Were you victimized by Monat? Tell us about your experience.
Are you looking into Monat and you’re wondering whether it’s a pyramid scheme or legitimate MLM? If so, you aren’t the only one.
MonatGlobal is a corporation that offers hair care products purportedly able to improve any hair type, for any gender or age or race with non-harmful, completely natural ingredients. These products are sold by distributors who are called Market Partners.
Monat Global Corporation actually sued one of their distributors, known as a market partner when in 2017, Vickie Harrington was disgruntled with the products, asked for a refund, was denied, went on to make a series of social media posts and try to contact law officials and news agencies to expose the side effects that she and her friends were having because of the products. The company alleges that all of these posts were misleading or doctored with no scientific evidence and that they have lost at least $75,000 in revenue as a result, so they sued Vickie for $225,000 in damages.
In 2018, a class action lawsuit was filed against the company for a total of 5 million dollars. The lawsuit claimed that customers using the products have experienced hair loss as well as scalp irritation even though the health benefits of the products are specifically to increase hair growth. This lawsuit also points out that the company claims the products are all natural and have no sulfates but in fact they do have sulfates, particularly sodium c14 16 olefin sulfonate.
The company filed a lawsuit against another former distributor who had made public posts on social media about the impact of the products on her scalp. This distributor talked about the ingredients in the hair products such as red clover which she stipulates are known to cause scalp problems and balding. The executives have sued her to the tune of $225,000 for undue damages because of these posts.
That same year Monat filed a lawsuit against another former distributor who is part of a social media group of 12,000 people that have all experienced adverse side effects from using these products. Prior to the lawsuit, 1000 orders were cancelled and the executives from the company believe that it’s the public claims of one Toni Miller that caused this and are suing for $225,000.
Dana Sohovich, a former customer, has sued the company claiming she lost 50% of her hair as a result of using these products. She said that the company falsely advertised by stating their products are guaranteed to offer fuller, stronger, longer hair in just 90 days. As part of this lawsuit she mentioned thousands of other customers who have had similar problems to their hair and their scalp. This lawsuit prompted the FDA to open an investigation into the customer complaints against the company.
Kelley Botallico, sued the company in 2018 for scalp issues and hair loss after using these products. She saw a physician who identified these hair care products as the cause of her issues and prescribed medication but the damage was irreversible so she sued for an amount not disclosed.
This company requires a $99 startup fee and $50 per year for product costs. It’s very similar to a pyramid scheme because it uses downline recruitment and gives you bonuses for that recruitment but you do get commissions from sales and you can sell products directly to customers. According to the company, each member has the potential to make different average amounts based on their rank. The higher you get in the pyramid, the better profits you will allegedly make and they do have a commission that is purportedly 7%, but that 7% on all sales only kicks in if you sell at least 200 products.
They do have different options, four options, when you sign up with the company. The starter pack gives you 35 sample products as well as some work books and product brochures. You pay the $99 fee once and then an annual fee to keep up your membership at $50 per year, but there is no minimum requirement to continue to purchase products from the company, indicative of a legitimate company in spite of the very bad legal claims against the quality of the products. Subsequent starter options cost much more but you get a wider range of product samples and again, there is no requirement to continue to stockpile products on a regular basis after that initial fee.
That said it’s not considered a pyramid scheme because there is the option to get money from sales of products, and the company focuses very heavily on selling their hair care products. However, the company is very quick to file a lawsuit against any distributor who openly and publicly talks about negative side effects from the company’s products, and its compensation plan is not lucrative and can be very difficult to understand.
If you had a problem with the company and you’re a little worried about talking it over publicly because Monat is so quick to sue people, rest assured as a customer consumer you will always have options including consumer arbitration. We can help.
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