http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/fitness/power-balance-bracelets-exposed-as-a-sham-20101223-195u7.html

A bracelet worn by high profile sports stars that claims to improve athletic performance has been exposed as a sham by the consumer watchdog.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has ordered Power Balance Australia to refund all customers who feel they were misled by the supposed benefits of Power Balance bracelets.

The wristbands were touted as providing better balance, strength and flexibility by working with the wearer's "natural energy field".

Cricketer Kevin Pietersen, AFL bad boy Brendan Fevola and NRL star Benji Marshall have all been known to wear the bracelets.

But ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said in a statement: “Power Balance has admitted that there is no credible scientific basis for the claims and therefore no reasonable grounds for making representations about the benefits of the product.

“Its conduct may have contravened the misleading and deceptive conduction section of the Trade Practices Act 1974," Mr Samuel said.

"When a product is heavily promoted, sold at major sporting stores and worn by celebrities, consumers tend to give a certain legitimacy to the product and the representations being made."

The bracelets currently sell for $29.90 on the company's website, down from $60 earlier in the year.

Mr Samuel also warned that retailers that continue to sell the products with misleading advertising or packaging would be open to action from the ACCCC.

Last month an independent review panel that deals with complaints about breaches of the therapeutic goods advertising code found that powerbalance.com.au violated the code.

Power Balance acknowledged it had breached the code and said the relevant claims had been removed from its website.

The company was also named in this year's Shonky awards.

Consumer advocate group Choice found the bracelets were just rubber bands with plastic holograms.

"The band was tested at CHOICE under controlled lab conditions which showed it did little else than empty purchasers' wallets," Choice said in October.

They were selling these things for SIXTY f*cking dollars? REALLY?

That's incredible. I know a few of you bought these for riding, so it's best you call them up and get your money back.

Saw this today.  Glad to see some justice done...if only the U.S. would follow suit.

Its like skynet , self aware.

Not gonna lie, i own the pendant!   But we all knew it was the placebo effect..... Did'nt we?

If you, (rhetorical you throughout) didn't know that this was a total scam from the moment you heard about it then I think that you have spent too much time huffing paint.

I mean come on, a bracelet that will give you better balance and coordination that can pretty much only be developed through practice and repetition? Really? The leap of faith was really worth 60 dollars?

You guys who bought this thing were the woman in white gloves and power balance was literally selling you popsicles made of menstrual blood and you willingly paid money while knowing EXACTLY what you were getting. If you didn't put two and two together... Wow.  

edit: harsh words I know, but for christs sake how gullible can people get?

Well we arnt all negative like you... Sum people want to believe, and if thats what helps improve there game then so be it..... Some people look to god for help..... He does'nt exist but followers still find strength in it, because they believe....

Ahem, please try and rectify these two conflicting statements. I'll grab popcorn while you run through the gymnastics to work out why I'm the one being negative in not buying into a product that doesn't have an iota of scientific fact backing it up, meanwhile you flat out state that something well over half the billions of people on earth believe in one way or another simply doesn't exist like you're somehow preview to information the rest of us aren't. Meanwhile, you're the proud owner of something that is about equal to a glorified slap bracelet because you thought buying into the con was somehow helpful in the grand scheme of things.

No really, try me.

i have one bracelet and it also broked after a coupl of months.