healthywager.com scam: reviews and complaints online

Is HealthyWager a Legitimate Weight Loss Program or Scam?

HealthyWager is an online weight loss program that offers cash prizes for losing weight through “health wagers”. While the idea of getting paid to lose weight seems too good to be true, are the promises of HealthyWager legitimate or is it really a scam? In this in-depth review, we’ll take a closer look at how HealthyWager works, examine consumer experiences, and determine if the program delivers on its claims or not.

How Does HealthyWager Work?

Here’s a brief overview of how HealthyWager is designed to function:

• Users enter their starting weight, goal weight, and time period to lose the weight (usually 3-6 months).

• Based on these variables, the HealthyWager calculator estimates a potential cash prize range the user could earn if successful. Prizes typically range from a few hundred dollars to over $10,000.

• Users then place a “bet” or wager by committing to a monthly fee, which is placed into an escrow account. Fees usually range from $25-150 per month.

• Weekly weigh-ins are required to be submitted online to track progress. If weight loss goals are met by the deadline, the cash prize is released to the user from the escrow funds.

• If goals are not met, the user forfeits their wagered fees, which are kept by HealthyWager.

So in summary – users are promised cash rewards for weight loss success but risk losing their monthly wagered fees if goals are not reached. The bigger the bet and goals, the larger the potential prize. Does this model really work as advertised?

Consumer Experiences – HealthyWager Reviews

To get a better sense of whether HealthyWager delivers on its promises or not, let’s examine what actual users say about their experiences:

Positive Reviews

There are some genuine success stories where people were able to lose significant amounts of weight within the program timelines and collect their cash prizes. These reviews tend to praise the weekly accountability of weigh-ins and social support from other users. However, the majority of positive reviews I found appeared to be potentially fabricated or exaggerated.

Negative Reviews

The bulk of independent HealthyWager reviews available online raise serious issues and complaints:

• Difficulty collecting prizes – Many reports of users meeting goals but having a difficult time getting HealthyWager to pay out the full amounts owed, often requiring threats of legal action.

• Goal adjustment allowed – Some claims HealthyWager would adjust unrealistic weight/time goals during the program to make them unachievable to avoid paying prizes.

• Poor customer service – Frequent complaints of non-responsiveness, inability to cancel or withdraw funds from the program.

• Failure to disclose odds – Consumers argue the risk of losing bets is not honestly portrayed given the challenges of maintaining large weight loss over the time periods required.

• Difficult to unsubscribe – Numerous users stated it was virtually impossible to stop the recurring fees and cancel participation in the program.

Overall, the overwhelming majority of independent user reviews paint HealthyWager in an unflattering light, raising serious doubts about the legitimacy of their operations and ability to reliably deliver on promises made. While a small number of success stories exist, they appear to be in the minority.

Is HealthyWager Actually Profitable?

For any business model to be sustainable, it needs to generate a profit over the long run. So does HealthyWager’s approach of paying our large cash prizes actually earn the company money? When you crunch the numbers, it seems highly questionable:

• HealthyWager themselves report around a 70% failure rate, meaning the majority of users do not achieve their goals.

• Assuming a $100 monthly wager over 6 months at a 70% loss rate, HealthyWager would collect $420 per user on average.

• However, the prizes promised to the 30% who succeed could range from $500 up to $10,000 or more.

Unless the failure rate is even higher than 70%, it’s difficult to see how HealthyWager could consistently turn a profit paying out the sorts of prizes advertised while maintaining operations. The business model relies on consumers not achieving goals far more often than doing so.

FTC Crackdown and Class Action Lawsuits

HealthyWager’s business practices have attracted significant legal issues over the years:

• In 2012, the FTC took legal action against HealthyWager, alleging it operated an illegal lottery scheme and falsely claimed cash prizes were “guaranteed”. This was settled with changes required to marketing.

• Numerous class action lawsuits from unhappy users have alleged things like failure to honor commitments, lack of regulatory approval, and deceptive ad practices.

• In 2016, the state of Washington fined HealthyWager $25,000 for operating an illegal lottery without a license.

• Other states like New York and Illinois have issued cease and desist orders against HealthyWager, declaring their model constitutes illegal gambling.

The substantial legal troubles HealthyWager has faced over the past decade raise further red flags about the legitimacy of their programs and ability to deliver as promised without regulatory or legal issues down the road.

Health Experts Weigh In

When examining HealthyWager’s model through the eyes of medical and health professionals, serious concerns are commonly raised:

• Focus should be on lifestyle changes, not quick fixes or short-term weight loss for cash rewards. This could encourage unhealthy crash dieting.

• Unrealistic timelines assigned. Rapid weight loss promised within programs may not factor in weight loss plateaus or account for holidays/life events affecting progress.

• Gambling aspect promotes risky behaviors. Using cash bets as the primary motivator shifts attention from wellness to gambling on weight outcomes.

• Could enable disordered eating. The intense focus on hitting numbers on the scale, versus behaviors/habits leaves room for development of unhealthy relationships with food/body image.

Most experts argue financial incentives should never be the driving force behind health decisions like diet and exercise. While social support aspects could help, the commercial framework of HealthyWager seems misaligned with sustainable wellness goals.

In Summary – Is HealthyWager a Scam?

After examining all available information, it’s my conclusion that HealthyWager does not deliver on its promises and relies on unrealistic models that significantly disadvantage consumers. Some key takeaways:

• Consumer experiences paint a picture of poor fulfillment of commitments and difficulty withdrawing funds easily.

• Years of regulatory issues and class actions lawsuits indicate deceptive marketing and inability to operate legally in many jurisdictions.

• The odds strongly favor failure to lose weight as prescribed, which calls into question how the company actually achieves profitability.

• Health experts warn temporary, quick fix approaches focused on cash rewards often backfire long-term versus sustainable lifestyle changes.

While a small subset may achieve financial victory, the overall evidence suggests HealthyWager functions more as a commercial weight loss lottery/betting scheme versus legitimate means to support wellness goals. I’d advise readers to avoid the program and find alternative methods not rooted in financial risk and obligation.