England's Case Against Amway Continues; Government Seeks to Shut Down Amway in England as "Inherently Objectionable" (Translation: Fraud)
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 The case brought against Amway by the government of England is moving forward. After a judge allowed Amway to continue - under strict restrictions and changes - the government has appealed the decision and is moving to close it down. The government's actions are based on its findings that in England:
1. Amway's product are not marketable. They are priced far higher than comparable goods. They are seldom sold to anyone other than the salespeople themselves.
2. More than 99% of all Amway salespeople lose money. More than half quit the scheme within a year, after suffering financial losses. Virtually all the commissions that Amway pays wind up in the hands of a tiny group at the top.
3. The only way to make money in Amway is through "endless chain recruiting", a flawed and fraudulent system that guarantees only the top recruiters can be profitable.
4. Extreme deception is used to lure people into the scam.
The data reveals that Amway has been harming English consumers for decades, deceiving people about the "income opportunity" and siphoning money to a small group of recruiters.
See a full report and a related article that offers background on the judge's ruling, which is now appealed.
Government of England Renews Case to Throw Amway Out of Country
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| The Amway Myth: How Amway Spins the "Big Lie"; Analogy to the Days when Cigarettes Were Good for Us.
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England wants to kick it out of the country; China banned its pay plan; its offices in India were raided; Top Gun insiders sue it as a massive pyramid scheme; a class action case brought by distributors claim it is an illegal fraud under American law; books and websites detail victim losses.
Yet, Amway maintains the myth of being a "direct sales" company (though it has no retail customers) and a "unique income opportunity" (though indisputable data show that 99% of all Amway distributors lose money.)
How does it maintain the lie?
A comparison with how the tobacco industry maintained its myth for decades that "cigarettes are harmless" helps to clarify.
See The Amway Myth
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Scams Are Protected, Pyramids Operate Openly...
Are Pyramid Schemes Legal in Canada?
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A Canadian pyramid scheme, called Pigeon King International, that targeted family farmers has collapsed. The scheme is in bankruptcy. Hundreds of farmers in Canada and the USA are ruined. Canadian authorities knew all about the scam for nearly a year, but took no action.
Why?
Something's clearly wrong in Canada regarding the investigation and prosecution of pyramid schemes. Are government officials involved in the schemes? Is the protection of USA-based multi-level marketing schemes, like Amway, causing Canada to allow all pyramid schemes - in order to avoid conflict with the US government? Or are Canadian authorities just being outsmarted by con-artists?
Some statements from Canadian officials seem to indicate that pyramid schemes may actually be legal in Canada!
See:
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Study of Ten Major MLMs and Amway/Quixtar
Show Huge Consumer Losses and Pyramid Recruitment
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A statistical analysis of income disclosures made by 10 major multi-level marketing (MLM) companies and the largest of all MLMs, Amway/Quixtar, reveals that, on average, 99% of all participants received less than $10 a week in commissions, before all expenses. Additionally, the report shows that on average no net income is earned by MLM distributors from door to door "retail" sales. Total losses of the participants exceed $5 billion each year, if only the entry fees, basic business expenses, marketing "tool" purchases and the pyramid commission portion of their product purchases (about 40% of their purchase price) are totalled.
The data analyses prove that virtually all MLM participants never earn a profit and that MLM claims of a broad-based MLM "income opportunity" are false. The report reveals that the majority of all commission payments are awarded only to a small group of promoters at the top. More than 50% of all commission payments were transferred to the top one-percent in ten of the eleven companies. In several cases, more than 70% of all commissions were paid to the top one percent. The top-loaded pay plans of the MLM companies are based on "endless chain" recruiting in which the investments of the latest recruits are transferred to the earliest ones, and the vast majority of all participants are always situated at the bottom levels of the chain, where profit is impossible.
The PDF Report is available.
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