Consumer Alert
Money back for 350,000 Herbalife distributors
Last July, we told you about the FTC’s settlement with Herbalife, which made the multilevel marketing company not only restructure how it does business, but also pay $200 million to people who lost money trying to run an Herbalife business. Today, we mailed checks to about 350,000 of them.
Are you thinking about a multilevel marketing (MLM) business opportunity? Every year, many people join MLM plans – and many also leave. Before joining any MLM company, do some research. Your time and money are too valuable not to. Here are a few things to consider:
- Can you realistically see yourself selling to your network of friends and family? Selling is work, and not everyone is good at it.
- What about the product? Would people you know buy it repeatedly and consistently? Or would they only buy it once as a favor? Can people buy comparable products for less?
- What will it cost you to run this business? You might get pressure to buy a lot of product – in fact, people have lost a lot of money buying more product than they can sell. Also consider things like gas, shipping and packaging costs, sales aids, trainings, and your time. Does that math add up for you? Lots of people leave multilevel marketing programs without making any money, and many lose money.
If the person who recruited you into the business tells you not to worry about selling because you can make money by recruiting others – walk away. In a legitimate MLM program, you need to be able to make money by selling the product, not by recruiting others to join and buy the product.
So, what about the money back from the Herbalife settlement? Well, the settlement covered people who worked with Herbalife between 2009 and 2015. If you were an Herbalife distributor who paid at least $1,000 to Herbalife during those years, but got little or nothing back from the company – and we were able to locate a valid address for you – you should be seeing a check. The check is a partial refund of the money we estimate you lost while trying to run an Herbalife business.
If you get a check refunding some of the money you lost in Herbalife, cash it. If you have questions about why you didn’t get a check, learn more on our refunds page. Thinking about whether a business opportunity is right for you? The FTC has resources for evaluating business opportunities, including MLMs.
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Please make these rules/regulations for all MLM's (Primerica, Anway, NuSkin, Mary Kay) Herbalife is just one of them. They need to be stop. Thanks!
In reply to Please make these rules by Michael C
In reply to Please make these rules by Michael C
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In reply to I spent over 3,000 and only by Dontloosemoney
The FTC used Herbalife’s records to determine who would get a refund and the how much the refund would be.
In general, the FTC is giving partial refunds to people who ran an Herbalife business in the United States between 2009 and 2015, and who paid at least $1,000 to Herbalife, but got little or nothing back from the company.
Most checks are between $100 and $500. The largest checks are more than $9,000.
In reply to The FTC used Herbalife’s by FTC Staff
In reply to The FTC used Herbalife’s by FTC Staff
In reply to The FTC used Herbalife’s by FTC Staff
In reply to Hi Bridget Small-FTC. I by Please Reply I…
Please make a copy of the comment you submitted here and send it to BlogInfo@FTC.gov.
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In reply to I INVESTED MORE THAN $3,000 by javier c
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In reply to How did the ftc determine how by Anything helps
The FTC used Herbalife’s records to determine who would get a refund and the how much the refund would be.
In general, the FTC is giving partial refunds to people who ran an Herbalife business in the United States between 2009 and 2015, and who paid at least $1,000 to Herbalife, but got little or nothing back from the company.
Most checks are between $100 and $500. The largest checks are more than $9,000.
In reply to The FTC used Herbalife’s by FTC Staff
In reply to Is there a way we can check by A.Vlll
In reply to The FTC used Herbalife’s by FTC Staff
In reply to The FTC used Herbalife’s by FTC Staff
In reply to The FTC used Herbalife’s by FTC Staff
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