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.

[rayofhope]

Also if you can, hide your friends list on fb, as once your FL person has gone through their list of prospects, it's been known for them to start contacting your friends. Some people have been recruited this way.

[trinitybleu]

slinky that made me proper

[GarlicCake]

Do you remember when we were kids, people bought things out of catalogues like Freeman's and Littlewoods? If you were an agent, you handled the paperwork and took deliveries, etc, and you got a bit of commission on what your friends bought from you. It was the same with the football pools (Littlewoods and Vernons, iirc.)

I wonder whether people think of these MLM things as much the same? Do they realise it's not about selling products but about recruiting - and the vast majority of products sold are to new recruits, who will then be harassed? It's basically a cascade of harassment, not a small retail business from home.

Littlewood's now owns brands like Very, working on their old principle - which makes them look like Father Christmas compared to MLMs and, say Brighthouse.

(The Parliamentary Group reported on rent-to-own in February, if anyone's interested.)

[UntilTheCowsComeHome]

I have an old school friend banging on about FL on FB. I love reading the tripe she posts about her great life knowing full well it's bullshit.

My DH plays football with her DP so I know that the brand new executive house wasn't bought with the money she made from FL, it is rented. Her white range rover is the same. Her constant posts asking for recommendations for a new cleaner/ironer isn't because hers is on holiday, it's because she doesn't bloody have one but thinks it looks good on FB.

I did piss her off a couple of times. Once when she posted a photo of someone who'd lost soooo much weight doing the 'clean plan' and I commented "isn't it amazing what breathing in can do"

And the time she posted a photo of a close up of her eye commenting "35 with no crows feet. All down to FL aloe face cream" so I posted a pic of my eye with the comment "35 with no crows feet. All down to good genes and Tesco value moisturiser"

Funny that she didn't block me really.

[whataboutbob]

the ability to construct a perfect life and bombard your contacts with updates on your every success is vastly amplified by Facebook which in turn facilitates the FL mongers. It's a symbiotic relationship between pyramid selling and social media.

[Bovnydazzler]

FL bots are trained to manipulate and push in order to get their goals.

For example, these two standard videos from Senior bots shows general level of pressure applied:


So much pressure for bots to achieve the 4ccs monthly (and also for large amount of personal usage and related cost)- 6 mins in she talks that bots should be using circa 25 products a day!!
m.youtube.com/watch?v=zwJEUhw8rZ4


Getting new sign ups to call their friends there and then at the first sign up meeting (40 mins in)...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NDtUuqRR_aY

[whataboutbob]

That Alison Woodley is a scary woman. And an arch manipulator. I can imagine many a customer would have bought products just to get her to shut up. Is a bot a salesperson?

[Jux]

stopfaffing's libk to the John Jacob book is interesting. I didn't think I'd be bothered, much actually it's strangely fascinating. I am soooo glad I never really got on board with any of the silly schemes that I've come across. Lucky that I just don't like that sort of highly-charged moticational atmosphere, and that I like proper answers to questions.

[EddieStobbart]

Is Temple Spa anything like this or is it normal? I was asked one day at the school gates if I'd like to join someone who was just heading to a TS party. I was a little bemused as this never happens to me but I looked it up and the company does have a webpage where the products can be bought - wow, it's expensive!

I'd never heard of it before but then I buy moisturiser from Aldi so that doesn't mean Temple Spa isn't a good business/great product - it's just the sudden party invite that surprised me.

[EddieStobbart]

Have just googled more and answered my own question - looks like a proper company, I can't afford it though!

[GarlicCake]

Eddie - This looks rather familiar "I give girls the opportunity to become a consultant."

"JEN, WHO CAN EARN BETWEEN £250 AND £450 A MONTH AS A [Temple Spa] CONSULTANT, HAS NOW MANAGED TO DOUBLE HER EARNINGS BY RECRUITING AND THEN BECOMING A MANAGER." (Their capitals, sorry.)
www.justforhermilitarymag.co.uk/how-to-succeed-in-network-marketing/

[GarlicCake]

Jen's obviously living the dream, earning up to £900 a month. She still has her day job, which is probably just as well, given her Temple Spa earnings of under £11k a year.

[Ta1kinPeece]

£900 a month. Ha ha. Less than two days proper work a month then

[TwatTheNinja]

I was a temple spa consultant, and I agree some of the way its structured is very familiar.

But as a company, they really aren't as brain washy pushy, you are told to only do as much as you want and to set your own targets.

Yes you can take it further and become a team leader blahdy blah, but after your initial lay out for stock (which most people only buy and become consultant just to get their hands on the products at a ridiculous discount and not at all fussed about being a consultant) you pretty much just do how ever many classes you want, the only 'pressure' you get is you can see on a league table what everyones else has sold each month. It's broken down to your team then local area. With the top ten sellers nationally.

It didn't bother me were I was on the table as I took it on as extra income.

In a way it was easy money, because the products are good and sold themselves as everyone gets to try everything on the night.

I would have paid £150 for my pack which had everything in, to start doing partys. But I couldn't afford it, I couldn't even afford the moisturiser I wanted. I went to every party that my friends were having, just so I could get a free facial so the consultant paid for the starter pack then did my first party for me to get the me the best commission she earnt me £90, then I did two more myself gave her what I owed her. Kept the rest.

From there getting new partys was easy, if I booked 2-3 from each party, it meant you kept the ball was Rolling, and moving into new networks,


What they did encourage you to do was to use your data base of customers, you'd email them with the latest offers, they then order through your website(which came part of the starter pack) you get the commission.

The people who founded temple spa are the same people who set up virgin V partys.

They did have "inspirational" days which after the first I couldn't be bothered to go to.

I only gave it up due to circumstances changing at home.

Don't ask what the commission was I can't remember sorry

Don't get me wrong there was plenty of extra things I could have bought to show people. But I only bought Christmas specials as they were what I wanted so I could use them after, and they always brought orders in, because people wanted to buy gift set for presents.