Were you victimized by Plexus? Tell us about your experience.
Have you heard of Plexus, either from your friend or neighbor? Maybe you bought products that aren’t living up to their expectations? Maybe you were an ambassador but now you want to get out of the game and you’re wondering if they are pyramid scheme. You aren’t alone.
Plexus is a company that offers weight loss products which are sold often on social media with distributors called Plexus ambassadors. There are a lot of claims that the Plexus line of products improve gut health but these claims are not backed by science. In fact, at the bottom of the website Plexus mentions that none of their products have been tested by the FDA. The company was founded by former MLM veterans in 2006 and started with a DIY breast cancer check kit and skin cream but then rebranded themselves for weight loss and dietary supplements. The signature products come in powder form and are mixed with water.
The Better Business Bureau has received over 600 formal complaints against the company because of the products, and 60% of those complaints are negative. Some examples include problems with the products and the services, especially when customer service representatives are contacted to cancel membership and refund unopened products as part of the Buy-Back agreement. Many customers are continuing to face issues getting the refund in question or getting the cancellation.
In 2014 the founders of the company had a falling-out and one filed a lawsuit against the other and the company for tax fraud.
That same year they were exposed for adding hoodia to their products to control hunger, hoodia being an endangered African plant.
The FDA issued a warning letter to the company advising them that their products were in violation of FDA regulations. The fast relief, biocleanse, and probio5 products were not recognized as safe and effective for the uses promoted on the website. The FDA stated:
“New drugs may not be legally introduced or delivered for introduction into interstate commerce without prior approval from FDA, as described in section 505(a) of the Act [21 U.S.C. § 355(a)]; see also section 301(d) of the Act [21 U.S.C. § 331(d)].”
The FDA also stated that these products were offered for conditions as a form of treatment even though these are conditions that one cannot self diagnose or treat without medical practitioners.
The company claims to have a feasible buyback structure so if you decide that you want to quit or you’re unable to sell certain products, you can give them back to the company and they will buy them from you but the company makes this very difficult to achieve.
The Plexus Compensation Plan and payment structure is very difficult to understand. And they advertised it as being one of the fairest MLMs in the company. To join as an associate you have to pay an annual fee of $35 which gives you the option of buying the products but not selling them. If you want to sell the Plexus products and get commission on those sales, you have to reach the level of Ambassador and that requires that you meet a minimum monthly order of $100. This is also true of any downline members you recruit in order for you to earn commission on their product sales. This type of structure encourages distributors to recruit new distributors instead of making sales. The minimum requirement of $100 per month worth of products means that if you are an ambassador for the company you have to spend at least $1,200 a year to purchase new products from the company. Typically, a reputable, legal MLM won’t encourage customers to focus on recruitment over sales for income potential, which Plexus allegedly does. It’s also considered a bad sign for an MLM to force their customers to spend a certain amount of money every year on products, which Plexus does.
The Plexus site states that the potential for income is quite high depending on your status but roughly 96% of ambassadors make less than $4,000 per year before expenses, the expenses being those minimum purchase amounts.
If you have had an issue with Plexus that has yet to be resolved, you aren’t the only one. Rest assured that even if you are having difficulty getting a solution from customer service you still have options including consumer arbitration. We can help.
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