Author Topic: MLM Scam Discussions (cont from DD Main site)  (Read 11951 times)

Offline churnbabychurn

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Offline ariIs

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Re: MLM Scam Discussions (cont from DD Main site)
« Reply #41 on: December 30, 2015, 01:38:29 PM »
http://www.vosizneias.com/225320/2015/12/29/albany-ny-ambit-energy-to-refund-nearly-1-million-to-new-yorkers/

I would say 'not surprising', but I actually am surprised that they managed to get Ambit to pay anything.
I tried it after being persuaded by a friend who was in the MLM network for them, but switched away after they switched me to the their 'variable' rate (which is like 3x higher than ConEd rates) after the 1 year contract expired.

It's a shame that with all the deregulation in the energy provider business no company wants to be transparent about their rates, but just wants to bait-and-switch. Most don't even advertise what their rate will be, just that it will be 'lower than your utility'. Yeah, right.

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Re: MLM Scam Discussions (cont from DD Main site)
« Reply #42 on: December 30, 2015, 02:38:35 PM »
It's a shame that with all the deregulation in the energy provider business no company wants to be transparent about their rates, but just wants to bait-and-switch. Most don't even advertise what their rate will be, just that it will be 'lower than your utility'. Yeah, right.
Energy deregulation is my full time business and as such I couldn't agree with you more. I deal almost exclusively with commercial customers and will tell you that deregulation in NY is not for the residential account unless there is someone who will really be on top of it and even then only maybe. The default pricing in NYC is based on the spot market and changes daily. You can have neighbors who have their meters read on different days who will have different prices. This will mean that a fixed price may or may not save money depending on where the market moves during the fixed term. Over the past year the market has gone down significantly and there would not have been savings. In other years such as winter 2014 the market shot up and someone on a fixed price saved a lot when ConEd prices went above $0.20. Even in a favorable market during the low usage months there is a high likelihood of paying higher than ConEd. Some will then say that you should go onto a variable rate plan. Unfortunately time has shown that these are invariably higher than ConEd's prices and seem to go up with the market and not down with it. Overall someone who is looking to prevent price spikes should go with a fixed rate but will need to make sure that they renew the contract seamlessly. Otherwise they should stay with ConEd.

This is all in NY. In NJ the utility price structure is different.
Feelings don't care about your facts

Offline ariIs

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Re: MLM Scam Discussions (cont from DD Main site)
« Reply #43 on: December 30, 2015, 02:53:02 PM »
Thanks! It's nice to see that my amateurish observations are validated by someone in the business!
What's your opinion as to why the Ny energy market in particular is so broken?

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Re: MLM Scam Discussions (cont from DD Main site)
« Reply #44 on: December 30, 2015, 03:29:50 PM »
Thanks! It's nice to see that my amateurish observations are validated by someone in the business!
What's your opinion as to why the Ny energy market in particular is so broken?
Mainly because they are volatile. The typical residential account does not understand energy markets or their energy bill at all. If the rate would be somewhat stable like in NJ there would be a very simple way for customers to understand what they are paying and therefore how they can save. In NY no one understands anything and can therefore be sold anything. This leads customers to end up on variable rates since they are afraid to "be locked in" and then the supplier can basically charge anything.
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Offline Moshe123

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Offline Mordyk

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Offline grodnoking

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Offline grodnoking

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Re: MLM Scam Discussions (cont from DD Main site)
« Reply #48 on: November 07, 2016, 09:00:44 AM »
https://youtu.be/s6MwGeOm8iI
Great piece by John Oliver

!!![Language]!!!
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Offline efflpetzel

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Re: MLM Scam Discussions (cont from DD Main site)
« Reply #49 on: January 08, 2017, 09:22:39 PM »
Is tupperware safe, my wife keeps on talking about hosting a party thereby getting free stuff from them...

from looking at their site it seems like a classic MLM setup

Offline grodnoking

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Re: MLM Scam Discussions (cont from DD Main site)
« Reply #50 on: January 08, 2017, 10:26:00 PM »
Is tupperware safe, my wife keeps on talking about hosting a party thereby getting free stuff from them...

from looking at their site it seems like a classic MLM setup
http://www.pinktruth.com/2008/07/20/tupperware-same-mlm-different-name/
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Re: MLM Scam Discussions (cont from DD Main site)
« Reply #51 on: January 08, 2017, 10:36:29 PM »
My philosophy regarding these schemes is to analyze only what you make from selling the actual product without any downline. If that is enough to be worthwhile then there may be something to look at. If the money is based on downline then keep away.
Feelings don't care about your facts