Archive for December, 2009

After a long run, My Free Travel has closed the doors for good!

Sadly, they did so with no warning to their representatives and many have been left twisting in the wind with angry customers.

It’s no secret that My Free Travel has had recent issues. A recent rash of complaints about their gas and grocery rebate products led to their BBB accreditation being suspended for failure to abide by BBB standards.

From the BBB report….

A recent review of this company’s complaints shows a pattern of consumer allegations. The majority of the complaints allege receiving offers for gas and grocery rebate vouchers with the purchase of a product at participating retailers. Consumers claim that when they tried to redeem their rebates My Free Travel/Reservations & Redemption aka claimyourvisacards.com denied them based on not providing a copy of their state issued ID, a requirement that was not previously disclosed to the consumer when they signed up and after paying a processing fee to the company. Consumers are also told after being denied their rebates that they are no longer eligible for the program. Other consumers allege being denied their rebates based on not fully complying with the terms and conditions of the offer that were not previously disclosed to them. The BBB is currently working with the company to alleviate the underlying cause of this pattern of complaints.

These gas and grocery rebate certificates are specifically designed to be very difficult to redeem. The product makes its money on breakage and their is no doubt that My Free Travel made them very very fragile!

Those hardest hit by this sudden shutdown will no doubt be those that were involved in the travel fundraiser programs. Obviously, MFT will not be fulfilling any of the trips from their travel books and they have left their reps to take all the heat with no support what so ever.

The exact reasons for the demise of My Free Travel isn’t know at this time but it certainly appears that they have taken all the money and run.

More from the BBB….

Out of Business

My Free Travel has informed the BBB that as of December 17, 2009 it has laid off its entire staff and has ceased operations.

Consumers with complaints against this company should contact the IL Attorney General’s office by calling the Chicago Consumer Fraud hotline at 1-800-386-5438.

Read the entire BBB report HERE!

Guys, you’ve got to watch out for yourselves!

This was a company whose entire income was based on offering discounts on travel and other items and, at the same time, making them nearly impossible to use after they were purchased.

How they lasted over 20 years and, at one time, had an “A” rating with the BBB, I will never know!

Use the brain God gave you,  keep the money you earn and Never Slow Down!

Till next time

Pyxism is the latest travel MLM opportunity in pre-launch. On first look, and not supprisingly, there are some missing details about the product.

My take was that for $325.00 you get a spot in the matrix and a vacation valued at, “at least” $300.00.

There was no mention of how this vacation was delivered so I must assume that it is in the form of a voucher or coupon. If so, this makes the business model very much like TVI or Juugo.

This is another matrix pay plan. And for those of you that are new, there is only one company that has survived the test of time with a matrix plan. Melaleuca.

This matrix calls itself a cycling “follow me” matrix. According to the information I’ve seen, it is designed to keep “teams” together as opposed to splitting them up ever cycle. I’ll admid that this has a certain appeal. Allowing a group of people to work together and stay together is at least a step in the right direction.

However, I see no evidence that this business has a “retail clause”. No requirements for sales outside of the matrix itself. In fact, it could be argued, (and will be I’m sure), that this company has no product at all. If that is the case then all the money is being rolled into this from the matrix and there’s going to be trouble!

Not having all the necessary information on Pyxism, I’m not going to call it a scam… Yet..

But I will say that if the FTC were to look at them right now I doubt they would survive.

More as it becomes available.

I get to hear more than my fill of hype in my line of work but I have to say that this letter from a MonaVie rep takes things to an entirely new level…

I found this on Ty Tribbles blog and it originates from JuiceScam.com.

I would normally have at least some comment but on this one I am simply without words.

Enjoy  -  If you can

Greetings!

Being a committed Christian standing firm on Gods word. Mormonism vs. the Christianity belief initially was never a concern with our place in Mona-vie. We had to stand firm knowing that Gods word never fails and can be used as a blueprint for our life that we live. John 10:10 tells us that: “The thief (devil; he’s a small font devil)) comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to full”. – NIV.

Mona-vie is truly a God Blessed business. So you better believe that if Mona-vie is changing people’s lives physically, financially and spiritually. The enemy will do whatever he can to stop the progress, it’s his labor. Everyone who puts their hands to this business and works it will be blessed. Believing that the devil knows that his days are growing shorter, we need to understand that attacks are going to come against families spiritually, financially and physically. We do sell ourselves. We sell ourselves as Christian’s in life hoping to live by example so that our life will reflect well in the eyes of others to hopefully give the unbeliever a desire to have what we have which is Jesus Christ. We do not follow under the umbrella of Mormonism in Mona-vie, we follow under the umbrella of Christianity through R3Global. To critique otherwise would also require us to examine where we do our every day shopping.

If we apt not to take advantage of living in a capitalist society and be “religious minded”, which by the way Jesus Christ despised the “religious minded” because it was them that hung Him on the cross, then we have to look at where we shop. If we buy any product from Wal-Mart, Publix, Winn Dixie, Target or even the Dollar Store, then it would suggest that we need to look at the Christian beliefs of the founders of these mentioned companies as well. There again we need to stand on Gods word and know that what the devil intended for evil, God will make good. At the most recent R3Global conference in Orlando, there were over 200 people that gave their life to Christ. If it was only one soul saved through Mona-vie, then Mona-vie is worth the effort.

When we first got involved in Mona-vie and being so analytically minded, my goal was to tear the product and company apart and see what the hype was all about. The science behind the product was truly astonishing. Knowing that the vitamins and minerals we get in vegetables can also be obtained by a vitamin pill. There will never be a vitamin pill that will give us the necessary anti-oxidant and phyto-nutrients (phyto meaning plant derived) needed found inone serving of Mona-vie. Two servings give us the nutrient equivalence of 13 fruits a day. That is a fact. Most people believe that just eating the common fruits which are apples, bananas and oranges is enough. But after researching the fruits in Mona-vie which are not massed farmed, which contributes todepleting the nutrient value are not organic but wild. Wild is better than organic nutritionally. Our proprietary blend of fruits are from some of the most remote regions of the world that the toxic levels of pollutants has to be measured in parts per billion as compared to parts per million (ppm). That’s wild! Organic fruits and vegetables contain such a minimal difference in nutrient value as compared to wild, that most people waste their money purchasing organic as compared to regular store bought. Today we are seeing more over weight people and health issues then ever before in our history.

Which now makes the sickness business a huge money maker. We want to keep people out of the doctors office. Mona-vie can not make medical claims because as soon as we do the government wants to get their hands on the product. But with one of our new products, Pulse, we can state a medical claim. Don’t you know that the government can mess up a good thing? So lets keep their hands off. It’s not FDA approved, it’s God approved! The body was made naturally to heal itself, we just have messed it up for so long it took medical science to try to fix the mess we made of it. That’s another fact. Keep the government out of Mona-vie unless they want to initiate a great Health Care Plan and get everyone on the product. Praise God for doctors, but I knew of one doctor that actually stated he did not want his patients to get on Mona-vie because of the kick backs he was getting from the pharmaceutical companies. That’s a fact and sad.

A product generally goes from the Manufacturer to the wholesaler, to the jobber and then on to the retailer. Which ends up in our home. When I first looked at Mona-vie with a very skeptical and analytical mind and then read the reports and then did the research myself, I could not find anything bad on the product, company and their business model to market the product. What an amazing product! Finally a product that in my eyes if our government wanted to develop a health care plan they need to put everyone on Mona-vie. The sickness business, which by the way we are in the wellness business, is the only trillion dollar a year industry. Mostly generated from the pharmaceutical business which is killing 105,000 people annually. And these are medications taken as prescribed by their doctors. Amazing fact. The propriety blend in Mona-vie is what makes it so loaded with nutrients it allows our bodies to get back in balance. The acai berry has been proven to be the only food that can sustain the human body with life. It has the protein profile of an egg and contains the necessary amino acids and nutrients needed for the body to survive. No other food has ever displayed this life sustaining profile.

The product VIBE may have some health benefits, but it’s the proprietary blend that sets Mona-vie apart. Our ORAC value of the acai berry that is part of this blend stands at 1,027 when freeze dried. Any other product that claims more is not factual with their harvesting practices, if you can find out how it is harvested. And we need to remember that the body will only assimilate so much in one serving and the rest will end up in our septic system. A solid pill form vitamin only has the absorption rate of 17-20% into our body. That’s one reason after taking a multi-vitamin our urine is so yellow in color. We own the patent process to harvesting our acai berry. That is big. Companies jumped on the band wagon with the acai berry after discovering the amazing super food that it is. Put the acai berry freeze dried to keep its high pure ORAC value with 18 other wild exotic fruits and you have a nutritional product that no one can touch. Mona-vie went under years of research before being marketed. This gave the company an infrastructure scientifically, medically and in leadership that no one can touch. We had a Medical Advisory Board in place and the scientific research to back our product before the company was ever introduced to the general public. As a Christian one area of the company that intrigued us was knowing that before the company was rolled out, they had their eye’s on people. Before they made their first dollar the M.O.R.E. Project was being introduced. Mona-vie Operation Rescue. Getting kids off of the streets, teaching trades, feeding people and giving people hope that the enemy wanted to keep them from.. Key Note: People can mess up a good thing. On the Oprah Winfrey show Dr. Nicholas Perricone stated that the number one “super food” is the acai berry. Dr. Perricone has revealed the secrets of youthful, perfect skin and is known as the Dr. of the Inflammation Theory. Ever wonder why the Brazilian’s have such beautiful skin? They live near the equator where you would expect their skin to appear more aged. It’s because their consumption of the acai berry almost in their every day diet in pure form. Their disease rate is low and life long. People have taken the fact that Dr. Nicholas Perricone stated that the acai berry is a “super food” on the Oprah Winfrey show, mixed her name with it as someone who endorsed the product, which has led to controversary. We can not control what people say and if anyone follows Oprah to any degree knows that she has a cult like following.. You can YouTube Oprah and witness her stating that Jesus Christ can’t be the “only way to God”. She has a following of over 2 million people with this New Age belief that is totally contrary to Gods unchanging word. So whatever comes out of her mouth, unless it’s repentance, has to be taken with a discerning spirit.

Mona-vie is generating hope and health for people and a lot of money. It has blessed my family financially and we have the tax statements to prove it. You can not take a percentage of people making money based on the number of people that have been sponsored. Only 1% as stated by a recent article mathematically incorrect. The numbers would be skewed by the fact that the actual people working Mona-vie is not in any comparison to the actual number of working distributors. Business takes work. It’s a business and those that quit have lost their vision or have been poisoned by what they have found on the internet or ignorant words of another. You can search on the internet the word Christianity or Santa Claus and guaranteed to find junk from somewhere. Our lives from Mona-vie has been changed. Since our first month in the business we have never paid for a case of the product because we saw the business model and quickly got to the point where our work paid for the juice. We could not afford it in the beginning, but we had hope in Christ and Mona-vie, God did the rest.

The product works and it is going to attract “ambulance chaser” lawyers to just lay and wait for the moment that someone makes a claim that is not approved by Mona-vie. Mona-vie has more going for them than against. And one with God is a majority. Attached is a little information that we hope you can find useful. Don’t let dream stealers steal your vision. Remember, people without vision will perish. Obama stated that our country was no longer a Christian nation. We know where that lie came from. We were founder on Christian beliefs and principles and no one can ever take that away.

Mona-vie is a company worth talking about.
Blessings,
[Name Withheld]
Mona-vie Gold Executive
[Email Withheld]
P.S. If you want to scientific facts, we can provide them.

And the legal actions just keep coming!

North Dakota has rolled out the NOT WELCOME mat for Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem has issued a Cease & Desist Order against Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing of Lexington, KY and its principals Paul C. Oberson, Jeff Oberson, and Thomas A. Mills for violations of North Dakota transient merchant, consumer fraud, and home solicitation sales laws. The Order was filed late yesterday, December 10, 2009.

In addition, (according to the official statement), there are also concerns that FHTM is operating an illegal pyramid scheme.

By my count, that makes four major legal actions in the home business industry in as many weeks!

1. efusjon – distributor class action suit
2. Evolv – Trademark suit from MD Anderson
3. Google – Scam/Trademark suit

And now North Dakota looks to shut down FHTM..

This one is still developing but it seems safe to say that, (once again), Hype, Lies and Misrepresentations are taking their toll on a home business opportunity.

• Official Statement
• Cease and Desist Order

How would it be to run an ethical, profitable home business without all the hype and hotel meetings?

What if you knew how it was really done right and you didn’t have to worry about all this legal stuff?

Why not find out! We’ve made the first chapter of “The Renegade Network Marketer” available to you for FREE… We don’t even want your email information!

Just CLICK HERE and start the video!

See what you may have been missing!

The Efusjon Law Suit is a matter of business ethics and immoral behavior.

If the allegations of this case prove true the courts may have to make a definitive decision on the internal use vs retail sales issue.

Here is an excerpt from Kevin Thompson s most recent letter on the Efusjon case.

Why eFusjon?
In eFusjon’s case, they’ve skipped the formality of having a cosmetic retail sales rule. You read that right. eFusjon has no retail sales rule. With eFusjon, there are absolutely zero requirements of outside sales before distributors can earn bonuses from downline volume. This leads to a sales culture that will resort to any trick to sponsor distributors en masse. This is particularly true in eFusjon’s case. The outlandish rumors from the field i.e. eFusjon is buying facebook, the facebook app will explode the matrix, the matrix pay plan that people are familiar with such as the facebook app rumor are not the real problems behind the eFusjon business. Instead, these rumors and misrepresentations are symptoms of the problem, with the problem being a pay plan that’s fueled almost exclusively by recruitment and internal consumption.

Remember guys… Use the brain God gave you and keep the money you earn!

Download Kevin Thompson s Letter HERE

It’s About Time!

http://www.sltrib.com/technology/ci_13951100

Keep an eye on this one!

One Example of the new regulations, (guidelines), on misleading advertising from the Federal Trade Commission. This one specifically deals with blogs!

Guys, this effects all of us! I’d suggest we all get familiar with these new “guidelines”.

Example 5:

A skin care products advertiser participates in a blog advertising service. The service matches up advertisers with bloggers who will promote the advertiser’s products on their personal blogs. The advertiser requests that a blogger try a new body lotion and write a review of the product on her blog. Although the advertiser does not make any specific claims about the lotion’s ability to cure skin conditions and the blogger does not ask the advertiser whether there is substantiation for the claim, in her review the blogger writes that the lotion cures eczema and recommends the product to her blog readers who suffer from this condition. The advertiser is subject to liability for misleading or unsubstantiated The Commission tested the communication o 1 f advertisements containing testimonials that clearly and prominently disclosed either “Results not typical” or the stronger “These testimonials are based on the experiences of a few people and you are not likely to have similar results.” Neither disclosure adequately reduced the communication that the experiences depicted are generally representative. Based upon this research, the Commission believes that similar disclaimers regarding the limited applicability of an endorser’s experience to what consumers may generally expect to achieve are unlikely to be effective.
Nonetheless, the Commission cannot rule out the possibility that a strong disclaimer of typicality could be effective in the context of a particular advertisement. Although the Commission would have the burden of proof in a law enforcement action, the Commission notes that an advertiser possessing reliable empirical testing demonstrating that the net impression of  its advertisement with such a disclaimer is non-deceptive will avoid the risk of the initiation of such an action in the first instance. representations made through the blogger’s endorsement. The blogger also is subject to liability for misleading or unsubstantiated representations made in the course of her endorsement. The blogger is also liable if she fails to disclose clearly and conspicuously that she is being paid for her services. [See § 255.5.]

CLICK HERE for the entire text of the examples document.

The world of testimonials and endorsements in advertising has changed!

Everything from television ads to internet squeeze pages must now be a great deal more clear, (and honest), when making claims or offering endorsements, (implied or otherwise).

One example is from the text document…

Example 2:

An advertisement disseminated by a company that sells heat pumps presents endorsements from three individuals who state that after installing the company’s heat pump in their homes, their monthly utility bills went down by $100, $125, and $150, respectively. The ad will likely be interpreted as conveying that such savings are representative of what consumers who buy the company’s heat pump can generally expect.
The advertiser does not have substantiation for that representation because, in fact, less than 20% of purchasers will save $100 or more. A disclosure such as, “Results not typical” or, “These testimonials are based on the experiences of a few people and you are not likely to have similar results” is insufficient to prevent this ad from being deceptive because consumers will still interpret the ad as conveying that the specified savings are representative of what consumers can generally expect. The ad is less likely to be deceptive if it clearly and conspicuously discloses the generally expected savings and the advertiser has adequate substantiation that homeowners can achieve those results. There are multiple ways that such a disclosure could be phrased, e.g., “the average homeowner
saves $35 per month,” “the typical family saves $50 per month during cold months and $20 per month in warm months,” or “most families save 10% on their utility bills.”

Read the entire text document.. CLICK HERE

Some say that the government is trying to legislate common sense and that anyone that naively believes exaggerated claims deserves to be taken in by unethical companies. (Caveat emptor and such).

All I know is that if we don’t clean up our own industry the US government will do it for us. This is a step in that direction.

Pay attention to ethics and your reputation!

Micah