Those of you who visited my site this Thursday may have been disappointed to find my site unavailable. Well, Amazon had a huge outage for it’s hosting services. Just a month ago I moved to using Amazon. As usual, I have the worst timing.
I received a follow-up email from One24’s lawyers regarding their threat to sue me for defamation. It was a little unusual. In it, it made the assumption that I “know” One24 is not a pyramid scheme and that I’m trying to hurt their business for my own gain. It’s as if they didn’t read the article. It consisted of extensive evidence from the FTC explaining how MLMs in some cases can be pyramid schemes along with analysis of how One24 fits these FTC guidelines. I think it’s clearly a scare tactic and will treat it as such. I did offer to correct my article if they point out any specific statements that have been proven to be false. I am a reasonable person trying to educate consumers. Read my One24 article here.
I saw Easy A on DVD with the wife the other night. I had seen it in the theater and liked it just as much on DVD. One part that I found particularly interesting was how Emma Stone’s character, Olive, received a greeting card that plays Natasha Bedingfield’s Pocketful Of Sunshine. She makes a face like, “What a horrible song!” when she firsts opens it. However, over the weekend she’s fallen in love with it, singing along. I’m living this in real life with Katy Perry’s Firework. I mean it has some of the most imperfect rhymes imaginable and yet, it has wormed its way into my head.
The Boston Red Sox started off the season 2-10 – a shocking start for a team that 42 of 45 ESPN analysts predicted would win the World Series. This put more of a damper on the month for me than getting my taxes done. However, they’ve won 7 of their last 8 games behind incredible starting pitching. In addition the Boston Celtics have started the series 3-0 against the Knicks. As I type this both teams are playing and leading in the stages of their game today. Both teams have really ignited that light and let it shine. You can watch a game without going “Oh, oh, oh” at their colors bursting.
Enough with the off-topic stuff, here are some personal finance articles from the last week.
Money Writers:
- Brip Blap on chinese water torture.
- Digerati Life explains what to do when you’ve got too much debt.
- Frugal Dad asks anyone planning to downsize car because of gas prices?
- Generation X Finance explains how to keep eating well on a budget.
- Million Dollar Journey posts children and capital gain in cottage country.
- Money Smart Life presents 12 steps to improve your credit score.
- My Dollar Plan blogs about eliminating preexisting conditions in health insurance.
- The Sun’s Financial Diary says seek wise counsel to save.
Top PF Posts:
- The Smarter Wallet discusses the negative effects of social media on your job.
- My Journey to Millions writes be careful when picking a mutual fund based on its name.
- Free Money Finance goes over how to decide whether to drive or fly.
- Get Rich Slowly talks rebalancing your investment portfolio.
- Money Ning shares how you can get your concert tickets for a steal.
- Simple Dollar on financial stress and how to plan against it.
- Scott on MONEY posts how to get a loan following bankruptcy.
- Mighty Bargain Hunter shares two keys to spending financial windfalls wisely.
- Money Crush says successful people are in it for the long haul.
- Saving Advice shares the truth about Extreme Couponing.
- Not Made of Money gives three tips to maximize your retirement plan.
- Budgets Are Sexy asks should only poor people shop at thrift stores?
I have been hopeful that my Cleveland team will actually do something this year. Still in first place, but its only April. I have been a season ticket holder now for 6 years, fan forever. Seen good and bad and even tho this year seems like its gonna be good, I am inspired by the promotion that they are running this year. “What if” Lets you celebrate the achievements, and realize that having a team, any team, is special. Something to think about.
So many songs are like that! (And thanks for including my link :))
I could care less about One24 being a pyramid scheme in disguise. However, something you overlooked. The product is excellent. My diabetes (bld sugar 219 are down to 87 even 2 hrs after an evening meal). I feel great in general and my MS symptoms have lessened to such an extent that I’m back to work fulltime. Organic fruits and vegs in a pwder form (phytonutrients) can be very useful to people whose immune system is run down and they don’t always eat the way they should. Maybe you should do more research before commenting further. Just a suggestion. Alot of people could really be helped by this extra nutrition. My daughter has had boils on her underarms since age 12 verypainful. With this product they are healing very nicely(turmeric in formula)for the first time in 13 yrs. Please don’t be discouraging. Many sick people could really benefit. It’s been 4 months and my girlfriend is already drinking for free. Her irritable bowel symptoms gone and no meds necessary anymore.
Judith, Judith, Judith…
You should care a lot if One24 is a pyramid scheme in disguise. As a distributor, who is making money off the product, you should ensure that you are making money legally. Plus those involved in pyramid schemes lose money.
As for the product itself, I don’t overlook the product. You should read the comments at: http://www.lazymanandmoney.com/one24-natraburst-scam/. I went through the product. It seems to be only slightly different than Carnation Instant Breakfast.
There’s no evidence that the product contains organic fruits and veggies. The product isn’t certified organic and the company makes no claims that it is. It legally can’t make such claims, because they don’t use organic products. As such, please stop marketing the product with lies.
I don’t believe there is any significant research on vegetables in powder form on the immune system. Maybe you should provide this research if you are so certain it exists. If anything these are much less desirable than regular vegetables since they lack fiber. Furthermore, there is no information on how much powder is in the product. They could mix in one ounce of this product (as one of many examples) for the entire NatraBurst tub.
As a distributor the FTC prohibits your claims about diabetes, MS, and boils. See this document. MonaVie, another MLM where distributors makes similar illegal medical claims as you did has warned its distributors that they need to be “subject to typical results”. None of these claims have the medical evidence necessary. If you believe that turmeric really helps, save the $60 and buy turmeric. It is extremely cheap!
If they are using implications, waiting for you to refute those implications it almost seems like they are building a case, and attempting to use the correspondence as evidence as admissions.
For example, saying WE KNOW YOU KNOW One24 is a great product (as opposed to an over priced Whey with a Scam behind it) and then you failing to rebut that fact in your next letter – may cause you additional headaches down the line.
Notwithstanding, I am NOT in litigation by any means. Just saying I’d be very careful drafting my own letters to these guys.
Lazyman, Lazyman, Lazyman…
You are kidding me right. You make these ridiculous claims all day about the FTC. I mean all day that is what you refer back to, that’s it. Your example is so ridiculous it has really gotten funny. I am willing to bet that you have driven over the speed limit more then once, and by the way that is illegal. What you should do is tell the next Police Officer you see that you were speeding and then tell us if they give you the ticket YOU DESERVE since you just admitted to breaking the law… Now we all know how ridiculous that example is, but is no more ridiculous then you quoting the FTC every 3 paragraphs. When was the last time the FTC shut down an MLM,DIRECT SALES, PYRAMID scam company ???? Mona Vie is World Wide now over 1 Million Distributor’s. They do have a tough compensation plan to make an extraordinary amount of money, but that’s only because it takes an extraordinary amount of work. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Most people want to get paid in these company’s for doing nothing which is ridiculous and if the person who brings them in gave them that impression then that is wrong, but there has NEVER been a plan like One24 before in the sense of an IRP (“Incentivize Referral Plan”).
You make it sound like everyone buys the product only because they HAVE TO, and that is were you are absolutely incorrect.There are many who do buy the product and could probably care less about it, but that is not the normal customer. I have over 50 CUSTOMERS who would not have gotten involved with the company unless they had a chance to try the product themselves first and make sure it was something they could stand behind. I use the product everyday to REPLACE a meal, so even if that meal would have only cost me 2 dollars a day which at 2 dollars x 30 days average month is 60.00 dollars a month I would have spent and NatraBurst cost 60.00 dollars a month how am I losing out by not eating McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King or any other fast food junk I have replaced ?? I have lost 15 pounds over 7 month’s and I can state that because it is not a CLAIM that EVERYONE will lose that much or more or less or any weight loss at all, it is a fact that I HAVE lost the weight by adding NatraBurst to my daily diet AND also changing my daily eating habit’s… If the FTC ever steps in and shuts One24 down because it is a pyramid scam or whatever else you have called it I will also be the first person to come back here and say you were right, but we both now that, that will never happen. So in closing you have a point that people should be careful when making any type of claim and expectation’s of getting so rich they can quit there job’s and sit on the couch and loads of money will appear in there mailbox, because that will not ever happen with a lack effort. What you can count on though is with a little effort and some honesty and integrity this is a GREAT Opportunity for some residual income to help out those who want to work on there HEALTH and WEALTH…