MLM Bot Watch 23 - Powered by Twunk's Yazoo: Tragicomic cultic wampum flogging scamalangadingdongs like Forever Living, Ariix, Herbalife, Younique, Juiceplus, LifeTreeWorld.

[ForeverYazoonique]

Still going strong here at bot watch HQ on MN!

Previous thread here

Botwatch on Wordpress and on Facebook

Timeless Vie on Wordpress and on Facebook

Eyespeying's Blog aka #manhun, even if he's been banned by MNHQ

Hommetepreneur on Facebook

NEW Link to the Daily Mail article of 20 May 2016 regarding an ex-bot's treatment at the hands of her 'spline' at Forever Living UK

NEW Link to NastashaBarnbotShingles' refutation of the above.

We have our own regularly returning bots to tell us how bullying and hateful we are.

Glossary:

Bots: our affectionate name for victims of the MLM racket

MLM: Multi-level Marketing schemes - essentially pyramid schemes that are just legal because you sell a product. Reliant upon constant recruitment despite there not being enough people in the world to go beyond about 12 levels if everyone recruited 6.

Downline/Upline: the people you recruited and those who recruited you (going up and down the pyramid inverted funnel)

Timeless Vie: Parody of MLM schemes (though you might spot one in particular) that also carries out fearless investigative work

Hommetrepreneur: also excellent parody site focussing on the menz

BotWatch: Rather more serious, keeps an eye on what the Bots are claiming next, particularly in reference to health and income claims. Also fearless.

Inverted Funnel: Timeless Vie is NOT a pyramid - it's an inverted Funnel, OK?

Eyes: Our former member Eyespying who knows LOTS about MLM schemes. He's still our very own #manhun.

Twunk (AKA ForeverYazoonique) has a bottle of Banana Yazoo in her fridge. She's still too afraid to drink it. Yahoo is important as seems to be the primary retail product for Life Tree World.

Ugh I have just been sent something totally sickening (bot-related)
Timeless vie, toobusy prepare your inboxes

Actually, Jonsey, there's nothing to stop you sending a link to 'other friends' as well. Letting people know about an MLM issue before they consider it seriously may be the best way to go about it.

slugs, the first one, "cures digestion"? Really . Definitely report it to ASA. Shocking stuff.

I'm still musing about that most 'unfortunate' ad from an adherent - now memorialised in BotWatch. Image substitution has always been a quick net punishment for eg unauthorised Hotlinking. I wonder if that MLM adherent tried to do that?

I've had to remove myself from the Nu Skin group I was added to because I just can't bear to see my friends buying that shite. Ladies who don't have the money really :( I've warned a few not to go near it (especially now friend bot has posted the 'do you want an amazing opportunity like mine - it's changed my life'; really, already?? ) but if I get asked why I left I shall send her the 'people are worried about you' link. Friend bot is a very vocal and, I admit, scary woman and in a small village like mine I can't openly post that on her group.

Certain people are very useful to MLMs. Inculcate them and you will have others - eg friends and family but also, perhaps, clients or business acquaintances - who find it near impossible in real life to gainsay them.

It's a genuine problem in real life, Wing. Complicated as well if there are eg DCs who might be friendly at school etc.

sponge the last thing anyone needs during Ramadan is the shits!

Hi all. Long time lurker here and loving these threads.
I was a part of Flp for a few months and went to some training and a big day event. Thankfully I didn't have a car or god knows how involved I would have ended up.
Doing research now and it's actually frightening to see how it is basically a financial cult. Major brainwashing.
Another thing we were led to believe is that we could live on bee pollen tablets and fiber alone forever....yeah thanks but no thanks.

Good to have you posting, smashing.

Welcome Smashing

It is frightening once you see it. Even we were shocked. It was a kind of joke to start with - all the Bot-talk and the "fake it til you make it" stuff...but then Eyes helped us see the extent of it.

Delurker you are making total sense. FL have lead the way in the uk with the manipulative control, but it's endemic in the MLM model. It HAS to be - because otherwise it doesn't make sense.

I wouldn't survive in that culture at all. I think you need to be almost sociopathic.

Thank you.
I think the whole 'positive' talk is what I couldn't handle. I am a positive person but I love a moany day like everyone else.
It's a strange culture but I can understand how it keeps people in. Subtle words and gameplay right from the start.
Too many people around me have been sucked in and still believing that next month is their month.

When you've invested significant time, money and effort into something, it's surely difficult to lay it aside, even when you start to see it clearly. It takes much courage - so hats off to those people who have signed up to an MLM and later left. They deserve a great deal of respect.

Cozie - that's a good idea. I'll do that.
Another friend contacted me today to say that she had a ransom message from the bot asking if she was free one night this week. Luckily my griend was anticipating it and quickly said she was busy...... Bot then said she wanted to invite her over for a pamper night! We all know what that means though!!

• random not ransom Now that would be freaky!!

The advert relating to Ramadan interested me. A quick bit of Googling and I came up with this:

www.timeoutdubai.com/competitions/details/8528-forever-living-products-gives-you-the-chance-to-win-an-expertly-devised-clean-9,-cleansing-program.

Now Timeout (Dubai / Abu Dhabi etc.) is a respected magazine, often to be found in hotel rooms and full of very useful information :(

Also another link:

www.makeupbydeendal.com/our-blog/forever-living-clean-9-review

And Singapore as well:

www.facebook.com/sgp.flp/posts/769891929777755:0

CAM

I've been asked by the optic one whether these links had already been posted here. Advanced search didn't seem to help much so I'll post them again!

www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-3641696/Why-Barclays-letting-pushy-salesmen-flog-100-diet-pills-branches-owned-firms-hijack-community-programme.html

mlmtheamericandreammadenightmare.blogspot.fr/2016/06/flp-infiltrates-barclays-daily-mail.html

CAM

I don't think they have, CAM. (Although there has certainly been very recent comment on an MLM 'stall' seen and photographed in a bank branch by a poster on this thread.)

That's a great article CAM, yet more mainstream press attention and this time a mention for timeless vie! Well done guys!

Oh Yes. Mention of both Timeless Vie and Mumsnet.

Great article CAM. Is nowhere safe from these horrible companies? So glad people are complaining, its the lowest of the low picking out the vulnerable and the elderly just to make their cc's. Oh sorry,forgot, they do it to "help" people not to make money. What really brasses me off is the way they constantly tell everyone about the charities that they help. Im all for helping different Charities, whether through donations or actively helping out. A lot of people, including myself,do a lot of good work for Charities , the difference being we dont keep on and on about it, we just get on with it. So stop polishing your Halos and do the good work because you want to, not because you want to promote your "businesses". Right, rant over.

Hello, long term thread follower here - well done everyone on the recent mainstream exposure! Interesting developments afoot...

I've been lured out of lurkerdom as I just can't resist mentioning that I posted on thread ONE (oh yes!) about a Forever Living display in Barclays in Cambridge, almost a year ago So good to see that they have just realised that "the companies have not met our guidelines"

No bots in my life sadly thankfully so back to lurking now...

Great article, and timeless Vie gets a mention.

Well done SecondRow!

It's a great article! So pleased the message is getting out. Well done Timeless Vie and BotWatch and everyone!

Welcome back to posting here, Second.

Annie65 couldnt agree with you more about the charity crap! Although the Bots dont seem to follow our way of thinking... We all know the reaction I got when I responded negatively to one such Bot doing just that, right here as an attempt to justify other poor behaviour! People lauding their charitable efforts as an attempt to promote their business and excuse other indiscretions makes my blood boil.