To think my friend is being scammed?

[chesarasara]

She’s been trying to get me to join her work from home business for a while and after looking into it for a bit I’ve politely but firmly said no. But she won’t let it drop asking why I won’t join her and now I’ve bluntly told her that I think the whole thing is a pyramid scheme style scam and she’s throwing her money away.

We’ve been good friends for years but she has changed so much since she joined this MLM business 6 months ago. Constantly posting inspirational memes on FB and boasting about how much money she’s making. But I know she’s lying as my DH and her DH are also friends and he’s confided how much debt they are in. I’m both so worried for her and worried that our friendship won’t survive if I don’t fork out the £200 for the business in a box and join her.

[Heatherbell1978]

I signed up for FL about a year ago, paid my £200 and over a few months made it back. It's not a scam as you do earn commission on everything you sell but...you have to sell a LOT to get to the point you can make a good living from it. I just didn't have the drive as it happens but it gave me something else to think about when I was a bit bored on mat leave.

I've switched off from it completely now as I found all the FB posts quite vulgar. There are a couple of women at the top of my team who really are making an effing fortune but their posts on 'shall I buy a Lambo or Evoke' are horrible and the 'perfect' family posts they make are ridiculous.

If you're willing to put a lot of work in it could work for you but you need a network of people to sell to to start off with and a willingness to become really annoying with promoting it all the time...

[Ta1kinPeece]

Heatherbell
There are a couple of women at the top of my team who really are making an effing fortune
But they are making that money by taking fees from folks like you,
not from selling any products

[knobblyknee]

These pyramid scams work in exactly the same way as cults, which you picked up on in the changes in her behaviour. YANBU.

[mamaneedsamojito]

Also, it's easy to appear to be making a fortune... I could easily post a couple of photos a nice cars on my FB claiming I was wondering which one to buy then max out my credit by getting one on lease. 'Fake it till you make it' hunniiiis.

[lanbro]

I was given the Forever Living box to trial for a few days, most of the products were sealed but it grossed me out that all the products would be passed to someone else to trial after, including lip balm!

[Viviennemary]

I think you friend is absolutely out of order trying to drag you into this when you have said no. Take the intiative. Block her from FB. And say she is not to mention this scheme or you will stop contact till she does. She's in too deep (or so she thinks) to walk away. Don't let her drag you into this pit.

[Heatherbell1978]

Ta1kinPeece yes I know how it works and know these women have had to build huge teams to earn this. Like I say if you're willing to put a relentless amount of work in it might work for you but wasn't for me.

[Ta1kinPeece]

Heather
But the networks are all about extracting fees for no service or goods at all
its semi legal theft
they do not finance a car by selling a bit of bees wax or aloe vera
they get it by extracting monthly fees from lots of gullible people

[Youknowitmakessense]

Fucking hate these schemes.

Really feel like posting the spoof one to my main page.

A "friend" messaged me when she knew we were having real financial troubles to suggest I join her team.

When I replied that I had a full time paid job and didn't have time for anything new she got really shirty.

She also then suggested my terminally ill ( with bowel cancer ) stepfather try some of her overpriced aloe to cure him.

Happy to exploit the misery of others for completely unfounded claims.

Sickens me.

[LittleMissStubborn]

They do not know and understand the word 'No' it means 'Not now' so they will keep badgering you inviting you to join them until you loose the will to live and say Yes.

[stopfaffing]

There are a couple of women at the top of my team who really are making an effing fortune

Heatherbell are you sure? "Fake it 'till you Make it" is much more likely.

They are lying and deceiving people in order to sign up more downlines because they know that this is the only way they can have any chance of "making it".

One particular fl woman, who lives in Wales, implied that she had bought a castle (on fb) through success with fl. She only recanted and admitted they were renting when challenged. She recently sold her home and just after publicly told everyone (on fb again) that she had paid back her parents £100,000 they had lent her. No mention of selling her home to raise the money though . Again, stating that fl had enabled her to pay back the loan. Cue many posts from people wanting to copy her success with fl.

There's another one who has similarly implied that she has bought a 'barn', but investigation uncovers the fact that this barn is not actually for sale, only for rental. Another nasty piece of deception which has led many posts from people wanting to sign up and be as successful as she has been.

How can it be acceptable to emotionally blackmail your family members and friends to buy this vastly overpriced stuff? You do know that they only buy it because they love you and want you to succeed.

Then you are encouraged to get them to continue to buy the stuff "I'm just placing and order Aunty xxxx, shall I put you down for another bottle of vastly overpriced stuff xxxx for £25?

Horrible, isn't it? Exploiting the very people who love you and want to help you and lying and deceiving everyone too.

You can tell I am angry about MLM companies. They cause untold misery to the vast majority. Check out the timeless vie website, click on the many links, get educated.

[Ta1kinPeece]

PS I never get asked to join because I make my living as a Tax Accountant so ask awkward questions

[GayByrne]

Off another site and really eloquent:

FL is an MLM, they tend to work in a similar manner - the distributors margins are low, maybe 15%, but they are encouraged by glitzy literature to believe they can have a yacht, work 10 hour weeks, retire by 40, etc. To do this, though, they have to sign up new distributors, and then they get a cut of their business (maybe 10%) in exchange for mentoring them and settling the same dreams they were sold. And probably another level as well, maybe 5% cut off their sales. MLM is multi level marketing, you can see where the name comes from.

The problem is that 'be your own business, wave goodbye to your boss' isn't sustainable on 15% of a few crumby sales of overpriced products, however the MLM part requires a huge pool of saps to follow the dream. If your friend hasn't tried to recruit you yet, they will, it's how these schemes work. Once your social circle starts avoiding you because of your incessant trying to recruit them, you're alone, in the MLM's pseudo-spiritual world. Seriously, they frequently have rallies, inspirational speakers, dream reinforcers, etc. The kindest thing you can do for your friend is refuse the products, let them drop out of the scheme sooner rather than later, with some of their own money and dignity intact.

The shape of the 'sales network' is somewhat similar to the highly illegal shape of an Egyptian tomb, however just about legal as it has a product to sell as well as the recruit a friend revenue (which is where the money is, for the companies founders at least). MLM companies tend to be incredibly well set up to sell a low value product at high prices with big packages of dreams for the easily led. The fact that around 95% of recruits lose money (only to be told it's their fault for not investing more time/money/friends/going to more rallies, etc) tells you pretty much all you need to know about the somewhat dubious opportunities on offer.

[jadorecakesnbiscuits]

One on my feed is saying she's very wealthy and makes more than 3k a month, but as I know her personally I know in reality she's facing homelessness and is in a lot of debt. It's a shame.

[GnomeDePlume]

Oh god, I remember DPiL falling for Amway many many years ago. They tried to recruit DH and me. We were given an envelope with a cassette in it and DFiL told us to go away and listen to it with open minds.

Well we listened to it and by the end DH and I looked at each other saying 'yes, but what is it actually all about?'. The next day we gave it back to DFiL and politely declined.

DPiL fell for it hook line and sinker. Amway this, Amway that. The products were amazing and better than any high street product. They were off to conferences every few weeks.

DFiL had lost his job and wanted to be a success again. Amway just suckered him in.

They are all scams. They depend on people exploiting their friends whether it is PC, VV, FL. I feel sorry for the people who get drawn in. They are often at a vulnerable time in their lives and it could be any one of these MLM or even a religious cult. Preying on the vulnerable.

[GarlicCake]

because I am now a Timeless Vie business owner I am way betterer than any doctor, any health issues jsut PM me and I can recommend a product to cure you xxo



I'm a #timelessvie #parslaiqueen #bossbabe too. Best thing I ever did! The future's green!

[Potatoface2]

a patient of mine had some of this stuff while in hospital....drank aloe vera to make her self well!!! god knows why she came in hospital she could have drunk it at home!!! and it stank!

[GarlicCake]

I feel a bit bad about plugging the (FAKE) Timeless Vie 'dream' in the middle of several posts exposing some very sad truths about MLM schemes. I'm sorry.

The last bunch of friends I lost to such crap were selling water softeners. They did work, but cost about 15 times as much as the same model elsewhere. I've also bumped into wine clubs, solar panels, oxygenated water (?!?) and filters that remove "toxins" from drinking water (they don't) on the same basis.

[Dec2015]

I have a friend of a friend on fb who sells this shit. He privacy settings are none existent so I see everything my friend posts on her page.

Her husband was in hospital and she wasted no time in posting photos of him in hospital with all the products - and a sign with a stupid motivational quote on it. From his hospital bed with tubes poking out of him etc.

I feel so sorry that the family had such a shit thing happen, but step away from the fucking aloe Vera.

And lastly - none of these fl type things are registered on companies house/ filling in tax returns as far as I can see.

[whataboutbob]

This is enlightening. Another mum at DSs school once said to me "I have something I want to talk to you about " cue mysterious but enticing smile. She invited me round for tea and sure enough deployed her overpriced aloe based products.I knew she had big financial problems because previously she'd shared disclosed that to DH. She was so relentlessly upbeat about all the products, I tried to get out by saying I have eczema and of course she countered with "aloe is perfect if you have eczema". I was strong enough to keep saying no, but it was awkward. She certainly fits the profile of "person at a vulnerable time in their life" the FL stuff ground to a halt, she then disclosed to me she suffers from depression. I hope she cut her losses before getting out. But of course that depends on pulling others in.

[lazycoo]

Garlic please don't feel bad. It's good to mix up the humour with the sad posts. We've had so many sad tales and angry tales (well said stopfaffing) over in money matters that having the variety really helps. My own tale of woe is a near-miss with Arbonne after a mmc and redundancy. I was so vulnerable and even though I had worked out it was a scam, I nearly joined anyway for the social aspect. Sad huh? The way they prey on the vulnerable makes me so angry.

[Onepot]

Aloe vera is fab for sun burn, just break a spike off the main plant and rub the sap on the sunburn and brusing, I guess you could lick it too but bloody hell its bitter as fuck! And rudy stingy on open cuts/ grazes (my grandmother swore by it as a 'cure all' she had huge plants growing everywhere, i used to like watching the lizards running up and down the fleshy leaves)

[LavenderLedge]

One of my FB friends is always banging on about how much money she's saved with Utility Warehouse. Does anyone know if this is a scam too?

[Jux]

I was dragged into Herbal Life in my late 20s. Luckily I got bored with it (and busy with other things) so only wasted a small amount of money. My brother dragged me into some ghastly water filter thing which was very similar. I just don't fit with the false enthusiasm, so it didn't last long then either. My brother gave up on it as quickly as I did.

Your poor friend has been thoroughly brain washed and is caught in a web of hope and lies. All you can do is give her a shoulder and lots of tea and cake when she eventually breaks free.

[stopfaffing]

Gnome read Merchants of Deception, John Jacob was an Emerald in the Amway business, well on his way to Diamond. He has drawn a brutally honest picture of high-level achievement in a large Amway Motivational Organization.