Hi huns!
You may have got this b4 - I dont follow this thread daily but warmly support your efforts - but latest on Amway from the US
https://quackwatch.org/ncahf/digest26/26-38/
Amway, two affiliates must pay $225 million to resolve allegations of unfair, deceptive tactics. Under a proposed order (42-page PDF), Amway Corp., one of the largest multilevel marketing companies in the U.S., and two of its affiliates—World Wide Group, L.L.C. (WWG) and Leadership Team Development Inc. (LTD)—must pay $225 million to settle allegations by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the state of Washington, that the companies use unfair and deceptive tactics to recruit members to its direct selling and multilevel marketing opportunity. Nearly all of the monetary relief is for redress to consumers who were harmed.
Amway offers a moneymaking opportunity that it claims gives individuals, referred to as Independent Business Owners (IBOs), the chance to own and operate their own business selling a variety of consumer products, ranging from nutritional supplements to energy drinks to health and beauty products. WWG and LTD are two of Amway’s largest “approved provider” groups that recruit individuals to join Amway as IBOs. They sell training materials and services to IBOs that are allegedly marketed as being essential to becoming a successful Amway IBO.
In their complaint (83-page PDF), the FTC and Washington alleged that Amway, WWG, and LTD deceived consumers by:
- misrepresenting likely earnings to incentivize and pressure IBOs to buy Amway products they don’t want and that end up being difficult to sell
- instructing IBOs to falsely report selling products that they, in fact, did not sell, to create the appearance that the Amway opportunity revolves around selling products rather than attempting to recruit new IBOs to purchase Amway products
- falsely telling IBOs that they are likely to earn substantial income, exceeding $40,000 a year, or that they are likely to earn income that will replace their full-time job or allow them to retire early, when most IBOs who joined WWG or LTD after 2020 spent more money on Amway products and training than they received from Amway
- falsely telling IBOs that they are likely to recruit multiple IBOs into the business to help them succeed, when in fact most consumers who joined Amway and WWG or LTD did not recruit multiple participants
- falsely telling IBOs that they are joining an exclusive opportunity in which they will get access to mentoring from highly successful leaders, when in fact the Amway opportunity is open to any prospective IBO who follows the instructions of their recruiter, and the “mentors” IBOs work with are typically not highly successful
According to the complaint, in trainings by WWG and LTD, IBOs were instructed to buy a set quantity of products each month regardless of whether the IBOs can resell them or want them for themselves and to focus their time on trying to recruit others to duplicate that behavior. Thus, the defendants set up an unfair and unlawful system to pressure IBOs to purchase Amway products for reasons other than genuine demand for them. Under the proposed order, the defendants must change their business practices so that:
- IBOs will be required to sell to others at least 70% of the products they purchase from Amway each month.
- Recruiters will receive substantially reduced compensation if the IBOs they recruit buy products but do not resell them.
- IBOs will need to report all of their customer sales promptly, including the actual sales price, and Amway will send receipts to all of an IBO’s customers.
- Amway must terminate IBOs who fake sales or teach others to do so.
- Amway’s sales records will be audited regularly by an independent outside auditor.
- IBOs will be required to receive training on these rules and others prior to being allowed to recruit.
- Amway must require approved providers, including WWG and LTD, to not charge new IBOs for any training or services during their