--- In mlmsurvivorsclub@
wrote:
> What I'm trying to find out now is what happens to my direct
upline's"cut"
$500. Seeing that I returned most of it and actually sold none of it
(i.e.,nothing retailed) she should have to refund her $500. If that
is not required, demanded in essense, by Wellness International that
I think they've got a bonefide pyramid happening (concerns I've
expressed tothe FTC).
I would think each company would have it's own policy regarding that
and I'm not sure how most MLMs work. But they are ususally
structured so that the upline gets "points". When enough points are
gotten, in usually a months time, they get paid.
The one I'm most familiar with, you don't go directly "under" the
upline, but to the infinite bottom of someone in a group. The BV
(points) you generate flow up the same to everyone. The paychecks
come as often as weekly and each person paid is paid the same amount
based on the same BV. That BV holds for one year to the day the
order was placed or until it is paid on, which ever comes first. The
points the distributor has had come up from the bottom to
their "banks" upon which they are paid, is held for two weeks before
the check is cut (like traditional business holds a check for one or
two weeks depending on the time between pay days). So, in that two
weeks, if a customer's form of payment (check or credit card) is
rejected, or if a new distributor decided they wanted out and wanted
their money back, then every person who had "qualified" for a check
in that period of time because of the those volumn points, would have
the points that product had assigned to it reduced from the number of
points the distributor has, and there is a chance, then that a check
would be "missed" by a distributor. However, because the volume
holds for a year, all the distributor has to do is wait till the next
points come rolling up from the bottom to add to their points to get
a check. In the 5 years, I missed one check I should have gotten
because somones' form of payment failed. But, the next week points
came in from somewhere else so I got paid a week later than I
expected.
So in the company I am familiar with, your upline would not have lost
a check unless they were scheduled to be paid that week or within the
two weeks from which the $$ had been paid back.
However, if your sponsor got paid money specifically from the money
you paid, not based on accrual points from products sold, then yeah,
that sounds like an illegal pyramid. Illegal pyramids are often
broken up by state police at the request of your state's attorney
general not necessarily the FTC. Have you lodged a complaint with
your state attorney general? That might be a more efficient way to
lodge a complaint that can be acted upon.
Francie
> Speaking of which, although I submitted my claim electronically, I
> phoned the FTC to ask questions about claim's investigation. They
will
> not investigate anything unless the claim brings to their attention
> something they feel requires immediate attention (an example eludes
me
> at the moment) or they receive so many complaints about one
particular
> organization they cannot ignore the claims any longer.
>
> Thus my plea to everyone that has lost money in an MLM is to go
to the
> FTC's website https://rn.ftc.
Z_ORG_CODE=PU01
> <https://rn.ftc.
file a
> complaint. It's strength in numbers that'll actually get some of
these
> so-called "business opportunities" shut down.
>
> To that end, I've been reading, with interest, the posts of our new
> pro-MLMer. From my experience (thus opinion, not factual in the
truest
> definition of term) and research I can only say this about MLMs (in
> general):
>
> 1. Money can be made only if you get in early and can live with
> yourself knowing that many of those dragged in at some point, by
you or
> someone else, will not only not make money but will, in all
likelihood,
> lose money.
> 2. Product/tools/
person
> that can sell ice to eskimoes (in my case the product was so over-
priced
> I, myself, decided just to go to Whole Foods and buy a comparable
> product that can be easily returned if the product was not to my
> liking).
> 3. Market saturation is inevitable, whether that point comes
because
> there's too many people in one zip code trying to sell a product or
the
> product has been around so long people just move on to the next best
> thing (as has happened to Pampered Chef in our area).
> 4. MLMs are not a business. A business, for all intent and
purposes,
> is an entity with a profit and loss statement that can be sold.
There
> is no MLM distributor that can be sell their "business" when they
decide
> to get out. After weeks/months/
a
> few dollars in their pocket and experience to speak of.
>
> So, that's my two cents which, hopefully, didn't overshadow my
desire to
> truly Thank all those who offered tips and advise on how to return
> product for a refund. Truly appreciated!
>
> Cheers,
>
> Cyndi
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
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