COLUMBUS, OHIO, June 26, 2011 – Today, your Better Business Bureau is warning people about a shady posting the BBB of Dayton received from a Westerville Ohio company on their social media. The posting promotes a multi-level selling company offering a weight-loss supplement. The posting raised red flags for your BBB for multiple reasons.
The posting appears to promote a multi-level marketing company because it starts out saying, “EARN at the comfort of your own HOME anywhere you are AROUND THE GLOBE while you LOOSE WEIGHT and staying HEALTHY! Get your FREE 14 day SUPPLY!...What are you waiting for? SIGN UP NOW!!!!!... Our Automated System Will Ship Free Bottles of GO Cell Vitality To All Of Your Friends, Neighbors, Relatives & Loved Ones! You could have Hundreds - even Thousands of people joining under you and sharing this incredible offer with Thousands ...”
The Web site promoted in the posting your BBB received was mycellvitality.com. BBB staff reviewed the Web site and found the company listed on its privacy policy page was Green Organics, LLC dba Green Organics International. The Westerville, OH company has an F rating with your BBB. The company has failed to respond to two complaints filed with your BBB.
Your BBB advises multi-level marketing is a system of retailing in which products are sold by independent distributors. Typically, the multi-level company will expect you to build and manage your own sales force by recruiting, motivating, supplying and training others to sell. A percentage of your recruits’ sales would be your compensation, in addition to personal sales. Although it’s possible to build a multi-level business with a small start-up fee, keep in mind it’s not a means of getting rich quickly or easily. Successful distributors, who have trained a large number of sellers, may also have to assume wholesaling and managing responsibilities as well as making their own sales. Managing a large network can be lucrative, but it’s hard work and can become a full-time job. Prospective investors should carefully examine a multi-level sales program to be reasonable certain it’s not a pyramid scheme, seeking recruitment of distributors rather than retail sales. In its purest form, a pyramid scheme is an endless chain recruitment plan. Such participants attempt to recoup their investments by recruiting from the ever-decreasing number of potential investors in a given area.
Your BBB also suggests you be wary of any weight-loss promotions, including the one promoted in this posting. Experts consistently agree the only way to permanently lose weight is to reduce caloric intake and increase exercise. No ingested product and no external preparations, such as creams or body wraps, have been proven to cause the permanent loss of fat without restriction of food intake or without exercise. Significant weight loss should not be undertaken without competent medical supervision especially if the amount of weight loss desired is over 10% of the body weight.
“This company is taking advantage of your Better Business Bureau’s credibility. It’s leading people to believe it’s a legitimate opportunity by posting on BBB’s Facebook page said Joan Coughlin, BBB spokesperson. This is a good example demonstrating you shouldn’t take anything at face value. No matter how legitimate an offer seems, take time to ask questions and do your research. Start with Trust by visiting http://www.bbb.org/or calling (614) 486-6336.”
BBB of Central Ohio serves Columbus and 21 surrounding counties as a leader in advancing marketplace trust by encouraging best practices, celebrating role models, and denouncing substandard behavior. BBB sees trust as functions of respect, ethics, intent, delivering results and addressing concerns. Businesses and charities that earn BBB Accreditation have agreed to live up to our high standards and principals for trust. BBBs provide free and easily accessible Reliability Reports on businesses, Wise Giving Reports on charities, educational information, objective advice, and dispute resolution of marketplace complaints. The first BBB was founded in 1912, and today a network of 128 local BBBs serve communities across the U.S. and Canada, evaluating and monitoring more than 3 million businesses and charities. Please visit www.bbb.org for more information about BBB.
