To be really disappointed and angry that NCT allow MLMs so much access to vulnerable new mums

[throwingpebbles]

Just that really. Was discussing with my mum about MLM's like Forever Living and how awful it is that they

• target new mums in particular and exploit their divided wishes to be with their children / need to earn money
• make completely unfounded claims about purported health benefits of the products

I then got on to explaining how these very companies are at nearly every NCT event; and worse still discussions on mumsnet and a Google search suggests many NCT committee members themselves are involved

In the words of my mum " thirty years ago the worst danger at an NCT coffee morning was being given a cup of tea with goats milk in it. Now you risk being sucked into an organisation that exploits women and encouraged them to make ridiculous claims about aloe"

It is just really disappointing. I thought NCT was there to advise and protect women?? Instead they are allowing ready access to MLMs that make it clear in their training that a key "target" for recruitment should be new mums! Plus they are encouraged to make far fetched claims about the health benefits of the products

Fittingly, after ranting away to my mum, I came home and found
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1699236280347393&id=1647635148840840&notif_t=like&ref=m_notif

Drink sell some aloe shit op, that'll make you feel better...

I do agree Moving. The support and training for branches is shocking. I'm standing down at our next AGM as I've had enough. Head office peddle so much 'do this' or 'don't do that' but leave glaringly huge holes like this.

jess

Good luck to you Tadpole. I left a while ago and it's been a total relief.

That said I'd never allow any of this mlm in any of my branches. But without a firm, hard line from UKO it's pissing in the wind if others feel differently, don't police things properly or just plain don't think.

Is Neals Yard Remedies seen as an MLM? I see a lot of that being promoted in my news feeds with products for children. But I don't see how it would work when someone can just go into one of their shops, why wait for the stuff to be delivered?

I guess if you even have a few vocal FL peddlers in a committee then it is going to be impossible to do anything about it without a clear directive from head office.... But then why have no other committee members done that? Even a quick investigation shows how dodgy this stuff is

Here's another one

Well there may not be any other committee members for a start. Also until or unless someone is actually doing something dubious (and Forever Living/herbal life et al skirt close to the wind on this and actually make different claims depending on which side of the Atlantic they're targeting) there's not much to complain about unless it's the general principle of MLM... but as I said before, pretty much pissing in the wind on that one if the majority say it's ok. Personally I think stuff like that should come down to a membership vote but what do I know?

Also head office are generally pretty shit but they will react to a complaint. Ime.

I think you are being very patronising to new parents actually.

Well all the MLMs seem to think they are the key "target" for recruiting...

If you want to know where I am coming from you need to read this really awful story and the posts that follow

And for an idea of some of the regulatory /ethical issues with Forever have a look at this

So are you going to complain to head office?

That sounds like a good idea, yes

I think you are being very patronising to new parents actually. Snap! The parents, I assume, are free to do their homework & decide if they want to take part in this.

I don't think anyone is trying to patronise new parents by calling them vulnerable. They are not vulnerable in that they can't think for themselves, they are vulnerable to being sucked into MLMs.

During times of uncertainty, stress, change, isolation and financial worries people get tricked into joining these schemes. Add into the mix some hormones, sleep deprivation, emotional blackmail and the offer of friendships and belonging, new parents are easy targets.

They need a little more protection from this exploitation than your average person.

I don't think you're being patronising at all. As someone who was sucked into Forever Living, I think a complaint or 2 from different people to NCT HO is a great idea.

I hadn't realised at the time but I was the ideal target with a new family on maternity. I actually lost money trying to make it work as do the majority that join.

There needs to be more information out there for companies like NCT and schools to understand the dark side of mlm and why they shouldn't support it

wibbly Neals Yard is an MLM, or the direct selling bit of it is anyway. I share your confusion though about why anyone wouldn't just go to a shop.

I don't think it's patronising. The MLM training tells these people that maternity leave is the best time to recruit. The MLMs are borderline legal and 99% of people who sign up will lose money. Sales that people do make are based on some really big misrepresentations about health benefits, including those for children. Taking all that into account, why would NCT give access to its members?

Not all NCT branches allow FL and the like at their events. Our branch doesn't allow FL due to its unsubstantiated claims but we do allow Stella & Dot and Phoenix cards, for example.

All of the NCT branches are run by volunteers and are allowed a certain degree of autonomy however there are strict guidelines around certain companies like Nestle.

I guess the problem of excluding one MLM (FL) when you allow others at your events (Stella & Dot) is, legally, the challenge. How could you justify it?

shirking that's a loophole that MLM peddlers will exploit so better then to have a complete ban on the sale of any MLM products.

This is really bad business. The NCT is in a position of authority and have a responsibility to ensure all those acting in their name are acting ethically. If the problem is sufficiently understood at branch level (inasmuch as different branches have different policies) then why haven't the branches against MLM succeeded in changing head office's mind? What difference will any of us complaining make? Can anyone from NCT shed some light please?

And no this is not patronising to new mums at all. A defence laced with vested interests, surely. Being a new mum myself I know how vulnerable I was to any and all suggestions of how to have a better life for me and my baby. Not all new mums will see through these cons, hence why we are seeing evidence in the 'money matters' MLM thread that playgroups are prime stalking round for these desperate peddlers of snake oil.

I wasn't intending to be patronising. But you only have to look at how explosive sahm v wohm debates can get on here to realise it is a very real tension there.

I was on the NCT committee 10 years ago and I did used to think that there was a distinct lack of guidance from HQ as to how we should be running our branch (I ran the group emails and website, I used to think I could do with guidance about data protection etc but never found any). We used to routinely have Phoenix cards at our events, I think we were vaguely aware that it was some sort of MLM but the reps were not at all pushy and there were never any problems so we would not have realised the issues if we had been approached by FL. Similar on school PTA, we've always had Phoenix cards and lately Stella and Dot and Tropic Skincare but never a whiff of recruiting going on.

To me, NCT having these companies at there events lends them an air of legitimacy and trustworthiness that they certainly do not deserve.

whoknows but I expect the recruiting wouldn't happen overtly at the events. But any contacts taken would be followed up later. There is a comment on another thread on here where a member of school staff was using contacts gained through the school to try and recruit!