Multi-Level Marketing Company Threatens Blogger Who Writes Critical Post
from the just-because-you-don't-like-it,-doesn't-mean-it's-illegal dept
Over and over and over again, we hear stories of companies that simply dislike what others are saying about them online, and send over threatening legal letters with no legal basis. These cease-and-desist letters are mostly designed to scare users into giving in, because there's no law against someone criticizing you or saying something bad about you (assuming it's not untrue). The latest, sent in by Davis Freeberg involves the Everyday Finance blog. The blogger there was approached by a company called "Shop to Earn," which offers a multi-level marketing (MLM) system. The blogger wrote a post about it, which Davis Freeberg describes as "well balanced," though the blogger explained the weaknesses of the system and why he chose not to participate.
So what happens? Yes, of course, Shop to Earn got upset and sent Everyday Finance a legal nasty-gram demanding the posts get taken down. As Everyday Finance notes, it's likely this had something to do with the fact that the posts had made it up the Google search results list. The blogger at Everyday Finance tried to adjust the post, taking out things like the phrase "fatal flaw," but Shop to Earn said that wasn't good enough and Everyday Finance needed to take down the entire site. This is, quite clearly, bullying through cease-and-desist. It's about trying to shut up a negative review of their business model because they didn't like what it said.
And, it appears that Shop to Earn isn't just focused on the blogger at Everyday Finance. The company has also sent cease-and-desist letters to other blogs, which were also extremely critical of Shop to Earn's program (though, that link is also quite well-balanced, pointing out the key flaws to Shop to Earn's program). Apparently, Shop to Earn seems to think that any review of its program that is negative is somehow libelous, and will threaten bloggers with legal action. What it may quickly learn is that (a) someone giving you a negative review and pointing out the obvious flaws of your program is not defamation and (b) trying to threaten bloggers into taking down their site will simply call much more attention to all of those negative reviews.
Reader Comments (rss)
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Those were NOT cease and desist letters - they were cease and desist EMAILS.
Why do people give these emails any sort of credibility at all? Email, besides being a completely insecure medium, is also very easy to forge.
I have my server configured to respond to legal-looking emails with a message that email is not an appropriate way to deliver legal notices, that the message has been deleted without being read by a human, and that they are welcome to send a certified letter to my registered address if they are certain that their request is lawful and appropriate.
Make the slappers at least do some real work if they want to terrorize you!
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"Make the slappers at least do some real work if they want to terrorize you!"
I like the way you think!!!
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Is Shop to Earn a scam?
Sorry but I just have to add that subject line since a google search shows that to be the biggest propaganda phrase.
I heard Shop to Earn is a scam Who knows but they suck as a company if they can't take some simple criticism without legal threats.
Someone might say that Shop to Earn is a scam and they could possibly, however minuscule the chance, be wrong, or Shop to Earn might just have a "fatal flaw" that they can't compete without an attorney.
How's that do you guys at STE? Them google ratings are gonna catch up to bite you in the ass as will the Streisand Effect.
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Shop to Earn is a scam
Sue me!
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They could just not open the emails like the Bush Administration.
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Thanks for your support!
Thank you for writing about this issue, and for those who responded to it in favor of the original blogger, Everyday Finance.
I agree that email isn't really the "right" way to send a legal notice, but it was a threat and I do believe the emails really came from Gerald Nehra (who does represent STE).
Nehra's point was clear: Use the easiest possible method to bully bloggers to get the desired outcome. And for many bloggers, this tactic works. That's why I think it's so important to stand up to it.
Hopefully, lawyers will think twice before doing things like this in the future. And if they still do it, I hope that bloggers will read our posts and learn that they don't have to give in to these scare tactics.
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Article at Pink Truth site
Pink Truth, an expose site for the Mary Kay Cosmetics MLM plan, has an article on this scam.
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Thanks for the Support from Everyday Finance!
I'm really grateful for the outpouring of support that has begun as a result of this ridiculous chain of events. I contacted Tracy at Fraud Files (commented above) and she really used some innovative and gutsy measures to highlight this issue while taking on STE on her site as well.
The silencing of critics via these tactics could have a severe impact on the consumer experience in America, as many Google search results land you on a biased sales-pitch related site. It's important to have balanced/critical reviews out there.
So, thanks for your support and please forward, bookmark, post about this; do whatever you can to raise the awareness of this issue.
Dan at EverydayFinance
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Your always going to have critics. The best thing you can do is take the critisism from a "non-customer" and use it to make your company better.
Going around banging the a Lawsuit Gong just makes you into a bully, and no one likes to do business with a bully.
This all reminds me of the Al Yankcovic song "I'm gonna sue ya!"
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How is multilevel marketing still legal ? It's just a nice name for Ponzi-style pyramid scams.
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cause and effect
AC: "Shop to Earn is a scam"
Shop-to-Earn, meet Barbara Streisand;
Babs, let them know what to expect.
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Re: MLM being legal
There are (or at least used to be) a few legitimate MLM schemes--where most of the income comes from actual sales to customers, and the compensation for recruiting people to work under you is relatively incidental. Those are legal. It's when most of a participant's income comes from recruiting other suckers that it turns into an illegal pyramid scheme.
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The Oldest Blog Attacking Scams - How To
To any blogger attacking any company in this Litigious society they can expect to be sued. That is also the right of the offended. Here is how I have look at it despite LLC's, trusts and every other legal block.. A serious blogger trying to get the truth out has to have a plan. I suggest a budget of: 1. $30,000 to move the case to Federal Court 2. $30,000 to file a counter suit (I control those depositions) 3. $100,000 to for depo's (above) calling witness (airfare), expert witnesses (we are going to do jury trial... so this is economy. As the http://mlmwatchdog.com (started in print magazine I published starting in 1993 and web blogg in 1998. That works. Also the Equinox Scam (on 20/20 triggered FTC Hit) we attacked not only attracted a lawsuit but some bullets. Also Attacking the Global Prosperity Scam got bullet holes in the back of my Mercedes convertible whilst driving down the Interstate. All of these scams have NUT CASES attached to them so I also (no kidding) recommend a concealed carry permit for at least a 15 shot stainless 9mm and 2 extra magazines. In my office I have an interesting arms collection.. all loaded. If you read the MLM Watchdog you will see why. If you think I am B.s.ing you subscribe to my news letter my 600 reporters come up with some goodies! And yes there are a lot of good MLM's. Oh yes that leads me to http://www.mlmwatchdog.com/MLM_DUE_DILIGENCE.html and I will shut up! Sorry I got on a rant... Rod Cook MLM WatchDog
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Legal bullshit
Perfect4U and One-Vision is the worst pyramid scam out there!
They love to bluster about suing anyone who is critical to them.
These threats are as good as their product: - ALL HOT AIR
Even their company lawyers recently abandoned them anyway!
So if ever Mr Robert Fitzpatrick of Perfect4U rants about suing anyone - just say "Bring it on Buddy"
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Banned from Post
Folks...Last week I posted on a Blog site posting info and rebuttal on this company, Shop to Earn. Having no this which way or not, for or against Shop to Earn specifically, I merely shared some insight about making choices. I considered my post harmless to either party, just merely stated how people's choice to make decisions, (just as the host's claims defending free speech) is EXACTLY that! Being 'informed' is definitely beneficial, but not ALWAYS from those who have not had the life experience.
Words don't teach, life experience does. However, I also can 'accept' someone else's 'opinion' without having to agree or berate someone else. My choices are my choices and just because it either didn't work for someone else, or someone else even had a bad experience, you know what to look for and they educated you further. But the choice remains your own. (If you can effectively think independently)
I've witnessed comebacks on behalf of the Blog hosts display nothing but crude and prejudicial remarks on whether the poster spells 'correctly' or 'guestimates' their level of education, which to me, amplifies the prejudicial exclusion of more than half the human race. Not being great at typing is hardly a reason for crucifixion. (did I spell that right?)
In any event, without going off topic... Yes blog hosts can choose which information is appearing on their site, which to me indicates a 'scam ' in itself, as they are refusing the one thing they indeed clarify their reason for their words justified. (Free Speech) As far as this attorney goes, he did simply what is recommended to do to simply interrupt unwanted behavior. You must put it in writing, and that, he did. And according to our US government, it is legal and binding proof of communication. An actual threat? Hardly. Simply documentation of conversation.
Simply stated, when this blog host deleted my post and posts on questions why it was deleted, they essentially exercised the same thing. If a blog is supposed to 'inform' people, it should present both sides and not be prejudice to the other. Can this be an ego issue?.
Those that wish to participate in blogs where the host's purpose and mission is to 'inform', they should stick to the facts. Those that throw knives and cut things up without ever having had the 'taste test', can rarely have credibility with what they are talking about. There are many blogs out there that serve different purposes...this one clearly does not offer the chance for 'everyone's' comments, other than the host themselves. It should simply state: "Comments from those I choose"
For those that are interested...read my post that was deleted. And make up your own minds. (fancy that!) Either way, I appreciate criticisms as well as agreement. There is inherent value in both. If not, that's ok too...I won't lose any sleep over it. My intentions get out there everyday without the help of others.
Perception is everything...but don't take my word for it.
MY POST:
>Hi there...
I came upon your site because I Googled shoptoearn to find a friend's STE site. I think it was the word 'sucks' in the title of this blog that caught my attention. Quite good psychological advertising on the part of the blog host! Naturally, as most, we are conditioned to fix on the negative.
So I'd just like to share some insight. There are a lot of opinions and perspectives here, both for and against STE and MLMs in general. I don't judge either way. Such as the world turns. Without the duality and diversity, we would cease to be. Its just the way contrast serves us all.
Without the negative, there could be no birth of the positive. But what I have experienced in reading these posts and being an 'informed' Universal Law Expert, (goes beyond MLMs I'm afraid, but inclusive), is that some people here are attracting exactly what they are focused on. If you look for the negative in something, you will no doubt find it. Same goes for the positive.
And whatever direction you are focused, expands. That's why I find sites like these and statistics so amusing, yet useful. You get exactly what you are looking for. If you think about it, typical decision making is taking pros and cons, weighing them out and hopefully, choosing the right direction. Trouble is, most of us spend our time still focused on the negative, even when we find something positive. We start to scrutinize every little detail until we've lost the bigger picture.
Our biggest detriment to ourselves is how we most often rely on the opinions of others, taking away from our own natural guidance. The most important part is that it should come from yourself, not a consensus of what everyone thinks. So many of us live our lives thinking we have to live up to some set of rules or standards outside ourselves. Nothing could be further from the truth. We have an internal guidance system of our own that can steer our own direction, if we only listened to it.
So much time spent looking for more validation for each cause. So much judgment thrashing about. If we could just take a moment, take a breath and realize the energy expended on being righteous, wanting to be right, reacting, judging and defending could be far more useful if we'd just pay attention to where we want to go. If you just followed your own voice, you'd all be much happier in your experiences. Realize that there is tremendous value in diversity, but another's point of view is irrelevant if you focus in the direction you, yourself want to go.
Some think it is their duty to warn people of the dangers and all the things that could go wrong. (Much like our western medicine, mass media, education, politics, etc.), and their intentions can be well meaning and in some cases it serves us well. But to remain there is in one's own insecurity that fosters the negativity, while they try to get others to join them. But what they don't realize is that in focusing in all that negativity, they'll remain there.
Some seem like they have thumbs down, then turn them up and down again because a negative thought has infiltrated them from something they heard from somewhere else., but still look for validation because they find it difficult to listen and trust themselves to do anything without some outside validation. Give me a reason this, give me a reason that....until eventually, they talk themselves out of something they truly wanted or wanted to experience. Yes, it is all part of the learning process. But words and opinions don't teach. Its life experience that teaches. And each life is free to choose its direction.
Others move ahead and find all the positives they can reach for, despite the seeming obstacles that lay in front of them. Who is more powerful? The ones that feel good while doing what they do. Because nothing matters more than the way they feel.
I have been in several MLMs over the past 30 years; each of them held tremendous value for me and others. Both the good and the bad. No one could judge those experiences other than ourselves having lived through them. I appreciate every step I took and every fall I had. The positives far outweighed the negatives just in the experiences I lived...and sometimes I made decent money, other times not. But I received far more than that, I learned a lot, enjoyed my life and was surrounded by people that enjoyed theirs.
So, If you choose to join an MLM or join a corporate structure, do so because you are aligned with what makes you feel good. If others think what you do is not a good thing, it is their problem, not yours. You were not born to serve them, nor them to serve you. If something doesn't feel right to you, make sure it is you that is feeling it, and not someone else that put it there.
Each of us has an inherent gifted talent and it is up to no one but each of us to decide to use it. No one is holding you accountable for using it or not . You're inner being won't join you in one negative thought, what makes you think that you were put here to prove anything to anyone?
Nothing stays the same forever, so live your lives the way you intend. Jump in with both feet and enjoy the ride, if you so wish to live your lives to the fullest, OR stay stagnant in the negativity that will bring you down each and every time. Its Universal Law.
And for you positive folks out there...this site serves its purpose and is valuable. Negativity can only make you stronger in your positivity because the minute you touch it, you've created a stronger, better reason to breed more positivity. And it will serve you to breed more and live it.
Tracy - if you love what you do, continue...there will always be an audience you are serving and attracting for wherever people choose to be. Everyone else, realize no one can deter you from where you are determined to go. Prosperity has many different meanings for many different people. But there is more than enough to go around for everyone.
In closing, I want to say I appreciated reading these posts and have expanded as a human being just by being here in the moment with you folks.
Thank you each and every one of you.
P.S. I wanted to check out STE for my cousin who has had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis since the age of 5. He is now 32 and nearly crippled. But he is looking for an opportunity to help others...help them focus on their strengths and talents to be the best they can be, and to excel and live prosperous lives. He loves talking to people and using the computer. He's on the right track and suffers not. But like each one of us, he wants to make a difference. One known benefit about STE; They will not judge him based on his condition or seeming limitations. I would never tell him STE wasn't the way to go. He is focused on what he wants, he will look for alignment there, find it, or not. But I assure you, he will make up his own mind. That's the best gift anyone could have given me.
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Shop To Earn
You write that it's wrong for STE to go after blogs that say negative things about the company. Well, why is it any different when you write a paragraph defending the format of the company and it mysteriously gets deleted in 5 minutes. That is what happened to me. Many of the facts are twisted on some of these sites or even outright false. Either you have to allow both sides of the argument or none at all.
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www.Perfect4u.com and www.one-vision.com
I know the conmen behind these scam companies and they love threatening to sue people.
This from criminals who have no respect for the law, both Fitzpatrick and Singh are banned from running companies in England for 12 years.
Singh is also banned from entering the US. (go figure it out for yourself)
It is true that their lawyers in Gibraltar recently gave up on them - This will not stop them using their name in threatening legal action though.
Like many of the big names they claim to have associated with their business. It is all false...
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Perfect4U.com and One-Vision.com ponzi fraud
Wow, I was researching http://www.perfect4u.com and http://www.one-vision.com (plus all the other names they used) for my business law degree and they are truly awful.
Have the leaders finally been indited? They will be facing long terms for:
Not correctly registered as a company internationally.
Operating illegally, without licence, when banned from Gibraltar.
Using proceeds of crimes (previous failed companies) to set up these companies.
Not declearing their true business model when opening up in various states. (there are 26 US states that would not allow them anyway) but bet they have been daft enough.
Money laundering charges, both in the past and currently.
Fraudulant advertising claims.
Mr Fitzpatrick and Mr Singh, both in violation of their disqualified directorship bans in the UK.
No business address on the websites.
Plus numerous vilaltions of pyramid selling laws, despite how they try to dress it up (deceipt)
Finally our government seems to be acting strongly against pyramid / ponzi scams and other white collar crime in general.
Were they arrested in UK? Should not be a problem with current extradition treaties.
I will try to find out more, we have spoken to many victims worldwide and there are many more, but most are too embarressed to admit they were brainwashed and conned.
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lol
I'm on the "tour" phone call right now! A co-worker dragged me onto this and it's all I can do not to laugh out loud at this guy from the company. Politeness to my co-worker will have me finish the call.....and I'm sorry to all those who were desperate or stupid enough to fall for this line of sale but if anyone reading this is curious, by all means listen to the tour, within two minutes if you don't realise it's a scheme you have my deepest sympathies.
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www.One-Vision.com ponzi fraud
A recent history of this scheme, that potential victims need to be aware about...
June 08 Closed down on the internet (Perfect4ucashback site)....
http://www.perfect4ucashback.com/
May 08 Closed down in Gibraltar...
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/columnists/article.html?in_article_id=440837&in_page_id=19&a mp;in_author_id=5
April 08 Closed down in the UK... http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/columnists/article.html?in_article_id=440571&in_page_id=19& ;in_author_id=5
Dec 07 Closed down in Ghana and Nigeria.....(Vision marketing)...
http://offshorecashcard.com/visionmarketingafrica/
Oct 07 Closed down in Sweden...
(Fitzpatrick and Singh steal money from the accounts, more info to follow)
Sept 07 Closed down in Botswana...
http://www.sundaystandard.info/search/search_item.php?NewsID=1969
May 07 Closed down in South Africa...
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=79&art_id=vn20060715080339293C972830&set_ id=1
The list goes back on back to the mid 1990s.....
and now
Now closing down in North America....
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Yeah!!!! sue me too
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