Melaleuca – Feedback from Victims and Observers

CAI

Consumer Awareness Institute

Non-profit corporation

Comments related to Melaleuca’s claim they are not "MLM," but “consumer direct marketing”

 Here is a fact: Melaleuca pays on multiple Levels, therefore by definition, Melaleuca is MLM. You can call it Private Franchising, you can call it Network Distribution, or you can call it Consumer Direct Marketing, but when you say Melaleuca is not MLM, you are deceiving people. It is this type of deception that gives MLM a bad name. . .

Melaleuca actually has some characteristics that make it a better MLM than most, but hiding behind a term like Consumer Direct Marketing while claiming that you are not MLM is a stretch of the truth at best. Stop doing it! Stand on the merits of your company. Tell people why you are different.

Melaleuca people, it’s time to come out of the closet and embrace your true self….MLM.

            – MLM publisher Ty Tribble, Sept. 26, 2005

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My wife and I WERE in Melaleuca. Notice the word WERE! We were soooo tired of having to toe the “corporate line” by saying we weren’t MLM when we were. We believe in not lying to those who we form business partnerships with. Anyone who is in Melaleuca and denies they are in an MLM are doing themselves and those they serve a huge disservice, and only perpetuate the problems that plague this industry with being deceitful, etc. What also happens, that they’ll NEVER tell you about, is that you have to have corporate’s “blessing” to set up a booth at a fair or expo. What is this blessing? You must be at a certain level or above! We found this out the hard way when we wanted to set up a booth at a local fair, only to be told “No”, well we went to the fair and saw our Senior Director there with her booth! Surprise! The rich get richer at the expense of those below them who are trying hard to build their business.

Enough of that! That’s one of the reasons we wanted to start our own business was to be FREE to do business on our terms, but with Melaleuca, that isn’t a possibility. Another thing that really bothered us was all the “MOMS groups”, etc that hid behind these generic names to dupe people into visiting their websites and leaving contact information, etc. Then they call back their leads with the news that it is Melaleuca but “we’re not MLM”. Really? You get paid on multiple levels, (MLM Defined!!!) so how do you think you’re not? Besides, if a program or company is sooooo good as you make it out to be, then put the company name out there in your advertising, and let intelligent, informed people research it, and make their own decisions! Anyway, we moved on to a company that’s much more “user-friendly” and actually ENCOURAGES its’ associates to think outside the box! Goodbye lying, hiding behind other names, in denial Melaleuca!

           — Bruce –  ,   March 13, 2006

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 Melaleuca participation and company deceptions alleged to have led to suicide

 Excerpts from Texas case against Melaleuca  (Posted on MLMsurvivor.com)

 At a meeting with several distributors and prospective distributors, James and Kim Holten met with Defendants, LARRY and CONNIE HAGEN, (hereinafter referred to as "the Hagens"), to go over their marketing plan. A cornerstone of this carefully crafted marketing plan presumed the retention rate as touted by Defendants. This meeting was different, however. Since the marketing plan was such a broad concept, and participating in the Holten marketing plan would require significant amounts of time, some of the meeting participants asked many and various hard questions of the Hagens.

At this meeting, the Hagens confessed, for the first time, that the 94.5 percent retention rate was not at all what had been represented. It was not 94.5 percent over time, it was not 94.5 percent per year, the Hagens said. Instead, it was more along the lines of 94.5 percent per month. In other words, as every month would pass, one

The shock at learning this news was extraordinary. The Holtens, as well as all of the Plaintiffs, had built a business on the basis of the notion that the products were so good and the business so enticing that 94.5 percent of all persons who had ever gotten involved were still active in the program. In truth, each year, according to the figures quoted by the Hagens, 66 percent, two-thirds of the people who started in Melaleuca were out. The Holtens knew they were the victim of a massive fraud, misrepresentation, bait and switch and unconscionable trade practice.

Learning this news had a devastating affect on Kim Holten. She immediately sank into a depression. She had gotten every friend she had into Melaleuca, and had focused so completely on building this business she ignored others. Her credibility with these friends, and importantly their view of her integrity, was immediately suspect now that it had come to light that she was herself guilty of repeating the lies she had been told herself. She felt foolish, and she felt as though she had deceived her friends and neighbors. Despite encouragement, despite loving support, despite all that a husband could be reasonably expected to do, Kim's depression continued and grew worse. Ultimately, the shame Kim carried inside as a consequence of being the unwitting purveyor of misinformation was too much for her. Kim took her life, destroying the family she had left behind of James and their son, Mathew. . . .

    [Plaintiffs, JAMES AND MATHEW HOLTEN, herein plead the rights    and protections of the Wrongful Death and Survival Statutes.]

 – Portion of Texas case against Melaleuca, filed June 2, 1999
by attorney Brock C. Akers of PHILLIPS & AKERS, P.C.

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SEARCH CHALLENGE: 
There are many blogs and sites giving positive and negative information about Melaleuca. Just do a Google search - enter in "Is Melaleuca a scam" or "Is Melaleuca a pyramid Scheme?" and see what you get. You would be wise to do a lot of reading of the experiences of others - negative as well as positive - before joining their program - or any MLM. And be sure to read the reports linked from our home page.

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GENERAL NOTE RE MLM DECEPTIONS:  
These types of deceptions allegedly promulgated by Melaleuca promoters are not unique to Melaleuca.  A complex set of deceptions is routinely used by MLMs of almost every stripe – with the possible exception of some party plans. This is not necessarily because MLM promoters set out to deliberately deceive those they target for recruitment, but because MLM is inherently flawed and must utilize misrepresentation and deceit to succeed and survive. Please do yourself a favor and read “30 Typical Deceptions” (used in MLM recruitment).

To contact site sponsor Jon Taylor directly, email to - jonmtaylor@juno.com

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