According to
Travel Weekly, this suit was filed for $100 million dollars. Wow, that is $125 million in less than 5 days.
Two former referring travel agents for YTB Travel Network launched a class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis, Ill., seeking more than $100 million in actual damages for themselves and others who invested in the YTB programs.
They claim they and the members of their class suffered financial losses because YTB International and its divisions operated an illegal pyramid scheme.
The lead plaintiffs are Faye Morrison of St. Louis and Kwame Thompson of Atlanta. One of their attorneys, Christian Montroy, said that because the lawsuit is so new, it is uncertain how many plaintiffs are in the class but “certainly more than 1,000.” He said two more plaintiffs will be added to the suit in the next week.
Hey one's from Atlanta. Wonder if that's one of Dougies people? LOL!
ReplyDelete$100 Million.
ReplyDeleteTotally frivolous.
Wait a minute!
How can it be for $100 Million?
You can't make any money with YTB!
So how did they lose out??
Looks like a recruiting mission by Traverus or World Ventures.
Or maybe the travel industry.
Or maybe they are being coached by John and Mark . . . the wonderful apostles of the TTA world.
John is EVERYWHERE these days.
Every newspaper article.
Every comment section.
He just cannot help himself when it comes to YTB.
John is the travel agent version of the John 3:16 guy.
Mix you are an idiot. The $100 million is what Coach and the gang pocketed from all you dorks who keep sending them money. And, the directors too are in deep doo doo too. There goes the plane and the mansion.....
ReplyDeleteSorry Mixed -Up, it looks like there are some very unhappy, vindictive ex-RTA's out there! How could that happen with such a great group of focused, driven successful and sincere people flocked together for the benefit of a few? Mind boggling. See, some ARE trying to make some money OFF of YTB.
ReplyDeleteIt's just another frivilous suit by another frivilous attorney. It's a political season and both of the plantiffs are political people. Kwame seems to be an attorney just looking to make a name for himself. Oh, but since there is a suit then the defendant must be guilty. Your leader really does have no life. Mix is right. He is everywhere. No life, oh, but he's a Christian.
ReplyDeleteNo, the defendant is not necessarily guilty, but a judge thought the case had merit. The Judge, Fireman. And why again is this political? Do you know these folks personally?
ReplyDeleteNo, the defendant is not necessarily guilty, but a judge thought the case had merit. The Judge, Fireman. And why again is this political? Do you know these folks personally?
ReplyDeleteThe jugde. Again, it's a political season. You ask why it's political. Seriously? It comes out the day before the national convention and it's not political? Right. What will you say if it gets thrown out? Bet you will find some way to spin it negative. That's all you know.
ReplyDeleteJudge thought the case had merit? Remember the Duke Lacrosse case? I believe the judge thought that one had merit too. They too were judged before proven guilty. Just like you do.
ReplyDeleteBut aren't you now judging the judge? You are claiming he is doing it for political reasons? What reasons would that be...? To please whom? Or are you another person trying to say the TTA's contributed (aka bribed) him to file suit?. Could it possibly be that after 18 months of getting the run around from HQ that he'd simply had enough BS and decided to file suit? Do you think hes going to waste countless dollars of taxpayers money if he didn't have a case?
ReplyDeleteDon't assume what I know or feel. I did not think the Lacrosse players were guilty and was pleased the case was thrown out. I don't find any case vs YTB to be 'political' in nature. YTB had 18 months to let the brethren know something was going on. For all you or I know Coach was happy to have it announced when it was. It took the heat off the polution problem. The man is no stranger to controversy and uses it to his, and I mean HIS, benefit whenever he can. One of your compatriots said in print that if YTB isn't stirring the pot, then somethings wrong. Well stir, stir, stir. YTB only hurts itself with all the spin and drama.
ReplyDeleteYou know NOTHING about Coach. You know about him and spin it, but you do not KNOW him. To truly KNOW something is to experience it. Like trying to tell someone about a first kiss. Give them all the details you want about it and they know ABOUT it. But only the one who experienced it KNOWS it. You KNOW nothing about him. They way you talk about the people of YTB and the founders is nothing short of the spin and the lies of the tabloid paparazzi. Look for anything negative you can find and scream like little school girls when you find it. Again, you know nothing and spin what you know about. Speaking "pollution problem" I didn't see them there. Why didn't they show up? Why didn't any of you show up and protest if you feel so strongly against YTB? Why don't you take the time to sit down with the founders? Afraid to find out they are people and not the evil people you try to make them out to be?
ReplyDeleteI know what I know. And I know I don't have to get bit by a rattler to know it hurts. Do you have to use 'kiss' and 'Coach' in the same paragraph? Sorry, mate. YTB makes the news, we just comment on it.
ReplyDeleteYes you certainly comment on it and it is always the same no matter what the news is, positive or negative. It's always negative in your eyes. Again, paparazzi mentality. You know nothing of Coach. When you have nothing intelligent to offer you say things like "Do you have to use 'kiss' and 'Coach' in the same paragraph? Sorry, mate."
ReplyDeleteWell, excuse me. This is an anti travel Mlm blog. What do you expect? Acolades for what we find unethical, praise for what we find offensive, approval for what we believe is wrong? I know Coach as well as you do, if not better, as I have been following this issue long before you rented your cookie cutter website. I have no respect for him or his methods. Period.
ReplyDeleteI am a current RTA and attended the "Convention" I attended 10 classes and in those class I gotta say what I heard was how I did this and how I did that. Then during session 1 I witness high level Director's get up and praise YTB for being a great company and how they succeeded in life. Mind you I have only been doing this since March. My up line hasn't done anything to help me build my team and I don't have one. So after hearing all this I never return to the rest of the convention. What I did was come home and begin my investigation into this company. Boy to read all the blogs, website and being a collage educated person I see the light that this website has open to my eyes....RUN AND RUN FAST
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to agree with "Rick". My upline team sucked. Nice people...but nowhere to be found. And the team leaders don't give a hoot about you unless you are making them money. I can't tell you what a major blow-off I get every time I try to have a normal conversation with a director who loves to say "It's All Good". (I've seen people roll their eyes every time this guy shouts it out...we/they are so tired of hearing his stupid self-promoting antics.) Even with limited support, my partner and I got over 25 people in the business because of the opportunity and travel perks promised. It wasn't easy, and we presented it to a lot of people. So it's not like we’re one of the RTA’s/Reps who didn’t work hard at it and are now crying about failing.
ReplyDeleteBut what else discourages me is that now they are asking for more money!! I paid $500 for a travel site and a marketing site, and $50 a month to maintain it. (The $500 included the first month's fee.) I found a site: vacationmedia.net that for $10 helped me market the site. I could accept that YTB’s marketing site was kind of weak, so I paid the extra money. For some unknown reason, Vacation Media lost their approval status with YTB. Then another company, paradisenetwork.com is suddenly approved by YTB, again for $10 a month. It’s a nice site and worth the fee. But by this time I’m starting to check out. Now I see for $14.95 extra per month (yes, $5 more than the other two sites), YTB will give me an enhanced marketing site. (Here is an example I found: http://enhanced.ytb.com/default.aspx?wa=mcmillon) Personally, I don’t thinks it’s as good as one of the others at all.
This is what sucks: if I am already paying a monthly fee that includes a marketing site, why should I pay more for a “enhanced” site? I feel like I’m being double clutched here. It’s like someone saying, “Here, you can have this site for $50, it’s not that good. But, we sell a better one for $65. And who knows, maybe later we’ll get more money out of you with even a better website…” I understand Upselling, but shouldn’t I get their best, for a reasonable fee, especially if they want me to give them my best? I would have given them more respect if they just said they had improved their marketing site (and booking site, for that matter), and the additional fee increase must justify it. I think what they have done is cheapen their brand, look for a way to make more money, and in the mean time, besides putting a bad taste in someone’s mouth who has had the time to think this through, jeopardized the livelihood of a better run marketing site, Paradise Network, while charging more money. YTB’s enhanced site, for $15 looks like crap. Paradise Networks is much nicer. (I am not affiliated with Paradise and/or Vacation Media.) If I, and only %5 of YTB’s 140,000 RTAs pay YTB for the “enhanced” site, that could be roughly $100,000 plus a month! (Hmmm…why did Vacation Media lose their status with YTB?!)
If YTB didn’t lose their travel credentials, had team leaders that truly cared about their struggling downlines, and didn’t treat their customers like ATM machines, maybe I might have stuck with it. But with all this talk about lawsuits, more fees for “enhancement” options, and the fact that I could get the exact same booking engine for free from Travelocity, I think I’ll go in a different direction. (I kind of like Mark Ewings system—if I only I had an extra $500 to spend…)
Sorry YTB, you’ve lost my confidence and business!
VM--I have a theory on those blockbuster announcements and I have a post lined up for tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI agree, you are being gouged for another $14.95 a month...for what?
I think it is funny that all of a sudden we have some new YTB blood in here and they are now questioning the program. Warning--be prepared to be called losers and haters. But I do invite you to read back on this blog. There have been about 5 posts a week since last October! Welcome!
Rick...Right. If you are actually an RTA then prove it. It's easy for anyone to come on here acting like an RTA or for someone else going on to YTB sites and acting like an outsider looking in (Cathy Larson). Or even someone lying about being an RTA and hacking into a YTB Team site to do some "research". (John, Kate, Mark). The audacity to say you are "professionals" and accuse YTB affiliates of not.
ReplyDeleteEddie, have you ever looked Coach in the eyes and accused him of what you accuse him of being? Doubt you would have the guts to face him. I think he would treat you with more respect than you would ever dream. I know this because I have been in the room when someone asked him the tough questions and I watched him not attack the person because of it. So keep on talking smack, it doesn't matter.
And as for the people that come on here to gather validation for quitting YTB....YTB must be to blame so welcome to the place that will embrace you with all the love you need. Actually I don't think they are real. Again, posers. Perhaps one of the spies that Scott knew would be there?
ReplyDeleteJason/Firemedic--you are so predictable. Someone is unhappy with YTB and they are "losers" and "failures". When are you coming out with the "YTB did not fail you , you failed yourself" line. Come on, it was in the Defensive Playbook Coach had on page 13.
ReplyDeleteSorry that Kathleen Larson (or whatever) was proven to be legitimately with YTB.
But drink some salt water for your throat. There will be a lot of RTAs and Reps that have seen the writing on the wall (as opposed to looking lovingly into Coach's eyes) and will be leaving.
You will see a lot of Level 1 directors having to begin from scratch.
Gee I guess maybe you guys missed the post earlier about the class action law suit that is expected to have over 1000 former YTBers in it. Are they all losers too? Look at YTB's own financials. Over 80% of the people in your wonderful program make NOTHING. Instead of calling them names, why don't you tell us what you have done to help someone else be successful? That may be worth reading.
ReplyDeleteAnd for the record, I would have no issue saying anything to Coach that I have said on this blog. Why don't you invite him over here?
I don't believe I called anyone a "loser" or "failure" here John. You love to put words in peoples mouths. It does amaze me how people have to have someone or something else to blame for their circumstances. Then they have to come to places like this to get validation for that decision rather than just taking personal responsibility. Just like it was an ex-spouses fault for a divorce and they have to get an "amen group" to surround them to validate the decision. Make a decision and move on. If you are so confident of it then why do you need to seek validation?
ReplyDeleteFiremedic---heed your advice. You have made a decision that YTB is right for you. There is not a need to hang on a blog that is most obviously anti MLM, so why not just move on?
ReplyDeleteLawsuits. If they truly believed YTB was illegal they would have filed a "cease and desist" order. It was not. It's just a politcal and money grabbing expedition and to be expected when you are competing with the big boys. Name of the game.
ReplyDeleteNot here for validation John.
ReplyDeleteFiremedic....even though it appears you deleted it, if you knew anything about blogger, you would know that it does not have the ability to block certain individuals--I wish it did.
ReplyDeleteBut this blog is not about censuring opinions like Travel-Pro.blogspot.com is. See, even though you and I disagree, I feel you have just as much right to voice your opinion as anyone else.
So no I will not be blocking or deleting.
paradisenetwork.com is owned by Level 6 Director Rick Ricketts from Fl. so he is making more $$$$. Firemedic , I don't need to prove that I am a current RTA. I came across this site and it has open my eyes to the truth. I got my "free" backpack of goodies, walked around the dome looking at all the goodies for sale...people shelling out the $$$$ button, t-shirt, shirts, etc then you walk into the YTB store only to find more $$$$ going out the front door. I was even jammed in the large crowds moving from room to room. What a mess....I laugh at the idea that firmedic is defending the practice of YTB. I dug alittle deeper into MLM...take for example AMWAY remember them...in a 1979 court ruling,[7] the Federal Trade Commission found that Amway does not qualify as an illegal pyramid scheme since the main aim of the enterprise is the sale of product and money is paid only for business volume, personal and group. It did, however, order Amway to change several business practices and prohibited the company from misrepresenting the amount of profit, earnings or sales its distributors are likely to achieve with the business. Amway was ordered to accompany any such statements with the actual averages per distributor, pointing out that more than half of the distributors do not make any money, with the average distributor making less than $100 per month. The order was violated with a 1986 ad campaign, resulting in a $100,000 fine.[so now Rick Ricketts is using almost the exact words to protect them]
ReplyDeleteSo once again why do I need to prove that I am current RTA.
Richard, Rick or whoever...I find it hard to believe you were there for any other reason than as one of the spies that we knew were there. Give us the link to your site to prove who you are because the company does not cancel them until your month is up. There are lots of people on here that pose as YTB people in order to get information. Prove yourself.
ReplyDeleteAs far as paying money for stuff at the store, dude, that was some of the cheapest prices on stuff at a convention that I have ever seen. I mean, I have been to conventions that want $30 for t-shirt and they were half that there. The marketing materials were fairly priced and if you don't want the upgraded site you are not obligated to use it! That's why it's called optional! If they make a profit then great! That's what business is all about!
I have seen nothing that YTB has misrepresented in the earnings. They put the income disclosure right out there and encourage all to read it. The income disclosure is no different than the traditional business model success. 95% fail. But some people are not looking to "get rich" with YTB. Some are just wanting to book travel only and work with the network of people. Some just want to make $500 extra a month. It is the fairest income structure out there in that you get paid for what you produce. No more, no less. That's fair.
First and foremost I haven't cancel my membership yet. I have nothing to prove to you who I am or where is my site. I was there and got sick and tired of the BS I did this I did that. I personally have won a national award from a major company and not once have I gone around to toot my horn I did that and I did this. Listen you don't know how to handle negative PR...If you do your research on the company and look at the public records of stock dumping, etc you will see who is making the $$$$$. I know that it doesn't take a rocket technician to be called a rocket scientist...I wonder if the FTC , IRS, FBI or even congress open a investigation next....So firemedic227 i didnt post on here to defend myself or words to you.....
ReplyDelete"one of the spies that we knew were there."
ReplyDeleteHow interesting. We don't know what we're talking about because we've never been to a meeting/training/convention, but we're "spies" when we do. Make up your mind.
I don't know how to handle negative PR and you are the one quitting? (if in fact you are actually an RTA). You are way too anti-YTB to have not been before you went to the convention. Your responses are smoke in mirrors since you won't prove that you are an RTA. I am not asking you to "toot your horn" because you are being asked to prove your credentials. Give us your website. If you are proud of the fact that you are now anti-YTB then why would you not be proud to prove you are an actual RTA? You are refusing therefore I suspect you are being fraudulent. Perhaps I am wrong and you can prove it? There are lots of posers on here claiming to be ex-YTB and there are lots of anti-YTBr's posing to be YTB on YTB sites. They were caught and they were banned.
ReplyDelete"How interesting. We don't know what we're talking about because we've never been to a meeting/training/convention, but we're "spies" when we do. Make up your mind."
ReplyDeleteDon't remember accusing you to having never been to any of those. I believe I have seen John post that he actually has so I personally don't doubt that. I believe him. I have, however, stated that you have not spent any time with people you make accusations against, mainly the founders. Instead you make comments like "I don't need to get bitten by a snake to know it hurts". Or "I don't have to smoke crack to know it's bad for me". Smoke in mirrors to avoid.
Eddie said
ReplyDelete"No, the defendant is not necessarily guilty, but a judge thought the case had merit. The Judge, Fireman. And why again is this political? Do you know these folks personally?"
The judge in the Duke lacrosse team must have thought it had merit too and look how that turned out. Just because a case is allowed to proceed does not mean it's not frivilous.
"Don't remember accusing you to having never been to any of those."
ReplyDeleteEssentially, that's what you did when you said there were "spies" at the convention. Several of us, not just John, have been to events (including the Founders Tour). Anything that engenders such blind loyalty to a person and/or cause is reason to back off and question, why? There is a reason why people are calling YTBers sheep. Personally, I think lemmings is more appropriate since most are headed for the cliff. It's too bad that Coach has a golden parachute and the herd doesn't.
I went to a Founder's Day event and thought I took a wrong turn and went to a revival meeting instead. Other than the sale of travel sites, there no other mentions of travel. The entire night was focused on recruiting.
ReplyDelete