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Loren of Forney TX (07/23/07)
I was 19 and had just had my first child. I saw an ad in the classifieds that said I am 21 and drive a Corvette. He said he earned thousands of dollars and works when he wants. Me and my boyfriend at the time called for an interview. When we showed up it was a presentation with about 20 other people. I was young and stupid and they were so convincing. They made it seem so easy. They went on to explain the best way to get started and be successful was to rent desk space and pay for a phone line to recruit other associates. I couldn't afford that so we never did that. However,I did buy about $300 worth of products and attended a worthless seminar that cost me about $250.00. Not to mention the stuff I charged on my credit card. From all of that I got a check for $15.87. I wasted gas (about an hour each way), time and money for nothing. I finally got out of it and received a letter in '06 saying the FTC was suing Trek Alliance for deceptive marketing practices. Thank God I did not take out loans like they tried to convince me to. Looking back now, 6 years later, I see how foolish I was to believe this. They were very good at what they did. They knew exactly what to say to get you to do what they wanted you to do. Being young I saw this lifestyle that I thought I could have and I admired it.
I had to settle the credit card I bought products on and that is on my credit. I lost time with my newborn daughter and wear and tear on my car.
Jeni of Columbus OH (11/05/06)
I lost a lot of money with Trek Alliance. Many of my friends that I made through Trek Alliance received a letter telling them they could file a suit against Trek Alliance. I never received anything in the mail.
Tracey of Dover Plains NY (11/04/06)
I was told I could make thousands of dollars by joining trek alliance and selling the product but instead I was tricked into take out a 5000.00 dollar loan, maxing out my credit cards and I never recieved not so much as one check from them. I also was dealing with health issues at the time in which a was to be hospitalized for but tiffiany and her husband called me personally to convince me to spend $2000.00 to go to scottsdale, AZ for a one week training. These people have no consscience and deserve to be punished far worse than paying a fine. Not only did they steal money from hard working people but they put my life at risk. In my opinion there is no excuse for what they have done.
My credit is ruined and I am only 24. I have had to settle with numerous credit card companies. As far as my health is concerned soon after I left trek alliance I was so far in debt and with my health failing, my car had been reposed by the bank and I attempted suicide and was hospitalised for 9 weeks out of state because of my health issues. I am not blaming them fully for my health but the whole situation escalted the severity of my disorders. I was sent a letter about settlement checks being issued in regards to this matter back in august and I sent in the form but I have not heared anything since. I am very cuirous about what is going on with this.
Dan of Florence KY (08/16/06)
I was recruited by there sneaky ad in the paper. I was young and naive let them talk me into spendin around $1000 bucks, before I gave up on them. I did not sell any of the worthless junk that they were pedaling, nor could I return it for a refund.
They talked me into putting the cost of training and products on my credit card. I am still trying to pay of this dept in 2006, I got involved with Trek in 2001.
Christopher of Sikeston MO (11/30/03)
I was looking around on the and decided to check on an old company i used to work for (Trek Alliance). I found that they had been shut down by the federal trade commission. I read some of the complaints and found that many of the people felt the same way about this company that i did. after working for trek for 6 months i came to realize that they cared nothing about selling their products. They pushed the products on the reps. They wanted you to get more people in and get them to buy the starter kit for $2000.00 and keep doing it repeatedly. You had to place deceptive ads in the paper to recruit people to come to the group meetings. If they signed up then you had to try and get them to go to a seminar in some city where the speaker would attempt to talk the people into buying products. After attending a few of these I started catching on to what they were doing and decided to get out. There were times when i could not afford to go to these seminars, but i would end up going because those above me would make me feel very low if i didn't go. They would tell me that I would not make any money if I didn't go.
I lost a lot of money. $4000 for the starter kit. $2000 to $3000 for the money spent on seminars, hotels, food, gas, etc. $1000 on desk rent. $5000 on newspaper ads. $2000 on phone bill. And I lost time.
Jennifer of Kansas City MO (09/18/03)
In the spring of 2000, I was calling on job ads in the paper. I went to an interview (or so I thought) where I listened to a presentation in which a gentleman described how much money I could make and how controling that corporate America really is. Needless to say I was young and insecure and fell easily into believing these people cared about me and my future. I was talked into buying $3000 worth of product within the first week, which was my entire savings through college. I was also talked into renting desk space, getting a phone line installed, going to training sessions all over the US every month, and continue to buy product not only for myself, but to sell as well. Trek Alliance made it appear that I could be rich within a year, they even tried telling me that I could move to San Diego to help start the new office and that I would be the first in that market.
I never would have gone that far without the encouragement and pressure of the people working above me. After several months, all of my credit cards were maxed out, they had talked me into taking a leave of absence from my job, and I was barely paying the bills. I ended up spending over $14,000 on their promises of a better life. I had to file bankruptcy in August of 2001 because I could no longer afford to live. Since then, not only did I lose money, I also lost credibiliy. I cannot get a decent car or home loan, I cannot get a credit card, and I cannot move apartments for fear that when they check my credit report my application will be denied. I read that Trek Alliance is under investigation and I would appreciate being considered as another victim of the illegal pyramid scheme. I want to see the company stopped so that no one else falls into the same financial and emotional despair that I did, and I am sure a lot of others like me did.
I lost $14,000 on product, seminars, flights, clothes, and all the other things they told me that I had to have to succeed. I have every receipt to prove every penny that I spent. I ended up having to file bankruptcy and therefore living with that on my credit report.
On December 6, 2002 the United States Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit alleging deceptive marketing practices against Trek Alliance Inc. (story) On December 9th the United States District Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order appointing a Temporary Receiver over the companies and froze the companies' assets.
At a hearing in the United States District Court on January 08, 2003, the parties agreed to extend the Temporary Restraining Order and continue the hearing on whether a preliminary injunction shall be issued until March 24, 2003.
Business operations have been terminated.
A court-appointed temporary receiver is working on a plan to liquidate the assets of the company, including the product inventory. When information about the liquidation procedure is available, that information will be posted at www.trekalliance.com/.
If you want additional information, you may write to the Federal Trade Commission at the following address.
Federal Trade Commission
Trek Alliance Lawsuit
10877 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. #700
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Joseph of Ft. Bragg NC (8/2/03):
In 2000 I had read the ad for the "help wanted" with Trek Alliance. I went to their meeting and was told what everyone else was told. I had bought the starter box which was round figure of $2100. Plus I went on this trip to Minnesota that cost about $350. I was joining the Army a few months later and thought this would be a great thing to earn extra cash. Well, being 20 at the time I guess I was fooled.
The lady I was dealing with, Angie, worked in the Chesterfield MO area. She told me after I bought the starter box that I could bring it back to her and could pick it up upon my completion of basic training. Now I'm not some stupid person, but with all the motivation these people had it felt like a great place to start something good. The point of it is when I came back she was gone and no one had a clue as to what I was talking about. Is there anything I can do? I purchased this on my credit card and should be able to bring it up with the credit card company, or is this probably just a lesson learned?
Kevin of Ellisville MO (4/22/03):
I was called by Dariusz and told that his company was looking for "representatives" to run a marketing and sales team. He asked me to come into the office to speak to his executive who was "very busy so I'm lucky to be interviewing with him." I went into the office and there were about 25 people there. The "executives" said there were too many applicants to go through one by one so they were going to do a group screening. They told us how we were going to be able to make more than $20,000 a month and made it sound so easy.
They said if I bought 2 of the biggest packages I would be pushed up the payscale and I would make more money the next month. So I talked my dad into giving me the money, which was well over $4,000. They also said they would be teaching me how to do "the business." When I started going into the office they told me I should rent a desk because I would make more money if I was there more. The more and more I went into the office, the more I saw the "deceptive" practices they did. Dariusz was my "upline" and told me the more people I got to sign up and buy products the more money I would make. He did not tell me that if I didn't pay a monthly fee of $100 I wouldn't get a paycheck.
Conveniently, Dariusz got all the money I was supposed to make that month. Which was about $800. It was then I decided to get out of the business because it was obviously deceptive and I don't like deceptive people. I packed up one of the packages I bought, which was worth about $2,000 and sent it back to the company for a refund. The forms said it would take about a month to see how much I'm going to get back. After a month passed I went on the website to see what was going on and I found out Trek Alliance was in the middle of a lawsuit and all there assets are frozen.
Letty of Cicero IL (4/8/03):
I saw an ad on the newspaper mentioning that an expanding company needed office professionals. I was forced into thinking that Trek Alliance was my answer. I immediately purchased thousands of dollars worth of products. They made it seem like it was easy for anyone to sell these products in no time. Everything was a lie and a rip-off.
I spent over $5,000 in 3 months just on purchasing products and attending useless seminars. I was an idiot for falling into their scheme and until today, Danil, the person who got me into the business owes me over $1,300. Every time I try to contact her she hides from me. Don't ever fall into a network marketing scheme! That's my advice.
Deborah of Oviedo FL (4/6/03):
Approximately 5-6 years ago, my husband was working as a manager for a fast food restaurant when a women approached him indicating that he had the quality she was looking for in her new business. My husband was unhappy with his job at the time and she came around at just the right time. She gave him a business card and he called her a day or so later. A so-called interview was scheduled and she managed to rope my husband into all kinds of ideas of making lots and lots of money. At that time, he was under the impression he could make a lot of money buy selling certain products on a part-time basis.
We charged about $3,000 on a credit card to get his so-called business started. However, with my husband working full-time he was unable to do both. Therefore, Trek Alliance was put on the back burner, which I was very glad about. Then approximately one year or so later, my husband had reached the decision to leave his job. At that point, he decided to give Trek Alliance another try. My husband asked me to sit in on one of those "rhah-rhah" meetings as I liked to call them, because all they did was talk about how much money so and so made. Considering we had a lot of debt, an infant, and my husband didn't have a job, I agreed to sit in on one of Trek's meetings. I sat for an hour listening to these people talk about how much money she and he made and how easy it was to sell their products. I was more skeptical than my husband because I have worked for attorneys all my life and have seen many fraudulent claims in my day.
However, I didn't want to be the one to stop my husband if this was his BIG chance to help us get out of debt and become wealthy. I gave my husband 3 months and we charged an additional $5,000 on a credit card to get him started with his "new business". We bought business cards with his name on it, we made letterhead, and turned a bedroom into his "office". My husband was so excited about his new endeavor. My husband has always worked in a job where his family time was limited and this was one way he felt that would change. Trek Alliance caused many fights between me and my husband. Every time I made any kind of suggestion that this company was not legit, a big fight would break out. I recall calling my husband's mother many times crying that we have spent so much money on this garbage and had nothing to show for it. We didn't have any money to spend, but yet Trek Alliance assured him that it would be a matter of time before he would be traveling to different states such as Colorado and bringing in lots of money.
He may have brought in a few hundred dollars one month or two, but never enough to cover the bills. Trek's suggestion was to have you approach your family first about buying their products. I guess they felt you would have better luck with your family, rather than complete strangers.
My biggest problem was with the vitamins. They had limited information on the labels and that made me uncomfortable. How were you supposed to sell something that you put into your body when you couldn't explain exactly what was in it. My husband is a very honest individual who can be somewhat too trusting. I admire that about him and when this was all going on, I felt as if I was the one stopping him from being happy. Then one day, he realized that the promises of big bucks was not ever going to happen. He finally agreed with me that Trek Alliance was not completely truthful with how they operated. I'm glad to say that it didn't take a full three months for him to realize this, but it did take over $8,000 spent in money we didn't have.
We had to file bankruptcy shortly after my husband got the full picture. When I saw the complaints filed against Trek Alliance, I felt the need to express my concerns. A marketing scheme such as Trek has taken advantage of a lot of vulnerable people such as my husband.
Ricky of Mesquite TX (3/31/03):
About 2 1/2 tears ago I got involved with this company called Trek Alliance in Dallas Texas. I was advertised as being an opportunity to own your own business. I was set up for an interview. Upon arrival for the interview I was introduced to several people and escorted into a conference room with approximately 35 to 40 other people. We were shown this very good sales presentation on the business and then were broken down into smaller groups to which we were pressured by 2 to 3 and sometimes more representatives of the company at the same time to join the company and get started building our own group of representatives.
Well I fell for it and got sucked in really good. After joining I was told I had to attend a least one training session a week at the office and at least 1 large session a month that would be at different locations around the country. Then I was also told I needed to rent a desk out of their office to run my business from. I needed to buy and keep on hand several hundred dollars or even thousands of dollars of inventory on hand to help me be more successful. WEll you know the story it just goes on from there. Altogether I lost at between $10,000.00 and $12,000.00 to them and never earned a dime back out of it for I was always told that I did not sell enough to earn anything back.
Well I was really stupid and put too much time into it and wound up losing my regular job over it and ultimately went into bankruptcy. But the real tragic occurrence is that my son who is in college got sucked into with me as he believed if his father was doing it that it must be all right so he would do it also. He wound up losing between $4,000.00 and $5,000.00 to these same people.
Karen of Littleton, CO, writes:
I joined Trek Alliance's Denver affiliate Rocky Mountain Alliance knowing that it was a network marketing company. I was a little burnt out on corporate America and was attracted to the idea of using my professional recruiting skills to help women who wanted to work from home develop a solid home-based business. The concepts pitched seemed sound, but over the next 12 months the real agendas came to light.
Representatives pay for their own training and travel, hotel and meals which can total more than $500 for a weekend. The catch is that the leaders insist that you go to at least ONE PER MONTH if you want to be able to use the office as a base for recruiting. You also pay desk rent or an office fee ($150-400 a month). My issue with the company is that they are NOT honest with prospects about the costs of running the business upfront and they do not tell prospective reps that they will have to go to one training a month if they are working the business full time.
They misrepresent active rep incomes by saying "Therese made $5,000 last month" without explaining that the figure was gross income before expenses and taxes. Reps are trained to dress above their income level, use expensive pens, and always tell people your business is going fabulously even if it isn't. The whole system is designed to ensure that you don't figure out negative things until after you have purchased thousands of dollars worth of inventory. Even then, they are covered because it was simply an assumption that they carefully led you to, not a direct statement of net income.
All of the affiliates place newspaper ads that deceive people into thinking they are interviewing for a very cool marketing job. Every thing in the script is designed to lead candidates to think they've found a great company that really needs help due to rapid expansion. The reps are trained not to use the word "interview" or "job," but people calling off an ad in the employment section are not going to notice that. Also, the ads never use the parent company name "Trek Alliance". They are for Rocky Mountain Alliance, Chesapeake Alliance, Sun Alliance, Midwest Alliance, Alliance Group of Beverly Hills, etc. Most, but not all of the 40 offices use the name "Alliance" as part of the title.
I spent my entire savings and incurred over $10,000 in credit card debt. I honestly thought that I could take the basic concept and execute it ethically and morally. The problem is that if you do not lie and coerce people to spend money they don't have, you can't make a living doing this. For every stay-at-home mom I helped earn a net extra $200 a month, I spent hundreds in just keeping the business going waiting for that critical mass to develop.
Amy of St. Petersburg, FL, writes:
I have been looking for a job after my recent completion of graduate school, and came across a few PR and Marketing positions posted on career websites (some very credible sites too, so they must not know what these companies really are). When the representative, Matt C., first called me, the name of the company was "Gentle Earth." However when another representative called back, Anthony J., the company's name was now "Trek Alliance."
I was very skeptical about everything they told me on the phone, so I kept putting off the "interview." Everything was really strange about it. The "company" came up on my caller ID as actual people's name such as Tom B.. The reps really wouldn't tell me what the company was about except that it was "a young company that made $3.5 million last year", interview times were only at 1 and 6:30 pm, and so on. They kept calling so I finally gave in.
The interview, if you can even call it that was the same as the Equinox, a room packed with people and products. As soon as I saw the table with shampoos, water filtration systems and vitamins, I knew I was in trouble. They also had people who worked for the company in the crowd. A woman named Amber gave a brief presentation of the products, and then a gentleman came out to tell us about how our college education meant nothing in the "real world."
I was lucky I suppose, because I smelled a rat the moment I entered the room. Unfortunately, The other 15 people who came for "interviews" were utterly captivated and were hanging on these representatives' every word. I got up and left during the presentation, and didn't look back.
What really peeves me is that I wasted 4 hours of my time (1 1/2 hours driving each way, plus time spent listening to people yap about how rich I can get selling junk for nothing.) I didn't get my Master's degree to be duped into thinking I could get a great PR position with a growing company. BEWARE!!! They are branching out from Orlando to Tampa!
Amy did the right thing. Wherever they pop up, multi-level marketing schemes leave a long trail of disappointment, financial loss and wasted time.
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