."

On this page you can find re-hashed ABBBC "success" stories, images of Ashy posing in swimwear and on gym equipment, as well as constant Facebook bot replies to simple questions that link you to Ashy's Diet Plan website instead of giving simple yes, no, or one sentence answers.
A lot of the women are leaving comments on this new page, notifying ABBBC that they are finding it very difficult to understand what it is they're buying, what's in it, and how much it will cost, because of Ashy Bines and co. lack of response to simple queries. Of course, these comments are also left ignored, aside from Facebook bot comments linking to Ashy Bines Diet Plan, telling the user to look up the information there instead.

Also in question is the refund policy, in which Ashy and co. have left no doubt about, in some of the Facebook page's comments on Amazing Bikini Body Transformations posts.

Any person who has purchased this plan is now entitled to a refund, because ABBBC have guaranteed the policy.

The Verdict

With Ashy and Steven's lack of knowledge and qualifications, and the amount of bad press ABBBC has accumulated, I'm honestly surprised that women are still falling for it.

All of the information found in her "diet plan" is not only common sense, but can be found all over the internet for free! All you have to do is open up the Google search engine in your internet browser!

But, to save some women the trouble, I have added Ashy Bines updated Diet Plan and new Recipe .PDF below.

For those who wish to download the files in the following links, simply click on the "File" tab under the heading, and then "Download." Alternatively, using the "Ctrl S" command also saves the document.

Ashy Bines Updated Diet Plan

Updated Recipes

Amazing Bikini Body Transformations - Waste of $ Awareness Page

Ashy Bines Caught Plagiarising Again

As of 16th Oct 2012, Ashy Bines, Director of ABBBC Pty. Ltd. sends email advising her client/fan base that she wanted to whip up a quick guide. Well sadly, she did not whip it up, instead of writing to her fans and acknowledging the source and saying for example " I found this great article for you all which I hope will provide you insight and assistance" and then putting in a link to acknowledge the source, she simply adopts it as her own. By her own conduct she is damaging her reputation on her own accord. The brand Ashy Bines or ABBBC cannot have credibility or integrity if it is in effect 'stealing' other people's work and passing it off as their own.

Respect is earned, you cannot command respect if you are pretending to be someone or something you are not, transparency leads to corporate integrity. This has been endemic conduct by Director Ashy Bines, it is not the first time we have exposed her plagiarism, nor plagiarism by Director Steven Evans. One mistake, perhaps an individual could accept that they failed to cite their source, but after being exposed now for multiple offences of duplicity and plagiarism, it would appear on its face that the lesson has not been learned.

Further it undermines the credibility of the corporate structure, its directors and reinforces to potential customers that at the end of the day, why do they need to pay for the product sold by ABBBC Pty Ltd, when all the information is free on the Internet and there are a number of free groups for Clean Eaters such as sensible Clean Eaters Facebook group.

Moreover if you use the google function there are thousands of links to facebook pages, groups and websites which provides free information in relation to Clean Eating.

Feel free to ask for assistance at the Ashy Bines = Waste of $ Facebook page.

Here is a copy and paste of the recent email from Ashy Bines @cleaneatingdietplan.com. Note that we have now established that Ashy's Diet Plan as of this moment is not a Diet Plan, only basic guidelines.


Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2012 19:25:36 -0400
To:                                        
From: info@cleaneatingdietplan.com
Subject: 7 Deadly Sins of Clean Eating


Hi Lovely Ladies,
I Just wanted to whip up a quick guide about helping you with your eating as I'm getting a lot of emails through with you losing track-I've answered you guys but incase some of you were scared of asking me directly I thought I'd just put a few tips together. I'm also happy to stay after each Tuesday and Thursday evenings to answer any questions!
Getting off track is easy! You've been clean for a few weeks and aren't losing weight like you thought you would.
It may be because you're consuming more calories than you think.
Keep reading to discover seven sneaky habits that may be sabotaging your weight loss efforts.

Mistake #1: Forgetting Liquid Calories

It's easy to forget that the things you drink have calories - some more than you'd think. In fact, some beverages have more calories than an entire plate of food.
It is estimated that around 20 precent of your daily calories come from what you drink. So as you drink your juice with breakfast, rehydrate with a sports drink at the gym, or drink a glass of wine at dinner, think about the calories you're adding.
For calories' sake, it's best to avoid all sweetened sodas, sweetened or flavoured coffee drinks, sweetened tea, and smoothies. Replace these high-calorie drinks with water, skim milk, and unsweetened herbal tea. Because while they taste great, liquids generally don't satisfy hunger, so they are just empty calories.

Mistake #2 Meal Skipping
Many dieters think they'll cut their calorie intake by skipping a meal, usually breakfast.
But this is a mistake.
Research has shown that those who skip breakfast actually weigh more than those who eat three meals a day. Skipping a meal usually causes you to eat more calories during the day because you will end up eating even more food later in the day because you're so hungry.
So aim to eat three meals MINIMUM and aim to get 6 in- smaller regular meals increase your metabolism burning more calories at rest! A healthy breakfast that will keep you feeling full all morning contains protein and fiber. An example would be whole-grain toast and an egg.

Mistake #3: Oversized Portions
Just because restaurants load your plate with a mountain of food doesn't mean you should eat that much at home for a normal meal.
Remember that your stomach, like your heart, is the size of your fist. Don't think you could fit much food into your fist? You're right. And contrary to what mama taught you as a child, you don't have to eat all the food in front of you.
To eat a little less, use smaller plates and eat slower so you know when you're full- if your like me and pummel down food you have to get the amount right instead of going off 'feeling' full because if you eat until you get this feeling you'll be so far gone by the time the 20 minutes has caught up to you - you've completely over eaten and can't move from the couch. Also, remember that portion control also applies to healthy foods, as they, too, contain calories.

Mistake #4: Too Many Extras
A salad is a healthy, low calorie option. At least until you add dressing, bacon, cheese, and croutons.
These add extra calories fast.
One tablespoon of dressing contains 75 to 100 calories. With that in mind, it's no wonder grilled-chicken salads at a fast-food restaurant can have more calories than a hamburger.

Mistake #5: Slacking on your protein
If your looking to tone up and lose weight protein is super essential! You need a hit straight after training but also another 2-3 serves a day -cottage cheese at morning tea, can of tuna at lunch and half chicken breast are some examples! WHY?- proteins are the building blocks of our bodies. They are what your muscles are made of and if you're doing intense training and not supplying your body with the correct foods to generate muscle production you will not get toned and lean!- remember the photo of the 'diet' 'exercise and diet' bum I posted on facebook? That's what will happen! When you've generated some more muscle your body burns more calories just existing as well! WINNING!

Mistake #6: Eating Without Thinking
It happens to everyone. You're tired after a long day and you just want to veg in front of the television or read a good book. Unfortunately, mindlessly eating is often involved. You may think that since it's not on a plate it doesn't matter, but every bite you take counts.
When it comes to a successful diet, make rules for appropriate times to eat. And don't always feel the need to eat when relaxing. Try sipping on water or tea, chewing gum, or simply don't put anything in your mouth.

Mistake #7: Eliminating All Treats
Dieters often become overzealous in their plan and completely rid the house of all the food they enjoy, whether chips, sweets, snacks, or any high calorie food.
This commitment may last a few days until you can't tolerate it any longer and you overindulge on what you deprived yourself of.
A better plan is to allow yourself a treat every once in a while. TREAT not binge!
Remember that everyone makes mistakes, but be smart and don't let these common pitfalls keep your from meeting your weight loss goal!
Reach your fitness potential faster by coupling your good diet with a challenging exercise program. I'm here to motivate, instruct and encourage you to reach your goal.

Aim To ADD
It's easy to only focus on the foods that you're not supposed to eat when on a diet, but by changing your focus to all the foods that you are able to freely eat you'll stay motivated and stick with it.
Pack as many non-starchy vegetables as you'd like into your daily diet as well as fresh, seasonal fruits. Experiment with different methods of preparation for exciting variety.

Ashy Bines Clean Eating Diet Plan, po box 981, broadbeach, qld 4226, AUSTRALIA

To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit:




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This was plagiarised from My Body, My Way. This was written word for word, without even using the spell check to make the distinction between US Spelling and AUS Spelling.

Proof of email header receipt with identity protected together with screenshots of the entire email. As you are now aware, myself and Ashy Bines = Waste of $ admins only provide information which is evidence based and which we can corroborate.

Proof of that the contents of the email was plagiarised:

Included in the image is the link for the actual Internet page, which you can click on above to verify, as this was written in 2009.

What Ashy Bines = Waste of $ Stand For

Warning: A Long Read


It takes a lot of courage for people to take an activist stand and fight for the rights of consumers and/or to engage in customer advocacy. Ashy Bines = Waste of $ is a consumer community which provides evidence and information on how clients can obtain refunds, how they can find alternative health solutions and we also focus on the unethical conduct of ABBBC (Ashy Bines Bikini Body Challenge) having regard to the high volume of customers who are unhappy with the product Ashy Bines is selling and / or the service received by her.

The Primary Issues:

• The Ashy Bines Clean Eating Diet Plan is not a diet plan, it is only guidelines but it is still advertised as a diet plan which misleads clients into believing they are receiving a structured meal advice program. They are not receiving such a diet plan, they are only receiving guidelines. A 28 page .PDF!
• The Ashy Bines Clean Eating Forum is un-moderated by professionals which has led to individuals selling banned substances that are categorised as offences both under the Federal Crimes Act and the Customs Act and which contain dangerous ingredients banned in this country at this time. (see previous blogs). 
• The Ashy Bines customer service offers 24/7 access to forum with professionals yet individuals have to wait 24/48 hours for a response some wait longer and in some circumstances the advice is negligent, demonstrated as an example on one of our blogs relating to the advice given to a pregnant woman which was reviewed by Diet Chat Accredited Dieticians which demonstrates the advice given by Ashy Bines was negligent. 

The service sold by ABBBC of 24/7 moderated forums is a furphy.

Ashy Bines claims that she is Australia's Leading Transformation Specialist and Body Training Specialist, and has awarded herself an award entitled Best Female Health and Fitness Program in Australia, yet there is no such award which has been provided to her nor does this award exist.

Ashy Bines claims she received qualifications from the UK, fact, she never attended this course, it has to be attended in person at the college in the UK, and we verified this fact by email and telephone contact. Thus this is also unethical misleading but lacking integrity from a corporate director of ABBBC Pty. Ltd.

The FAQ’s state once off fee of $69 yet when you arrive to pay you receive the additional cost of GST which also tends to mislead the client. A qualified dietician does not charge GST for a diet plan they are exempt.
Link.

The “no refund policy” which has been altered three times in the last three months is a breach of consumer laws. You cannot say that a person is never entitled to a refund.

ABBBC engages in misleading and deceptive conduct.

The Ashy Bines Bikini Body Challenge = Waste of $ is not a forum to bully Ashy Bines, it separates the individual, from the corporate brand Ashy Bines and ABBBC and we stand for potential customers having access to information to lodge appropriate complaints, make applications for refunds if required and we try and direct them to alternative health solutions which offer a free service.

We support Diet Chat because they are accredited clinical dieticians, because they offer a free health forum and advice to women and tailored meal plans for $19.00. We do not and are not affiliated with them. We respect their Accreditation and their innovation in the health sector.

We also support Red Rocket because it is a free group which provides a nutritionist, qualified PT’s and personal advice. We are not affiliated with them.

We also support Clean Eaters Group. Why? Because we believe clean eating is a great concept when monitored because the administrators of this group engage in sensible practices which excludes illegal drugs, and inappropriate dietary advice which can lead to ill health.

We have nothing personal against Ashy Bines the person. We do not know her and we are not interested in her personal life. We are intelligent enough as a community to not only separate the person from the corporate brand but to then seek answers and demand accountability for some transformations which we have proven to be non-members of Ashy Bines Clean Eating coupled with a complete failure to provide the service/product delivery promised to her customers.

Further by offering a blanket guarantee that a person can lose weight fast ‘guaranteed’ we say this is also a breach of ACL legislation, not only does it not qualify as ‘puff’ it falls into the category of conduct which tends to induce women to believe that her diet will guarantee results.

Now, people have to take some responsibility and do some research that is why there is a GOOGLE function, but when you are talking about the vulnerabilities of women who are desperate to lose weight and who see, on a daily basis, photo shopped photos and some fantastic inspirational stories, the emotionality takes over and common sense seems to dissipate thus why when there are 35,000 members in the Ashy Bines Clean Eating Group and 11,000 unhappy customers ( not counting those who have passed through our service and moved on once we have assisted them with resolution processes).

Now you have to ask the question what is ABBBC doing wrong? Why are they not listening and are they just promoting an unsustainable lifestyle which has resulted in a backlash of thousands of unhappy customers, when they receive the product and question “what is this?” “I expected a book!” “I am shocked by the presentation and information.” "I expected a diet plan!”


Is Ashy Bines being bullied?

One has to differentiate between what is bullying as opposed to what is consumer adovacy. Here is the definition of cyberbullying. Just hover your mouse over the bold text word for the link.

We focus on using information which we research and then obtain evidence to educate women and former and potential customers about ABBBC Pty Ltd and the brand Ashy Bines, not Ashy Bines personally, so please make that distinction.
We do not remove comments in the sense that people are (as per our disclaimer) responsible for their own comments) however our Mission Statement makes it clear what our objectives are and what we are trying to achieve. We will however remove hateful comments which are a breach of Terms and Policies of Facebook if we see them.

We believe that ABBBC and the Brand Ashy Bines lacks ethics and integrity when engaging in the conduct of its business. We are not saying that there are not success stories nor that the bootcamps are not successful and well run, our focus is the points previously outlined. Hence we do not believe we are engaging in conduct which is categorised as bullying when we use facts and investigate issues and post information to rebut what has been said and or stated by third parties associated with ABBBC and the brand Ashy Bines.

The page has evolved from its creation to a factually researched information/whistle blower activist community.
We object to the exploitation of women’s transformations for the purpose on-selling more product/service when some of those women’s photos are subject to abuse and are vulnerable to viral uploading without the person being properly versed or vetted nor explained how their transformation could lead to hurtful hate comments and then be exploited to being downloaded from the fanpage and end up all over the world. We note one of those customers ended up on an unsavoury sexual deviancy advertisement in the UK.

The rest of the broader issues are discussed on the actual advocacy page.


How Ashy Bines Supporters Treat Us: An Example

The admins and other members of the advocacy page are constantly under attack with the most hateful and disgraceful comments, or with comments which are made, then allegations that the opposite has occurred on another page in order to try and discredit members of the admin team. We work very hard to give everyone a voice and we do not want to publish most of the horrible and cruel posts which have been posted but in this latest example (which is not as emotive nor particularly offensive), we were the subject of falsehoods and vitriol, and once the person was caught being dishonest, not only did he report the posts which demonstrated his lack of integrity but he removed his own post and alleged he was blocked when that was absolutely incorrect.

To be fair, his partner was blocked, a number of people reported her post, it spammed and blocked, and as soon as I realised she had been blocked she was immediately unblocked so she was given a right of reply.
We try not censure people’s right to express their opinion as long as it is respectful.

I will not name this poster because unlike many people, this young woman was a real victim of cyberbullying and suffered a great deal at the hands of a vexatious and obsessed woman, so her identity will be protected. I believe her passion in defending Ashy Bines, stems from her own experiences of being a victim, and as tragic as it is, she has never really taken the time to really look at how the page conducts itself, which has, since August, worked hard to promote evidence based information.

A valid point, there are a lot of dangerous products in the market place, but this page is a consumer advocacy page for ABBBC customer service issues, and clearly neither him nor the person who he calls his partner read the actual links which explains what we were saying about Oxy and Jack3d, including that ABBBC or Ashy Bines would not be advocating for the sale of this product on their closed facebook forum given Ashy Bines ‘the brand’ and personal views on Duromine.

It is a clean eating forum, and until the ingredients of these substances are changed, ABBBC could be held vicariously liable for the sale on their company forum in the event that the posts continue to be unmonitored.

Yet these products continue to be sold and further should a customer become ill or have severe side effects, the liability falls not only on the seller but because its in the context of the ABBBC forum, then it poses some ethical and potential civil liability litigation risks given that ABBBC have employed moderators to monitor the facebook forum.

What happened next? He was not banned, nor was his comment spammed. Its still up at 5:15 pm

And still there over 3 hours later.

What happened next? He removed the posts, and reported the account of the admin in order to block her account. Why? When he was still liking posts after 9:38 pm and still remains un-banned...

After reporting Cathy Brophy’s account to Facebook, when he was caught lying about how the page respected his post and left it untainted without removing nor banning him, his report attempts to hide the evidence and the fact that he has made a public post which is demonstrated as misleading and ill conceived.

There were no breaches of Facebook Terms and Policies, Brad was caught in a lie, removed his own post, cheekily came back at 9:36 pm to 'like' a post after he reported the posts which demonstrated his lack of credibility and integrity.

We are using this as an example of what we have to put up with every day. We respected Brad’s point of view and debated the issue with him. We do not ban people without a warning or unless the behaviour is outrageous it crosses all boundaries of acceptable societal norms.

For the record, we are not lazy, hateful, overweight, fatties who hate or hate on others. We are an educated team who spend the time doing research and try our best to provide feedback and information to our members.

We listen to what they have to say, and we accept constructive criticism. We may not agree but we have at times conceded when we have made an error of judgement and we take responsibility for it.

We do not get paid, we do not ask for recognition we are activists for a collective of women who need assistance with a program whereby they feel as though they did not get what they paid for and the conduct and or business practices of ABBBC leave some questionable issues which have been canvassed.

Whilst we took the time to blog about the dangers of banned substances it seemed to make no difference to the moderators on the facebook forum, as after our blogs were written the following posts were made by desperate women seeking banned substances to increase weight loss fast!

Accordingly, despite the fact that we wrote the blogs, that it is against the rules of the forum, there are still posts selling illegal drugs! Some members are sensible but these posts do not comply with ABBBC rules of their forum so why is it un-moderated? They could be held vicariously liable for facilitating the sale of banned substances which involves offences listed under the Criminal Code Act 1995 and the Commonwealth Criminal Code.

This is not bullying, this is a very serious topic about the importation of a currently banned substance. We raised the issues, including ingredients and side effect in the following:

Blog 1 and Blog 2.

We created these only to educate people of what the product is, its ingredients, its functions and its side effects.