Reporting Liberty League to the Australian authorities
If you’re reading this page it’s probably because either you’re doing some research into Liberty League before joining or unfortunately have already lost thousands and have very little to show for it.
If you’re just looking for further information on Liberty League I suggest you start from the beginning. You might want to go grab a coffee and something to eat because there’s a fair bit of info to get through.
If you fall into the latter category I hate to be the one to break bad news to you but there’s probably not much hope of recovering any of your money from Liberty League. Refunds must be approved by Liberty League but if granted must come out of your advisor’s pocket.
Unfortunately for you your advisor is either dirt poor and has probably already spent your money on future conference tickets, advertising campaigns or other get-rich-quick schemes. If you’re “lucky” and your advisor is one of the successful leaders, well then their probably too busy buying new shoes, Porches and apartments to waste time giving you a refund.
They didn’t get rich giving associates refunds now did they.
At this point it can be rather depressing and it’s easy to feel somewhat helpless, that’s where this article comes in.
1. The ACCC
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is an independent statutory authority. It was formed in 1995 to administer the Trade Practices Act 1974 and other acts.
The ACCC promotes competition and fair trade in the market place to benefit consumers, business and the community. Its primary responsibility is to ensure that individuals and businesses comply with the Commonwealth’s competition, fair trading and consumer protection laws.
The ACCC are the primary business regulatory body in Australia and operate on a complaints based system. They do from time to time initiate their own proceedings but the company or business in question must be quite large and the alleged breach quite serious in nature.
For those of us wanting to draw the ACCC’s attention to Liberty League an online complaint can be submitted via the ACCC online complaints form.
When lodging my complaint I made particular points of the following:
- Liberty League’s sales model. The fact that they are clearly offering a pyramid type MLM sales model shouldn’t be overlooked simply because their entry level purchase is a non-retailable physical product.
- The misleading testimonials offered on promotional material used by Liberty League associates to promote events. Feel free to include the direct link to the flyer in your complaint as it’s publicly hosted. Make a particular point of the fact that dollar amounts are represented in the testimonials and that they are not verifiable and are blatantly misleading compared to Liberty League’s own income disclosure statement.
- The Liberty League returns policy is only 3 days on the conferences. This effectively means the company are selling tickets with a price tag of AUD $10,230 and $16, 628 (the price of a Liberty and Summit conference respectively) which can be bought well in advance of the event with a ridiculously short refund period.
- Associates of Liberty League are making claims that Liberty League is endorsed by the ACCC. An example of this can be seen in the Whirlpool thread, ‘Six Figure Chicks’.
After lodging my complaint I was contacted within 24 hours by the ACCC and discussed my complaint with them. They told me the concerns were valid and had been noted and would be made available to ACCC members should action ever be taken against Liberty League.
I’m not exactly sure what their threshold is for launching an investigation into a company is but it probably has something to do with number of complaints and the severity of the claims made.
Given some of you have lost upwards of $50,000 I imagine given enough complaints the ACCC will eventually investigate and then expose this scam for what it really is.
2. Scamwatch
Scamwatch is run by the ACCC and is of particular interest to those of you who were once associates and can put a dollar amount on your losses. You can report a scam to Scamwatch via their online scam report form.
3. FIDO
Fido is run by the Australian investments and security commission and has a very interesting page on pyramid marketing schemes.
Of particular note is the section ‘Is it pyramid selling or marketing’.
The initial investment in Liberty League through lost sales is substantial and that the only realistic way of recovering your losses is through marketing the business to others, you’ll note this is clearly stated as being illegal by FIDO.
To report scams FIDO recommend contacting your local state office of fair trading, consumer affairs. Here are the various offices and their respective Australian states and territories.
Queensland – Department of Fair Trading
New South Wales – Office of Fair Trading
Victoria – Consumer Affairs
ACT – Office of Regulatory Services
Tasmania – Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading
Western Australia – Department of Commerce
Northern Territory – Consumer Affairs (note this website design is horrible)
South Australia – Office of Consumer and Business Affairs
Although not classified as ‘Australian authorities’ there are also a few additional outlets Liberty League can be reported to.
4. A Current Affair
Current events programs usually love exposing scams like Liberty League however there’s been at least one concrete rejection from A Current Affair regarding Liberty League.
For anyone who is interested… I have had some email correspondence with Regina from A Current Affair and unfortunately at this stage they will not be following up with any investigation.
The primary reason for any investigation is the level of public interest and SixFigureChicks/LibertyLeague are not of any great public significance in their eyes.
Given that Liberty League advertise nationally on television it does appear strange that ACA state they are not of “any great public significance”. Six Figure Chicks (a Liberty League reseller) advertise on Channel 9 (who air ACA), so this could also be a deciding factor.
I don’t imagine you make too many advertising friends exposing your advertisers.
Still, perhaps with enough requests something might eventually get done. You can report Liberty League to ACA at their email address aca@nine.com.au.
5. Channel 9 Advertising
Channel 9 regularly run ads for Six Figure Chicks during the afternoon and late at night. Given the dubious nature of the business it can’t hurt to raise your concerns with them. Channel 9 can be contacted via phone or online via their enquiry page.
6. Foxtel
Foxtel also run ads for Liberty League, most prominently under the Six Figure Chicks and UXL banners. Given that it’s a paid service similarly voicing your concern at their advertising standards might raise some eyebrows there.
Foxtel can be contacted via their feedback page.
7. Advertising Standards Bureau
The Advertising Standards Bureau administers a national system of advertising self-regulation through the Advertising Standards Board and the Advertising Claims Board.
The self-regulation system recognises that advertisers share a common interest in promoting consumer confidence in and respect for general standards of advertising.
The Advertising Standard Bureau offer a complaints service for advertisements shown on Australian television. Given Liberty League associates are now advertising on television along with sending a complain to the various networks they advertise on, a complaint to the bureau wont go astray either.
A complaint can be lodged via the bureau’s online complaints form.
Evidence that reporting Liberty League to various authorities is having an impact can be seen just as recently as the last few weeks.
10 days ago Liberty League banned associates from marketing Liberty League with dollar amounts and using the word ‘potential’. Just days ago Tony Rush’s online social networking site ‘Liberty League Life’ was restricted to membership only after being previously publicly accessible.
Members wanting to read the information on the site are now required to sign up and undergo a strict authentication check.
With enough complaints and watchfulness an impact can be made and we’re already seeing signs of it happening. By sharing your own experiences and helping spread information about Liberty League to potential associates and the Australian regulatory bodies you’re doing your bit to ensure less Australians get caught up in this scam.
Lets put a stop to these clowns once and for all.
Oz. You’ve excelled your self. Great article again.
I’ve just emailed the Royal Pines Resort venting my disgust that they are hosting what amounts to a scam convention next satiurday. I also asked that they warn their staff not to get caught up in the hype that goes with these. Feel free to do the same.
enquiries@royalpinesresort.com.au
I also suggested that they have a read on what is being said here.
Excellent article, I can imagine that you will save money and heartache for anyone who reads this that was considering pursuing this ridiculous scam.
Another great article Oz.
I truly believe we are making a difference and are exposing this company for what it truly is. A little over a month ago, I along with others here did not have a way to tell their story, censorship likened to a communist state and pro Liberty League propaganda plastered all over the web.
Thankyou Oz, now we have a platform to speak from and little by little the wider community will find out more about LLI and the government will step in and change legislation to make this company illegal. There is a momentum building and we must be persistent!
I know I will not get a cent of my $50,000+ back from LLI. I do not expect that to happen. I want to reinforce the fact that I am here to explain my story and help others to avoid joining Liberty League. In the end we cannot tell peole to not join, just give a true picture of how they operate and let them decide.
I have been accused of being bitter and told to move on, (by LLI associates of course) that is not the case, I feel foolish that I fell for this scam and will not rest until this company is GONE.
Reporting as much to the authorities as possible is a effective way to get results.
So when is ‘Oz’ going to identify him or herself? Curious to know if you are the real deal or a front for something else. LL’s lawyers would probably like to find out too. (I’m sure they’re onto the case already)
Finally, how much money is Oz making from the ads appearing on this site? It would be helpful to have this info so we can properly evaluate the person behind this site. Please identify yourself, Oz, so we can properly scrutinise you.
Hows that for originality? Is it something that Liberty League coach you all into saying? If someone has anything to say about your company that you dont agree with, you immediately think theres some hidden agenda? Get real and get your head out of the sand.
Personally I reckon that Oz works for Costco as he’s written some articles supporting them.
Then again he may work for Joe blogs choclate seeing as he’s not too happy with Cadburys.
Perhaps he works for….
hmmmm .. so what will happen to those who have been marketing this.. it is not been publicly displayed on the ACCC or Office of Fair Trading websites / scam watch /mlm watchdog or the like as been a scam/pyramid nor have these authorities mentioned the company is under investigation. So how are the public able to recognise whether it is or it is not! Until that is announced by a regulatory eg ACCC these forums are just hearsay and creating waves – nothing concrete .Forums are often known to be defamatory to get rid of competition in there marketing agenda.. I just love to analyse forum discussions – I am studying Law and Defamation .
Tony Rush allways begins his verbal diahorea with ‘Mmmmm….’
It must be catching.
Oz, so far you’ve been accused of lying, ‘exposing’ yourself to someone(forgotten who it was said that), working for some other insignificant mlm company like Polaris (except its one without the lawsuits), being a disgruntled LLI failure, nasty, sad, an internet stalker, a google addict…..
And YOU’RE the one accusesd of being defaatory??????
Hey Tara.. Analysy this http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1206044
Might take a few hours but would be an excellant project for your Law degree.
Hi Tara, you’ll note it’s kinda hard to be defamatory when you’re backed up documented proof.
Thanks Martin – Unfortunately US laws do differ to Australian Laws – and as the Company is based in the US regulatory authorities are restricted. The ACCC will only be able to target those who promoted and sold in Australia. Individuals or Business entities who operated/participated /promoted under this scheme in Australia – once deemed as a Pyramid Scheme may all have a future case on their hands.
Hi Oz,
I know you’re busy and living overseas now, but you’ve been relatively quiet on the LLI/PMG front. Just wondering if there is any more news/progress?
Cheers.
To be honest I don’t think there’s been that much to cover. Polaris seems to quietly chug along somehow… I guess either people’s savings haven’t run out yet or new distributors are still signing up.