MLM Bot Watch 24 - Powered by Twunk's Yazoo: Tragicomic cultic wampum flogging scamalangadingdongs like Forever Living, Ariix, Herbalife, Younique, Juiceplus, LifeTreeWorld.

[stopfaffing]

New thread, links to follow...

Checking in

Delurking to say I have just reported a FL bot's fb page to the ASA - it is full of non-compliant ads. Thanks to Botwatch for their advice!

Some are preying on the vulnerable such as claiming products aid fertility and others are downright doctored such as this before & after pic of the toothgel. Ummm you can't just photoshop the colour of the teeth on the same image and claim it's because of the toothgel!

Well done you for reporting the non-compliance - and well done BotWatch of course.

LTW from experience. Unethical practises. witholding bonuses (except for those at the top of course). £165 for a hamper with end of line products...enough pink lipsticks to hold a barbie party....products we just don't use as essentials. Promise of 20k new products in may which haven't appeared . Members waiting 6/7 weeks for deliveries of products they can buy in pound land . A call centre based in India that offer nothing but lies to questions and no email responses. Steer clear please all. I've earned my bonuses which I was told I could withdraw on 16th June. Now it appears to withdraw I'm being asked to spend another £165 on shopping in order to be active this month. LTW are run on false promises, carrot dangling and unlawful practises. I am only one of 100,s that can testify to this

yesny sadly we could have predicted this would happen.

I'm sorry you've found yourself in this position, from our researches we discovered some very unsavoury connections to this particular bunch.

Have you complained to trading standards?

Many of us have complained to trading standards as it's totally unacceptable. There aware of the issues fully and we in the hundreds have made our feelings known. Despite this it's just brushed over. People are no longer shopping but the big earners are still pocketing there bonuses each month. How? Not paying those who've worked hard to achieve it and taking months to pay building interest on our money. Deep pockets and false promises are all they have to offer anyone.

yesny I'm really sorry this has happened. People can't afford to lose money in schemes like this, it makes me very angry. I am really not sure how long LTW can go on for before trading standards shut them down, and I hope the dodgy people at the top are prosecuted and made to pay compensation to all the people they have ripped off.

I've been doing some research and came across a very informative web site. One thing that really stood out was this:

"Last of all, once you've joined be extremely careful not to get sucked into attending any dream-building "motivational seminars" or buying any "motivational materials". Those are designed to do one thing and one thing only: to keep your emotional fervor up so you will ignore the damage being done for as long as possible. Anyone telling you to avoid "negative people and websites" that "bash MLMs" is abusing you by trying to control your access to opposing information for the same reasons." -

Ring any bells? Scroll down to almost the bottom of the page. It's about MLMs in general, but mentions amway a lot. Scary stuff actually.

Site is here for anyone interested: www.financialindustryscam.com/mlm.htm

Back again!

Quick question for you all: What do you know about Temple Spa? Looks Neal's Yard like in terms of set up (sold at Harrods and on cruise ships, and other 'niche' shops according to the website), but some direct selling going on, and reps trying to convince people to throw Temple Spa parties.

There's a difference still between direct marketing - however expensive and zazzy the products - and multi level marketing, I think. Although it's always worthwhile to keep an eye on companies - some of which may have come up in these threads - in case methods change. (As they might.)

Your experiences - and those of others - are not unexpected, yesny, but they still sadden me.

I hope you find these threads interesting.

BotWatch have a new piece which people may find interesting and useful.

How to help someone in an MLM.

(I think that's the title. )

I've just re-read that and it's a powerful piece even though it doesn't make for comfortable reading.

Well done, BotWatch.

A friend of mine is doing Younique. Shes married with a kid but i remember her telling me 6 years ago that her boyfriend (now her DH) was telling her how she should have a part time job even when she was caring full time for a relative who was in a wheelchair on a breathing tube. So i reckon he has been pressuring her. She set up a fb group , added me to it. I stayed in it for a few days and then saw a post from someone saying "i dont want to be in this group. Please stop adding me" so she had obviously left and then she added her again. I left when i saw the meme that said "When you buy from a beauty counter no lives change" inferring that they are the only ones who give money to a charity for women, Well some of us have longer memories than that .

Benefit San Francisco did something in conjunction with Refuge.

Avon did something in conjunction with Womens Aid.

She has changed the group setting from closed to public. Ive read up about Younique through some of the links in here and i dont like what they stand for. Though them being an MLM is quite bad enough on its own.

Part of the reason my friend has got involved is because she seems to be the sort of person who expects instant results. I know this because of her attitude to weight loss.

Have you read the two BotWatch pieces, Helena?

cozie shes not the type to take any notice. I will copy and paste a post that shows why i think i would be wasting my time.

From another thread.

I have a friend i went to school with who is the size i used to be years ago when i first started to lose weight. She wants a diet that works and is not too expensive. Shes asked this question twice on our fb feed now. She did a VLCD before and it got weight off really quickly but she regained after.
i told her in the nicest way i could (i only give advice when asked for it) that you have to think long term and think of it as a healthy eating plan for life. And that weight loss is better slow and steady. I wasnt the only one saying this We got no replies + no likes. When she was doing the VLCD she would sometimes have big losses of 6 pounds a week but she would think it had failed if she lost a smaller amount like 1 or 2 pounds or it plateaued.
Its taken me nearly 3 years to lose the 4 stone REgain and two years ago her bigger losses coming down my feed would sometimes make me feel like i wasnt doing quite good enough. My losses were a pound and a half a fortnight , sometimes 2 to 3 pounds a month but i just got on with it because thats just the way it is for some. The great by product of a slower weight loss is that i dont gain weight easily now if at all.

But my friend has asked the same question twice now Its like she was expecting a different answer the second time.

The environment we live in is partly to blame. Fast weight loss is promoted and peddled at us all the time

I really dont mean to sound cruel but she does seem to be the type of person who expects instant results which is why she has fallen for the MLM corporate speak and false promises.

I will take a look at the latest botwatch link though........thanks cozie.

Some of you may have seen that a certain MLM has just had a new adherent put their (very full) 'compensation plan' up on the Internet - including full crib sheets, reading lists, 'testimonials' etc etc. I doubt it will be allowed to stay there for too long but some of the more expert people reading this thread may be interested in reading it etc etc.

Be warned - it's harrowing reading.

yesnyl0121 said it before and I'll say it again, LTW looked like a proper blatant fraud from the word go, I really hope it gets shut down soon. Those claiming to make money are clearly scamming shills, you have no idea if the claims are real or if they're simply being given a cut just to keep luring people in. That's how it it looks to me.
They need a visit from the police, please anyone stung by this scam, please report it. It's so dodgy.
You can't get something for nothing, you just cannot. There is always a catch. My mother taught me this at a young age and I'm so grateful she did. As a young twenty something some friends (middle class girls from a well-off background but struggling financially), got involved in a serious fraud via their dodgy boyfriends and tried to rope me in. Money laundering through their bank accounts They said to me, 'you'll never get caught, pretty, middle class white girl like you. You'll be rich.' I refused and they relentlessly ribbed me. One ended up serving two years and the other three. I found out from the newspapers that they'd also been involved in benefits fraud, using fake paperwork, they were arrested and convicted but the boyfriends were nowhere to be seen. They got away with it. They used these women, just like mlm scammers use young women. They do not care about you, they only want your money.

It's a plan that yesny might be particularly interested in by the way.

can you give me a clue as to where to look for this Cozie?

My friend is 43

Oh yeah and the 20k new items fresh and frozen, don't make me laugh. I've worked for suppliers to the retail industry for years, I've worked with the big supermarkets. So I've read a few articles on the logistical hell that is online grocery shopping.
Did you know that even with the vast buying power the major supermarkets have that it runs at a loss for them all? Not only that its a logisitical nightmare, the hand picking and packing is labour intensive and tricky to manage, the vehicles required, the drivers. It's incredibly complex. You can't run it from one distribution centre, it will never work. No wonder that LTW can only manage to post lipsticks and yazoo.
www.retail-week.com/sectors/grocery/supermarkets-losing-300m-a-year-from-online-grocery/5080540.fullarticle
How the fuck can a tinpot operation like LTW claim to be able do the same? Answer: it can't and it never will.