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Think I'm being scammed somehow by bloody, arsehole Avon

68 replies

PirateJelly · 08/10/2013 13:57

Apologies in advance if this is long but don't want to drip feed. I also appreciate that maybe I should post this in Legal but I'm wondering if I've done something wrong stupid here.

Back in June an Avon Rep/leader knocked on my door asking me if I'd be interested in becoming an Avon Rep. I had heard of Avon and had bought things through my mums rep a few times so let her in. I also was no longer working having suffered a breakdown some months prior so was interested in the possibility of earning a bit of pocket money.

As soon as she sat down I felt very pressurised, without asking my permission she phoned another leader who got brought round in a very posh car and the first leader let her in, all while I just sat there feeling like a guest in my own home.

She told me that her original rep for the area had let her down and that I would have half the small estate I lived on to canvass and that another experienced rep did the other half. She handed me a small flyer about becoming an Avon rep which she told me to keep and then launched into such a hard sell that I began to feel panicy. I explained that I was off work suffering a break down and that I was experiencing panic attacks. She told me doing Avon would be excellent for my confidence and from my round I should easily earn £150 p/m. I got a note pad and pen out as tbh I had absolutely no idea how Avon worked and wanted more information.

Maybe I'm stupid but I honestly thought Avon worked a bit like a paper round. I deliver the books, pick up the orders, the orders would then come ready, I deliver them and get the money and then hand it to the boss once a month or so. I know for a fact I said this to her and asked if that's how it worked, to which she replied "yes pretty much". Herself and the other rep were in my home for almost an hour, taking phone calls, doing other stuff while I basically sat there feeling very akward. They both gave me the hard sell, spending most the time going on about extra gifts I could earn if I sold so much without ever going into detail of how being an Avon Rep worked. I asked on at least 5 occassions could she please explain exactly how it worked and was repeatable brushed away and eventually told " Uh you are a worrier arent you, your worrying about nothing, it's really very simple" Without ever giving me an explanation.

She then brought in a massive bundle of Avon books from the car and told me I must get the books out thy afternoon (it was already about 3pm) I again told he I'm not sure about this please can I think about it? To which she told me to just deliver the book today and shed come back and speak to me later in the week to answer my questions. She was extremely insistent and said firmly "you will get those books out won't you, don't let me down".

She briefly explained the pay scale for how much you sold but went into basically no detail about what it involved. At one point the 2nd lady could see I was looking very unhappy and uncomfortable and said to the other lady " I don't think she's keen Sue, maybe we should see someone else" but the leader replied "nonsense she's worrying over nothing". They left menwitg 50 books and order forms and this small flyer she handed me at the beginning, promising to return in a few days to answer any questions. I am 99% sure I signed nothing,I know for a fact I nerve signed any lengthy or detailed paperwork as I have been stung in the past and would always take time to go over it. The other lady did take a photo of my driving licnence on her phone though.

Anyway I delivered the books as asked, picked them back up and delivered again. Whilst on my round I got chatting to an ex Avon worker who warned me that it wasn't worth it, I would make a pittance and that it was a waste of time. I collected the order which totaled £90 meaning I had reached the target for earning something (about £7 I think) The leader who signed me up promised to come back on the Friday but never showed. I decided I couldn't be bothered with the hassle of it tbh and told her i didn't want to do it anymore and could she please pick up the orders. Although she led me to believe she would deliver the orders herself she told a delivery van was on it's way and she couldn't stop it.

Once the delivery arrived i opended the box to find lots of paperwork. It was very clear I had entered into some kind of credit agreement (without my knowledge) and tbh in my mental state was very scary. It detailed that I had effectively bought the orders on credit not the customers and that i was responsible for returns and paying the customers back even 6 months later if they weren't satisfied. This was not what I believed I was getting involved in

I treys ringing the leader many times but she never answered so I sent her a long txt message explaining that I never knowingly agrees to a credit agreement, had not given permission for one, had repeatably asked for how it worked to be explained without answer and that she had led me to believe I had time to think about
it. I told her I wanted out immediately.

3 of the 7 orders has been friends. While I was waiting for her to reply they turned up and asked for their orders. I explained the situation and thy I was sending the lot back, but they pleaded withe to let them have their orders. I thought fine, when she comes for delivery she can take their payments but I'm selling more. Eventually the Leader replied saying she was sorry I was upset and that she would arrange to pick up all the stuff the following week and close my Internet account (another thing I had no idea i had Angry. She then made some excuse about being away for 2 weeks but would come on a certain date. She told me she had closed my account and to ignore anything further from Avon.

The next day new catalogues, bags and order forms arrived with a bill for them. Another important thing is she told me there would be no finacial outlay on my part and gave me no literature explaining it. By now I was sick of the whole thing and just glad unwashed out of it. I took the Avon books in and put them away. The date the leader said she would pick everything up came with no sign of her, I called several times but no answer.

The next day a car pulls up and a smartly dressed women I had not met before comes to my door. She explained she was from Avon and had come to pick up the unused catalogues and stuff. I gave her all the crap they had given me including the undelivered customer orders which i had resealed in their box. I explained to her that the money from the 3 orders I had collected was in there in an envelope and that it should all tally up. She thanked me and left.

Over the next few months I received a few letters which were clearly from Avon but never opened them and threw them straight away (as I was instructed to do) I had no further contact from the Leader so assumed all was dealt with thank god.

Today i open a unmarked letter and it is from some debt collection agency - door step division. Telling me that if i do not pay £90 within 7 days an enforcement officer will visit my home and they are looking to take court action! It also states my credit record will now be damaged. I mean seriously what the actual fuck?

HOW the hell can I have entered into a fucking credit agreement without my knowlege or permission? I know I never signed any documents! I gave basic details and at the most I may have signed a small card confirming my I.D but I am 1000% sure I never entered into any credit agreement or contract of any kind Angry

Please help me. I know I was stupid in hindsight and should of just sent her packing, but i seriously feel like I have been scammed here. My mental health is still quite poor and since being signed off work I have fallen behind with a few bills so I'm already stressed over debt, but I just don't get how the he'll this can be allowed to happen?

I am so sorry it's so long, thank you for reading x

OP posts:
loopylou6 · 08/10/2013 17:35

I used to work in recruitment for Avon. They drive round streets looking for houses that have kids curtains, toys in the garden etc, because they think that people with kids will be more likely to rep for them. For every person they sign up, they get perks. I didn't last long.

gaggiagirl · 08/10/2013 17:37

I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only one to have been curb crawled by Avon. It was so disconcerting, especially with a tot in tow. What a horrible way to recruit people.
I still have a strong desire to call the fuzz on them if it happens again. Its too bizarre.

Madeupnamelady · 08/10/2013 17:50

My friend has been a Sales Leader for years and that's NOT the way the business is run usually. I am sorry you have had these difficulties and been confused by the system. If you wanted advice she is happy to help or you can ring Avon head office on 0333 234 5000 who can talk you through everything clearly. There does seem to be some misunderstanding here and they can help. Most Avon reps earn well and have the flexibility they require to suit their lifestyles. They are usually trained well as her team is doing well x

gaggiagirl · 08/10/2013 17:58

Have you managed to contact Avon yet OP?
Would you like any of us to tweet this thread?

ThoseArentSpiritFingers · 08/10/2013 18:05

This could be complete forgery because I know my drivers license has a copy of my signature on it... Just a warning that it might hve happened.

storytopper · 08/10/2013 18:13

Madeupnamelady - you haven't been on MN very long, have you? Just this one post as far as I can see.

Tuppenceinred · 08/10/2013 18:19

Madeupnamelady is talking out of her posterior. I know two ex-Avon reps, both gave up because of high pressure techniques and making hardly any money.

timeforahaircut · 08/10/2013 18:23

I've been kerb-crawled by them too. Despite telling them very clearly that I wasn't interested, they trailed me down the street trying to get my address. Charity chuggers and Mormons are way easier to get rid of than an Avon rep trying to recruit!

gaggiagirl · 08/10/2013 18:25

madeupnamelady is probably an Avon curb crawler. Well she hasn't done a great job of turning this thread around. we don't like being shouted at in bold

rockpink · 08/10/2013 18:31

Has anyone found the CEO's email address?
I feel so sorry for you op, ann summers did exactly this to me 20 years ago!

TheCrackFox · 08/10/2013 18:36

I was kerb crawled by Avon about 10yrs ago and I found it bloody creepy TBH.

Sparklingbrook · 08/10/2013 18:37

This is all a real eye opener. Who knew? Shock

Madeupnamelady · 08/10/2013 18:37

No, I don't work for Avon. I named changed because i didn't want any of my other (ranty, opinionated and sometimes personal) posts to be identified by my friend who is an Avon Rep who I mentioned this thread to.

Yes, after i had responded in bold I realised that this was a mistake nd someone would flame me! I wanted the OP to notice the message so she could ring and get it sorted. I think the way it works is if the goods are returned then she will not have to pay for them??

Just for info, my friend earns enough to pay rent and bills, about a £900 every four weeks average. She works really hard and has done it for years and years , she's also very sociable and lives in a small rural community so that really helps with getting orders and reps on board. I'm not sure what the sales techniques are like but have always thought of avon as being a bit 'down-home' and old fashioned rather than hard sell.

It's a shame that some of them use that hard sell technique, like door to door harity collectors, window sales people etc. It's not really on to pressure people...

TheCrumpetQueen · 08/10/2013 18:39

This is fucking outrageous!

Op, you poor thing being hounded and stressed out after having a break down Angry :(

Please see CAB, you will be fine they don't have a leg to stand on x

PuppyMonkey · 08/10/2013 18:48

Be a good one for Watchdog on the telly this.

Sparklingbrook · 08/10/2013 18:50

I was thinking Dominic Littlewood.

Melonbreath · 08/10/2013 19:13

You have been very poorly signed up. I'm an avon rep, I started for something to get me out of the house with the baby but EVERYTHING was fully explained to me and I inherited customers from the previous rep.
I don't earn much yet but I do enjoy it and I'm in an avon friendly area and have made friends out of it.
I would complain. The rep you saw cared for nothing but her own bonus.

onenutshortofasnickers · 08/10/2013 19:59

My advice is to go to cab and ask advice and post on the legal board hopefully someone can help there-

I did Avon once its all a pile of shit! You have to make £70 just to break even and no one wants Avon anymore, they are very pushy and I still get contacted by them Angry

if i continued doing it I would have ended up in the red! There are big problems with people keeping to territories and deliveries are always wrong and missing items and you have to buy everything; its just bollocks; I used to occasionally buy from them but never ever again! It really js a con and they don't give a dam!

The lady I saw was getting pushy so I put my foot down; it really is all about the 'perks' for them! (I have mh problems too so I can imagine how overwhelmed you feel.)

Sorry I have gone off on one, but they really piss me off!

PirateJelly · 09/10/2013 07:35

Hello again. Sorry I didn't reply sooner but my Internet wouldn't work properly last night.

Firstly id just like to say although I appreciate that posting a thread on Twitter can achieve results for now id rather it wasn't only because I'm worried that Avon Leader might see this and come back to my home and intimidate me. Maybe that's me being paranoid, I don't know.

I just keep thinking of other times I've knowingly entered a credit agreement or contract, I mean surely if I had ( which I'm positive I didn't) I should have been given a copy or something?

Another thing I forgot about actually was that although the orginal order came to around £90 (same as the debt) When the delivery arrived it was missing to items totaling a value of £22, so in actual fact I don't understand where £90 has come from as the paper work stated £68.

Fortunately I do still have the entire text message conversation I had with the leader on my iPhone, with me detailing that I feel I've been scammed and I want out and her promising to collect and the date. Would this count as evidence? iPhones don't wipe their text message memory themselves do they after a certain time do they, I need to know those texts are safe. Also the day the unknown Avon
women picked up all the stuff my DP was there, so he's witness to that.

Thank you so much everyone for taking the time to read my op amd offer advice. Tbh I'm so Angry at what I'm reading. I think they do target mumsn( DS's toys were outside that day hmm) and vulnerable people. I think that Leader saw i was vunerable and tbh not of completely sound mind and thought she'll be an easy one to fuck over.

Should I not contact the debt agency then and say I refuse to acknowledge the debt? What should I do?
I really don't fancy contacting that bitch of a leader directly, honestly she was really intimidating as was her Manager who would sit in the posh car glaring at me. I'm alone in the house this week and I just feel I'd be at risk of them coming round to intimidate me. Think I need to grow a pair, Expat told me off for not standing up for myself recently on a thread and now I'm at it again Sad.

OP posts:
Damnthosegrannypants · 09/10/2013 08:38
Shock

sounds like the last thing you needed was this, you poor thing!

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 09/10/2013 08:43

Getting someone like the CAB involved is standing up for yourself. You don't have to tackle all this on your own; it's a complex situation where you feel intimidated so get some help with it.

Angry is good - it shows that you are rightly blaming them for their shitty behaviour rather than turning it on yourself.

shewhowines · 09/10/2013 08:58

Good luck.

Try cab first or contact head office, but I'd hurry up. The quicker you act the better.

alemci · 09/10/2013 09:04

I did Avon a long time ago and it worked fine. I did make a bit of money and bought things for my family. My best friend still does it.

It sounds all wrong though the way you were recruited. If you delivered the orders and made sure you either got the missing bits sent or told Avon which bits are missing then you shouldn't owe them any money.

i think £90 wasn't bad for a first order tbh.

alemci · 09/10/2013 09:07

Yes they are terrible for leaving things out of orders, lot of hassle and time wasting. The territory thing is annoying too when a new rep puts books in your roads when you have told HO they are the roads you canvas and customers get fed up.

However, I did meet some really nice customers, people gave me their rounds and some customers were disabled and elderly and couldn't get out so I did feel like I offered them good service. I was always honest and did my best for my customers.

Tiredmumno1 · 09/10/2013 10:11

I see some things never change. I did Avon years and years ago it was crap, and pretty much similar to how you've described them OP. I don't care what anyone says it is a scam, it is very difficult to earn anything from, even when working your arse off.

No one wants Avon nowadays their products are crap, the Avon lady round here just posts her bloody book every time, I just put it back outside for her to collect. She'll then come back pick it up and see if there is in order, if not she just throws it back down and leaves it there Angry.

When I see her next I shall be asking politely for no more books, I am not interested. Although in my eyes she should find out first if people don't mind having their crappy books posted, I used to ask and have a list of addresses that weren't interested, I never bothered them again.

Sorry for the rant Blush but yes get yourself to CAB, they are horrid and bloody pushy. It's just not worth the hassle. I hope you get it sorted.