Post by Brother Ben on Apr 29, 2009 12:01:50 GMT -5
BEWARE: Team National Multi Level Marketing Scam!
I have a friend who I believe has been HOODWINKED into investing in a MLM scam called Team National. They say they will save you alot of money and help people, two common MLM claims. I did some research on this group and found the following reviews:
Team National preys on the weak and insecure. They provide a cult like atmosphere. Controlling their members with dictating to them how to make this business work and if by chance they get another business started and Team National find out because some other Team Member "tattles" to the big guy, then you get a threating letter.
At conventions they use brainwashing techniques. They are good at this.
1) You have to buy business cards from them or you could get kicked out if you purchase business cards elsewhere or from your own printing company NoNo.
2)You can not advertise. Funny this is your business, you are an INDEPENDENT Marketing Director-you buy a membership not a PRISON sentence. You PAY to have the web site it is not free it is an extra charge!
There are so many people I know who bought into this and made money then it came to a stand still. They didn't want to loss their homes or cars so they invested in another business venture. Team National found out and they were threated and then kicked out losing all they had invested.
Do they want you to lose it all? Only an idiot would be a martyr for any business. They claim to be Christians. Let me quote one of NC famous Rev Jim Whittington "When somebody loses a lot, somebody made a lot." There are approximately 2700 NC members and approximately 15 "making good money" and another approximately 55 have made some money. Placing the success rate less than 0.03%. Ummm not good odds! Here is a tip: take your $2,000 and invest in Krispy Kreme Donuts.
My wife got involved with Team National through a church member and asked her to pray about spending the $2,000. He should have asked her to pray about how she was going to replace that hard earned income. I have since looked up everything from their direct buying of Good Year tires to vacuum sweepers that were supposed to be these great savings.
After spending weeks looking at over 100 items, there was one item that I found that was cheaper by buying it through Team National. I would have saved $12.34 buying a $480 home entertainment system. All the other items were cheaper purchasing them through Sams, Walmart, or any of the other direct online wholesalers.
I am now convinced that my wife is a MLM junkie. She and her church friends that have tried everything from gas cards, phone cards, online groceries, and now another company with vitamins. What you are doing is helping this family at Team National get rich! Lets also not forget about what they are making selling you tapes, pamphlets,
seminars, traveling, and your time.
I have since done extensive research on all MLMs and it is true that your odds are just as good going to a casino. We have plenty of them in Iowa, so please come and get rich.
Check out the following Press Release from the Arkansas Insurance Department:
State Insurance Department Attempting to Collect Claims From Illegal Company
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS (January 28, 2004) -State Insurance Commissioner Mike Pickens said today the Insurance Department is still working to collect claims from the TRG Marketing LLC case, involving the Indianapolis, Indiana-based company which was ordered to cease operations in the State of Arkansas. In order to facilitate that process, the Insurance Department requested in a letter sent earlier this week, information regarding unpaid claims from TRG enrollees.
"We are working with the marketing companies that were involved in enrolling consumers in the TRG health plan," Commissioner Pickens said. "We hope to reach an amicable resolution with these companies in the very near future."
Members of Team National Inc., purchased TRG product through its Team National Inc. affiliated insurance agency National Health Plan Plus Inc. until the plan was shut down in 2002. Up until that time TRG Marketing had operated as an unauthorized multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA) plan. It had falsely claimed both to offer a single employer plan pursuant to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and to be exempt from State regulation.
The Department of Labor last fall filed a lawsuit against TRG Marketing, LLC alleging the defendants William Paul Crouse and Carmelo Zanfei diverted money targeted to pay health claims for their own personal use, including European family vacations and corporate distribution to themselves and to their spouses. The suit also alleges the company failed to prudently manage its health plan, which resulted in $17.5 million in unpaid claims nationwide.
Currently the Arkansas Insurance Department has identified approximately $300,000 in unpaid claims affecting nearly 50 Arkansans who were enrolled in the TRG Health Plan.
"Although we are not in a position to guarantee those former TRG enrollees that their unpaid claims will be paid, we do promise to aggressively seek to engage all means available to us to do so within the confines of the law, " Commissioner Pickens explained.
Former TRG enrollees are asked to contact Associate Counsel Sara Farris at the Insurance Department with questions on how to present information concerning claims unpaid by TRG. Ms. Farris can be reached at 1-800-282-9134 or 501-371-2820.
The Arkansas Insurance Department is located at 1200 West Third Street (the corner of Third and Cross Streets) in downtown Little Rock. Its primary mission is consumer protection through insurer solvency and market conduct regulation, and fraud prosecution and deterrence.
Team National is a big scam, do not let them take your money!
They sell you the so called benefits package that is suposed to save you all this money. They take your 2195.00,and they are done with you.
Oh, they are nice folks until you want to use a benefit.
I personally tried to buy a vehicle under the plan,in which is one of their biggest selling points.When i called in for my discounted price,I was rudely greeted on the phone and told right away that they could not help me with it.
I was then told by the general manager of the Chevrolet dealer that anyone could walk off the street and buy a vehicle as cheap as Team National could buy it.Which I did!
The big eye med plan that they have is junk also..Most any eye care facility will have a good eye med plan for a 30-40 dollar fee,which will save you more than this program,which again is 2195.00...
Have tried to buy jewelry also! One store is what they have and they will not give a straight answer to any question as of yet.
I have asked for my 2195.00 to be refunded to me and they will not respond..
Dont waste your money on this SCAM!
Oh, they paint a pretty picture. You get your friends involved and they are going to pay you BIG money..
Dont loose your friends over this big SCAM..
Cary Hubert, North Carolina
U.S.A.
I know most of you don't fall for this type of stuff, but it comes in many ways, Amway, Vitamin sales, etc. ad nausium. I just thought I'd pass this along.
Ben
I have a friend who I believe has been HOODWINKED into investing in a MLM scam called Team National. They say they will save you alot of money and help people, two common MLM claims. I did some research on this group and found the following reviews:
Team National preys on the weak and insecure. They provide a cult like atmosphere. Controlling their members with dictating to them how to make this business work and if by chance they get another business started and Team National find out because some other Team Member "tattles" to the big guy, then you get a threating letter.
At conventions they use brainwashing techniques. They are good at this.
1) You have to buy business cards from them or you could get kicked out if you purchase business cards elsewhere or from your own printing company NoNo.
2)You can not advertise. Funny this is your business, you are an INDEPENDENT Marketing Director-you buy a membership not a PRISON sentence. You PAY to have the web site it is not free it is an extra charge!
There are so many people I know who bought into this and made money then it came to a stand still. They didn't want to loss their homes or cars so they invested in another business venture. Team National found out and they were threated and then kicked out losing all they had invested.
Do they want you to lose it all? Only an idiot would be a martyr for any business. They claim to be Christians. Let me quote one of NC famous Rev Jim Whittington "When somebody loses a lot, somebody made a lot." There are approximately 2700 NC members and approximately 15 "making good money" and another approximately 55 have made some money. Placing the success rate less than 0.03%. Ummm not good odds! Here is a tip: take your $2,000 and invest in Krispy Kreme Donuts.
My wife got involved with Team National through a church member and asked her to pray about spending the $2,000. He should have asked her to pray about how she was going to replace that hard earned income. I have since looked up everything from their direct buying of Good Year tires to vacuum sweepers that were supposed to be these great savings.
After spending weeks looking at over 100 items, there was one item that I found that was cheaper by buying it through Team National. I would have saved $12.34 buying a $480 home entertainment system. All the other items were cheaper purchasing them through Sams, Walmart, or any of the other direct online wholesalers.
I am now convinced that my wife is a MLM junkie. She and her church friends that have tried everything from gas cards, phone cards, online groceries, and now another company with vitamins. What you are doing is helping this family at Team National get rich! Lets also not forget about what they are making selling you tapes, pamphlets,
seminars, traveling, and your time.
I have since done extensive research on all MLMs and it is true that your odds are just as good going to a casino. We have plenty of them in Iowa, so please come and get rich.
Check out the following Press Release from the Arkansas Insurance Department:
State Insurance Department Attempting to Collect Claims From Illegal Company
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS (January 28, 2004) -State Insurance Commissioner Mike Pickens said today the Insurance Department is still working to collect claims from the TRG Marketing LLC case, involving the Indianapolis, Indiana-based company which was ordered to cease operations in the State of Arkansas. In order to facilitate that process, the Insurance Department requested in a letter sent earlier this week, information regarding unpaid claims from TRG enrollees.
"We are working with the marketing companies that were involved in enrolling consumers in the TRG health plan," Commissioner Pickens said. "We hope to reach an amicable resolution with these companies in the very near future."
Members of Team National Inc., purchased TRG product through its Team National Inc. affiliated insurance agency National Health Plan Plus Inc. until the plan was shut down in 2002. Up until that time TRG Marketing had operated as an unauthorized multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA) plan. It had falsely claimed both to offer a single employer plan pursuant to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and to be exempt from State regulation.
The Department of Labor last fall filed a lawsuit against TRG Marketing, LLC alleging the defendants William Paul Crouse and Carmelo Zanfei diverted money targeted to pay health claims for their own personal use, including European family vacations and corporate distribution to themselves and to their spouses. The suit also alleges the company failed to prudently manage its health plan, which resulted in $17.5 million in unpaid claims nationwide.
Currently the Arkansas Insurance Department has identified approximately $300,000 in unpaid claims affecting nearly 50 Arkansans who were enrolled in the TRG Health Plan.
"Although we are not in a position to guarantee those former TRG enrollees that their unpaid claims will be paid, we do promise to aggressively seek to engage all means available to us to do so within the confines of the law, " Commissioner Pickens explained.
Former TRG enrollees are asked to contact Associate Counsel Sara Farris at the Insurance Department with questions on how to present information concerning claims unpaid by TRG. Ms. Farris can be reached at 1-800-282-9134 or 501-371-2820.
The Arkansas Insurance Department is located at 1200 West Third Street (the corner of Third and Cross Streets) in downtown Little Rock. Its primary mission is consumer protection through insurer solvency and market conduct regulation, and fraud prosecution and deterrence.
Team National is a big scam, do not let them take your money!
They sell you the so called benefits package that is suposed to save you all this money. They take your 2195.00,and they are done with you.
Oh, they are nice folks until you want to use a benefit.
I personally tried to buy a vehicle under the plan,in which is one of their biggest selling points.When i called in for my discounted price,I was rudely greeted on the phone and told right away that they could not help me with it.
I was then told by the general manager of the Chevrolet dealer that anyone could walk off the street and buy a vehicle as cheap as Team National could buy it.Which I did!
The big eye med plan that they have is junk also..Most any eye care facility will have a good eye med plan for a 30-40 dollar fee,which will save you more than this program,which again is 2195.00...
Have tried to buy jewelry also! One store is what they have and they will not give a straight answer to any question as of yet.
I have asked for my 2195.00 to be refunded to me and they will not respond..
Dont waste your money on this SCAM!
Oh, they paint a pretty picture. You get your friends involved and they are going to pay you BIG money..
Dont loose your friends over this big SCAM..
Cary Hubert, North Carolina
U.S.A.
I know most of you don't fall for this type of stuff, but it comes in many ways, Amway, Vitamin sales, etc. ad nausium. I just thought I'd pass this along.
Ben