"I am at a loss for words in regard to your story...I have been working with Melaleuca for quite a few years now and I could not be happier. I'm not as inclined to believe the details of this story as some others seem to be, and this is the kind of post that makes me question someone's validity entirely. Unless something has changed, Melaleuca does record for quality assurance, they did when I got involved 13 years ago, and I see no reason why they wouldn't now. Melaleuca is a solid company with a solid service, and when a company is that sharp, its funny how many of these kinds of posts pop up on various MLM review sites and discussion forums. This company has an entire set of guidelines in its starter materials that deal specifically with interactions between rep and recruit, and I am shocked to say the least if your story is actually true."

Travis, I see no point in arguing over the likelihood of the company or the products. Melaleuca screwed me as far as I'm concerned, if not through a bad rep, then they screwed me by not taking action against a seriously vile sales associate. In fact the better me wants to tell you that I really appreciate your offer, and I think its a very noble action on your part to make something right on the behalf of a company you seem to really stand by. The other side to me wonders if you are not unlike the associate I spoke to, that you already know I have no solid proof because the call wasn't recorded in any way, so I don't really win as a concerned customer do I?

All I have is my story, and I assure you its the truth. I am a very patient man and I leave room for people to make mistakes, bad calls, and errors, but I can't sit here and praise a company that clearly just ripped me off. These kinds of things are what this section of the boards are for, and if no one reports this kind of crap then someone less well off than me is next in line for a wallet scrape. I would not have enjoyed knowing a company I worked for and believed in, would do something like this, and I sincerely commend your efforts in regard to Melaleuca's name, and in being willing to personally reimburse me, but I want to see action directly from the source before I change my opinion or stop warning people.

Hello Crytex....

I am at a loss for words in regard to your story...I have been working with Melaleuca for quite a few years now and I could not be happier. I'm not as inclined to believe the details of this story as some others seem to be, and this is the kind of post that makes me question someone's validity entirely. Unless something has changed, Melaleuca does record for quality assurance, they did when I got involved 13 years ago, and I see no reason why they wouldn't now. Melaleuca is a solid company with a solid service, and when a company is that sharp, its funny how many of these kinds of posts pop up on various MLM review sites and discussion forums. This company has an entire set of guidelines in its starter materials that deal specifically with interactions between rep and recruit, and I am shocked to say the least if your story is actually true.

Melaleuca is not a scam, they sell a variety excellent products which have all been highly successful on virtually all supply fronts. We are talking about very popular body gels, soaps deodorants, cleaners, lotions, nutritional health products. Melaleuca doesn't even allow its Marketing Executives to place Melaleuca, its products, services, or compensation plan in directory listings or ads so it seems highly unlikely that a rep would collect information about your son and mail out a kits on his behalf, let alone against your specific wishes. I strongly feel based on what I know about my company that you are either leaving out some pretty vital details about your story, or that you have completely fabricated it in an attempt at hurting your competition.

There is a reason that Melaleuca is as successful as it is, A) product quality. B) an excellent and versatile compensation plan, and C) because melaleuca specifically does not engage in the kinds of things you have described here, and on the off chance that this actually did occur due to a very bad sales rep, the company would have refunded your money simply because you requested it, without disputing the validity of your bill, the company is not in a position to fight you over every cent, it simply doesn't do that.

If you can show me any kind of substantial proof at all that this occured, I will personally refund every cent you paid on behalf of Melaleuca. That is the best I can do to represent the validity of my point in expressing that this company is a legitimate, highly successful opportunity for anyone willing to do the work and build a foundation. I can also tell you that had this company were to find even the smallest shred of validity to your description of "Beth" she would have been completely removed from service entirely. Melaleuca doesn't tolerate those types of methods and strives to honor any deals made with phone center associates, so long as those deals conform to the rules in our company handbook.

Best regards, Travis.

Hi guys, thanks for the replies. It did occur to me a few times that in a lot of these types of cases, it may very well be a bad service rep, and to be honest, I'd have been willing to overlook that if they simply had some type of protocol. At the time of the call, there was no quality assurance recording, at least that I was made aware of. That basically leaves me high and dry as for any type of proof that a specific arrangement was made. I did get the company to agree to refund one signup fee, so there is a bit of progress, I decided to eat the other and wash my hands of it.

I can see where you guys are coming from because I was coming from the same place as far as observing what appeared to be a truly legit company, but the actions of that rep really ruined the taste for me. She was really very "evil" to be verbally colorful about, in the way that she really took to my situation and went all out as far as trying to help me, only to completely turn on me in the end. If she is even a hint of what to expect from the people involved, I just don't feel secure about it.

I can see however if she has them all fooled, and makes good sales that its her word over mine, and that the company is probably doing what they feel as the right thing, which also says a lot in regard to getting at least half of my money back. I just feel as though it would not be a wise thing to do to follow through with the opportunity. Had something been done about the rep (and that would require a better system for monitoring all of their business communications) then I would definitely have seen a more efficient machine.

It's not uncommon for a distributor to completely misrepresent a company or product or compensation plan or even rip off customers by performing transactions outside of the scope of their authority as a distributor. Labeling Melaleuca a scam may not be 100% percent fair to Melaleuca, I think you may need to determine if Melaleuca's complaince department was ever made aware of the way the Meleleuca rep misrepresented what you were actually signing up for. A solid company usually has a compliance department designed specifically to deal with errant reps, and Melaleuca has been around long enough you'd think they'd have some oversight for this kind of thing.

There may have been a disconnect between the customer service department and the compliance department, maybe worth checking into. If you go that route and still get the runaround then I think you're completely justified in your Melalecua Scam post. I try to give most companies selling a consumable nutritional product the benefit of the doubt ( unless they say that it cures cancer, makes you taller, regrows hair, alleviates halitosis or otherwise makes you irresistable to the opposite sex ) until proven otherwise. Well, unless they also sell magic bracelets along with the nutritionals.

I have been a member of Melalueca for almost two years.  I have never had any problems such as you described.  I think the problem is probably "Beth"

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Melaleuca is a scam,

Get used to it, don't try it, stay away from it at all costs. A year ago I was seeking out business opportunities since I have a knack for being social and getting people to hear me out when I want to present something. My son is in his third year of college and I have been retired for sometime, but I really wanted to get out there and mingle with clients, get a web site going and represent a product I could really believe in, that's when I found this program. I contacted them because I liked what I saw, I didn't find much when I asked other professionals in the MLM field about a Melaleuca scam, so I decided to give it good old American try.

You can't go wrong with a company that only charges a buck to sign up right?

WRONG!

I think I played a pretty good intellectual chess game with these guys, I asked them all kinds of questions, do I need to store an inventory, how much do I need to sell each month? They continuously answered no, even when I reworded the questions to make sure I wasn't being shamboozled! I was told no inventory, no stock, and no monthly fee with the exception of sales and advertising materials, and that seemed fair, so I figured, why not?

I probably sat on the phone with a Melaleuca sales rep for an hour and a half, and by the end, I was revved up, psyched, and energized with passion to give this a go. The best part was that I explained to the rep that I wanted to get my $1 sales packet to learn about the company, and that I couldn't afford the advertising packet until the 25th of the following month, I even gave them my credit card info after "Beth" promised me that I would not be charged or sent my kit until the following month. They even asked what my son's name was and suggested that since he's in college, he is in contact with countless amounts of sales prospects and that it would be a fantastic way to earn a little cash while he's there.

I was really impressed with the phone call, and they agreed to send two packets out, one to my son's campus, and the other to my home. I damn near triple-checked to make sure that I was ordering only 1 membership, and my son was to receive only a brochure. She even told me that they understand how tough times are and that it was no problem to schedule me for the next month.

Well, 1 week passes and wham! a 64 dollar charge on my debit card from Melaleuca, and a week after that, two advertising starter kits hit me, and my son. Not brochures mind you, but the advertising materials. So I was calm at first, I figured no big deal, "Beth" must have entered it into the system wrong and they simply made a mistake. Its a complex world full of busy people, we all make mistakes and I'm sure by just calling them, they will reimburse the money and I would see first hand how cool these guys are, after all there is no Melaleuca Scam.

Upon calling, I was told that I was bound to a verbal contract that by providing my financial information; obligated me to fulfill. I told them that "Beth" promised me I would not be shipped a package, or billed until the following month, at which they replied; "Beth has explained to us that she insisted you understood the terms and conditions and that you were well aware of what you were ordering and when you would receive them.

Unfrigginbelieveable.

I can handle the $64 dollar loss, I have a warm nest egg, but I am sincerely disheartened over the lengths these people will go to get their dollar. I won't ever find a kind word to say about this company or its associates and I have definitely began to look elsewhere for a way to make a few extra dollars than some greedy God damn company like this.

Do yourself a favor and avoid Melaleuca, you'd be better off delivering sandwiches for a deli, which is exactly what I'm doing for 9 bucks an hour 3 hours a day, and couldn't be happier.

.

Hi Joan!  When venturing into a new MLM Business you deffinately have to do your homework!  I was very hesitant at first and really checked things out.  I have been a consultant since April 2010.  There is a lot of bad information out there and I would like to clear up a few things. 

Regarding the founders: Jere Thompson founded CapRock Fiber Networks to build fiber and broadband networks across Texas.  Cris Chambless was an early member of the management team at Excel Communications, he was responsible for all aspects of the company's marketing and communications organization. Most recently, as the Vice President of Marketing at VarTec Telecom, he was responsible for all aspects of the company's marketing strategy, including brand development, channel integration strategy, sales management and new product development.

Ambit now offers service in Texas, Illinois, New York, Maryland and just opened in Pennsylvania.  The rates in NY, Maryland and PA are not fixed and do not income based. Ambit give a Guaranteed 1% savings over your incumbent providers rates.  If at the end of the year Ambit wasn't lower, they will mail you a check for the differenct.  This is in writing. 

They were recently named the #1 Fastest Growing Company in America by Inc 500.  You can go right to the Inc 500 website and read about this.  Ambit has grown over 20,000% in just 4 years.  Microsoft debued on Inc 500 at #80.....Ambit debued at #1 - thats some braging rights!! 

The absolutely DO pay out when you recruite consultants underneath you!!  I don't know where all these complaints come from, most of them really don't make sence at all if you understand how the business works......which really makes the complaints just sound bogus.  Ambit has a rating of A with the BBB.  They couldn't have that rating if all those complaints were true.  Ambit is also a member of the Direct Selling Association.  To be a member you must follow their code of ethics and provide the services you advertise.  Many other MLM companies are not members of the DSA. 

The best part of being an Ambit Customer??  The referal program!  I as a customer ( nothing to do with being a consultant ) , referred 18 friends to Ambit.  Ambit now averages my friends usage and mails me a rebate check every month.  They will pay up to the full amount of your usage, but not over.  My last rebate check was $49.43 and my energy usage was $49.44.  I only had to pay $0.01 My checks are between $45 - $50 every month on top of the guaranteed 1%.....Now thats a savings!!!

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at bill@bestworkfromhome.net  or visit my website at www.bestworkfromhome.net 

Thank you for getting involved in this thread James, I'm aware how typical it is for things of this nature to pop up on the Internet from time to time, and I always try to be fair to the companies when discussing them and going over the countless reviews and complaints. I would like to get a better understanding of how stories like this surface however. I think its great that Ambit has such a good rating with the BBB, and that it holds the professional certifications necessary to maintain a relatively good reputation, but I am legitimately curious as to how specific complaints surface. Are you implying that every single one of them is simply untrue? Is it possible that representatives/distributors are occasionally making false promises in order to increase memberships? I could respectively understand this, and I'm sure if most reviewers or skeptics could see some kind of protocol dealing with that, they would be much more lenient with the company itself.

I understand you are saying that Ambit Energy must maintain a certain standard, but are you referring to technical specifications, or the business practices and contract attributes? I have other reasons relating to whom the company is partnered with that would deter me from getting involved, not to mention the recruiting mentality that comes with these things, however, to be truly neutral is to also recognize that the majority of complaints seem to lack any real substance. They are mostly complaints about the money you must invest in order to become a distributor, or also those relating to recruiting friends and family etc. Generally, if you know what you're getting, and you have a network of people to introduce products to, then I don't see this as a scam, at least any more so than any other MLM. As for the customers, if after the first 3 months of 7% off you still don't have to pay as much as you did for your old service, I guess you win.... otherwise, might be wise to really review the fine print.

Hi Joan,

I'm involved in Ambit, and the facts are clear.  Ambit offers a guaranteed saving in several states.  Unfortunately people make up stories on the internet.  If you take a moment and actually think about what these people are claiming on bills increasing, it's obviously made up.

If Ambit actually had bills rise double and triple the complaints to the state would be so many that they would loose their license to distribute a public utility.  Electricity is a public utility and Ambit must meet a certain standard in order to maintain that license.  Furthermore Ambit has an A rating with the BBB.  Which is challenging enough for any Network Marketing company, let alone an Electrical and Natural Gas Provider of it's size.

If I can be a resource to you please don't hesitate to contact me through rep space or my blog.

James

The 4 Fatal Flaws of Most MLM Opportunities

I have been a Isagenix Dealer for over a year now.  I didn't get into it for the business opportunity and haven't done anything with it. I got into it for the nutritional benefits.  I have a rare metabolic disease called Mitochondrial Myopathy.  There is no medical treatment for this disease.  The only way to "treat" it is by consuming high quality nutrition.  I take several of the products including shakes, Ionix, Cleanse and the ageless essentials ( which is an awesome product ).  Since being on these products my energy has doubled and I'm able to do so much more.  This time a year ago I spent most my time in bed.  I feel like I can actually have a life now!  I will NEVER stop taking the products!!  As far as the business aspect, I think this is a hard product to sell in this economy.  A lot of people just don't have the money.  I have gotten into what I consider the perfect recession proof business - Energy, everyone uses it with out even thinking about it and the company is top notch.  This is the smartest thing I've ever done! 

Well as I said, I am an Isagenix rep now Rick, but I know how you meant it. I came to defend this organization and give my 2 cents about it more as user of the product than to tell you to get involved, but see, I can't tell you that you shouldn't try it as a consumer or a distributor, because it has done wonders for me. If it helps to prove my sincerity, I'm not trying to down any other companies or tell you that Isagenix is the only for yall to try, I'm just tryin to let everybody know that you can succeed in getting healthy and making a little extra money. I did save my own life sir, I will agree there, but Isagenix made it more convenient for me than trying to make a home gym and watch some lengthy exercise tapes. Try fitting a gym in your schedule when the closest one is 60 miles away. I'm guessing you are a city boy am I right?

Man I envy ya because we have miles and miles of nothing out here and sometimes trying to get small things accomplished turns into an all day thing. Isagenix was delivered to me, and I lack no space for walkin thats for dang sure. The supplements provided me simple things for simple problems, helped clean me out and get rid of cravings for certain foods. Yall don't know how bad you feel physically until you dump the smokes, beers and whatever other unhealthy things you hold onto, but you got to do something cause your kids need ya. As for making money, its slowly growing every day, out here we have a serious epidemic, don't let the statistics fool ya, people in the country are just as overweight and unfit as anyone else because its harder and harder to do the things we used to with this current economy. Four wheelin, paintball, hunting and fishing can be expensive, and I can tell you none of the folks out here want to hike since we have to do that just to go to the dang store. Its all about video games, movies, and television shows now until things are a bit more affordable for many people.

You seem like a social guy, do you participate in selling any products for a company, and if so, which one? I like my company a lot, it puts food on the table, keeps my belly down and my heart pumping, not to mention my wife gladly taken all the credit for curing me of my Doritto habit.

Best of luck to you all.

"Is there a special place where they just clone lemmings, give them a wad of cash, and release them into the wild so they can drop cash into scams like this and then promote it like wandering disciples to other unsuspecting lemmings?"

lmao, well said.

I heard of them long before they toppled, back when they were barely exposed and I knew back then it was a bad idea. Vacations packages aren't a lucrative product even for an honest company to try to sell in the MLM world. The investment is too big for most consumers to consider making when they don't know for sure the agencies they are dealing with are legit. Which brings me back to your point...

No disrespect to the original poster, but honestly, only an idiot would ever go for something like this without doing much research. The internet is right here, it basically tells you everything you could possibly want to know about anything.

Use it.

I've thought this business was a train wreck since I first looked into their "travel certificate" program. People were reporting they could not get travel, TVI Express was saying 'just a little bit longer and will have it all working' ( translation: just a little bit longer and we'll fatten our bank account enough to vanish to some private south pacific island ).

Last I heard they were shut down in Australia ( http://www.npros.com/2010%5C5%5C19%5Ctvi-express-shut-down-by-accc/ ) but were still operating in other countries.

I always wonder how a scam like TVI Express ever gets enough momentum going to even get their name recognized when there are ponzi schemes and cash gifting schemes and even similar travel certificate schemes cropping up ( and then vanishing ) almost monthly by the dozen.

Is there a special place where they just clone lemmings, give them a wad of cash, and release them into the wild so they can drop cash into scams like this and then promote it like wandering disciples to other unsuspecting lemmings?

I'm really sorry to hear about what hapened to you guys....

I just mentioned this crap company in another thread and let me tell you, you guys are lucky if you still even have a financial base after all the things you said you're doing to make reparations to your friends. I'd think that they'd be so exposed that no one would ever fall for it, but there really are a ton of people that have never even heard of this type of thing and have little to do with the MLM world.

There web site is absolutely sickening, and I'm surprised it hasn't been blocked yet. It has this picture of a family probably on vacation with a weird ethnic mix of un likeliness, only in the fact that a Greek-ish looking guy and a Caucasian woman have somehow managed to pull off an oriental child, heh.....just saying. Anyway, the photo looks all happy and colorful with a big promo splattered in elegant letters that state; "Celebrating two stupendous years of phenomenal success". Anyone CEO of a company willing to use "stupendous" in an add or on their web site is hanging out somewhere in Mexico smoking dope and sipping margaritas with drug cartel members. Actually that's probably who is in the picture on the web site.

I'm sure someone in th world knows the whereabouts of Parun Trihka, although there is probably so much red tape and crap he's hiding behind that if they knew where he was he probably wouldn't be arrested anyway. Its good that you're doing all you can to make up for exposing your loved ones to this, though you can't blame them if they are havign a hard time liking you, I probbaly wouldn't either. Whatever happens, I do wish ya good luck and I hope TVI Express goes down hard and the creator ends up in a Mexican prison where he/she/them belong.

Stay away, if there is even an inkling of this trash network floating around. This God-awful pyramid scheme known as, Travel Ventures International Express (TVI Express), left my wife and In financial ruin last year and more recently decimated investors across South Africa having before completely disappearing and, leaving those who invested in it financially fu^%ed.

It's of little comfort to know that the The Department of Trade and Industry as well as a few other legal entities opened a police case against the company for operating a pyramid scheme. I gravely advise anyone whom has given these crooks any money at all to TVI Express to forward commissioned affidavits together with proof of payments to the Office of Consumer Protection, we need to take these slime balls down before they get rich of more victims.

There are, even now, after having been literally removed from South Africa; people promoting this garbage across the US, luring people to invest ridiculous amounts of money, and they are succeeding. My wife and I have literally begun a crusade to tell anyone who will listen to please be careful in avoiding this company, its emails, salespeople, offers, spam mail, and any informational sites whom give the company a positive slant, they are all in on it.

The guy who started it all is from India, his name is Parun Trihka and has since disappeared along with his web sites used to purchase travel vouchers. TVI Express and its criminals have lured hundreds of thousands of people to invest their money with countless promises of wealth and riches, only to leave them with nearly nothing in many cases. If there has ever been a prime example of a Ponzi scheme, this would be it.

My wife and I had purchased a non refundable voucher worth $700 to become members, further having to recruit two more people to buy the vouchers ( we foolishly chose friends and family members whom have since stopped speaking to us and will not accept our apologies) in order to move up and increase our level.

We had achieved a higher level, and the choice to cash in our "achievement", or buy new vouchers at decreased rates in order to sell to those we were offering the service to. In this case, my wife's brother, and a very close work colleague of mine. Like fools, having no idea we were all being taken advantage of, we purchased more vouchers and sold them to other victims, unknowingly spreading this financial virus and leaving everyone having taken a major financial hit.

We have since had to sell our home, and live in a very small apartment, trying desperately to approach our loved ones with the money they had lost in hopes of them forgiving us and seeing that it was not intentional. The TVI Express scam has seemingly been taken down officially, but amazingly there are still countless people attempting to present this company and its vouchers all across the United States and abroad.

I have had the "exquisite" pleasure of trying the Zija powder, and If you value your taste buds at all, or even feel a tiny bit of displeasure over the many possible ingredients that can be included in your Zija shake, I advise you stay away. It was nasty, with a capital N. I'm definitely not going to pay someone $95 dollars for 30 cans of gross. Its an absurd thing to do, and I have no intention of trying any other products. I am a little tired of these companies simply falling out of the sky and promising the world to everyone with the simple wish of getting healthy. You both made some excellent points, and I am especially interested in simply eating the right things instead of paying ridiculous amounts of money for something I could basically duplicate in a juicer, only this wouldn't taste like butt.

I laughed hysterically at your Olive Garden comments, and its true, its such a gimmick-oriented world out there, and it seems like less and less product is sincere about what it is and what it can do. It seems like we spend all of our time and money trying to find new ways to get healthy when all we have to do is understand the basic biological mechanics of the human body.

From what I understand, the Moringa is a tree, or something like that....and I don't care that the awful taste includes cell-ready nutrients, antioxidants and proteins, and naturally occurring, and essential nutrients. The company also offers skin care products, which sort of makes me wonder. Maybe somewhere in the processing plant, the skin cream got put into the juice bottles and the juice made it into the skin care product bottles because it certainly tastes like someone made a mistake.

As for weight management supplements, it probably tastes so bad that you vow never to eat again, but you've already spent all your money on it and lost it trying to sell it that you can't afford to buy food anymore anyway.

At least we know it works right?

Greetings to you Jangoman. I am inclined to agree with you on the compensation plan provided by Zija, as it is not only difficult to understand, but very much so resembles a hand in cards, and it is not the kind of system I would ever wish to build upon. It is explained that personal VOR Benefit is only earned when your PV exceeds 250 in any single week commission cycle, but only when the number exceeds the desired mark, and You will receive up to a 10% personal rebate on your PV greater than 250. Also, sponsor VOR Benefit is earned each time someone that you have sponsored places a volume order purchase that exceeds 250 PV in another single week commission cycle. It is also stated that you will receive up to a 10% rebate on their PV greater than 250, so it seems that in all areas the simple goal is to have your team reach a volume of 250. Further it allows you to add percentage based bonuses depending on your rank as you reach these goals of 250 volume, which they called qualified active 75, in addition to a slue of other titles for various accomplishments. It is all very confusing, and reveals a generally unstable system to build upon based primarily on random properties.

This is to say nothing of the commission level titles, quite generic and unappealing I must say, with one substance considered worthless at the bottom, and the higher levels representing a wonderful financial achievement. How can that inspire new distributors just starting out when the ranking system sounds like every other one, and really leaves little to desire for inspiration when it so resembles what we call the caste in my country. It is my humble opinion that all ranks should have something wonderful to offer, and retain a worthwhile benefit for those at the Bronze level as well as those residing next to the creator at the platinum level.

Now I have to tell you that the United States of America is not the center of the world for fruits and vegetables, for there are many fruits in my country that many Westerners have never heard of, and that are considered to have many health benefits, however; I must agree that the existence of what you call "exotic" fruits is heavily exploited and often misrepresented scientifically.

For example, in my country you can eat a delicious Rambutan, and much like your native it is often associated with helping to get rid of the common cold, but did you know that there is no scientific evidence that Vitamin C has any effect on getting rid of the common cold, and yet every year in your country, flue season levitates the sales numbers of many American products that contain vitamin C such as Oranges and throat drops?

Lychee is another fruit grown upon our evergreens, and it is also as common for us in India as an apple is in America, and it is little more then pulp, vitamins, sugar and anti-oxidants, and yet many citizens treat them as if they contain the cure to all disease, when all they do is provide the basic nutritional needs which when maintained; prevent diseases. They are not miracle fruits that are worth importing from various countries, and they are not very different than apples, oranges, bananas and pineapples, the difference is that many of Americans idolize the properties of fruits that are not used to.

Other fruits I recommend for you include, durian, dragon fruit and jack fruit. They are all very, very delicious and although they don't promise to increase your energy or cure you of cancer, they will certainly help to make you a happy, and healthy person. Many of these Nutritional companies use these ingredients because they are not native to the West and introduce them along with pointing out why they are good for you, when the same could be done with an orange or an apple, which both contain anti-oxidants as well as other nutritional components, and yet they just don't sound very impressive do they?

A company can not take an orange, and tell you that lab studies show it is rich in Vitamin C and anti-oxidants and make it into a special powderized shake that is guaranteed to help you fight off colds and regulate your digestion. If they tried that, you would simply pick up and eat an orange yes? Yes! so you see that is all they are doing now with the fruits of my country. Please, eat them, they are wonderful and healthy, but there is no need to spend money on shakes and supplements when you can import them directly.

Namaste :)

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Well Hi there Irataages, I can't comment on the business plan with any particulars, but my wife and I have a family friend who is involved with Tastefully Simple and she has never had a single complaint. I can tell you that she has a recipe she uses from them for chili that is just smack it up mmmmm good, and when she whips it up we finish off that whole pot. It is out of this world delicious. If you haven't been involved with MLM companies before, then don't you worry, from the sounds of it you have done your homework, and if I wasn't already involved with Isagenix, I would not think twice of giving Tastefully Simple a try.

It takes some dedication, and you need to know that your product is good, and that you yourself are willing to use it, which you seem to be so I say go for it girl! Get out there and get them dollars, and while you're at it, you can send me some free samples of the treats you'll be cooking at your gatherings...yum!

I wanted to get involved with Ashmax originally but I kept hearing a lot of negative things and now that I've found this forum I've really found some very helpful information about MLMs in general. I thought that these companies were much more legit than they appear. I thought that a person was really only limited by the amount of effort they were willing to put into it. Now it seems you really have to be careful, super careful what you get involved with. I just read a post about TVI Express and it really bothered me a great deal, I had received some emails from someone representing them and my fiance and I actually considered it before considering Ashmax. Thank goodness for the Internet or we might not know anything about these wolves in sheep's clothing.

I've made the decision to try out Tastefully Simple :) (yay! I actually made a decision), mostly because I am most definitely into cooking and I have been unable to find any negative press attached to this company or its products. In all the Google terms I have entered, Tastefully Simple Scam brings up the least results, and when you do find them, they seem to point to people that either didn't try very hard to make it work, or are completely clueless as to the definition of a scam. Sometimes we accept challenges we really aren't ready for, or try half-heartedly to achieve, and then end up bitter in the end and blame everyone under the sun accept ourselves. That's where I find the few Tastefully Simple Scam posts that exist to represent. I'm a bit tougher than that, and even with school in the mix, I am a pretty aggressive girl!

I don't feel I can go wrong with Tastefully simple, and here is why:

I love the products... :) Tastefully Simple has like a gazillion gourmet foods and recipes, like soups, dressing mixes, sauces, and all kinds of stuff. They have cook books and even some already made food products like appetizers, desserts, dip mixes, spices, jams, beer bread mix, and just about everything else. It seems so much more interesting to me than communication services, exercise shakes and vitamin pills. One of the other things I love is it basically guarantees I have a lot less shopping to do on the holidays for my mom, and soon to be hubby's mom and sister. I hate shopping, I have little time for it, and to be honest, money is always short and we live pretty comfortably but I need to find a more efficient way to help pay bills, something that can grow and become lucrative.

I definitely feel confident that I can hold product parties, and most of my friends have been married awhile and are a bit bored since some of them let careers go to have little ones, this would be perfect for them. The web site says it will cost anywhere between $89.00 for the "Just a Taste" kit, or $170.00 for "The Business Blast Off" kit. I think I'm going to go with the business blast off because I have the money to put down and I really am confident that I can do this, especially for %30 commission.

My question to all of you is, do you think its worth it? Is there anything I need to know that I can't find on Google that needs to be considered before I give them $170? I am excited yes, but I don't want to be making some major blunder by missing something I really need to know. I am not expecting to get rich, but I would be really thrilled if I could even pay half the bills by doing this. Tastefully Simple isn't a scam.......right?

Opinions?

Agreed. Can't wait to see what happens to them in other countries.

If you can get your hands chopped off for shoplifting in Saudi Arabia, and drunk driving is a death penalty offense in some countries, what happens if you scam people in a ponzi? Do they stick you in an "opportunity meeting" until the squeaking of the markers on the whiteboard drive you insane?

Haha, I was waiting for the shit to hit the fan with these guys, but these kinds of international companies that are not well-established financial institutions are not the types of establishments I would have ANYTHING to do with, and I can't imagine why anyone would mess with them at all. I had no idea there even was an Anti-Corruption Commission, let alone that they went after the chairman and cronies of unipay2u, great find Watchdog. I have to admit I'm sort of wondering how much power the Bangladesh authorities have over the situation, or if the power struggle resembles that of Mexico, where the drug cartels have far more resources than the Mexican Police, and often exercise control over them.

In this case, Unipay2u may appear like a small international operation but alot of times ends up simply being a front for a more serious crime organization, and places like Bangladesh are no exception to organized crime. In fact a group by the name of MS-13 is considered the most dangerous and largest gang in the world, and they have been known to be involved with these kinds of operations. I think its awesome that they have specific-enough proof to nail these guys and smack Chairman Shahiduzzaman for his own bank account with other people's money. I remember reading a profile for these guys not long back and how it was presented as the smartest thing in the world to invest in gold for higher profit against the purchase....it was an obvious scheme and can't see how many people got lured in.

I guess we shall await the ever amusing updates to this story....

No offense man, but your friend sounds like a real champion. I can't imagine how anyone in this world would join one of these companies even when there aren't 5 trillion reports from people saying to stay the hell away, what's wrong with you people? Was this even that long ago dude? The industry has been talking about ACN and how horrible it is for at least two years, there are literally countless other ways to waste your money in the MLM world than this invisible pet rock. How the hell is it your friend would sign anything like that without asking for copies up front, and what kind of person would attempt to start something like this when you don't even have a financial starting point or a place to freakin live, cmon!

Anyway, I'm not trying to be rude but this story lands somewhere between anger-inspiring and humorous lol. ACN has been before the cross hairs of alot of angry people in the last two years and they have definitely left a long, long path of upset people. I remember reading about there blatant forgeries last year and feeling as though there was no way I'd have been talked into that at all, but I find that alot of the people that have been "had" never originally had much exposure to the concept of Pyramid/ponzi schemes, so that's the only slack I'll cut them, otherwise, it doesn't take much common sense to know that in the world of business and money, if it sounds too good to be true, it is!

Their web site is still up, and I'm surprised it hasn't been blocked yet. You need to sit down with your friend and have a heart to heart in regard to his decision making skills and ask him, in my dear old friend, James Rolfe's words; "What the =*$@ were you thinking?" Seriously, its that bad. He reminds me of a woman that stays with a guy that beats her, or maybe the average Jersey Shore fan. Don't get me wrong, I do feel sorry for your pal, I'm not COMPLETELY heartless, but all too often these companies survive simply because people are dense enough to be fed upon, and after awhile, you have to figure out who is to blame once a company has long since been established as a scam.....

ACN is a bit easier to forgive as far as those that have been tricked, at least in a better light than say, TVI Express or something, but still, there are a handful of what I might call "Black listed" companies that most people know is questionable, and this, in my opinion; is one of them.

Peace

I've heard quite a few bad things about ACN, not just from Internet sources, complaints and review sites either but from a friend of mine who tried the system out when he got back from Colorado and needed to establish a financial base. He actually studied the company and its comp plan for awhile and figured it would be a good idea, and I told him I had come across countless complaints, and to choose another. I explained to him that its relatively normal for all MLM companies to be accused of unlawful practices to some extent because there is always a bitter person who couldn't make it, but that there was definitely grounds for the term "ACN scam". He swore up and down that he was all set and there was no ACN scam, not knowing he'd be left with a $1188 bill! I told him from the beginning you're better off with many other choices, especially with his knowledge of nutrition and athletic appearance, but he was really stuck on this.

He went on and on about how ACN is going to be the premiere American communications network, and that its not a scam (I was weirded out by the way he put it, almost seemed like someone had convinced him and he wouldn't admit it), and that they offered "quality communications" that if demonstrated properly to prospective customers; can make you rich. By this time I pretty much figured out he had already signed up and had been brainwashed by someone at ACN, but was fairly disappointed because I never knew him as a guy who didn't read between the lines, or be easily swindled, I'm still a bit perplexed about it to this day.

ACN is a scam, plain and simple. Just type "ACN Scam" on your search engine and read all the experiences that pop up. The easiest way to gauge a company that pulls crap like this is to single out the ones that make you pay to join them, that's pretty much a no brainer for me. They socked my buddy for the remainder of his bank account while he had no home, no apartment, no base of operations because he assumed he would have no problem recruiting. Well exactly how do you do that when you don't know anyone in the area you moved to? I'm the first to admit that my buddy is almost solely to blame as far as making bad choices go, but when he went to pull the plug, ACN took over and made sure he wasn't getting his money back, and not by hiding behind small print either, this is actually blatant.

He paid a full $500 to join up with the company, and like the poster above, also added a "Demo" account as well, which they said would be no charge whatsoever, of course that was never stated on paper, and I got on him about that at the time. He got charged $543 as his first bill, and of course even though he was staying in a mutual friend's apartment, he also agreed to consider starting a land line which cost $25 a month. Instead of 80, he was charged $120 for voip boxes and then a week later gets a new invoice saying he owed $500, as if he somehow opened two active accounts! By this time he was furious and canceled, unfortunately for him, he did sign a contract with ACN, but he read very carefully and swears to me that he knew what he was signing. Like the poster above, he insisted his apps be faxed over, and sure enough, the forms were completely different yet his signature was added to documents he didn't sign.

So simple a scam, and yet very effective when used against people with no money for a lawyer....

Avoid

My friend hasn't received a dime, and he already paid.

That's about as accurate a summary as I'd have given. 5LINX is one of those companies that tries to throw necessity-based products at you that we all need in our day to day lives, oddly, ranging from telecommunications via digital home phone service setup that supposedly provides unlimited local and long distance in the U.S., Canada, U.S. Virgin Islands,  Puerto Rico and a whole bunch of other areas. It also promises to include free landline calls to 75 "calling areas", not sure what they mean by that. In addition to this, the company also provides wireless phones, satellite television, Broadband Internet service, and a video phone. I'm not sure what good it would do though, since 95% of the people I know aren't "Jetsons".

They have the usual line up of calling plans and packages for all kinds of prices depending on the service you want and products you buy. I definitely feel that this seems scammy, I don't know if there could be a potential 5linkx scam, but I haven't exactly searched the net yet. The company seems to focus on the immediate communications needs of small business, which I actually think is pretty cool, but trying to sell something like this could be difficult without finding people in the process of starting a small business, and in today's economy, how common is that exactly?

I'm not going to say 5linkx is a scam, I think its sort of cheesy, already been done, and probably a bad idea for most of us (not all), but so far I am not seeing much in the complaint department, though there is still time I guess.

Today someone pitched me on 5Linx telecomm. I went to the website and a video started playing in my browser saying how the 5Links is features in Your business at home Magazine is this even a real magazine? It looks like every other weaksauce lame ass magazine tha tis really just a big paid for advertistment by companies pretending they got featured in a real mag on a bookstore shelf.

5Linkx smells scammy and the other companys popping up are isagenix and fhtm and i havent heard a good thing about either one of htose companys. Is everything in thi smagazine just fluff so that the company can hand it out and use ot to try and say theyre featured in a national magazine which isn't really a national magazine?

What exactly are the "5LINKX" and what is do they sell for telecomm?