TVC Matrix Review: Motor club and recruitment
There is no information on the TVC Matrix website indicating who runs or owns the business.
The domain ‘tvcmatrix.com’ was registered on the 14th February 2005 and lists ‘TVC Marketing’ as the domain owner, operating out of the state of Oklahoma in the US.
The TVC Marketing domain (tvcmarketing.com) simply redirects back to the TVC Matrix and provides no further indication as to ownership and/or management of the company.
From what I’ve been able to gather, TVC Matrix started back in 2004 as a 3×8 matrix program (paying out commissions on membership) and at some point has switched over to what appears to be a unilevel compensation plan.
On one of the pages on the TVC Matrix the name ‘Virgil Coffee’ appears as a signatory and further research reveals that he is the founder and CEO of the company.
Why this information is not clearly presented on the TVC Matrix website is a mystery.
The TVC Matrix Product Line
TVC Matrix don’t offer any retailable products or services themselves. Instead, TVC Matrix members are required to sell memberships to third-party vendor ‘M0tor Club of America’ (also known as the ‘Auto Club of America’).
The Motor Club of America (MCA) are an auto club and provide mostly roadside assistance via monthly membership, they are also owned by TVC Matrix’s owner, Virgil Coffee.
MCA membership on the TVC Matrix website is advertised at three price points, $9.95 (Security Motor Club), $14.95 (Security Plus Motor Club) and $19.95 (Total Security Motor Club).
Other “vendors” that appear on the TVC Matrix website are the “Small Business Club of America” (SBCA) and “TVC Pro-Driver”.
The exact nature of these entities and TVC Marketing is not disclosed.
The TVC Matrix Compensation Plan
The TVC Matrix compensation plan isn’t really explained all that well on the company website, however from what I’ve been able to glean it appears to be an upfront 200% or so commission upon the signing up of new members, either to MCA, SBCA or TVC Pro-Driver.
Membership to MCA seems to be sold two months in advance, meaning when members sign up they pay for two months membership upfront.
For example, if you recruited a new MCA Total Security Club Membership member, they’d pay $39.90 and you’d earn $79.80 in upfront commissions.
Additionally you earn $6 for each member recruited by your own personal downline and 66 cents for each member in your entire downline (members you’ve recruited, members they’ve recruited and so on and so forth).
For clarification I’m going to suggest the above figures are solely for use on sales of the Total Security Club Membership as the company does not provide compensation plan information unless you sign up as a member.
Any TVC Matrix members reading this, feel free to clarify these figures in the comments section below this article and I’ll make any required updates and/or changes.
Joining TVC Matrix
Membership to TVC Matrix itself appears to be free but in order to participate in the compensation plan you have to purchase a membership to MCA. This membership will set you back anywhere between $9.95 to $19.95 a month depending on which option you choose.
Conclusion
The complete lack of a business model and compensation plan on the TVC Matrix website is a big enough red flag in itself to indicate that not a lot of thought and effort has gone into the setting up of the company.
Analysis of the TVC Matrix compensation plan (what information I was able to find on it without signing up), then reveals that 100% of the commissions generated are paid out from membership fees (the initial fee and an ongoing monthly fee).
With no retailable products or services and no distinction between TVC Matrix members and MCA members, that right there is pretty much your textbook definition of a pyramid scheme. Unless members recruit new members and those new members pay an ongoing membership fee, nobody gets paid.
I did find some matrix related compensation plan material on the TVC Matrix website regarding SBCA memberships but whether or not this is still active is unclear. Some other information I found mentioned selling SBCA memberships in threes and qualification criteria to unlock payout on various levels of a matrix.
In any case this material also revolved around signing up new members to SBCA membership plans with the recruiting member earning a cut of the membership fee(s) paid.
Poor presentation of the business and a compensation plan that pays out 100% commissions on the acquisition of new members and the membership fees they pay. These two facts pretty much speak for themselves when it comes to reviewing the TVC Matrix MLM opportunity as a prospective member.
Three concerns, and maybe corrections
1) This is not insurance. This is simply towing service for breakdowns (and dead batteries, locked your keys inside, and such). Insurance is regulated by Insurance commissioner of each state in the US.
2) The advertorials on PR sites are worrying, as it keeps referring to “rebate”, “pre-payment” and so on.
3) Manta says something interesting about MCA and TVC, but accuracy is not assured.
http://www.manta.com/c/mm25vy2/motor-club-of-america-enterprises-inc
Hear you on the insurance, I’ll change it to “motor club”. Most car insurance companies in Australia offer the kind of services that MCA offer so I just figured it was a similar auto insurance company type deal.
I would also take anything on Manta with a grain of salt as it seems to be entirely user-generated listings. Lately I’ve noticed a ZR affiliate has been spamming Manta with ads for Zeek Rewards disuised as business listings. They’ve been creating a listing progressively in as many US states as they can…
That person with the manta listing is an independent associate and NOT the company.
@stan — Figured that. As I said, accuracy NOT guaranteed.
Here is an interesting fact NOT TALKED ABOUT: The Commissions you earn are ADVANCED COMMISSIONS and CANCELLATIONS RESULT IN CHARGE BACKS in the 1st Year. This can create a DEBIT BALANCE (MONEY YOU OWE THE COMPANY).
This information is found in the MCA Training Manual that an associate provided to me. With the Debit Balance they will deduct your debit balance from your next commission check upto 50% of your check (you will always get a something if you are selling).
If you are going to promote this for the long haul, you could do well but, for most who join, promote and quit in 90 days, this could sneak up and bite you down the road. Hope this helps.
Question, if they said that its a trusted name since 1926, how come Auto Club of America was only founded in 1976?
Name change?
MCA Motor Club of America, and Auto Club of America. 2 entirely different entities.
Thanks for clearing that up JR.
It looks like its a family business. Senator Glen Coffee of Oklahoma services as general counsel for the business. Take a look at this short paragraph:
Coffee is a member of Phillips Murrah Law Firm and specializes in business, commercial and electronic commerce law. He also serves as general counsel for TVC Marketing Association, a family business providing road and motor club services and other services to small businesses.
This was taken from http://oksenate.gov/Senators/biographies/coffee_bio.html
Thanks Denise,
I read the link about Senator Coffee. Feels a lot more legit to me now.
Unfortunately most people just like to post comments but never have any verifiable/reliable evidence(links), other than their “great” opinion.
Well said TVC Curious and thanks Denise. That article was very helpful and strongly solidifies the legitimacy of MCA.
Unfortunately however MCA is not a MLM company and its legitimacy does nothing for TVC Matrix.
What Oz said was… MCA may be legitimate, but that doesn’t say anything about TVC Matrix.
It’s very possible to start a matrix / pyramid that piggybacks on top of a legitimate service offered by someone else. Furthermore, there seems to be NO WEBSITE that explains what MCA does. Every website that you can find on MCA is mostly about the income opportunity.
THAT, to me, is a big red flag.
Why do they not use usps mail service? Are they actually a scam,and are worried about the federal government shutting them down,like zeek rewards? USPS is considerably cheaper than ups!!!
My website talks about the benefits of MCA and the business opportunity. I have more customers than associates because I sell the actual road side assistance plan.
I’m proud to be part of an organization that sells an actual, verifiable service. My son, bought his first car and his clutch went out. I called MCA and his car was towed to our mechanics about 10 miles away with no additional charge.
I’m sure you will say “she is with MCA so she will say anything”. I have pictures that I have posted online.
Anyway, thank you for looking at MCA. And if you have any other questions, I will do my best to answer them.
@EJS, they do use regular mail now. Checks are no longer sent out via UPS…
I wanted to join because it sound’s promising. How ever I don’t feel to comfortable giving out my SSN on line or my Tax ID.
I was looking for more information on it other than what the sites provide. I want to be 100% sure that it is not a scam. You can’t ever be to careful now and day’s on the internet. Can you give us more information as to how it work’s?
-Rose
In a nutshell, you have to recruit people to get paid.
If people stop recruiting the scheme collapses.
I just want to clear up some things because I get really irritated when people post wrong information…
MCA is the actual company and TVC Matrix is the marketing side of the company…
For years they sold road side services to Truckers and now they’ve opened it up to everyone…there are a multitude of services that are provided…just google mca and go their offical site and get the information instead of guessing and making up information…
Just like AAA associates are selling valuable benefits and yes there is an opportunity to get paid for referrals…
If you want to become an associate you don’t have to recruit, any time you sell a membership you will get paid..so everyone is not an associate most people are just customers…
So if you sell the benefits which are really good then you don’t have to worry about chargebacks because smart people know that their vehicle will breakdown at some point and need help or have some type of emergency that they run across…
If AAA isn’t a MLM company paying out on the recruitment of new members, then it’s not a valid comparison.
“Seell a membership” = recruitment.
Hmmn, isn’t that like saying someone is only a little bit pregnant or an egg is only half bad ??
Hello,
I am contemplating joining MCA but I can not find anyone anywhere that is revealing the fact that in some states you need licensing to become an Motor Club agent – which is additional costs of course.
Is there any documentation that shows you exactly which states require licensing and the associated fees? I think this would be very important to people wanting to build an MCA business in those states – Even the MCA / TVC websites do not inform people of this.
Thanks,
JP
@JP — are you joined MCA, or are you joining the income opportunity? Big difference.
Someone said you have to recruit people to get paid. not true you actually have to sell the benefits to get paid!
Just my two cents to add on to what has been presented.
It is true that MCA is not MLM and is a legitimate company that has been established in 1926 in Newark, New Jersey as a roadside assistance company.
The company was being marketed by a select few independent associates that were doing everything offline to grow the family business.
For example, selling to truck drivers, making physical appointments to sell the service etc. The company did fairly good business and gained many MCA customers.
However, companies can create huge brand awareness now without the “tedious” work of what was once associated with offline marketing.
The world is a vast place and the company felt that with the current age of the internet and the way that direct sales can be expanded exponentially there; starting online would be great.
What better way to get “regular people” or even seasoned marketers to promote the product but by offering them a cash incentive to do so? Major brands do this in direct sales with a vast degree of how it is handled.
It is merely to increase the flow of word of mouth advertising and increase customer engagement. Some offer cash back on purchases (i.e. credit card companies), others offer points towards redeemable merchandise of your choice (also prevalent in credit card and retail companies), others offer credits off of your next bill.
MCA decided that they would take the approach of offering their customers (who chose to share with their friends, or even strangers for that matter) the benefits of the service a cash incentive of 200% on the front end. And they reward you when your friends tell their friends.
It is nothing different that Mary Kay, Avon etc. This is not an investment. How else would a member receive a physical cash incentive if a product sale is not made?
Where would the money come from? Its a referral program in a direct sales company.
It behooves me why this article is saying that the “scheme” would collapse if memberships are not sold. How so? We are only paid on the selling of a product.
If the sale is not made, no production is done and money is not generated. Period.
But this does not affect the customer base as services are still rendered. The company is not promising to pay out a certain amount every single month.
Again its not an investment. You are paid on your direct sales. I would be more than happy to clear up or answer anything that needs to be.
MCA is a legitimate company just as madamrks stated. MCA (Motor Club of America) Is the service side and TVC Marketing is the marketing side.
MCA provides an array of services and covers you whether if you are at home, work or play. The have you covered for Legal Assistance, 24/7 Roadside Assistance for trailer, motorcycle, car of RV, Medical Coverage. Up to a 60% discount on Dental, Vision,, Travel, Car Rentals, Prescriptions. If you’re pulled over and get a speeding ticket they will cover your attorney fee up to $200. They offer accidental death insurance.
You can just be a customer and use these beneficial services if you choose to, or you can take advantage of the income potential and earn money for referring others to sign up for the service. MCA is not an MLM company. It’s operated more like an affiliate program.
Even if you don’t want to take advantage of the income opportunity. It would be beneficial to get the membership. We all know that you can’t plan an accident and you will surely be covered in the event of one taking place. Plus you have different price points of the membership.
Every company that offers to pay for referrals is not a scam. Having people like you and me sale the service for them, cuts cost on advertisement and we all know that word of mouth sells best. We usually purchase things because a friend or family member has used it they have given a good review on the product. This is another reason why MCA wants all associates to have a membership.
I do have a document about which states require a license. Many states don’t. I normally tell people about the license requirement before they join. I’m not about any funny business. I provide the information and allow an individual to make a sound decision on if they want to join or not.
I love the company and I think that the benefits and the income are great! MCA offers a service that everyone should have!
This document is on the New Hampshire Government website and it list all of the licensed Auto Clubs. (Motor Club of America Enterprises) http://www.nh.gov/insurance/companies/documents/motorclubs.pdf
There is a misconception about selling, recruiting or whatever you want to call it for MCA. You DO NOT haveto be a member to get paid by MCA.
The benefits are excellent and I feel that everyone should get coverage like thi but if your unable to a member at that time, all you have to do is sign up to become an asso. My Gods kfsciate. That’s Absolutely FREE!
A lotof people don’t want to miss out on the $80 so they tell people to get the $19.99,plan. So there you have it, Yes we want you to have the bwnifts but if you don’t have it right now then thats ok. So there you have a golden nugget.
AAA advertises to get members just like any other company. MCA has associates that advertise for them and bring in memberships and they get paid a referral fee to do it.
A pyramid is One Person who asks Two people to give him money with the promise of giving them back double or more, but that One person tells them to bring in two people each and tell them the same thing.
(That’s how they get their money back plus, the people pay those two people and so on and so forth. Thats a pyramid scam. Once that group of people are done then the pyramid is done.
MCA is an actual company that offers quality benefits. There is no One person recruiting other and recruiting others to pay that person and they get double back. The company is paying you not an individual you are recruiting.
Many need to learn what a pyramid scheme is first before using that name on a company.
There is no requirement to recruit associates and there is no requirement to become an associate. You can just get the benefits. No different than becoming a member to get benefits with AAA.
Now the licensing for Motor Club Agent varies with each state. If you are a Motor Club Agent then you need to login and get the information in the training manual to see what your state requires. It is not MCA’s requirements, it is your states requirements.
Your Social Security Number goes on your W-9 form which is the IRS form that is needed to get turned in by the company because you become an Independent Contractor meaning you are working for yourself.
At the end of the year MCA has to furnish you with a 1099 form for you to file your taxes. The form is not an online form so you are not putting your social on the internet. Their site is secured and you print the form out and mail it in with your contract.
If you want to get paid then your social or tax ID must be provided. That is with any company you work for, online or offline. You have to furnish it for tax purposes.
Motor club of America (MCA) was never Auto Club of America (AAA). There was no name change for that. Two different companies.
AAA provides roadside assistance with some travel discounts and other discounts, MCA offers roadside assistance and travel and discounts and attorney help, bail assistance, bond certificates, stolen vehicle rewards, stolen cattle reward, credit card protection, medical assistance for any type of accident not just auto, protection during travel, and accidental death benefits. They each have their own specific services.
I hope this helped some.
God Bless!
JP…I am a member of MCA…What state are you in? I can let you know if you need a license or not and what the costs are..No charge!!! Thats a freebee on me 🙂
Wow, a lot of blurring between TVC and MCA here. One is a motor club and one is an income opportunity and has to be analysed as such. The “benefits” of MCA are irrelevant, only what you as affiliates have to do to get paid within TVC matters.
What do you have to do?
Sell membership (to what is irrelevant) = recruit new members.
You are then paid a commission out of their membership fees. No retail products are sold with all “customers” required to become members. You cannot sell anything to anyone within TVC without signing them as members to something.
On its own, there’s obviously nothing wrong with MCA, isolate TVC however and as an income opportunity it fits the criteria of a pyramid scheme (recruit members and get paid out of their membership fees).
The real question is… can you join MCA without joining TVC?
Or is EVERY MCA member automatically a TVC member as well?
Oz, one *can* sell “membership” legally. Legalshield is one example. It just have to be a legitimate service, and one can buy WITHOUT joining the income opportunity (clear separation of inside-the-company affiliates, and outside-the-company customers)
The problem is TVC’s marketing material seems to make no separation between the two, and at least SOME member is under the impression, as shown above, that they can be in TVC without joining MCA. (Which is good, as that proves there’s separation of customer vs. affiliate)
If every affiliate is also a customer, or vice versa, THEN you have major suspicion as pyramid scheme. Right now, there’s enough confusion and lack of info to make this opportunity a “doubtful” one.
Oh, and the various TVC members… several of you answered the WRONG QUESTIONS.
Marquita went on extolling the virtues of MLM… but said NOTHING about TVC itself.
Shameka provided the standard marketing speech but mixed up MCA and TVC.
Mrsbabymj avoided answering anything altogether.
SJohnson answered lots of questions about MCA, which is the WRONG questions.
You’re supposed to be answering questions about TVC, not MCA. The fact that you can’t separate the two means you were not trained properly, by either the company, or your upline.
You Can sell MCA benefits without being a customer. You are not considered a affiliate until you actually have made a sale..
@dave
If you look at the TVC Matrix website, there’s two things you can do, sign up as a member or login as a member.
Membership is compulsory.
Again, we’re not talking about MCA here, we’re talking about TVC as an income opportunity. Which, if you join, all you can then do is sell memberships. You can’t sell anything to non-members because membership itself is the product (what affiliates are paid out on).
Not with a MLM compensation plan where you’re directly compensated in cash for recruiting members and where you earn off the recruiting efforts of your downline.
I’m not convinced. It just spells scam all over the place.
Seems to me that if you want “coverage” you would spend $60/yr with AAA vs. $240/yr w/ MCA. It don’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how they are able to pay affiliates… overcharge for the product.
But, I guess that is the business model with most MLM’s. I would have a hard time telling my friends and family about this “deal”.
I am reading these responses and absolutely amazed at people who don’t understand the process. I am not even an associate of MCA, but I ran across the opportunity and of course, am reading on it to get more information.
But from an internet marketing point of view, recruiting people does not necessarily equal a pyramid. As another poster stated, when I do join the business, it will be geared more towards selling the actual product and not necessarily recruiting people to join to make an income.
There is nothing new about this process. I have been doing affiliate marketing for years now and that is what this is. NOT a pyramid scheme. There are other companies who pay you to refer people to them. This is no different.
There is a personal loan source I refer people to and get paid $100 for every qualified applicant they receive from me. That also, is NOT a pyramid scheme.
I do the same for people looking for help with stock options online. They sign up with he company I referred them to and I get paid $100 or $200 for every person who pays for the membership services on their site. I have been doing both for years and it is a legitimate business.
I receive a 1099 statement for tax purposes at the beginning of each year.
Take it a step further and offline to maybe make more sense. My bank does the same thing. They give you a $25 credit for anyone who opens an account there and uses your name as a referral. That does not make them a pyramid scheme.
The apt complex where I use to live(before I started making all this money AFFILIATE MARKETING, not pyramid scheming), use to offer $250 off your rent when you referred an applicant to their leasing office and they signed a lease. That is not a pyramid scheme.
It is companies being wise enough to pay people for word of mouth services. And its brilliant.
People try to look so hard to find a scam in anything that they don’t realize the potential of a situation when it is staring them in the face. And that’s fine.
But please don’t spread false information when you don’t have all the details or know what you are talking about.
Oh and by the way, please don’t be surprised if somewhere down the line AAA realizes how genius this is of Motor Club Of America to open their marketing this way and they began a referral program as well. I guess when they do, the opportunity that Motor Club of America is providing will begin to look a little more legit. :/
Mate none of those businesses you quoted pay out on multiple levels, thus being Multilevel Marketing.
Thanks for wasting everybody’s time with mountains of irrelevant paragraphs.
And? It doesn’t make it a scam. Period.
No, but making money solely from recruiting people DOES make it a “pyramid SCHEME” while the fact members CAN make money based solely on recruiting others makes the business shaky for others, such as you, whose intention is to genuinely market product.
It comes down to personal choice.
Once having been made aware of the fact a business allows the (illegal) practice of “endless chain recruiting” and doesn’t have processes in place to prevent it, it then comes down to whether or not the potential member wants to be involved with a money game or is genuinely interested in “product”
In fact, putting aside the legality aspect for a moment, “endless chain recruitment” schemes are guaranteed to fail, purely on mathematical grounds, leaving the potential members to choose whether they’re in it for the long haul, or quick(ish) bucks.
Well for me, it’s all about the product being sold. If it is something I can stand behind, I’ll sell it. Not from the point of view of trying to recruit people under to me to also sell the product, but from the point of view of them buying the product itself.
There is an electric co in my state that has the same program set up. It works pretty well and the few reps in my area who are into it are doing very well with it.
I have no interest in electricity to the point where I would like to sell it. So no matter how much money is in it, if I don’t know much about the product or not interested in it, I won’t bother.
But if it’s a product that I can honestly speak highly of while promoting, I’ll go for it. My parents have used Motor Club Of America for decades. Since I can remember. I’ve used their services through my parents since forever.
I can actually speak on the benefits of their services first hand if I decide to sell the product. But I won’t be getting into recruiting people to join under me and so they can sell it also.
Bottom line, to each his own.
Correct, but if you paid for the privilege of recruiting people who ALSO paid for the privilege, then you *do* have a pyramid scheme.
You answered the wrong question. Nobody is questioning MCA. We’re asking questions about TVC.
@Wow
Well that’s great, but this isn’t about you it’s about the TVC income opportunity and business model.
As a company they have no products and only pay out commissions upon the recruitment of new members to another company. If MCA launched the plan under their own name there wouldn’t be a problem, TVC is a seperate company though and thus has no product of its own.
So just wondering .. What’s the risk (besides losing your initial $40) .. I hear people saying that by the end of the year you’ll end up with less money than you started with…
Makin money at first and getting screwed over in the long term … I don’t doubt it.. I just don’t know much about the subject and am curious how these types of mlm programs ruin so many lives
The risk is the same as with all pyramid schemes, that you will not recruit anyone and be left holding the bag.
MONTHLY fee, dude. $20 a MONTH, pay 2 months to start.
Consider how much AAA costs… $57 a YEAR. (Some states have higher memberships… maxes out at 120 a year)
Obviously the benefits are not one-to-one match, but you get the idea.
TVC is in danger of being a pyramid scheme because it mixes up “customer” vs. “member”.
Well let’s say the benefits were real.. They sound way better than AAA… 65% off your prescriptions .. 50% off dental and vision.. 25k towards an attorney or something …
The problem is.. I don’t think those benefits are real … If I had proof that they were i’d join in a heartbeat just for the product.. But I’ve found no 3rd party information verifying any of this … So it makes me wonder if MCA is also a part scam…
I’ve heard anecdotal evidence of people getting their cars towed but nothing about the other benefits that supposedly make this product more valuable than AAA
The benefits of MCA are irrelevant. Members of TVC are paid directly to recruit. TVC has no retailable products or services itself.
The reason i even ask is I’ve got a friend who signed up and is hounding me to join… He says he’s already recruited 3 people in the last week which pays for his yearly membership already In theory.. (though he says he won’t actually get paid until next Friday) …
I’m a well read chap, with a wide range of knowledge on plenty of topics .. But I don’t know much about business, much less borderline Illegal business and pyramid schemes … Like any rational person, I started researching TVC Matrix…
When I couldn’t find anything of value on the web, I started researching multilevel marketing… I don’t like what I’ve found on the subject so far.. Sounds like 90% bs…
I almost wanted to pay the 40 just to get this dude off my back, figuring I could at least break even.. And leave the company after 2 months… But something tells me that’s not going to be possible …
They say the $40 pays for your “first and last month”, which makes me think you’re required to stay in for the full year …
And all that aside, my ethics will not allow me to recruit other people into something I feel is a scam… But I’m being pressured by my friend to sign up to the point where I feel it will end our friendship if I don’t …
When I ask reasonable questions about the company, I’m treated as a heretic… I’m guessing my situation isn’t unique to just this program in the MLM world?
This Virgil Coffee dude apparently owns both TVC and MCA… He’s a hard line conservative state senator from Oklahoma… That’s enough for me right there
Also… To the gentleman who said that you can sign up with TVC/MCA without paying anything .. That’s BS.. Sure you can sign up for free.. But it does absolutely nothing for you except give your email away to spammers…
You can not make commission for referrals and you can not receive auto club benefits without paying the 40 bucks… So what good is it to become an “associate” if you can not get paid until you pay them first?
I have a question if u don’t recruit anyone do u still get a check?
Can anyone tell me when TVC partnered with MCA? Also someone said earlier that you could sign up as a free associate, what are the benefits of a free associate and do free associates get paid for referrals.
I kind of liken it to the new thing Direct T.V is doing where they get money off there bill for refering people to Direct T.V. I undertand the question of can TVC stand alone as a business itself or does it not need to because it us under the umbrella or a division within MCA.
If TVC is the marketing part of the company would it still fall under MCA’s business or something completely different? If someone could provide answers to these questions that would be great.
This was not the case when I reviewed the TVC compensation plan. The company hides the plan though (huge red flag), so whether it’s since changed I can’t confirm. Someone mentioned just yesterday that free membership and participation in the compensation plan is not an option.
“Get money off your bill” is not the same as being paid cash for recruiting new members.
If it has a different name then it has to be analysed as a seperate company and standalone income opportunity. If all people can do upon joining TVC is recruit people into MCA and get paid for it, then there’s a problem.
Ray.. I signed up myself .. I didn’t pay the 39.95 of course (I won’t be giving them a dime or any other MLM program for that matter) … You get nothing for merely signing up ..
You can’t get paid to refer anyone to the company until you pay them for the privilege to do so.. You don’t get any benefits at all until you pay them..
So .. Yes you can, technically “sign up for free”, but it’s completely pointless if you havent paid up.
@ OZ, thanks for the reply. This is just a thought, whether someone pays you money directly for a referral or takes money off of a bill that you are paying the money still is coming from someone elses payment correct?
Whether someone pays me $10 or I save $10 I’m still in the positive $10 that had to come from somewhere right?
@Ray
Saving money is different to being paid to recruit someone.
So let’s say a company was selling “memberships” and if you sold one they agreed to pay half your mortgage. Would this eliminate the perspective of it being illegal since you are saving money instead of being paid to recruit?
Just so I understand, your position based on fact is that selling a membership of any kind where the person selling the membership gets paid is illegal?
Paying a mortgage is not the same as being paid a cash commission for recruiting new members.
Just so I understand, your position based on fact is that selling a membership of any kind where the person selling the membership gets paid is illegal?
@Ray — The MLM law is clear: if you paid to join, then get paid for recruiting others who also pay to join, it’s illegal.
How about I link you to a real lawyer saying so? That way you take it from a REAL AUTHORITY rather than you arguing out of ignorance.
http://www.mlmlaw.com/library/guides/Primer.htm#mlm
@Ray
No, just MLM. Anything else falls outside the context of this discussion.
Do you have to pay to become a TVC associate? No
Can you just become a customer of MCA and not refer? Yes
I think the problem here is that TVC Matrix bought MCA several years ago.
MCA the company essentially is owned by TVC Matrix and this is the company that markets the business. This is the “blur” between the two that you are talking about.
I still don’t understand the thinking that because you get paid to sell a product it is a scam. That makes absolutely no sense at all to me. How on earth would you earn money if money is not generated. What makes multi level sales illegal?
How are you getting stuck holding the bag when you paid for a service that no one is taking away access to? Being able to promote the company is a bonus. People have the service because they want and need it.
Yes, the benefits are real, we have dozens if not hundreds of people who use them everyday — including myself. Its seriously like AAA on steroids.
Yes you pay about $100 more per year than AAA’s higher package but for starters, your benefits are active from day one while AAA takes weeks. Meaning if I break down the day I get my membership, I simply call and I’m covered.
AAA only offers at best 3-4 100 mile towing with their highest packages. This is unlimited with MCA.
Reimbursement for travel, the medical discounts you mentioned and also they cover more than auto accidents.
There is really no comparison. The medical discounts are provided by popular companies that anyone can do a simple google search to find their information.
Also Jezmund —
No you don’t get benefits for signing up. Who in their right minds running a business would give you their flagship membership for free?!
Again I don’t understand the logic behind thinking this way. There are over $150,000 in benefits and you’re expecting to have them hand them to you without a dime?
I wish companies thought like you, we would all live the life.
You can however promote the service as an affiliate and get paid to do so without becoming a member. You will get $80 per membership as advertised.
Please, call associate services, if you are unsure about something.
We’re not talking about MCA, we’re talking about the TVC income opportunity.
You cannot join MCA retail through TVC. All you can do in TVC is pay for membership, as an income opportunity there’s no retail side to it.
@Oz
MCA and TVC are the same company since TVC purchased MCA several years ago. So yes, you can pay MCA retail through TVC. The TVC website is the only way to do so. This is the marketing arm and sole owner of MCA.
Nope, one is a MLM income opportunity and one is a motor club. TVC has no retail other than paying for membership.
What membership are you paying for through the TVC website? Just curious…
It looks to me as if you are paying for your MCA membership — but maybe I am misunderstanding your point.
Doesn’t matter. You are paid to recruit, end of story. In MLM that’s a big red flag.
Oz –
I know you have more intelligence than this. I know you will not end a debate the way you did above. I know you know very well the differences between MLM and a pyramid scheme.
Even K Chang posted an article on this above by a lawyer. We are not paid for bringing in new distributors, but customers who have the right to remain customers and not promote the business. There is nothing illegal or a red flag about this.
When reading this (k. Chang’s link) in detail, clearly TVC matrix is a legitimate MLM and not the pyramid scheme you are trying to make it out to be. I encourage everyone to read that article and make up their own impression of what the company is.
But if you insist. I will leave it be.
Doesn’t matter what you know. If you’re being paid to sell memberships on multiple levels in MLM that constitutes a pyramid scheme.
Every member brought into TVC has access to the income opportunity thus there is no true retail.
Again you skew the facts OZ .:sigh:.
No, that does not constitute a pyramid scheme.
What constitutes a pyramid scheme is this for just a few points
–paying to become a distributor of a company for the sole purpose of getting other distributors to pay to become a distributor
–getting paid for recruiting (**note, not selling**) new distributors (**note, not customers**) into a company without the true exchange of a product.
–Those paid recruits (**note, not customers**) getting new distributors on the hope of doing the same without an exchange of a product.
Again MLM and pyramid schemes are completely different than one another. One is legal (the tiered structure of commissions on the sale of a product) and one is illegal (the tiered structure of payment on recruitment of other distributors).
So because a customer can access the business venture there is no retail? I’m more than confused by that thought…
Concrete argument as your “I said so” is – yes, yes it does. There needs to be a clear distinction between retail and the income opportunity, in TVC there isn’t.
Check.
Check.
Bingbaddaboom, pyramid scheme.
Yep. There’s no distinction, allowing someone to join TVC, recruit new members and earn commissions on that recruitment and the recruitment efforts of those they recruit.
That fact alone makes everything else (including MCA in its entirety) irrelevant. There’s no skewering of the facts, only facts.
lol this is extremely comical to me and I thank you for allowing me to enjoy my Thursday afternoon. I always enjoy a healthy debate — no matter how biased each side may be.
There is a clear distinction OZ.
You don’t have to pay to become an affiliate for the company
X (for lack of a better “check” opposition statement)
You don’t get paid for signing up an affiliate since its free
X
You do get paid for selling a motor club package
Yes, you may CHECK on that — no pun intended
I have access to many affiliate programs as a customer of a product — dear God the world is one big Pyramid Scheme 🙁 Somebody notify the FEDS!
Again, there is a difference between MLM and pyramid schemes
So? The fact that I can join for free and get paid to recruit others and on their recruitment efforts changes the fact people are getting paid to recruit how?
Those who do pay can earn the same recruitment commissions, so I’m not sure what your point was there. Still no distinction between a retail offering and income opportunity membership.
Of course you only get paid for signing up paid members, otherwise TVC has no money to pay you – they have to pay out membership fees (all pyramid schemes do).
…with an income opportunity attached, which pays out commissions upon the recruitment of new members on multiple levels.
Yup. And when there’s no distinction between a retail offering and income opportunity, and all members can do is sell memberships which they then get paid commissions on, you’ve got yourself a pyramid scheme.
Not sure why you find pyramid schemes amusing, they are a blight on the MLM industry.
If MCA membership did not include an attached income opportunity there wouldn’t be a problem.
Oz since we are clearly running in circles here and I truly believe that you believe what you are saying about the company and I applaud you for that.
Please, so that we all know, what would constitute a legal MLM?
Is it nothing more than having two websites?
One to join the business and one to join the opportunity?
Is having them both on one website a red flag?
I am super eager to hear your view point and please don’t negate my opening question here because that is what I am most curious about.
You keep going to the “fact” that you are paid for memberships which is definitely true but a play on words. Meaning yes, you are paid when customers purchase one of the motor club memberships. you are not paid when an affiliate joins the business since that is free to do.
And my point by saying joining as an affiliate is free was to say this: You do not get paid for signing up members to promote the business (as in a classic pyramid scheme) you are paid only when they purchase the motor club package (as in a legal mlm — a product sale).
I’m still confused at you saying all they can do is sell memberships so its a pyramid scheme. All mary kay can sell is cosmetic products which produce a commission. Our product line is simply road side assistance, there is nothing else an affiliate can sell because that is the extent of our product line at the moment.
The distinction between retail and income opportunity is this
purchase the product of your choice via the tvc website — remain a customer for as long as you wish without issue.
become an associate to sell our products to those who may need retail assistance and get $80 per sale for as long as you wish.
Were you a customer first, but now want to promote the business? Click “become an associate” in your given backoffice at any time to do this or simply call our associates hotline.
You are famously trying to prove a point by a strong fuse between what is legal and what is illegal. I mean you are using certain words/lingo that are associated with our business to portray that pyramids and MLM are synonymous.
I didn’t mean that pyramid schemes are comical, I meant that you’re bias against MLM and the classic semantics you use to prove your points are comical. I did not mean to confuse you.
P.S. Why are my comments not showing up after “adding a comment” am I blocked? Any help would be appreciated 🙂
This is not a discussion to have here.
And all that matters.
Given that motor club members are able to participate in the income opportunity, functionally there’s no difference. Remeber, we’re not analysing MCA, we’re analysing TVC as an MLM income opportunity.
MCA is wholly irrelevant in that sense.
Membership in and of itself is not a product in MLM. Furthermore, paying out commissions on the sale of said membership (as is the case in TVC) is a red flag.
Given that MCA membership includes an income opportunity from which the only way to earn commissions is via the sale of TVC membership, yes you do.
Sell membership, earn $80 per membership sold – got it.
Anything that strays offtopic is marked as spam. Stay on topic.
…I am on topic always. I never stray….seems like my comments disappearing are something deeper as when I post the same comments using a different email address I am fine. Anywhoo
Lets go your way Oz.
TVC is MLM income opportunity (which it is technically just the marketing arm of MCA).
The product they are selling is MCA.
There is no fee to become a TVC affiliate. But you still have the right to sell the MCA membership.
If you sign up another tvc affiliate the cost on that is zero because no customer was sold a membership and therefore the commission is zero. Is that not fair? You don’t sell a true product you don’t get paid.
If you sign up a customer, you get paid $80.
A customer receives their benefit package by mail and use the service, they are not an affiliate.
If the customer wants to become an affiliate of TVC, again, there is no cost (outside of licensing fees which TVC as a company has nothing to do with, it is a state requirement in certain states). They are simply sharing the benefits and receiving a commission on whatever item is being sold. You hit a simple button and fill out your agreements to do so.
The MLM portion is this…
When you sign up TVC affiliates you do not get a commission. Becoming affiliate is free. If your affiliate sells one of the products to a customer, they get paid $80 for the sale and because you introduced them to the business you get $6. Only when a product is sold. So if you sign up affiliate A and affiliate A signs up affiliate B, there is no commission paid. Again, is this not fair?
You are only paid on the sell of the product. So again, there is a distinction between customer and affiliate.
You do not get paid for affiliates or distributors, but rather those who are customers who use the service.
Yes, MCA memberships are the only product line and every MLM has a product line. I say that to say, even in your thinking of TVC matrix as an MLM company — it still makes no sense why it would be a pyramid scheme. The selling of products and paying a tiered commission structure on the sale of those products is not illegal.
You are missing Oz’s point.
You’re saying “It’s a pyramid scheme if you recruit, but I reserve the right NOT to partake in it by not recruiting any body.”
Oz’s saying “This alleged ‘optional’ part makes it a pyramid scheme, not a MLM.”
And I have to say Oz’s is right in this case, as there is NO division between customer, and affiliate.
According to you, all affiliates are members, just that affiliates choose to recruit to make some money, while regular members don’t.
In that case, I’ll refer you to look up the Burnlounge case, closed by FTC for being a pyramid scheme. They have NO division between customer and affiliate either (regular members, vs. “moguls” who can earn income)
Again, all affiliates are NOT customers and all customers are not affiliates. I do not know how I can make this any more clear than the statement I have made.
If you want to be a customer, than so be it.
If you want to be an affiliate, then so be it.
If you want to be both, then so be it.
I’m very confused by your opening statement K. Chang since that is not the point I am making at all.
You are missing my point. I do not think either of you understand the difference between a standard MLM and a pyramid scheme — even though it was pointed out in the article you have posted.
You can definitely “recruit” a tvc associate which is free of charge to help you grow your business. Like a small sales force. Money is not generated here. There is no sale of product
You are only paid when a customer of the company makes a sale.
K Chang, this is from your article above:
We do not have a fee to join as an affiliate, our members are not paid for enrolling other affiliates into the program. We are only paid when a sale is generated. Therefor a product is sold.
The definition of a pyramid scheme as quoted by your article:
or
You can decide NEVER recruit another affiliate in this business and make all of the product sales you want, you will still earn money. I, myself, do not have any affiliates on my team, I have customers who are not apart of the opportunity and I was paid and will continue to get paid on these sale types.
Howevver, if I decide that I want to open up my own efforts and create a team of affiliates who also have the ability to sell the membership (which I plan on doing), that is MLM not a pyramid scheme. Why? Again, because I do not get paid for enrolling affiliates, I get paid on actual product sales that they make.
@Marquita
So the point stands, as an income opportunity TVC has no retailable product or service with members paid only to recruit. Thus, it’s a pyramid scheme.
TVC has no customers, because there is nothing to sell within the opportunity itself (other than membership which provides access to a recruitment based income opportunity).
Is there a distinction between MCA members and TVC affiliates? No.
Typically, in legit MLM retail customers cannot participate in the income opportunity side of things.
There’s no difference? TVC has no customers, therefore every member of TVC is an affiliate. MCA members don’t have to do anything to get paid on recruitment (signing up again for free membership is not a valid differentiation of retail and affiliate status as it in no way changes the status of MCA membership).
I said it previously and I’ll say it again –
If MCA membership did not include an attached income opportunity there wouldn’t be a problem.
Or you can recruit MCA members and get paid for it. These recruited members can then go recruit more MCA members and get paid for it, with the original recruiting affiliate also getting paid on their recruitment efforts.
The fact remains you cannot earn anything in TVC without recruiting people. No products or services are sold within TVC itself while this happens.
Everything else is irrelevant on that point alone.
@Marquita wrote:
Sure you do… you joined MCA for $20 a month (which also gets you into TVC).
Your members are paid for every person who BUYS MEMBERSHIP (in MCA AND TVC), which is SAME AS RECRUITING.
You are just trying to spin words.
Furthermore, here’s the definition of an active TVC affiliate:
1. Recruit a new paying member once every 3 months and be a paying member yourself. (Buy membership yourself then recruit other paying members to earn)
2. Sell a new membership each month and recruit a new affiliate each month (recruit to earn)
3. Temporary qualification for 3 months, upon which either 1 and 2 must then be satisfied.
As you can see, there’s no distinction between paid membership and TVC (note, this was actually taken from a MCA brochure, not TVC – further indicating a lack of differentiation between TVC and MCA membership.
As far as the compensation plan goes, MCA customers prequalify for TVC income opportunity simply by purchasing MCA membership.
Marquita… You can not become an affiliate until you pay the 40 bucks.. You can sign up for free and advertise the program all you like but you will not receive commission until you pay them first …
I brought up the point about not getting benefits without paying as an example.. Because if you sign up without paying you can not get paid and you (obviously) don’t get benefits either … So what is the point of signing up then?
Telling people that they can market the program and get paid commission without becoming a member first is called lying … It’s simply not true .. I’ve tried it myself
I think there is a distinction that can be made which is when a product is sold to a customer as in Mary Kay that customer dose not become an affiliate as a result of that purchase.
This in a nutshell is the problem.
Why is that such a problem? The way I understand it (an Oz will correct me if I’m missing the point) is that mixing the product Co. with the affiliate side ie join MCA an your automatically an affiliate is another way of saying “recrute more affiliates an you will get payed” the MCA membership is like a added insentive.
Avon dosent allow me to sell there products because I buy them, they pay commission on products sold. If Avon worked like TVC I would just have to buy x amount of product an I’m a Avon affiliate and that sounds a lot like pay to play.
Like Oz said if you didn’t become a affiliate by just purchasing a product: buy this widget an your allowed to then to sell this widget, there wouldn’t be a problem. I am not of the same caliber as Oz, K. Chang, or littleroundman so take my opinion for what it is.
Marquita I must say you don’t sound like the typical ponzi/pyramid promoter at all and for that I wish two things for you, success in your endeviours and a hope that you will give TVC the due dillagance it deserves.
These critics (Oz, K. Chang, ect…) don’t miss, read through the other articles and you’ll find they are very astute at picking apart a business model an laying it out for what it is. Zeek is always a fun read!
Also Marquita… Why is it that when I google MCA or TVC I get nothing but the company’s own website and affiliates trying to sell the product… I’ve yet to find one piece of third party information on either company…
TVC isn’t accredited by the BBB and MCA isn’t even listed … What kind of interstate company that has supposedly been around 86 isn’t listed with the BBB? And has no historical record other than what it and affiliates have to say about it…
My local towing companies out here in Phoenix, AZ have never heard of it … The Wikipedia page of MCA was taken down just as fast as it was put up due to the lack of independent sources … I can’t even find them listed on sales genie …
The only reviews come from affiliates … In fact the only websites available that are not trying to sell you this product is this site and “realscam.org” … 86 years of MCA and if the info isn’t coming from them it’s coming from spammers
Marquita’s entire argument is based on a rather flimsy strawman … That you can earn commission with the company for signing up new customers/affiliates without paying the membership fee yourself ..
For the last time … You can do no such thing … You will not earn a dime from the company without paying the membership fees first
This is definitely false. Mary Kay and MCA are absolutely aligned the same way when it comes to this. You can purchase products from Mary Kay without becoming an affiliate.
But if you want to become an affiliate, there is absolute a purchase to be made in the form of a starter kit. It costs $200 to sign up and become a Mary Kay consultant.
I wouldn’t say that. Nobody’s infallible. You need to understand how we think and WHY we think the way we do. We can and do make mistakes. However, we will take corrections and admit mistakes when it happens.
If you do spot some, please point it out. But please do NOT pass on our advice like “Why is this a scam? Because (someone) said so.” That is the way *they* operate.
We want you to pass on “Why is this a scam, because of the evidence A, B, and C.” Not because of our “reputation”, but of our LOGIC and ANALYSIS.
@Wow really?
That starter kit isn’t a retail product. There’s no reason for retail customers to purchase a starter kit.
In TVC, apart from not having any retailable product or service under the TVC banner, the company forces affiliates to either recruit or purchase MCA membership after 3 months of joining.
Furthermore apart from signing up again free of charge, MCA “customers” already prequalify for under the TVC compensation plan (which they can only earn by recruiting new members) due to the fact they are now members themselves.
(Ozedit: removed offtopic Mary Kay/Avon comments)
(Ozedit: removed more offtopic Avon comments)
(Ozedit: removed offtopic Zeek Rewards comments)
I also want to add that you are not automatically an associate when you purchase the MCA product. There are forms to fill out, license fees required in certain states, and you have to actively state you want to be an affiliate through your back office or through the company.
No different than filling out to do so with other widely popular direct mlm companies. Just because there is a responsibility to SELL the MCA membership as a TVC affiliate does not mean it is illegal. This is MLM which is based on product sales — which I will delve into more below.
MCA surely has been around since 1986 but was actively promoted offline. There are many companies who have yet to create a presence online and MCA/TVC is fairly new in this respect. Unfortunately, not ALL companies have come into the new age to have migrated online.
With respect to the argument that you live in a specific state and whomever it was has not heard of the company. Does this mean it does not exist? There are probably hundreds (if not thousands) of roadside assistance companies, and other companies for that matter, out there that we have not heard of.
Unlike AAA, MCA contracts services through different tow truck companies and currently do not have MCA self branded tow trucks unlike AAA who does. AAA is commonly “seen” because of this which makes them more of a household name. Its not uncommon for people to not have heard of MCA — yet.
And please Jezmund, the BBB is the biggest joke there is on the internet. Why should MCA have to pay to be placed there? Do more research on the beloved BBB company. Because you can pay to be accredited, I wouldn’t hold too much weight on the accreditation and non accreditation you see there.
That is not to say that MCA/TVC won’t choose to go this route since so many people hold value to it.
Oz (or someone) mentioned that you must either sell a MCA package or own the MCA package to stay an active affiliate. Ok? Again going back to Avon. (Ozedit: removed offtopic Avon comments)
I think that everyone is drawing all of these circles and pointing at things that are totally irrelevant to the main argument here (Ozedit: oh really, ya think?): How is TVC matrix operating as an illegal pyramid scheme? None of the arguments presented here actually prove this point. And I feel like I am wasting my time posting here.
(Ozedit: removed offtopic marketing spam)
We keep going back to the “flimsy strawman” that you are being paid to recruit new TVC affiliates. This is again not true. The reason why this is “flimsy” is because, (1) you are negating the fact that TVC matrix is NOT an income opportunity alone and is only the marketing division for a company they own which is MCA.
(2) MCA is the roadside assistance product line which is what TVC is the marketing arm for.
(3) TVC, the marketing arm, does not pay for you to enlist (recruit, sponsor, or any other ill verbiage you would like to use) an affiliate, distributor, associate, etc
(4) TVC, the marketing arm for MCA, only pays when their product “roadside assistance” is sold. Requiring a person to sell or own the product every x amount of days, weeks, or months to stay an active affiliate is not illegal.
I’m not understanding what this has to do with this being an illegal pyramid scheme. While you are going to the fact that TVC is paying for you to recruit other TVC affiliates is annoying since it is not true — its also a bit irrelevant as well since even if you state that as true, receiving compensation for the sale of a related product is not illegal, as the illegality stems from the participant receiving compensation for recruiting other participants into their program and the compensation is unrelated to the sale of products or services to the ultimate user.
We do not get compensation unless a customer purchases or an affiliate sells or even if you’d like to say, becomes a customer of the services we offer. This is not illegal.
TVC also notes that in order for you to be an active associate you must satisfy the per-requisites someone listed which further separates the customer to affiliate lining.
If I am solely a customer and have not sold anyone a membership or recruited an associate who has, I am not an active affiliate for TVC.
Again associates are free and non paid. The definition of an active affiliate does not state get paid for recruiting that associate. It says recruit an associate to be qualified. It does not make mention that the associate needs to be active member as defined in (1) and (2) above.
Notice you are paid on MCA memberships only. Membership – paid road side assistance program, which means you receive commissions vs. Associate – non paid, receives no commission. Notice in (2) definition above it separates having to have 1 sale (which is of an MCA membership package- commissioned) from the recruitment of a new associate (which is TVC marketing arm which is non paid — no commissions).
So you don’t have to have others pay to join the TVC marketing arm to remain active. And you don’t have to pay to become an active associate either. You can simply make a membership sale or have someone join as a free associate to do so.
In Avon, (Ozedit: removed offtopic Avon comments)
So because Mary Kay, Avon, Amway, Netflix, Itunes, and just about any other company (Ozedit: removed more offtopic comments)
Oh, I forget, its because of the idea that you are paid on Multi Levels that make it illegal, right? Again, multi level commissions are NOT illegal. Its just that some of you hold extreme biases (maybe due in fact to the many true scams operating this model out there) regarding the MLM model.
TVC allows you to get started for free. You do not have to recruit other TVC affiliates to earn money. You, as a TVC affiliate (the marketing arm of MCA), can promote the products to customers and never recruit another TVC affiliate (the marketing arm of MCA) to sell products and still earn money.
You do not get paid when TVC affiliates (the marketing arm of MCA) join the business. Only when the purchase of a roadside assistance package (MCA’s product line) is made through a TVC affiliate (the marketing arm of MCA) that you have sponsored, recruited, enlisted etc is a commission paid. Again, lets stay on track, how is this proving to be an illegal pyramid scheme?
That is the only question we are here to answer.
It is not illegal to sell a product, even if you own the product, and get paid for it on many levels.
Please… having to sign up to the same company again is a negligible step. Functionally MCA membership prequalifies affiliates to earn an income under TVC.
Responsibility to sell membership? The words you are looking for are mandatory requirement to sell memberships, otherwise you don’t get paid. Thus it’s a pyramid scheme.
And you keep going on about illegal, that is for the courts to decide, we only deal with the practical side of business models here and how they function.
Again, don’t know why you keep bringing this up. TVC require the selling of MCA memberships, MCA purportedly owns TVC… thus looking at the bigger picture it’s a pyramid scheme reliant on recruitment into the parent company.
Oh I’m noticing, that’s why it’s a pyramid scheme.
1. This isn’t about MCA customers, it’s about TVC affiliates.
2. MCA membership prequalifies “customers” to earn commissions on the recruitment of others in TVC.
No it doesn’t, it just proves that MCA membership is required to earn commissions and that TVC affiliates have to continue to recruit to earn, thus making it a pyramid scheme.
When an MLM income opportunity affiliates are only able to generate commissions upon the sale of memberships, yep.
Glad we’re finally on the same page.
Oz you are truly confusing me in your thinking.
I included those Avon/Mary Kay posts to prove a point which were deleted to help aid in your thinking. I also included Zeek as it was mentioned in an earlier post.
Are you stating that TVC has no retailable products because you can only get paid to sell those products? Is this because TVC chooses to operate their marketing arm/affiliate program of MCA under a different name?
How does buying as a customer pre-qualify you to earn commissions? There is a point in signing up to become an associate, because the customer did not sign up to be an associate in the first place. It would be senseless to have them “sign up again” since they would have already fulfilled this by signing up the first time.
Notice even in your own quoted definition it does not say “purchase a NEW MEMBERSHIP in the first 3 months to become an associate.” It distinctly says “be a new “ASSOCIATE” in the first 3 months.
Notice it also makes the distinction of SELLING a NEW MEMBERSHIP and actively having your own MEMBERSHIP for a three month period.
This just simply states if you want to market the MCA opportunity on a part time basis you should sell a new MEMBERSHIP and own the MEMBERSHIP OR you can make 1 SALE per month or sponsor 1 ASSOCIATE per month.
Notice I said ASSOCIATE and not ACTIVE ASSOCIATE here which means that person does not have to have any sales for you to qualify to earn each month. That refutes the argument here — or at least by my thinking.
BUT I still don’t understand you saying that TVC does not have any retailable products,and we are solely getting paid on selling “memberships”. But roadside assistance memberships is our product and is why I can’t get on your page.
Of course if you don’t sell the company product you don’t get paid — why would anything other than this make sense?
This is what your whole basis of thinking stands on. If we were selling toothbrushes or cars, or any other item, to customers or affiliates bought these items and we were getting paid for it on multi levels, would this be legal in your book? The other companies (of which we know are operating legally) sell their products this same way.
Because we are selling MCA roadside assistance service, and it is abbreviated by saying “membership(s)”, we now are operating illegally? Let me further emphasis my question with the car sales theory (Ozedit: let’s not, stay on topic!)
Marquita, You say it yourself: “associates are free and non-paid”… That means you can join the company as an associate for free but you can’t make commission until you pay to become a member ..
So once again, what is the point of becoming a free associate if you cannot get paid by the company? To promote the product for free? Who would do that? You don’t make a dime in commission until you pay to become member… You just said it yourself..
And MCA was founded in 1986 now ? What happened to 1926?? Also, I understand that being accredited by the BBB doesn’t automatically make a company legitimate… But it would help in the case of MCA because as I’ve said several times now, there is absolutely no mention of MCA anywhere on the Internet outside of it’s own affiliates …
Does that mean they don’t exist? No.. But it is rather strange that there’s no secondary resources on the company… It’s like trying to prove that all the events of the Bible happened by only citing the Bible
No, I’m saying it because TVC has no retailable products of their own. And if you’re going to insist the TVC = MCA (which income opportunity wise it isn’t), then it’s a moot point as you’re being paid to recruit into the parent company regardless.
TVC is an income opportunity and as such must be analysed independently of anything else.
MCA is not an income opportunity, however TVC members must recruit into MCA to earn money and/or purchasemembershp themselves once their three month honeymoon period is over. The entire MLM business revolving around the sale of membership.
Because…
See point 1.
But due to the nature of the business model, they prequalify to earn commissions by doing nothing more than purchasing MCA membership. This is a failing of the company to differentiate between customers and affiliates (making them sign up again is not differentiation).
At the end of the day you still need to eventually purchase membership yourself and/or recruit. And this is an ongoing requirement. A three month honeymoon period does not change the nature of the business in the long-term.
Nor does it change the fact that in those initial three months, if you want to earn anything you have to recruit new members.
Sell memberships to earn in MLM = pyramid scheme.
Buy memberships is still the sale of membership (to yourself) = pyramid scheme.
Selling the same membership to someone and calling it “a sale” does not make it so, it’s still the same membership being sold.
Recruit 1 associate per month doesn’t pay, so is infact just a pyramid scheme requirement highlighting the importance of recruitment in the TVC matrix opportunity. Not surprising, seeing as within the opportunity there’s nothing else to sell other than memberships.
Then I suggest you go back and look at the business model. Membership is membership, regardless of what is bundled with it and when the sale of said membership prequalifies you for earnings in an MLM opportunity where you are paid commissions upon the recruitment of others, there’s a problem.
Income opportunity wise you are selling membership, nothing more. Whether a member chooses to use the roadside assitance or not is irrelevant to the commissions paid out and TVC MLM compensation structure.
You can try to blur these lines as much as you want but the mechanics as far as the TVC MLM income opportunity and what its affiliates have to do in order to get paid are concerned are blatantly clear.
At the end of the day “free membership” isn’t free if you have to pay after 3 months and if you take option 2, you’re forced to recruit new TVC members. Whether you get paid on this recruitment or not is irrelevant to the mechanics of a pyramid scheme. It’s even more irrelevant when as far as earning money goes, that too is tied into recruitment via membership sales.
…uh, no that does not mean this. What it means is that as an associate, I do not get paid for you joining or me recruiting you as an associate. It is free to do so. I am not talking about sales earned by said free associate.
This was my error and I realized after typing this out to be posted for the 20th time but could not edit it at this point. I was born in 1986 and a girl can sometimes make mistakes 🙂
I’m glad you understand this but that point is neither here nor there in this debate.
Again, this may in fact be true at the moment, it may also change, but I don’t see how that’s relevant to the debate
Believe it or not, many people do the above, but again citing the bible to prove the bible is neither here nor there in this debate.
Does not make much of a difference. Burnlounge, a convicted pyramid scheme, by default members only earn credits (to be applied to other in-house purchases). if they upgrade to “mogul” they can choose cash instead of credit, and 97% of the participants chose “mogul”.
You’re missing the point. Membership by itself is NOT a product, not when it is also attached to income opportunity with compensation.
MCA surely has been around since 1986 but was actively promoted offline. There are many companies who have yet to create a presence online and MCA/TVC is fairly new in this respect. Unfortunately, not ALL companies have come into the new age to have migrated online.
With respect to the argument that you live in a specific state and whomever it was has not heard of the company. Does this mean it does not exist? There are probably hundreds (if not thousands) of roadside assistance companies, and other companies for that matter, out there that we have not heard of.
AAA does not operate its own trucks in California. They contract through local agencies.
Please don’t malign the BBB without proof. Yes, you do have to pay $500 to get accredited. It’s a PITTANCE for a business that’s been around for as long as MCA. You *are* just making up an excuse. One strike against you.
You pay to join, and you get paid when you recruit other people who also pay to join. You simply refuse to acknowledge the fact by claiming this doesn’t happen when it does, and you never explained WHY this doesn’t happen.
Are you *sure*? Because you’re spinning things quite wildly.
You get PAID to market MCA by TVC. That makes it an “income opportunity”.
So you’re saying is they are inseparable? That actually PROVES it’s a pyramid scheme, not disprove it.
You get paid for recruiting MCA members, who can become affiliates. Thus, this is something that *does* happen (with unknown frequency), instead of NEVER happen (you wrote “does not pay”). Another strike on you.
Nobody said requiring someone to make X sales in Y period is illegal. it’s getting paid to recruit that makes it a potential pyramid scheme. Strike three on you for playing another strawman.
TVC is paying for you to recruit MCA members, who can choose to become TVC affiliates.
This means they are operating in both LEGAL AND ILLEGAL modes.
If they are paying you ONLY for recruiting MCA members, it’s legal.
If they CONTINUE TO PAY YOU for MCA members who decided to become TVC members AS WELL, then it becomes an illegal pyramid scheme, because you are being paid for your recruiting someone who is doing the same thing as you are.
This is your BLINDSPOT.
And your continued rant merely confirms that you look at only half of the situation, without looking at the other half.
You may have also accidentally combined “86 years in service” with the year “1926” coming up with “1986”… Pretty honest mistake 🙂 …
But I jumped on it because I’ve seen various MCA associates (including the one that’s currently trying to recruit me) give multiple dates of establishment… Anywhere from the 1950’s to the 1970’s and 80’s …
The one that’s trying to recruit me uses the 1950ish date, which is interesting because he’s actually referring to the founding date of the National Motor Club of America… A completely different entity …
He even had “National Motor Club” listed as his employer on Facebook with a link to NMC… Even though he clearly works for TVC/MCA…
How is this relevant ? It’s not … But It is strange how ill-informed a lot of TVC associates are about their own company, (In this case my recruiter wasn’t even sure of what company he actually works for) …
To me, this reflects poorly on the company’s business model since they obviously have no control over which morons are out there representing them … This in itself proves nothing, but it adds to the long list of reasons why I have a bad feeling about this company …
You’re actually the most well-informed, genuine person promoting this company that I’ve come across yet
The fact that recruitment is infinite, regardless of the actual demand for auto clubs, only seems to increase the number of people ill-suited to represent MCA… Doesn’t endless recruitment in itself raise your suspicion?
On the real market, businesses control their supply of their product or service as well as the number of people employed based on the demand for the product and an entire host other market indicators…
In the case of MCA/TVC… There is a seemingly infinite supply and a theoretically infinite amount of employees … Anyone can become an employee at anytime regardless of the auto club market… No real business could seriously make a profit with this sort of business model unless they are an illegal pyramid scheme…
And in that case profit is only made by signing up new members to pass their money up the pyramid.. Until it collapses of course and people either go broke or face prison time.
The reason why I brought up the lack of independent resources covering a company that’s supposedly been around for 86 years is simple …
It’s easy to recruit people to MCA for the income opportunity … But it’s much harder to sell the service to people who are only interested in the service and not becoming an associate when they can’t even properly research the company’s validity (added onto the fact that it’s 4x the price of AAA) …
Face it, the income opportunity is the selling point to the vast majority of customers, not the overpriced service… Frankly, If this was 100% legitimate, I just can’t see how the company could make a profit while handing out outrageous commissions and tens of thousands of dollars in hospital bills, life insurance, prescription discounts, vision/dental insurance, attorney fees, accident coverage etc. on top of their auto club service… all to just one single member.
A member who is paying a mere $240 a year for all different kinds of insurance that would usually cost the public thousands of dollars per year.. And not only that! They can get their membership for free by only signing up 3 new members… And they can actually make a substanial amount of profit by signing up even more people … And all of those new members can do the same …
How could the company afford this ? They can’t… All of the money being generated is coming from the lowest level of the pyramid … But market saturation is inevitable and endless recruiting is impossible … and recruitment to MCA will dry up very soon …
And since your profits are entirely based on this… You will eventually stop seeing a profit and you may wind up with less money than what you started with … As with any pyramid scheme
But, they can’t.
And, the fact they can’t is exactly why pyramid scheme/endless chain recruitment schemes are illegal.
“3 who find 3 and your membership is free” is simply mathematically impossible other than for the first couple of levels.
Googling Wheat and chessboard will show very quickly why it doesn’t work for more than the top few.
With all due respect, what does that have to do with the price of tea in China? MCA customers do not receive any incentive outside of what the service provides for being a customer.
No credits, no cash, no grape trees. NOTHING. If I had brought up a case or example with actual relevancy — this would have immediately been deleted but yours remains, I don’t understand this.
Again with all due respect, you are combining the MCA’s product “membership” just because it has the word “membership” with being an associate of TVC. MCA’s service/”membership” is able to be sold on its on without any income opportunity attached.
Again, with so much respect. What is your point? So AAA doesn’t have their own trucks in Cali who has rules and regulations that many other states don’t and is why AAA may not have their own units there. The point is, AAA is more of a well known brand because they are commonly seen on the road — even without your state.
Whether you believe its a PITTANCE or not, the point here is, if you can pay to have your business accredited why would anyone hold value to its accreditation? Whether its $500 or $5,000 – its not the amount of money that’s the issue. Its the fact that you can pay to become accredited. No strike against me, but thanks for proving my point.
You don’t pay to join. Yet again, the facts are skewed. TVC is free. You can never own the MCA service/membership and still promote the service/membership to 3rd party customers and get paid.
The definitions of an associate were posted above, but for some reason you are not seeing that. I, as an customr/owner of the MCA membership, can’t promote the income opportunity. I, as an associate of TVC can. I don’t see why this isn’t as bright as day to those reading.
Again, I as a customer/owner of the MCA membership can’t promote the income opportunity. I, as an assoicate of TVC can. There is a separation. I as a purchaser of Mary Kay can’t promote the income opportunity. I as a Mary Kay consultant can. (sure to be deleted)
I say this with the idea of it being deleted to help skew facts…
I, as a TVC associate get paid for selling the MCA product line to 3rd party customers just as in any MLM. Now, I wrote in an earlier comment (of which was deleted) that the idea that since a customer can later decide to become an affiliate is not an issue.
I am a customer of many things, of which I can later decide to promote those things and get paid. What is your point here? Please quote the “does not pay” line you are mentioning as I can’t find it.
What? Are we making up our own laws now? Since I am a customer of the product and I promote the product, the person who sold me the product can no longer get paid commission when I buy the product? Ok…interesting thought.
On top of this, TVC associates only get paid off of their sale of the MCA membership to customers once. There is no continuation of pay. The commission was made for the sale to the customer, who was not an affiliate of the service at the time of sale.
Once the commission sale has been given that’s it. Other commissions still are only generated when a product sale is made to a customer who is not associated with the income opportunity. If they decide to become an affiliate later, so be it. There is no further commission paid. I’ll be taking that strike back, thank you.
Really? I see as clear as day. Can you see my rants? I hope so because they are being deleted for being “off topic” which I’m sure this will be deleted or not posted as well while others remain posted.
Look, I respect logical thinking, and can appreciate the points listed here. The problem is there is a misunderstanding of the business model on your part which means you are inaccurately portraying the business. That is the only thing I am trying to make note of.
One wonders if that’s actually “3 who find 3” is actually the way it works. Most likely, you have to pay to join, then when you recruit sufficient people your membership fee was refunded.
If one can’t sell the membership without the “income opportunity”, one has a pyramid scheme.
Just look at Burnlounge: claim to sell music, actually sold music, but music sold to non-members are only like… 2% of overall revenue. The rest ends up being members paying members.
Well yea that was my point… I was describing the company as it claims to work… Of course it’s functionally impossible .. The world’s population would be exceeded rather quickly, as members would have to begin recruiting extra-terrestrial life to keep getting paid (let’s hope they use US dollars on Mars) … And my point about selling the service to non-members was to show that such a thing is more than likely not happening … We don’t have any data on it, but I highly doubt people are doing this just for the overpriced, exaggerated service and not the income opportunity … And even if they were.. They have the option to hop aboard the income opportunity at any time ..
I’m of the belief that not only TVC Matrix is a scam, but MCA is as well.. For the reasons stated in my above posts about the lack of third party sources … And I know this is only anecdotal, but I’ve seen ex members on YouTube complaining about the “accidental death benefits” … They say that the so called life insurance only applies if you die on a “non-commercial airline” … Aka those of us who fly around on private jets… There’s a video called “Motor Club of America Misrepresentation” which points to the MCA manual for evidence… I wish I could get my hands on this manual but only members can download it (what a surprise!)
If you look at the TVC Matrix Facebook groups… there’s one that sells “training” and “leads” and even tries to recruit you into other well known scams like pennymatrix.com…. Sounds like an honest bunch of people
Interestingly enough… I asked the admin of the “official TVC Matrix Facebook group” the exact same thing that Marquita is denying …
Me: “So do I need to pay TVC Matrix first before I can earn commission… Commission that comes from the people I recruit, who in turn recruit more people to do the same?”
TVC Matrix: “Yes”
@Marquita
Except that their membership prequalifies them to earn recruitment commissions within TVC, and to participate all they have to do is sign up again to the same parent company for no extra cost.
Again, free membership to a marketing division is not a seperation of customers and affiliates, let alone when the sale of membership is the only way to get paid (recruitment) and your own membership pre-qualifies you for recruitment commissions.
On that point alone the rest of your rant is irrelevant.
In legit MLM as a customer you cannot participate in the income side of things. In TVC, all you do is sign up again to the same company and off you go. Recruit and get paid.
You pay the exact same for membership as MCA’s customers (no distinction between the two) and all you did was sign up to TVC (the same company), which cost you nothing and took all of 5 seconds, and now you get paid to recruit.
How is this not marketable on top of MCA membership?
‘join MCA and prequalify for recruitemnt commissions if you recruit new MCA members, and earn off the recruitment efforts of your downline’
The above can totally be used to accurately market TVC, given that the only thing you’re leaving out is the token gesture of signing up to TVC. This does not change the mechanics of the recruitment side of things.
With TVC/MCA being owned by the same entity, functionally members are paid to recruit into the same entity. Let’s call it company X. Company X owns TVC and MCA.
Does it cost any money to join the income opportunity? No.
Can you pay membership fees and prequalify for recruitment commissions (with your upline earning a commission for signing you up)? Yes.
Can you earn money for recruiting new members into company X? Yes.
Thus mechanically, despite having a marketing arm with all the money staying within the company itself, mechanically it’s a pyramid scheme. You can keep trying to wordsmith your way out of it but facts are facts.
Again,
If there was no income opportunity attached to MCA membership (in that it prequalifies you to earn recruitment commissions), there wouldn’t be a problem.
Marquita, as a members of TVC, how many TVC/MCA members do you have vs. MCA members?
There are so many comments here and I am honestly physically tired of proving a point that nothing illegal is happening here that I’m considering this to be my very last post, especially when my posts are being treated unfairly. We will just let everyone tend to their view point.
Just because a company owns a product and pays affiliates to sell that product on multiple levels does not mean its a pyramid scheme.
MLM companies like those that I have mentioned several times before own their products and they pay tiered commissions on the sale of those products. It does not have to be a third party item sold to be considered a legal MLM.
In many cases, the affiliates also own those products. also in some companies those affiliates are on an autoship for those same products and their “upline” is getting paid on that said affiliates product purchase every single month. So even if that affiliate does not sell any products, the referring affiliate gets paid.
These companies have come under legal scrutiny and are fine. These companies also have the “pre-qualified to become an affiliate”, according to your own definition, since their product line has an income opportunity attached which would by your term make it a pyramid scheme — which is not the case.
If this were fact, almost all MLM companies would fit this definition since 3rd party items are not used…which I think is what you want to prove anyway.
Furthermore, affiliates in these companies actually have to pay in order to promote the product line. Their upline also gets paid when they pay their fee to promote the product.
So essentially they are also customers (since they are on an autoship) — who — are allowed to participate in the income opportunity. That is not illegal nor does this fact make it a pyramid scheme, and there is no law against such.
The issue and illegality comes (as in the burnlounge case since it was mentioned twice) when most revenue of the organization comes from purchasing the rights to sell such product and then getting paid to sell others the right to sell such product while the actual product is not being sold.
In burnlounge they were selling positions (mogul, non mogul) to earn cash. Only a small percentage of sales actually came from true product sales — in their case, music.
TVC does not pay you to recruit others who have the right to sell the product with you. There are no commissions earned on this.
There are over 7 million customer only members in MCA. There are only a few thousand TVC affiliates. There is focus on selling the product line to the ultimate user.
Our product can stand alone and people are interested in the services it provides and pay for them willingly without ever joining the opportunity.
TVC affiliates are selling roadside assistance to customers and receiving the commission on those sales to customers. If, and only if, the customer chooses to become an affiliate can they receive commissions for telling others they know about the service. The affiliate does not get a commission for that customer deciding to become an affiliate.
Yes, registering to become an associate and not registering to become an associate makes it a clear separation. Whether it be “signing up again” with the same company for free or paid or whatever. If I do not register to become an affiliate, and express my clear intent to do so, I am not an affiliate. It does not happen automatically.
For mere example sake in burnlounge, as soon as a customer purchased a product package, they were automatically an affiliate and forced into an agreement without any regard for whether they wanted to be or not. They did not have to express any intent to do so. But if they wanted to earn cash, they had to pay more fees for the privilege to do so, of which their upline got paid.
The affiliates of burnlounge also pushed recruitment of new affiliates over product sales because they got paid a large amount of dollars when a new affiliate paid for the right to sell the product. The affiliates of burnlounge cared nothing about the product (music sales) since they were compensated far less to do so.
This is a HUGE difference than what TVC does. There is associate registration required. You must actively state you wish to be an associate and physically send in the required paper work. And if you do not sell the product you don’t earn a commission.
There is no, sign up TVC affiliates and get paid on their affiliate fees whether they sell a MCA membership or not. It doesn’t happen. There are only commissions generated for the product line. Anything of the contrary would be a true red flag.
But, I won’t go further into detail here again since it has been done many times already. Even though many won’t see them because they were deleted or not posted. My comments have to go into moderation for hours before being posted.
I pay the exact same price for my mca membership if I become a customer? Yes, I do. The price of the product is the same across the board. Should I pay more for my MCA service because I also became an affiliate? Should I pay less for my service?
The retail cost for each product line is what all customers pay. If the price rises, the new price is what all customers will pay. A retail product cost is the same regardless.
As an affiliate we are selling roadside assistance at its current retail cost. Some customers may decide to become affiliates and will keep their current price of their service unless it rises. Should they cancel their membership that they need just to become an affiliate?
Because company X sells a product, and the same company X has a tiered commission opportunity its illegal? Again, are we making up our own laws? Look at all of the legal MLM companies out here. They are doing this very thing.
Selling products they own and allowing other people to sell those products and get paid multi levels down. They do not have separate companies to do so and are operating properly. Again they also allow customers to later become affiliates if they so choose. Its not illegal to do so. If there is a law, show me this for us all to see. I think you would be hard pressed to do so.
So essentially, what you state is not law and is only opinion.
The problem, again, is when a mass of the total revenue generated does not come from a product being sold, but merely on the right to sell that product. TVC does not fit the mode because we do not get paid when others decide they want the right to sell the product.
And we are not over compensated when others request the right to sell the product. For example, If I sell a product I am paid $10, but if I recruit someone else who wants to sell the product I make $190 from their affiliate fee paid for the right to sel the product, even without the sale of the product happening.
Higher emphasis is on recruitment and not product sales, which is typical in pyramid schemes.
To Jezmund
The owners of those facebook groups are independent reps and unfortunately, some of them know nothing and are ill advised when it comes to their own business. There is no “official” tvc matrix group on facebook or anywhere.
Even the first group created with the most members was by a rep who is doing very well and not any owners of the company themselves.
Is it crazy that some people promote something they know nothing about? Yup. Are there people who promote this business in the wrong way? Yup. That’s just the nature of dealing with some people. Many people turn something good into something bad.
The truth of the matter is, people want to increase their sales team and their earnings, and they may tell you that you need to purchase as a customer first so that they get the commission. Dishonest? Yes. True: No. That has nothing to do with the ethics of the company.
If you are honestly a member, call associate services. They will let you know the truth about the business. That should be the only resource you use to get your questions answered.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
Based on my own observations, I would wager that over 90% of MCA members are also TVC members.. I’ve yet to come across ONE person on the Internet that is a member of MCA alone…
Not to say they aren’t out there … But they sure seem rare… And why wouldn’t they become TVC members? If they think they can make a profit on their overpriced service that makes unverifiable benefit claims, then of course they’re going to join TVC…
The opportunity is open to all customers and believe me, the vast majority are taking this opportunity… does MCA even know how many “employees” work on its behalf through TVC… Does TVC even know ? Do they even care ?
The amount of employees/associates such a supposedly large company has should be easily accessible, public information
As I’ve said… It’s highly doubtful that the MCA’s claims are even legitimate … A service that could potentially pay YOU to have bail bond assistance, health insurance, life insurance, auto insurance, legal benefits, and prescription drug discounts, all while performing the regular duties of a motor club should be getting the Nobel Peace Prize for being the most generous business of all time…
Why, they should be putting every insurance company out of business… Forgive me if this sounds dubious to me
Also.. this is from the MCA HQ website (www.mcahq.com) … it actually calls itself “The MCA Matrix” … so tell me again how MCA customers aren’t the same as TVC Matrix customers please…
On their MCA’s FAQ they describe the TVC Matrix “compensation plan” while referring to it as MCA’s compensation plan.
so how are TVC associates different from MCA “customers” again?
MCAHQ was registered on September 15, 2012. It’s an affiliate website, not the “real thing”. It’s also set to hidden registration. Thus, it’s not a reliable source of info.
Except you have yet to prove that there *is* a significant difference between MCA member and TVC member. In Burnlounge, 97% of all members are affiliate type, i.e. 97% overlap. So far, TVC and MCA membership seem to show similar ratio of overlap.
All your arguments basically ASSUMED that there is no significant overlap. You have NOT proven the assumption.
@Marquita
If that product is membership to the company then no matter how it’s set up that money is kept within the company as a whole and you’re looking at a pyramid scheme in MLM.
Solely because whatever is bundled with that membership can be ignored. Thus with the focus on recruitment (membership itself) and members earning commissions on recruiting new members, it’s a pyramid scheme.
Marketing wise there’s no difference between signing someone up for MCA and signing them up for MCA and TVC – the only difference being a 5 second second signing up to TVC, which costs nothing and is owned by the same people as MCA. Due to this, there’s effectively nothing stopping TVC members marketing the income opportunity with MCA as there’s no distinction.
In legit MLM customers cannot participate in the income opportunity without giving up their retail customer status and becoming affiliates within the compensation plan. This is not the case in MCA/TVC because there’s no distinction.
Membership to a company in an of itself is not a valid product in MLM, where commissions are then paid out on your own recruitment efforts and those of your downline.
It’s as simple as that.
Well now I’ve gone to “joinmca.com” and it still redirects me to TVC Matrix..
So what is “the real” MCA website then, K. Chang and why is it so hard to find it with a simple google search?
And Marquita… As an affiliate, how are you selling road side service at “retail price” when your plan costs up to 4 times as much as Triple A?
Like I said earlier, you seem like a sincerely nice, genuine person … And i don’t agree that your posts should have been deleted if they remained in the context of this discussion… But you’re going to great lengths to prove this is not a pyramid scheme using convoluted language …
It’s merely a dressed up pyramid scheme that had more thought put into it than others … You brought up my Facebook group comment which really just proves my point that any MCA customer can become a TVC associate at any time, no matter how poorly they misrepresent the company…
Some of these Facebook affiliate groups are blatantly promoting illegal activity … Shouldn’t they be like .. I dunno .. Fired or something ? Of course not because MCA/TVC doesn’t care… There is no regulation who or how many people can become “employed by this company…
Hence “endless chain recruiting” aka an illegal pyramid scheme … And your “7 million customer/only a few thousand associates” data is completely unsupported …
As I’ve said before, with any other legitimate company, the company’s employment numbers should be readily available for anyone who chooses to look via and independent source … Since neither you nor I have no way of accessing such information (red flag #15473848292) all we have to work on is anecdotal information …
And for me, anecdotally speaking, I’ve yet to meet or hear of one MCA member who is NOT an affiliate of TVC Matrix- someone who has bought their membership solely for the income opportunity
I know the topic is not about the services but i was scammed because my car broke down and the tow truck never showed up and i had to pay for it out of pocket.
when i called mca they gave me the run around and said to send them the bill and i will be reimbursed and that never happened so yes this is a big scam
I’m a MCA Associate.
Did they give you the name and number for tow truck driver? Did they tell you how long that they would be there?
Maybe there isn’t one. 🙂 That’s always a possibility.
I’m just amazed of the ignorance by Oz and KChang about MCA/TVC and others, but have no clue what this company is all about.
TVC Marketing Associates, Inc (Which owns the website TVC Matrix) is the parent company of Motor Club of America Enterprises, Inc. TVC has over 7 satellite offices and employs about 450 people, many call centers reps in the state of Oklahoma.
TVC bought MCA in 2007 from a company called the Preserve Group (which originally was called Motor Club of America from 1926 until 2000).
Preserve was based out of New Jersey which in 2007, was brought by equity based company.
When TVC bought MCA that same year and 7 million members along with it, it was under an agreement that TVC cannot sell or market memberships under the MCA or Motor Club of America name for 4 years because Preserve owned a subsidiary called Motor Club of America Insurance Company. So TVC have to market the memberships under other divisions of TVC such as TVC Plus and ACA (Auto Club of America).
After that stipulation of the agreement was expired, TVC relaunched the name Motor Club of America and MCA in October of 2011 as a Associate Referral opportunity.
KChang, I understand that you and Oz are trying to inform the public costumers about scams out there, and believe me, I’m with you on it. However, at the same time, you are misinforming and misleading the public about companies like TVC/MCA that are legitimate and say all bad, regardless whether or not they’re legit.
Therefore in my conclusion, I believe that MCA is legitimate opportunity, and I know many associates who are in the company are making money, including one lady who worked for TVC Associate for the past 15 years selling memberships and currently making six figures a year.
However, she didn’t work for the last 10 years because she was getting monthly residual checks from TVC.
Instead of making up stories that MCA/TVC is a scam, why don’t you two call the TVC Marketing Associates and ask some questions about the company. The number is on the TVC Matrix website (BTW, that is their real website). I’m sure they’ll answer all the questions instead of calling a scam on a whim.
Call it what you want, it’s still associates being paid to recruit with only a superficial distinction between affiliates and “customers” (signing up to the same company again).
This fits the definition of a pyramid scheme.
Because their business model tells me all I need to know. I’m not interested in sales pitches and marketing PR.
And what exactly have I said/wrote that was “misleading”?
While I appreciate the history of MCA / TVC, can you please cite a source for this info?
Also this info in no way contradicts Oz’s analysis of the business model: members recruiting members, getting paid for recruiting members = pyramid scheme.
If you want to argue “legitimacy”, please stick to actual business model and relevant laws, instead of minutiae that are not related to business model. So far, you haven’t provided details that refutes Oz’s analysis.
I remember when you accused me of “misleading” the public about MPBToday, David.
How’d that one work out for you?
PPBlog
How about do some real researching before you educate people about “Legitimacy”, like Google for example. Google is your best friend…Don’t abuse it.
When you can’t argue against the fact that TVC is just a big recruitment driven scheme, deflect, deflect, deflect.
So you can’t explain why your history lesson somehow proves Oz’s analysis to be wrong, can you?
Shields are down, captain! 😉
so we as tvc associates can’t sell mca products to the general pubic? because if we can then it’s not a pyramid scheme.
A pyramid scheme is if we as tvc associates were selling tvc memberships telling people if they wanted to make money join tvc for let’s say $40 a month and for each member they get to join at $40 a month we as associates would get $4.00 and they would repeat the process. That’s a pyramid scheme… that’s you guys are describing.
If I sell 3 mca memberships as a tvc associate my membership to MCA is free ( note i’m in it for the service not the money opp) after that everything is profit.
If I sell my membership to let’s say someone who has a really beat up old car and it doesn’t always run. I can sell him a membership and as a member of mca if he WANTED he could join tvc to be a associate.
If he does cool if he doesn’t thats cool to because guess what I still get paid $80. The longer that customer keeps his membership the longer I get paid. Pyramid schemes don’t let you do that do they?
Source:
(Don’t Confuse Pyramid Schemes With MLM)
http://www.2createawebsite.com/money/internet-money-making-scams.html
http://www.ftc.gov/speeches/other/dvimf16.shtm
MCA doesn’t have products, the only thing purchaseable is membership to the company.
Fixed.
Agreed.
Whether it’s optional or not doesn’t matter. Solely on the fact that you can join TVC, sell memberships to the same company (MCA) and earn money convincing others to do the same makes it a pyramid scheme.
Signing up again to the same company for free is not sufficient distinction between affiliates and customers.
When you can only make money via recruiting new members, recruitment incentives are quite common. They only emphasise the pyramid scheme nature of the business.
Oh really. So how many retail customers do you have and how many affiliates have you recruited? And why would you refer yourself as “we as tvc associates” if you’re not even in TVC?
I think we’ve already established that MCA is overpriced due to the attached income opportunity.
Chris Carter — there is NO functional separation between TVC membership and MCA membership.
The question is… will people buy MCA membership if you do NOT tell them about “you can also make money if you recruit more members”?
That question is easily answered… how many MCA members did NOT recruit any additional members? (Percentage would do) That would indicate they are there to enjoy the benefits of MCA, not to recruit for TVC.
If VAST MAJORITY of MCA members did recruit additional members (and indeed, there’s specific incentives for them to do so) then they are there to recruit members, and benefits are incidental. In other words, they paid for the right to recruit to earn. That would make TVC/MCA a pyramid scheme.
I’ll cite Burnlounge again: 98% or so of member chose “mogul” (i.e. affiliate), minimal sales to non-members.
Someone in one of my forum groups posted a comment and asked…”Do Someone Have to pay to become an associate? Can they make $80.00 commission without being a member and paying their $19.95 Monthly Fee?”
Someone replied saying “No. Yes”…meaning you can join TVC for free and receive $6.00 for selling MCA memberships but you won’t get the $80 per sale which I do admit sounds like a Pyramid scheme.
If I were running MCA/TVC I would have not made this so confusing lol Our group gets questions like this all the time
Since you guys figured it out why haven’t the ftc?
There is no data whether FTC figured it out or not. We only know it had not publicly acted. But then, we didn’t know that SEC had been investigating Zeek ponzi for MONTHS until Zeek website went dark.
I *hate* to be repeating myself, but that by itself doesn’t prove anything. It’s the RATIO of how many’s doing what (i.e. how many free TVC affiliates are there selling MCA vs. how many TVC/MCA affiliates are there selling MCA, and how many MCA affiliates who did NOT recruit any one.
Technically only MCA (but NOT TVC, no recruit) can be counted as “end user” if you want to count MCA membership as a “product”, much like Burnlounge selling music to non-members.
The overlap cases are the problem. In Burnlounge, as I said before, overlap (free/paid) is 97% or so. There are almost NO free members (in Burnlounge free members earn no cash, merely credit toward the music and merchandise store). It seems that MCA/TVC is the same case. In fact, it’s impossible to tell them apart.
In Burnlounge, affiliates (paid) pays a monthly fee, so you can tell who’s affiliate and who’s merely free member. In TVC/MCA you can’t even tell them apart. The two is thoroughly intermingled.
If you don’t have a clear division between customer, and affiliate, you don’t really have a MLM.
I guess ftc is going to have to go back to the drawing board because Pyramid schemes don’t describe my company.
Everyone said the samething about Global Domains, GVO host then profit, Amway etc I don’t join programs that don’t have a product that I can’t use…well I’ma scratch Amway Thats a pyramid scheme $500 to join just to make little or no money back to cover your investment.
The days of selling lotions and potions are over. Go digital world!!! Pyramid schemes/ pozi schemes don’t last long like – burnlounge-2004-2007 OSGold-2001-2002
A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves promising participants payment or services, primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, rather than supplying any real investment or sale of products or services to the public.
What other people do with the company is there business I’m doing it the way the training material tells me to do it sell customers benefits proof is getting paid not telling companies apart.
If MCA had it’s own website and TVC had it’s own website and they were 2 different companies the affiliates would have a hard time selling MCA memberships not because it’s $120-$480 a yr but because they can go straight to the source and not buy from us.
MCA just wants to make sure we get paid I love MCA!! FTC can’t touch us.. How are we a member of MCA when you can’t join MCA for free but you can join TVC for free?
source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_scheme#Connection_to_multi-level_marketing
You shouldn’t join a program if you don’t intend to use the product thats scamming
@Chris Carter — As I said many times, I have NO PROBLEM with someone paying you commission for selling MCA membership… if you didn’t also join MCA.
If you pay to join MCA, then gets paid to recruit people to join MCA then it is in danger of being a pyramid scheme. That’s the definition from Koscot test and refined by Omnitrition case (and reaffirmed in the Burnlounge case).
While it *seems* to be true that you can join TVC (i.e. NOT join MCA), and sell MCA and get direct commission, a MAJORITY of members seem to NOT be doing that, and thus, it is mostly INSIGNIFICANT and cannot be used as defense. That’s like saying “I’m a little bit legal”.
Your “projection” that you can’t sell MCA if TVC is separate is also untrue. There are plenty of companies that sets up “rotator” that randomly refers visitors to main website to one of the affiliates, or “please enter your zip code so we can refer you to one of our local sales affiliates”.
I have no doubt that you sincerely believe you joined a legitimate company. I am pointing out that their marketing practices makes them VULNERABLE to regulators based on prior cases, and that is a risk to YOU AFFILIATES that you seem to be… willfully ignorant.
You can be a Toyota salesman even if you don’t drive a Toyota. As long as you know all the benefits, and the sales techniques, and is confident and sincere, why does it matter what you drive personally?
The problem is in the business model, not in the affiliate’s personal choices.
I’ll talk more tomorrow I have to go out and recruit people so that they can recruit people and we can repeat this to infinity and beyond so that everyone will have a downline of 11 billion people 🙂
no one’s going to buy MCA for $9.95 a month unless i tell them about the money making opp lol oooook 😉 I only have to exspain the money opp to people who want to make money time to sell sell sell direct 🙂
Maybe I’ll try a cop or judge or better yet a lawyer ttyl
Good luck and don’t let the FTC bite ya!
Oh and I agree with you that it’s sad that a lot of members are not telling people that they can join tvc for free. they do that because they want commissions from customers and people who want to be associates.
That way people think that they don’t have a choice but to be a paying customer great marketing strategy but it’s going to bite them in the rear when there future checks get hit with charge backs because people were just in it for the money opp.
Affiliate programs are free and you get commission off every sale that you make for the company.
The market for making money is bigger than the product that you have to sell. I’ve joined programs where the payou was low like amazons, avon (my wife tried it) you have to sell like $10,000 a month worth of product to see $200-$700 and they call that legit mlm lol mlm is all about the cash for selling something.
Doesn’t mater if it’s a piece of hay. If one person wants to buy it for $.01 and one person want to buy it for $1.00 most people will sell it to the $1.00 person.
I see your argument but this is a money hungry world we live in bills need to be paid and school is a scam to forget college start a business lol ok marketing time
@Chris
If those who join TVC last cannot recruit new people, they don’t earn anything. There’s only a fixed amount of people in this world, ergo the model is unsustainable. It also relies on recruitment (new members cannot earn without it), thus fits the definition of a pyramid scheme.
Sorry but that doesn’t cut it. At the end of the day you earn your money in TVC via recruitment into the same parent company.
Recruitment, recruitment, recruitment.
Only in illegitimate MLM opportunities. And membership is not a product in legitimate MLM. If all you’re selling is membership to something and you’re getting paid out on multiple levels, you have a pyramid scheme.
No excuses.
Then something is very wrong and the product is way too niche-y to make anybody real money, and this “opportunity” may actually be a scam. Everybody is in it to make money, nobody wants to sell anything.
I agree that MCA has a real “product” in that its membership offers real benefits. Whether that product is viable and legitimate, however, is NOT relevant to how the marketing business model works.
Heck, you can start a pyramid scheme to sell candy or any legitimate stuff. 🙂 But we’re getting WAY off topic.
sorry way off topic
To highlight the differentiation between TVC and MCA membership is nothing more than token at best, here’s how TVC is typically marketed:
Published 16th October on a popular Ponzi/Pyramid scheme promotion forum.
You’re all in the same company and are only able to earn by recruiting people into the company itself. End of story.
I’ll let you guys keep thinking it’s a scam. hehe I guess the 1253 dollars in my hand right now just fell from the sky and landed on my front porch. You guys better start rehearsing Chicken Little because ‘The sky is falling!’ ‘The sky is falling’ hahahahaha 😀
The ability to only look at your own bottom line is in now way an indication of how a company operates. The business model is the only thing of relevance.
According to your logic, stealing is legit because well, at the end of the day you have money in your hand.
Epic fail.
It depends on how he got the $1253.00. Did he do it like I am direct selling to customers that are looking to join a motor club just for the club only. Or did he tell them that he can show them how to take $40 and turn it into $80 and be rich because this is sooooooo easy. yeah it’s easy when you do it that way. You’ll lose a lot of sales that way.
Thats when the 98% affiliate ratio comes to play because your not selling the mca membership your selling tvc which is free to join.
They only tell them that after they cough up the $40 bucks. If you wanna sell the $40 for $80m method don’t tell them that you have to be a member of mca.
I can’t find evidence on this conclusion but there are video’s on Youtube of people telling folks that they can join the money opp for free
Ah, the “it paid me” fallacy. Do you mean that as 1) “therefore it’s not a scam”, or 2) “therefore who gives a darn”?
Getting paid has nothing to do with “no a scam”. Zeek ponzi paid people for 2 years. Madoff paid people for like 20 years. So what?
Exactly. Part of FTC’s pyramid definition is how the thing was being marketed. If the “product” cannot be sold without the opportunity, then it can reasonable be argued that it’s NOT the product being sold, but the opportunity itself, and you buy the opportunity and get paid by recruiting more people INTO the opportunity, making it a pyramid scheme.
It’s a sad reflection for the MLM industry when a company does not understand this and does NOT rein in affiliates who make this FUNDAMENTAL MISTAKE in marketing (and sad for affiliates who, instead of studying the problem and learn from it the REAL definition of MLM, start arguing with fallacies)
There also seem to be some confusion among the MCA ranks regarding “residuals” as some seem to be under the impression that the commission is one-time only.
Slight clarification of previous comment: FTC also looks at PROPORTION of product vs. affiliate. Merely offering product is not enough, if not enough people buy it.
In the Burnlounge case (I *hate* to repeat myself, but here goes again) music sales is less than 10% of total company revenue, and 97% of all members are “moguls” (i.e. affiliates who can earn income). There are minimal pure membership sales, and Burnlounge was ruled a pyramid scheme.
Very few people join Burnlounge for music, most people join Burnlounge so they can recruit more people into Burnlounge so they can earn income.
MCA is looking at the same situation: very few people buying MCA for MCA’s sake. Most people buy MCA to get into TVC in order to sell MCA for income.
Dang on shame really
“hey you wanna buy some avon lotion?”
“Uh no thank you”
“ok, hey did you know you can sell this same lotion and get 50% commision”
” oh really thats cool where do I sign up!!!”
lol sad just sad dang you MLM!!!!
Who buys music anymore lol
Not now, sure. 😀 It’s back in, what? 2005-2007? 🙂
Chris Carter said:
The answer to that is BOTH!! If the member signs up with the MCA membership, they don’t have to referred members. They just take advantage what the membership offers and leave at that. However, if a member decides to referred others with the membership, they get paid $80 for every member with NO EXTRA COST!!!
That’s around 15 members a week he got paid for. As far as losing sales, seems to me he’s doing a hell of a job, as long he doesn’t lied to his prospects that way, why not?
And hereby goes the litmus test: how many MCA members did NOT refer/recruit other MCA members, and how many did? (Percentage wise)
FTC wants to see at 51% (or more) of MCA members did NOT recruit other members. That means they bought MCA for MCA, not for the income opportunity.
If that didn’t happen, then MCA is in trouble of being declared a pyramid scheme.
It’s going to be hard for the FTC to prove this. I found three three ways you could look at this.
1) Sell the $9.95-$19.95 packages and they wish not to be part of the $80 program, they like it and register.You will receive $40-$80.
2) You tell the customer that if they like the $19.95 membership it allows them to receive up to $80-$90
3) You can tell them that if they want to be just a tvc matrix associate for free and they can just sell the memberships.
The only way that ossociates would out number customers is if we were telling customers to join as a associate so that they can sell MCA ( the product ) TVC and MCA might be run the same people.
In the back office you have Customers and a section for associates ( people you recruited for the money opp ) I’m starting to figure the whole thing out MCA is smart
MCA has no control over how people are advertising the opportunity which they should.
I agree
@Chris Carter: use “quote” function (right under the name) or write BLOCKQUOTE HTML tags around sections you want quoted.
Exactly. That’s the *real* “MLM compliance” on the affiliate side, that they advertise according to corporate rules that does NOT get corporate into trouble.
Rules that are NOT enforced, to FTC, is WORSE than having no rules at all, as it shows a level of “deception” by corporate.
@David Gibson says “Google is your best friend” … I agree David… So why don’t you go ahead and use it … Give me ONE… Just ONE independent source, on google or otherwise, that points to the veracity of this company’s claims… I’m not asking for testimonials or sales pitches from current affiliates or the company’s own website (which is all you find in a google search) …I want a reputable third party source with no vested interest in promoting the company… JUST ONE! If MCA has been around for “86 years”, this should be incredibly easy to do.
As I’m sure you know, MCA couldn’t even keep a Wikipedia page up for this very reason… It could not provide outside sources which led to a “speedy removal” for violating spam guidelines… You can look this up yourself by searching wiki for MCA and viewing the community discussion… I have issued this same challenge to several other MCA/TVC associates and they have all failed…. If you end up failing as well and choose to continue on with this company then you are either incredibly naive or you are a LYING, THIEVING, CHARLATAN !
If I purchase the lowest level of product at $19.95 and sign someone up at a higher level which I have not purchased. Who gets the commission?
Can you explain this in detail? Who gets commissions for higher products I do not own?
From memory, so long as you’re either purchasing the minimum level of membership or have recruited enough paid members yourself then you earn commissions on each paid member you sign up.
TVC hide their compensation plan from the general public and I don’t have access to it anymore to confirm.
Does Delaware require a license to sell MCA?
pls send this listing and thank u = been researching on this opportunity for days.
Jezmund, you need to know the history to motor clubs to understand. There are 30+ total motor clubs in the U.S. Most motor clubs out there do not have a reputable third party source speaking of them.
The only reason AAA has a lot of attention is because they are the oldest motor club that is still in business. Plus, when AAA was founded, it was a merger of 9 motor clubs into one. Today, AAA is a merge of 50 motor clubs over time. So, yes, AAA is the largest and they get the most press.
Smaller motor clubs don’t get press and that’s really the only reason why they don’t. So, just because MCA doesn’t have a bunch of third party sources talking about them doesn’t automatically make MCA a scam. You sound foolish.
P.S.- Please show me this so called wiki discussion about MCA, because I searched and did not find it.
Did a bit more research on TVC. Turns out TVC was originally NOT INTO CARS AT ALL. TVC = “Trucker’s Voice in Court”, i.e. lawyer insurance for commercial truckers.
In fact, they still operate “TVCWest.com” this way. However, they did not mention they operate under any sort of “Matrix”, yet their website says they do.
When they bought the name Motor Club of America a few years back, they ran pretty much the same stuff for the regular car owners.
None of this actually explains their actual comp plan or sales model though. tvcmatrix.com or tvcmarketing.com goes to a shopping cart where you can buy plan in either TVC (the truck side) or MCA (the car side).
There’s nothing that explains the comp plan, the affiliate agreement, and that sort of things on the website that’s visible to casual visitor. You need a membership to look at genealogy / matrix / blah blah blah. Which goes back to prove what I said before: probably legitimate product/service, sold through potentially illegal marketing methods.
Until MCA/TVC/WHATEVER puts up their comp plan and affiliate agreement for all to see (much like Amway does) and reveal who handles their legal compliance and such the recommendation is still the same: major red and yellow flags, avoid for now.
Correction, TVCWest is an affiliate website, but done correctly. It did NOT recruit associates. It sold membership only.
I put all that with pictures in a new update.
http://amlmskeptic.blogspot.com/2012/10/update-on-motor-club-of-america-mca-and.html
Wait a minute K. Chang. What do you mean by “done correctly”? Are you saying that by not paying for the the MCA product/services and simply becoming an associate, that it makes it completely legal to refer people to the MCA services?
What if I want both the MCA services and income TVC income opportunity?
Herein lies the problem with the TVC Matrix compensation plan. You cannot do the above without participating in an effective pyramid scheme.
You can still participate in the tvc compensation plan if you join as an associate for free you just can’t get any bonuses as a free tvc associate.
EX: if you sell 5 $19.95 mca memberships you will receive $80 per membership you just won’t get the extra $2 per membership. So you will get $400 instead of $410
Also you won’t get the residual income.
I explained this here:
http://amlmskeptic.blogspot.com/2012/10/update-on-motor-club-of-america-mca-and.html
But here’s conclusion:
Hope that makes it… somewhat clearer.
Looking at the tvcmatrix.com website should make it clear that there are two different matrices… a tvc matrix and a mca matrix.
Thus the notion that you can join tvc without joining mca, while technically accurate, is rather irrelevant. TVC by itself is motorclub for truckers. MCA is motorclub for car owners.
Thanks. I almost join MCA two weeks ago, but the moment I realized they didn’t have a wikipedia page, thats when I realized something was fishy.
Glad I found skeptical people who aren’t suckers for illegal MLM tactics.
I see not too many people can read. You can “purchase the services and NOT be an associate.”
Member = Someone who purchases the roadside services and is NOT selling the product. Just using the services.
Associate = Someone who may or may not be a member, that sells the products. So, no one has ever heard of commission-based jobs? They don’t exist right? Yeah right.
When you sign up for Avon, you only get paid when you sell the products right? Or do they just send you checks because you just signed up for Avon. No, they don’t. You have to sell the product to make money.
Same here. I don’t see why it’s so difficult to grasp.
What you can do as a non-affiliate is irrelevant.
As an affiliate, you’re paid to sell membership to the same parent company. There is no differentiation between the business opportunity other than a token no-cost resigning up to the same company.
Avon has a clear distinction between affiliates and retail customers (retail customers don’t join the company at any level). That’s wildly different from having to join the company (membership in and of itself is not a viable product in MLM).
If MCA had nothing to do with TVC, that would somewhat legitimise the opportunity but given it’s the same company, you’re paid to recruit and “customers” spend 30 seconds re-signing up to the same company to also get paid to recruit.
The big question would be out of MCA’s memberlist, how many are also TVC affiliates? Given that we’ve already established MCA’s offering is overpriced against their competition, it’s pretty obvious the only reason you’d sign up to MCA would be for the TVC income opportunity attached.
You appear to be a member, how many MCA members do you have vs. MCA & TVC members?
I actually prefer to sell the product vs the income opportunity. I love the benefits and have been bailed out of a messed up situation (Keys locked in trunk) by MCA.
A lot of people misrepresent MCA by showing money or promising high income. If I talk about the opportunity, I do none of that. I let associates know that it requires time to build.
Are they misrepresenting the company by accurately stating what can be done?
It’s not untrue to market MCA/TVC by telling people that if they recruit a bunch of people on the promise that if they recruit a bunch of people they’ll make money, that they themselves will make money.
You can focus on MCA or you can just treat it like a pyramid scheme (given that MCA owns TVC and signing up again for free to the same company isn’t divisive enough of a distinction between customers and affiliates), which is the problem.
I am a MCA/TVC associate. Look each associate is considered their own individual business. TVC bought MCA. MCA is still a legitimate company. Since we don’t get paid by hours we only get paid by how many sales we make.
MCA is just like AAA but there are more benefits them just roadside assistance. Above all we are selling MCA membership, if they want to also earn income then they too can sell.
Normally I advertise with the job mentioned because we are in either a recession or depression so people want to make money not spend.
MCA is a more well known and trusted name so we use it not TVC (the name of the company that owns MCA and signs my paychecks). Associates don’t distinguish well between the two names because honestly there is no real difference.
If you have to sell memberships to earn an income and this is the only way to earn an income you’ve got a pyramid scheme. And it’s certainly not “ok”.
Whoever owns who it’s the same company and you’re all just earning on the payment of monthly membership fees.
To clarify Oz’s statement… If you’re selling MCA membership, and MCA members can’t refer more members for his or her own bonuses then all are kosher. However, that is not the case.
So you’re essentially paying to join, then get paid for getting others in who ALSO paying to join, and can do the SAME THING you do. That’s DANGEROUSLY CLOSE to a pyramid scheme.
When I found out that in order to sell memberships, I have to buy a membership myself (even though I don’t even own a vehicle), I knew something was wrong.
Any scheme that forces you to buy a product in order to have the right to sell it, regardless of whether you want or need the product, is disingenuous.
But you CAN sell their membership WITHOUT buying the product.
Where is this written down? Is there a scan of the member agreement? Or website, or anything? Or did you simply hear this from whoever recruited you? Where did they get the information? From whoever recruited them? WHERE IS THE SOURCE OF THIS INFORMATION?!?!
Getting paid by membership sales just makes you commission based, doesn’t make you legitimate (or the company).
A company can be illegal if it is marketed the wrong way, i.e. pay to join, get paid by inviting others to pay to join. That is a pyramid scheme.
No one ever doubted that.
Therein lies the problem. Again, I invite those who don’t understand our CONCERNS regarding MCA to study the Burnlounge case
Exactly, you are not selling MCA membership, but the INCOME OPPORTUNITY attached to MCA membership. THAT would make MCA a PYRAMID SCHEME if you end up selling the “opportunity” more than the membership!
Burnlounge did the SAME THING. Burnlounge members are supposed to sell music, but they *can* make money by selling membership too. And a whopping 90%+ sold membership, making it essentially a pyramid scheme, and FTC slapped them HARD.
Stop relying on wishful thinking and start looking at REALITY. We are concerned for YOUR well-being AND that of the company. Burying its figurative head in figurative sand will not make the problem go away.
http://amlmskeptic.blogspot.com/2012/09/scam-study-burnlounge.html
I am not interested in proving it, trying to figure out where it is written down, or even trying to convince you otherwise. But all you have to do is sign up as an associate(no pay) and refer others (affiliate marketing)to get paid. I know a couple of people who have done it.
By the way, where is it written that you DO have to purchase the services in order to promote the services?
Yeah, a pyramid scheme. You don’t get paid to refer free members, they have to pay money.
So you are interested in offering up the defense “sure you can sell without joining”, but you are NOT interested in proving your own words. Did I get that right?
Clearly you’re not interested in supporting your own words.
YOU offered up the explanation that you don’t have to join to sell. YOU are supposed to prove YOUR side.
But you can’t, and now you try to turn it around and somehow it’s up to me to disprove you when you can’t even prove yourself?
You don’t have to purchase the services to sell them. You asked me was it written anywhere. I told you I am not sure.
I also asked you if it is written anywhere that you DO have to purchase their services in order to refer people and get paid to do so. You clearly don’t.
Thing is, I know of 2 people who do not utilize their services and are making an income from MCA. I am just putting it out there that you don’t have to buy the service to sell it. It’s up to you whether or not you want to believe it.
I am not here to convince anyone that MCA is a legitimate service and way to earn an extra income. I was just correcting someone who stated something incorrectly in here. That’s it that’s all.
There was no correction needed because your “correction” is unproven and uncorroborated.
I don’t need to corraborate it. I already know first hand for it to be true. If you don’t believe it, call the 800# and ask for yourself.
Sounds like a simple enough challenge K. Chang. Why not try it and see if you can prove Mrs Young wrong. I’ll put my money on Mrs Young being right though.
Sounds like someone from TVC Matrix needs to get off their a** and start telling it’s members to take down all the “Turn a $40 investment into $80” and “Invest $40 in yourself” webpages, blogs and YouTube videos.
I know, I know, “you can’t blame the company for what its’ “affiliates” do”
Same ol’ same ol’
Sorry, I don’t care for “dares”. Those are best left to kindergarten.
Young threw out the premise, then admitted her own observation is the only proof she can cite. Then she claims she doesn’t need to prove it because she “knew” the truth, where there are others who testify to the opposite (see “Parm” above). There is no third-party printed source that can be used to settle this.
WHY is this simple info NOT made public and easily accessible? Why was it limited to verbal Q&A only? Why is the membership agreement not avialable for all to view?
WHAT ELSE is the company hiding?
This is taken verbatim from the contractor’s agreement. But I am sure there is a “but but but…” coming. LOL
The “but” is… where is this “contractor’s agreement”? Can it be viewed by the general public, or is it limited to “contractors” only?
My last msg isn’t posting for some reason. Do a quick google search under tvc contractor’s agreement. First line item.
Ah, #17 in the policies section. Thank you. THAT was helpful.
I hate to say this, but why is this NOT easily viewable on the TVC website? But enough nagging.
Seems they *want* to do it the right way. Thus, IMHO, most of the problems are CAUSED by the associates (their term) marketing it as an income opportunity.
As I stated before, the main question about this company’s legality is whether its associates are PRIMARILY promoting MCA as a motor club… or as an income opportunity ATTACHED to a motor club membership. And the FTC will likely demand numbers on how many bought MCA but is NOT an associate (percentage).
If they don’t see a MAJORITY of non-associate members, then there will be a problem.
All anyone has to do is a quick Google using the terms tvc invest 40 and they’ll quickly see where the problem/s lay.
The fact TVC hasn’t taken any steps to remove the words “invest” and “investment” and prevent income claims being made speaks for itself.
Genuine M.L.Mers will avoid TVC like the plague.
Get-rich-quickers, on the other hand will swarm to the TVC “opportunity” like flies around a honeypot.
I *think* what LRM is trying to say is that a company can *say* anything they want, but what they actually *do* (or allow their associates to do) is going to be the main thing FTC / SEC look at, and there are prior cases where the company did NOT do enough to rein in the associates.
In fact, Mannatech was severely fined for failing to rein in their affiliates from making bogus claims, if I remember correctly. The claims are so wild, Nobel Laureates got involved.
As I stated before, I am not interested in going back and forth about it. My goal was to correct something that was stated incorrectly. And that was it being said that one cannot sell the services without first being a member and purchasing he service themselves.
That was incorrect. So carry on….
Thank you. Now if only TVC will rein in the overzealous associates…
I will never, ever, ever argue with you on that point. I totally agree.
I actually am an affiliate for MCA among other things, but I do not recruit people to join MCA as an income opportunity. I highlight the benefits of the actual service that MCA provides. I believe that was the original intent of this entire set up, but it’s taken on a new life of it’s own and gone in a different direction. 🙁
Ok, so with all the going back and forth Mrs Young prove that MCA is NOT a scam and its the ill-trained associates with stalking marketing techniques that makes the company look as a scam…
@KT
Dunno what you read but TVC members are paid to recruit new members into the company (MCA/TVC).
Selling memberships in MLM? That’s a pyramid scheme.
@K.T. — what Mrs. Young and I agreed on is that there is not enough information to determine whether it’s illegal or not. It is in a legally gray area, where only additional information, such as percentage of affiliates who DID NOT refer any one, can determine legality.
Her only “correction” was the part whether you have to pay to join in order to recruit people / sell membership, the answer seem to be no. However, it is unknown how many affiliates actually know this, or does it reflect how it’s actually advertised.
What is of concern is TVC/MCA *do* allow people who already joined to “refer” new members as well, and members are compensated for that. THAT makes them at risk of being declared a pyramid scheme instead of MLM.
When you purchase a membership online you have to become a member to tvc which makes you an a associate. And MCA has not been around since 1926 the record goes back to 1973 and connected with Auto club of america in 1976. So oz is right on the fact of this being fishy.
All the companies are own by each other. This is a great scam going on right now because people are jumping in think they will make money and find out they cant just sell the membership.
Then what about the back charges? If a member cancels you get hit with a back charge. Yes it say they will take it out your sales but how long will that last.
I figure that why they want your SSN number so if you dont pay after a period of time they will send it to collections. I would bet they own a collection agency also.
Regarding chargebacks from what I’ve gathered, MCA is counting on members staying with the service for at least 17 months.
If a person decides to cancel the service after say 3 months, the company will deduct $4.62 from the rep’s earnings and multiply it by the remaining number of months left which in this case is 14, resulting in a chargeback of $64.68, as an example.
A person who is satisfied with and enjoys the benefits of the service will likely be a member for long while.
Those who are mainly in it to earn a certain amount,(get rich quick mentality) but have not earned what they had expected within a certain period of time, will likely cancel the service thereby triggering a chargeback.
This was quite an extensive bit of information! But timely! I’ve been approached by quite a few individuals who promote MCA (they never mention TVC) about joining this opportunity.
Never have any of them mentioned charge-backs, licenses, contracts, etc. The catch-phrase is always ‘sign-up for $40, make $80 per person’. Most of them never even mention what the ‘benefits’ are.
I told one of them that I don’t even have a car and was assured that it doesn’t matter because the money I can make would cover everything and then some. Grant it, I do need to make some right-now money. However, I don’t want to get caught up in something that could potentially cause more harm than good.
The plan was to join for a few months, make enough money, then quit. Mainly because I really have no use for any of the services offered – no car, no legal issues, GOD forbid anything medical, don’t travel, etc.
What are the legal and/or financial consequences for members of programs that are found to be illegal?
Matter of fact, the first time I knew anything about TVC was when I was sent to one of the member’s website to sign-up. Needless to say that a flag popped up right away when I had to suffer through that member’s explanation of the 2 entities. 🙁
If you’re asking what the risk is, I don’t think this is the right place to do it – although you might want to go look at Zeek Rewards for a recent example.
Sounds like you were sold on the business opportunity, rather than the product itself. You can already ascertain this through analysis of the compensation plan (membership commissions), however your experience only further highlights the emphasis on recruitment vs. value in the services bundled with TVC membership.
@ Oz, you are totally correct! I found out about the services through my own research, not from any of the members. And, I will definitely do some research about Zeek Rewards as well. Thank you for your response.
Wow, this conversation has been going on for months? That in itself is ridiculous. If somebody needs to ask that many questions then you need to just move on. It’s not that hard to see if it’s a scam or not.
If you can’t understand the difference between MCA and TVC, benefits, members and associates, PYRAMID SCHEME, then just pay your $60 for AAA and carry on. If you want to make some money then go back to your cubicle and go to work. As if that’s not a pyramid scheme in itself!
I read a lot of misinformation in this thread and it saddens me that so many people are ill advised as to what TVC is about, but talk like they know. If you can’t understand it, it’s not meant for you to. PERIOD
There is no difference, it’s the same company.
which ironically mostly comes from TVC members such as yourself.
If you’re in the MLM industry and all you’re selling is memberships to your company or you fail to differentiate between retail customers and your associates, you’re running a pyramid scheme.
Having your affiliates sign up to the same company again for free is not differentiation, it’s a feeble attempt to mask the true nature of the business.
My question is can you just be an affiliate without the membership for MCA and still make $80 dollars when you promote the membership and make a sell?
You do not have to be a member to get paid. The membership gives you the benefits. You can be an associate and get paid the $80, without being a member….
Oh, really, so you want people who just say yes, and not ask questions. Are you looking for sheeple?
Good, what are the laws that are involved? Can you name them? You can’t? Then you have NO IDEA what you’re talking about.
It’s clear you’re the one without any understanding of the issues, and you want more people like yourself.
Chang, Mr. law professor, what law am I breaking by distrubiting infomation and getting paid? If there is one then I need to know!!!!
Who said anything about your distributing information? You said you wanted people who don’t ask questions! You said you know it’s not a scam, but you can’t say why!
Nice try at the derail… not really. Try again.
Anybody that can clearly read can see that is not what i said… the question was more geared toward you anyway. Most of the questions were from you… There’s more than enough information that answers your questions.
Why don’t you sign up as an associate and see. you don’t have to pay for that…mr. skeptic….. You never did say what laws are being broken either….
The commission paid from selling memberships/services (not going to argue semantics) is 1 year ADVANCED commissions and DO COME WITH A CHARGE BACK–I notice that very important point has not been discussed at all.
Just an FYI-chargebacks occur for the first year enrollment and then you are paid “as earned” starting the 13th month (standard insurnace model).
Oh, really, what did you say?
Yes, that’s exact what you said: people want to join should not ask so many questions.
Not only do you derail, you deny what you wrote.
Clearly, you have some internal issues to deal with.
If somebody like you Mr. Chang, thats not even interested in signing up, just interested in saying its a scam, if you sir, need to ask so many questions, why keep doing it?
You’re obviously not getting the answers you’re looking for, so move on… The people that are genuinely interested will do their research and come up with their own conclusions… I don’t deny anything. The words are right there, PLAIN AS DAY.
People see that you’re changing the words up to make it seem like that’s what i said, but in fact, any literate person can see! Regardless of what you say, I’m still getting my 60% off of my dental bill when I go!!! Scam that!!!!
Did I say it’s a scam? You need to get your facts straight before you accuse other people of ****.
“Plain as day”, yet you can’t even name what’s the law and how the company’s definitely NOT breaking it.
Clearly, it’s all in your head. I just wonder what else is in there, or is it rather hollow and empty.
It’s called “concern for your fellow man”
A concept which is apparently increasingly uncommon among those of the “get-rich-quick” and “to h*** with anyone else, as long as I get mine” substrata of society.
Datrick, you have articulated your argument very well. There are readers that understand and appreciate your points of view. I really can’t see what else you can offer so perhaps Mr Chang should move on to the next topic.
At the end of the day, you’re still selling membership to the company you signed up for. Having a company within a company doesn’t change that.
Membership signups paying your commissions? It’s a pyramid scheme and no amount of non-comissionable benefits changes that.
@Lowkey — can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not. It’s hard to tell with this sort of messages. Most people don’t “get” sarcasm online (or in general, much like the Republicans take Stephen Colbert’s “compliments” as face value).
Of course, if you are being sincere, then the question is, why encourage someone who can’t argue worth ****?
I’ve been seeing ads for mca all over craigslist. As mentioned before, there is no distinction between just getting services and being an associate selling their services. All the info is about recruiting ppl (by selling then services).
Bottom line, this thing is a big ponzi scheme and I’m contacting my states attorney general office to investigate. I urge those of you here that also think this us a ponzi scheme to do the same. I appreciate the research you did oz, great work!
Also contacted one of my local news stations and hope they do am investigation. Directed them to this website and hope that those here that feel simmering should be done about this company do the same.
OZ, so then what you are implying and I quote, “Membership signups paying your commissions? It’s a pyramid scheme…” suggests that arguably the largest internet giant, Google, is advertising and promoting a pyramid scheme with their affiliate programs?
I am also a member of Google’s affiliate program as well. And that is EXACTLY how I get paid through them. I do not get paid unless somebody purchase a product that I have to promote through their program.
Where do you get your facts on how a pyramid scheme works? You do so much research on MCA yet noone including yourself is providing proof of your own credibility.
And what I mean by that is in a legal setting when arguing a case either for or against an argument, you have to prove first that the witness or professional presenting the evidence is credible. Where does your credibility lye? You are trying to link MCA to a pyramid scheme correct?
So tell me this. What is your professional experience in successfully exposing pyramid schemes and where do you get your facts on exactly what a pyramid scheme is. What you are doing is providing weak evidence on a company and then making a bold statement with NO credibility that this must be a pyramid scheme.
This is the official US governments definition taken directly from the FTC (Federal Trade Commisions) website…
#1: There is NO inventory loading. The prices for their services are stated clearly with no forcing of recruits to buy more products than they could ever sell.
#2: There is NO lack of retail sales. Their services are NOT only sold between people inside the pyramid structure. As a matter of fact the MAJORITY of my customers are sold on the services.
The fact that they allow you to make money by referring their program to someone else that may purchase it is called an “AFFILIATE” program and NOT a pyramid scheme.
I hope this clears up any misconceptions and profilings that have been made about Motor Club of America.
To add to my previous comment, 100% of MCA’s customers are the general public. The majority of my customers decide to stay with MCA not because of the associate program, which many of them elect not to participate in, but because of the benefits that FAR outweighs the competitions benefits.
Google isn’t an MLM company. They don’t use a MLM compensation plan or business model.
That should be an obvious caveat to the discussion here but I digress. And please don’t start harping on about Costco or Sams Club or other non-MLM companies – it’s been done before and blown to bits.
Yup. You’re not paid to sign people up to Google.
Sorry what was your point?
Common sense.
I’m just a guy with a keyboard. Credibility, lawyers, blahblahblah – none of these define whether or not an MLM company is functioning as a pyramid scheme or not, their business model and compensation plan does.
In MCA/TVC (the same company) you are paid to recruit new members into the company and continue to earn commissions as long as they pay membership fees. Commissions are paid out on multiple levels (MLM), therefore fitting the definition of a pyramid scheme.
Zeek Rewards’ members and management tried to redefine and twist common sense. Ask them (and their lawyers) how that worked out for them.
As for your quote:
That’s pretty much a condensed form of the TVC/MCA compensation plan. It explains exactly what you have to do in TVC/MCA to get paid – that is recruit new members and ensure they continue to pay monthly membership fees.
Uh, every TVC/MCA member is able to particiapte in the compensation plan and is thus an affiliate (please don’t insult your and mine intelligence by pretending MCA and TVC are two different companies).
Resigning up to the same company is not sufficient differentiation between your retail customers and affiliates. Not when they’re functioning as one and the same company.
Some random TVC member tried to spam this article with a Youtube link to some recent MCA affiliate gathering. It was worth noting that all the official promotional material featured MCA, I don’t even remember seeing anyTVC signage.
You’re being paid on multiple levels to sign people up, with residual commissions dependent on those you recruit continuing to pay monthly membership fees.
Those that pay membership fees are then able to earn commissions by signing up new members and ensuring they continue to pay monthly membership fees.
These members are then able to earn commissions by signing up new members and ensuring they continue to pay monthly membership fees.
These… well, I’m sure you get the point.
That’s a load of marketing baloney without official statistics from TVC explicitly stating how many of their MCA signups have not benefitted financially from the compensation plan backing your claims up.
(and also fails to address the fact that they are not retail customers but affiliates of the company meaning there’s still no retail).
We’ve already gone over these supposed “benefits”, the conclusion drawn was MCA was comparatively overpriced (I’m sure someone from the US can chime in here).
And all 100% of them can benefit from recruiting more members. Your point is what, exactly?
That would depend on your definition of “inventory”, wouldn’t?
Besides, that’s an old definition. Look up a more recent case: Burnlounge. Prosecuted as pyramid scheme, no inventory loading.
Ok I read most of the post on here been interested in MCA for a min a friend those this and now a my partner signed up (used car dealership) I had alot of the thoughts on here.
But @oz and K.Chang are missing the biggest point in all this. TVC Marketing is a Marketing company they are one marketing themselves and their sub company. There really is nothing illegal i can see or find.
many are twisting to their liking what is a Pyramid Scheme or MLM. BY far TVC is a MLM. I worked for NPD group for 4yrs the second largest market research company in the WORLD! when you own two companies you can use one to say piggyback on the other.
What it looks like to me is the bought MCA in this current economic system. (fisal Cliff etc..) needed a new less costly legal marketing Advertising campaign that was cost effective. So you offer a referral plan with benefits.
You have to have the product to sale it. You don’t want to hurt the MCA name by attaching these ASS. to the company so that are TVC Ass. That way no one can hurt the product.
Now Yall stress TVC having a product or inventory of some kind. One many must not have any Marketing or MLM background and dont understand ALL companies have a MARKETING PERSONAL OR COMPANY THAT MARKETS THEM!!!
What the Cofffe are doing from what i see. Is one building the only profitalbe company capable up (MCA) using the old school refferal. TWO.. TVC Marketing Will be the new hot primamerica or citigroupfin which many of you may never heard of. Which also allows money of Political campaigns.
I don’t see Political officers puttting themselves in the frontline of a “scheme” But i will say reading this blog was very informative in many ways.
Will i be a member I don’t think so. KNowing that most that have roadside ass. Never really use it 😉 i can’t see paying 240 or 480 a year for it. Those is sound good yea. For those in inner cities with tickets,dui,bond etc yea but i live in the a rural city in Pa. just my 0.2 God bless
What we have here from the unofficial TVC representative is a classic case of misdirection.
The FTC statement says “there are two tell tale signs”
What it does not say is there are “ONLY two tell tale signs”
Change the wording from “pyramid scheme” to “endless chain recruiting scheme” or “hybrid pyramid / endless chain recruiting / ponzi scheme” and smart MLMers will run a mile before wasting their time and money.
get-rich-quickers, on the other hand will be salivating in their Corn Flakes at the chance of making money largely for recruiting fellow get-rich-quickers,
@d600inc
Functionally it’s the same company. And if you’re going to claim their different (which is silly), then TVC has the problem of having no product (membership to other companies is not a legit product in MLM).
So being the same company, all affiliates are paid to do is recruit others into the scheme, with commissions having nothing to do with the “product” itself. So long as everyone keeps paying monthly membership fees, regardless of whether the service is used everyone earns a commission.
Of course not. Without the pyramid scheme income opportunity attached nobody would.
I don’t know how to box a quote it green so I will have to state your quoted replies within quotation marks.. So I will begin.
You quoted “So being the same company, all affiliates are paid to do is recruit others into the scheme, with commissions having nothing to do with the “product” itself.”
Far from the truth. They do not get paid for their recruiting efforts. Affiliates are paid commissions only if a new member purchases one of their services.
The purchasing steps clearly state that they are purchasing a service NOT a business opportunity.
Everything is stated clearly in black and white. So your statement “…with commissions having nothing to do with the “product” itself.” Is completely FALSE.
Your point that MCA is more expensive is equally noted. However, I fail to see the relevance. Is your goal to educate the general public on mathematics?
Because I am fully aware of that $20*12 months equals $240.
Or is your goal to convince the general public not to purchase this service because you feel that it is overpriced… and therefore they should feel the same way?
I ran out of gas on US19 in Florida. An MCA tow truck driver was there in 20 minutes and is documented on video. Additionally, they offer unlimited towing if it were ever needed. The comparative AAA members that pay $79/year are limited to 3 tows per year!
Additionally I have had AAA service in the past. For lack of better words… THEY SUCK! It took them almost 2 hours to show up to my vehicle with 2 children sitting in the back seat. I hear similar stories every day. As the old cliche goes… you get what you pay for!
To sum up my train of thought, Is MCA more expensive in the long run? YES. Do I think it is worth the price of the service WITHOUT the affiliate program. YES!
One last note that everyone in this post failed to address was.. Do I have an option to cancel at any time and still participate in the affiliate program and make money? YES.
Will I? NO, because I love their service and I love the fact that they give me the opportunity to make money with a company that offers a great service.
That alone is worth more than just the $20 that I am willing to pay monthly.
I am not going to deny that this is also a money making opportunity. This is a huge money making opportunity. But the only ones who seem to be speaking badly about MCA and its services are the “skeptics” who are not or have never been a member.
Is it possible, Oz, that your resentment comes from the fact that you see all these people making money and you can never participate in this program? There are two words that come to mind when I hear speaking ill will of something or someone else having never experienced it themselves… profiling and prejudice.
I have nothing but respect for your Oz, I appreciate your feedback, and I see you as a very intelligent individual. My goal is not to offend you. I am simply expressing how I feel in regards to your comments.
And to quote another old saying… “You have to walk the walk before you can talk the talk.” I consider myself a very outspoken person.
So trust me when I say this, if I thought after joining MCA there was any shady business going on that I would cancel in a heartbeat.
MCA has done nothing illegal or underhanded in its business dealings. They cannot set up an organization as large as they are without going through the proper legal processes first.
They are regulated by the federal government and even have to pay taxes. They also have to report taxes and earnings yearly for every associate that works for them.
Are there shady individuals who are promoting and misrepresenting MCA incorrectly and give them a bad name? YES there are. However they have nothing to do with my personal and future relationship with MCA.
Membership is not service. Anyone who signs up to membership with MCA auto qualifies themselves to earn commissions by recruiting new members.
Yes they have to sign up to the same company again (at no cost) but this doesn’t change the fact that it’s all within the same company.
Do you earn a commission when someone uses the roadside assistance? No.
You earn a commission when they pay their membership fees. That’s what your earning off and that has nothing to do with use of the “product”. Membership is not a product in MLM.
Overpriced products and services are a common hallmark of pyramid schemes to mask the fact that membership fees are solely propping up a recruitment driven compensation plan.
That appears to be the case here. Nobody pays for overpriced products and services without an income opportunity attached.
by recruiting new members into the scheme and ensuring they continue to pay their monthly membership fees.
Yes, we get it.
You don’t need to be a member to analyse a business model. This is common false logic pushed by those participating in pyramid schemes.
No.
And this is also another common trait, attempting to derail the topic by shifting the focus of the discussion.
…and this would be attempting to draw a comparison between racism and analysis of a shonky business model. Oh dear.
Cheers, but that doesn’t change the fact that MCA has no retail customers (everyone has access to the compensation plan via TVC which is the same company) and members are paid to recruit new members, with residual commissions dependent on all members continuing to pay monthly membership fees.
Facts are facts.
One fact you could provide is how many TVC affiliates you have in your downline vs. those members who have not recruited a single new member. Always interesting for the statistics.
So you’re saying “refer 3 and it’s free” is not true? You cannot “make back” your membership cost by recruiting 3 people to join MCA?
Do you get more for paying more? Or is that excessive cost just go toward paying the commission?
Why should any one pay $240 a year instead of 120 or 70 a year for road service and such? You’re trying to SELL the more expensive stuff. You need to JUSTIFY the cost, and so far you’re “I don’t see that has to do with anything”.
Your subsequent statements comparing the tow service does a much better job, so you obviously do see the relevance. Clearly, you had a “senior moment”.
Any way, you also had a huge internal conflict, as you wrote both
and
Since you accept that this is a money-making opportunity it must be the company itself that denies it is a money-making business opportunity. So they are the liar, right? Or perhaps you made a huge mistake?
So catching a cold would make me a cold expert? So I have to experience death to join the mortuary business? Please don’t sprout faulty logic like that.
We’re talking about the INCOME OPPORTUNITY, the COMP PLAN, not the service itself. NOBODY EVER DOUBTED that service is real, but good service does NOT mean the comp plan is legal. You can marry a pyramid scheme to ANYTHING legal.
You’re basically claiming that MCA’s service validates the comp plan when that clearly is not true.
Wondering, if i purchased a membership, paid monthly but canceled it, will i still get paid when i sign up people or would i have to have one of the types of memberships to get paid?
Interesting press with everything here. I have worked as an associate with TVC Marketing since 1990.
TVC bought MCA and moved it from NJ to Oklahoma. TVC is the parent company for several motor clubs as well as the Pro-Driver division of the company. I can say after 20+ years the residual pay is still here for me and several hundred other associates across the US and Canada.
I have never missed a Friday pay day since I started and feel very blessed to have a company with sound leadership, great compensation and a fair marketing plan. You can be an associate and sell any memberships TVC offers. You will earn full commission.
However, renewals and overrides on your personal memberships as well as your team will depend on your participation as a member. The matrix reward is based on you personally having a membership, not on recruiting or selling although you can grow your reward faster if you participate in adding people.
I am proud to say several on my team are high 6 figure income earners and have been for several years, including ME! I have watched people come and go, companies come and go yet the compensation plan has never changed; commission pay has increased for the associates and rewards programs have been put into place for member and associates.
I am proud to have a team that has worked with this company and with me for years and we are all extremely happy with what we earn. Yes, a little work is required to get there, no freebies but an equal opportunity for everyone.
Knowledge is key, everything is in your back office ready for you to read and learn. Love the fact that this company has NO hidden agenda.
Danger, danger Will Robinson!
Please. It’s all about recruitment and whether you or your upline does it it’s still recruitment.
I have several members getting a check every month that have NEVER sponsored or sold a membership…it is a reward for being a loyal customer.
Yes, your participation by selling a membership with each person that is an associate will make your matrix reward grow faster. Recruiting doesn’t pay a commission unless a membership is sold. Hope this helps you.
Like I said, whether your upline recruits or you do the commissions are still based on recruitment of new members and payment of monthly membership fees.
You recruit = bigger commissions upfront.
Upline/downline recruits = slower commissions.
Yeah I get it. You need to get recruitment is recruitment.
Danger, danger!
OZ say,
Ummm, ever heard of sales jobs OZ?! If a used car salesman doesn’t sell cars, GUESS WHAT?? He’s not paid! My cousin works at a furniture store and works on commission ONLY. Guess what? If he doesn’t sell any furniture, he DOESN’T GET PAID.
MCA Associates are paid based on the number of memberships they sell just like any other sales person. MCA offers REAL PRODUCTS & SERVICES. A PYRAMID SCHEME OFFERS NADA…
My husband and I got a flat tire this weekend and thanks to MCA we were able to get emergency roadside assistance. I had AAA in the past but like MCA much better. Unlike AAA, I can call MCA 50 or 100 times a year and will never be turned away for emergency services.
Please keep in mind that TVC’s affiliate program just started in 2011 so it’s fairly new, give them time to revamp their website if that’s your issue, smdh.
When you can prove that they offer NO REAL BENEFITS OR SERVICES then we will buy into the pyramid scheme… until then, stop boring us with your theories. My husband received a 25% discount on his rental car with HERTZ just by being a MOTOR CLUB OF AMERICA MEMBER.
Now people, just ask yourself this one question. Would BIG corporations like ENTERPRISE, HERTZ, and a number of HUGE hotel/motel CHAINS partner with MCA/TVC MATRIX if they thought (knew) they were a pyramid scheme?!
Oz is just another MCA associate who didn’t make money and now he’s trying to make the company look bad.
Yes, but we only discuss MLM here.
Not MLM.
Not MLM.
Yup, and in MLM that means it’s a pyramid scheme. What’s attached to the membership does not matter.
1. Membership is not a valid product in MLM, otherwise it’s just a recruitment driven pyramid scheme paying out on multiple levels.
2. Many modern pyramid schemes hide behind a token product.
Uh two years is not “new”. We also don’t turn blind eyes to pyramid schemes here, we call them out for what they are.
Namedrop all you want as nobody is questioning the legitimacy of the service (other than it being overpriced to prop up the compensation plan), only the income opportunity attached – which operates as a pyramid scheme.
Oh dear…
Perhaps you need to read some *real* definitions of pyramid schemes… vs. MLM
http://www.ftc.gov/speeches/other/dvimf16.shtm
As “membership” = “new recruits”, and everybody in TVC has joined the MLM system (refer 3 and your membership’s free!), what exactly are you getting paid for at TVC? Hmmm?
He’s been around MLM and such a lot longer than MCA’s MLM program. Your random ad hominem attack really illustrates your potty mouth, and I hope you’re just being you, not as a MCA associate. Because if you’re a typical MCA associate, it is doomed.
Gee,
Do you know Oz personally or do you claim to have psychic abilities ??
Tell me, Celina, of the thousands of possible reasons for Oz making the observations he does, why on earth would you come up with that as “THE” reason ??
I am a member of Motor Club of America and I believe it is much better and less burdensome than many of the other jobs that are being offered by our country so why argue this one and not the one that is the true problem and truly screwing a much larger amount of people.
if scams, pyramid schemes, and putting in more than you get out, are the main basis of one trying to find fault in a business or a corporations systematic structure..
I am an MCA member who actually continually flips his own money by finding people and paying for them to join MCA myself or having them pay to join and reimbursing their money back..
There is no down side to this or no loss of income when you are a platinum member with thousands of friends on a social network and other avenues.. I create everyone advertising materials..
From their videos, to their other marketing images.. This has been better and more beneficial than any other job I have had..
Especially the ones that slave work you and dont even provide any benefits or financial increases..
Thanks MCA/TVC or whoever I need to thank because you are doing more than every other job alot of us members have ever had..
Damn the negatives who wont focus on correcting the structure of the thousands of jobs around america that truly slave work you and dont give you raises nor benefits even thought we know the name of their company and everything these people are questioning about MCA.. #GETOUTOFHERE!
Christ that must be some strong koolaid.
Nicely done, nicely done. Cut the crap son, you’re not paying for their annual membership (payable monthly), which is where your commissions come from.
If you were putting in as much as you were paid in commissions, it’s be a zero sum game – Like I said though, nice try.
Except when those thousands of friends you screwed realise what you dragged them into and that the only way they can earn any commissions is to recruit people.
I suppose that’s when the ‘but you knew the risks!’ speech gets trotted out. Too bad by then it’s too late.
On behalf of the billions of people around the world who don’t work as slaves, I offer you my heartfelt pity that you feel after whatever choices you made in life that only slave work is available to you as an alternative to participating in recruitment schemes.
its a scam thats is just coming to light sooner or later all will see someone like Bernard Madoff was running it and all you folks have been sucked in..
the shame is its the poor folks falling for this scam they wont pitch this to people with money why because they know better offer this crap to a lawyer or a doctor they will send em packing quick fast.
poor folks look for a way to give there children something anything better because the paychk just barely makes it sure the promiss of 80 for 40 saounds like a dream come true,,,fucking scam,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Although I am not a member my research shows that they work within the perameters of the law. You are paid for selling a product. If you sold life insurance you get paid upfront commissions and will be charged back if the policy cancels.
Although insurance companies are not a MLM per se they business motto is the same. All companies are multi level structure. And everyone is paid on the selling of a product or service whether the consumer uses it or not. Coke’s CEO,CO,VP etc are paid more than the people at the bottom (aka Multi level).
MCA products include insurance sells, this is why certain states require reps to purchase licenses to sell insurance.
The problem MCA/TVC is gonna run into is the marketing ploy of some of its reps. They will be fined as many companies are but will not be proven a pyramid scheme.
NBC News Philadelphia covered a story on how their product save a couple over 20k in expenses. Also 100s of 1000s of people have signed up the services without becoming a rep.
The are a company that helps people to subsidize your income in these trying times however the need to do a better job of training and policing their people have
@Geo
In MLM membership is not a viable product.
Correct, so let’s not waste our time discussing them.
MLM != multilevel structure.
MLM = multilevel marketing.
This is a specific definition and it pertains to the compensation plan. Your attempt to generalise this term is fail.
Yeah so… that’s not the definition of MLM. Points for effort though (like nobody’s ever pulled the “everything is a pyramid” line before).
that they’re selling membership to the company itself and paying out commissions on recruitment of new members using an MLM compensation plan.
@Oz Multi Level Marketing derived from Multi Level Structure so yes they are one in the same. Two they offer a product not a membership (although reps use the wrong verbiage) according to the FTC they sale a product.
The FTC is looking for them to train their reps and change their languages. I will not get in a sparring match with you because opinions are like assholes (everybody has one).
Make sure you check facts with the people who regulate not blogs. In looking at your comments it is obvious you don’t entertain anyone’s opinion but your own…Happy Blogging I’m gone!!!
No.
My house is a multi-level structure and it sure isn’t an MLM company.
No MLM compensation plan? Then it’s not MLM.
Oh please, the reps are wholly accurate in claiming they’re selling membership.
Can I buy anything from TVC without signing up as a member? No. Therefore I’m buying membership. When you pay commissions on the recruitment of new members in MLM, what you attach to the membership becomes irrelevant.
What, no source? Not even your arse?
The FTC don’t make their investigations public unless court action follows. So unless you can provide information direct from TVC confirming an FTC investigation and subsequent recommendations the above is pure BS.
Toodles.
Im an online college student and i was considering joing the MCA team, but im a bit concerned on how i get paid and what exactly would i be getting paid to do…HELP!
@CC — you are paid for recruiting others into buying MCA membership, which is, as they claim “better than AAA”.
The main question is… are people recruiting you telling you to recruit people to join MCA as a motor club… Or to recruit people to join MCA as an INCOME OPPORTUNITY?
What are *they* teaching you, and do they practice what they teach?
MCA seems to be some sort of a ponzi scheme. I requested more information about this and here is info from the site I was sent to:
Apparently you can just pay $29.99 or $39.99 a month to be an “investor” and do nothing and still earn money. I think this will just get shut down and people will lose money. I suggest staying far away from this!
SEEMS THAT TVC MARKETING las vegas CLOSED DOWN).
I think that entry is out of date.
There’s another BBB entry in Oklahoma for “TVC” that seems current.
Mike, TVC Marketing Associates is based out of Oklahoma City, not in Las Vegas. Please do some research before you come out looking like an ass.
http://www.bbb.org/oklahoma-city/business-reviews/road-service-automotive/tvc-in-oklahoma-city-ok-9002308
I’m an MCA associate of motor club of america
If you have any question about the company please call them
(866)467-2221 press #1 to talk to associate service’s
PLease get your information CORRECT. Any one can call this Numbers “ANYONE”
The problem with MCA is every f***ing affiliate is claiming to be an official rep and tried to get a business listing, which leads them into getting listed by BBB and such.
But the OKC address is correct, confirmed by TVCMatrix website.
I am so glad I found this. MCA ( Had no idea it was referred to as TVC as well) has EXPLODED all over my twitter.
Being the researcher that I am, I looked them up & was irritated with the amount of associates flashing cash with no information about the job description or company whatsoever. & when I started asking questions I was told, “email me or DM me on twitter, text me“….why isn’t any of this made clear from jump off?
I’ve gotten into COUNTLESS debates with MCA/TVC associates via for calling out their company for what it is & the ONLY defense ever used is “I’m making x amount of money per week” and William such and such founded MCA (with no mention of it being under new management in the 80s) and NO mention of TVC, what it is, & how it operates.
Not only that but no SERVICE is being sold (check the MCA hashtag on twitter) but they all y “Do you want to make money?”
I’m utterly irritated with the amount of people who dont have a clue who they work for (they don’t) and all the innocent people who think this is legit & legal (because the associates tell them it is and most dont even KNOW because they have not done their research) being suckered into such BAFOONERY ( for lack of a better word).
I could rant on but I think I’ve vented enough. Lol. Thanks for this though. I’ll definately be referring people here to save myself time & a headache.
what states require a drives license in order to promote Mca
I’m sorry hun but your mistaken and I’m very sorry if your sponsor left you stranded and didn’t help you.
Tvc Is The Marketing Arm Of MCA, They Purchase Mca & All It’s Customers & Have Joint Ventured With Us (MCA). Mca & Tvc Were Both Individual Companies At One Point.
Mca Was Founded In 1926 As Tvc Marketing Was Founded In 1987. Mca Provided Roadside Assistance Benefits & Services As Tvc Provided Coverage To Both Truckers & Transportation Businesses.
We Have Joined Ventures & Now Offer Coverage’s & Benefits Way Beyond Any Other Motor Club, Discount Club Or Membership Club. The Best Coverage Ever Made In History.
Since Combining Our 2 Amazing Companies, We Have Maximized The Amount Of Benefits To Protect Our Customers By Giving Them Access To Over $150,000 Worth Of Coverage & Benefits.
We Truly Are A Real, 100% Legitimate Company, But Some Of Our Reps Make Us Look Really Bad, It’s Not Their Fault.
Some Of Them Had Crappy Sponsors & Was Not Trained Right. Please Forgive Them & Please Stop Saying Our Amazing Companies Are Scams Cause We Truly Aren’t.
How your affiliates are trained doesn’t make something a pyramid scheme, the business model does.
Selling memberships to an MLM income opportunity and earning commissions for doing so? Pyramid scheme.
Getting people to sign up to the same company again at no charge is just silly psuedo-compliance.
If the business model allows its reps to misrepresent the business without much of a consequence, then it is DEFINITELY the business’s fault for not TRAINING the reps PROPERLY.
The lack of clear separation between MCA the car club and TVCMatrix (the income opportunity) makes it look like a pyramid scheme, even when it may not be.
MCA has the SAME PROBLEM as Herbalife: it doesn’t know how many of the members are in for the car club, and how many are in for the income opportunity (nor does it care to publish the number).
As someone in MLM once said (I’m quoting KT quoting someone else)… If it quacks like a duck, and waddles like a duck, it’ll be shot like a duck!
And MCA/TVC is quacking and waddling like a pyramid scheme. Tell corporate to consult a MLM attorney ASAP. It’s for their own good. They *can* be legal, why take the chance?
Our Company does train our people the right way, but we have some people doing things their own way and do it the way they want to. Why? Because they are Independent Contractors/Associates.
Basically they run their OWN business, like a franchise but without all the headache and financial burdens it comes with, so it’s up to the individual to promote it correctly or people won’t follow them or even bother with them cause their not being trust worthy.
I frown upon these misleading individuals, but we do have groups and individuals like myself that promote correctly, add additional training and help and promote both the benefits and the opportunity, not just the opportunity.
And If I find something out there that’s NOT representing our company the right way and has false information, I let them know but most of them just act like idiots and just don’t care, they only care about making the money and not about helping people.
Sad but true & I hope this comes to a stop cause these individuals are really putting our name to shame.
You are all paid under the same compensation plan and business model. This business model requires affiliates to sell TVC memberships, with said membership qualifying you to participate in the TVC income opportunity (which pays commissions to recruit new affiliates).
How you market it is irrelevant, the mechanics of the business model are all that matters. A recruitment scheme is still a recruitment scheme regardless of what it’s attached to or how affiliates market it.
I’d even go so far as to state the affiliates you are complaining about are in effect not the misleading ones. They are at least marketing the opportunity for what it is and being upfront about how TVC affiliates earn commissions.
Any affiliate pretending this is about auto club benefits is the one doing the misleading. If it was about the benefits, why have a recruitment-driven MLM scheme attached?
And please don’t waste our time suggesting “this is the most effective way to market the benefits” or some such. Attaching a pyramid scheme is never the most effective way to market anything other than the income opportunity itself.
Much love to you all. Everyone is entitled to their opinion 😉
I just wanted to speak my mind on how I feel about this post. You guys all have a great day. I’m sorry if your not religious but just wanted to say God Bless you all.
Ps: I absolutely LOVE my coverage with MCA as well as being an Independent Contractor/Associate with MCA & Tvc Marketing. The best decision I ever made in my life. Coverage wise AND income wise.
What opinion?
TVC affiliates are paid to recruit into the scheme, facts are facts.
Is that the company position, or did you just made that up on your own?
Before you answer, let me remind you that Mannatech was sued (by a Nobel Laureate no less) for misleading claims made by its affiliates.
Care to revise that statement now? (That company is NOT responsible for misrepresentations made by affiliates?)
Good… are you in the majority, or minority? I doubt you can answer that without access to corporate records, which I doubt you have. Don’t answer unless you care to show proof, because it’d be purely your OPINION otherwise.
Perhaps you should arm yourself with facts before you attempt to debate the issues.
Hi my name is Tyrell, I’m a independent associate of MCA.
1. To become an associate with TVC is free just go to tvcmatrix and click become an associate on the right hand side.
After you completing your registration process you are provide a personal website so you can market the MCA services.
The site above is the company website anyone can register here.. anyone.
2. Now you need to fill out your w-9 form for your taxes to be report to the IRS and fill out your independent contract agreement.
You will also need to check your “STATE REQUIREMENTS” some state require you to have a Motor Club LIC#…. so you can sell the services in your state.
All forms must be faxed or Mailed to TVC Marketing.
3. Now you can Market the MCA service’s. Every time you sell a MCA Membership will be paid $80.00 commission they charge $3.00 for processing fee. when your check is direct deposit
4. This is how it is done OZ and K Chang by the way I like that name K.Chang.
Now For anyone that is interested there is no money exchange hand to hand if you want to be a associate just go to the website you don’t have to go through people with money in there mouth lol..
this company is Legit. do your research everyone and have a great day 🙂
anyone can be an associate it cost you nothing to refer business. that would be illegal…
$40 is for the MCA membership service’s okay everyone.
You’re still selling membership to the company. TVC is MCA, it’s the same thing. Signing up again to the same company does not differentiate customers from affiliates.
And from what I understand, customers are virtually non-existant in TVC so it’s a moot point anyway. Just a bunch of affiliates being paid to recruit new defacto affiliates (because hardly anyone signs up as a customer).
Well, there are supposed to be quite a bit of sales of the service membership (i.e. auto club service). I’ll agree PARTLY with those defenders that quite a bit of marketing talk online do seem to HEAVILY concentrate on the recruiting aspect.
The problem is FTC or whoever won’t care what the company’s INTENTIONS are. They will judge that the ACTIONS (or lack of) and INFER the intentions from that.
And if they don’t rein in the reps who’re treating it as a pyramid scheme (recruit more recruiters who also buy the auto club membership!) then the company will be in trouble sooner or later.
So the “defenders”… Petition your corporate HQ to rein in those “abusers”… or you will ALL be dragged down by those “irresponsible” people. Focus your efforts on THAT, instead of trying to debate on what is or is not a pyramid scheme.
OZ that’s how insurance company works. If your going to market there product or services you need to sign a contract.
That why it is requied to fill out a tvc independent associate contract agreement and check your state requirements for license.
You have to fill out your personal info to tvc marketing, if you don’t they wouldn’t know who is selling there services.
If I wanted to sell a service for Allstate or uusa or geico I have to do the same thing give them my info and sign a contract with them.
If I want to use there service’s there not going to give it to me for free I have to pay for it….
There are a lot of people in this company that are not a MCA/associate people are cheap Oz. people come in just to sell the services. And they don’t have the service.
And that is fine… Not everyone selling a Lamborghini owns one. They know if they sell one the commission are great….
All of this info is located on there website site you have to do is click the tabs on the site and call them… I don’t see what the problem is…..
Now if your talking about people marketing the company there always going to be a couple of jackass we all no one
You can write them off as jackasses but at the end of the day they are only marketing the TVC as an MLM income opportunity.
If there was an actual distinction between retail subscribers and affiliates what they are doing (marketing the income opportunity) wouldn’t be possible.
As it stands you market TVC as a monthly fee-based subscription opportunity, with those paying fees having to recruit new affiliates who do the same.
You can replace the auto stuff with anything and it makes no difference to this type of marketing. That’s not a problem with how the affiliates market it (pseudo-compliance), it’s an inherent problem with the TVC business model and compensation plan.
Mind you this is from an MLM perspective, what insurance companies do is irrelevant.
Insurance companies recruit agents, not “affiliates” who can also recruit affiliates and benefit off affiliates. (In other words, insurance companies are not MLMs)
Whenever you mix MLM with ANYTHING, you have to watch out for concerns of pyramid scheme. Without a CLEAR separation of customer/end user and affiliate, there’s a danger of the company being declared illegal pyramid scheme. The viability of the product or the reputation of the industry is almost irrelevant.
Hi K. Chang,
I’m a broker I know the language in the industry, I sale car insurance and home owner insurance you are mixing a MLM with a direct referral company.
Insurance company recruit agent? broker do all the hiring for there office anyone can be a broker its not hard. I can go on and on about the industry….
I hire associate agent or whatever people are calling themselves these days they work under me. when they sale a service I make money off there sale.
The more associate agent affiliate or whatever people are calling themselves doesn’t change the fact I make a fee or percentage from them. They can also do the same.
Hey Oz, Why do you say in your comments that I market TVC as a monthly fee?????? I never said that. that would be illegal this is not a pay to play program….
Again for anyone that is reading this post. it is ILLEGAL TO PAY TO PLAY……. TVC doesn’t not take up front money or any money to market there MCA service’s. if you want to purchase a membership it is $39.90
I think I know what the problem is here I’m reading the older comments and there a lot of mix info on here…
OZ and K. Chang I respect you guys I was with you on the ZEEK rewards blow up. But on this TVC/MCA business I know how it works and I have to say that you guys are wrong and misinform on this one…. You can’t win them all…
Trust me guys….
Your single level affiliate experience is entirely irrelevant to analysis of an MLM company.
I say “x”, you counter with “y” and ignore “x”.
By having paper-thin differentiation between affiliates and customers, you wind up with a company full of affiliates and a negligible amount of customers.
Case in point, how many TVC non-affiliate customers do you have vs. recruited TVC affiliates?
We’ve already established earlier in the comments that TVC are comparitevely overpriced, as such the chance of someone paying for it without affiliate membership is slim to none.
In MLM, a company paying commissions on membership to said company with no retail is a pyramid scheme. Irrespective of whether a retail option exists or not.
Simply having a retail option isn’t enough, if the company is set such that virtually everyone in it is an affiliate (‘hey and you can earn money recruiting others, you just have to click your mouse a few times and sign up again to the same company!’), then the retail offering becomes a moot point.
You mentioned Zeek Rewards, they had a retail offering too. Didn’t matter though because only 2% of the revenue was generated from it.
Funny how that goes, we had an army of people telling us the same thing about Zeek back in the day.
Analysis is analysis, it’s based on the company’s compensation plan nothing else.
I complete understand I was against ZEEK REWARDS they didn’t have a product at all. just copy paste make money???? Plus you had to put money in to it to make money…. Two different business all the way around. I don’t put money into to TVC to make money that would be a scam….
OZ WHY DO YOU KEEP SAYING PAYING TVC ?????? YOU DON’T HAVE TO PAY TO BECOME AN ASSOCIATE WITH TVC THAT IS ILLEGAL…
You don’t have to pay TVC ANTHING to become an associate… They just market a service’s.
IM NOT INGORING ANYTHING…. I just dont understand why you don’t get it?????
It’s a very simple process….
If I don’t want to buy or purshace the MCA service that fine. I can still refer the services out to anyone and you will make a commission. I don’t make money for signing up associate… How can I make money for telling some one to be an associate??? You cant pay to be an associate that will be ILLEGAL once again no money is transfer for you to become associate.
You make money for selling a mca membership witch is $19.95 a month.
If You don’t sell a membership you don’t make any money period…
Oz a membership is not an associate.
So where is the scam at???
You don’t have to pay to play witch is ILLEGAL.
you have to fill out paper work to be a contracted to refer for the MCA membership.. At No cost to you.
You fill out a w-9.
Check your state requirements for Lic info.
Submitt your info to TVC then you can sell the MCA services.. All that at no cost…..
To answer you question if the company ends up with more associate witch dont have to pay to become an associate witch is ILLEGAL EVERYONE.
Nothing will happen because the associate ARE NOT PAYING ANTHING TO STAY AN ASSOCIATE. The are independent contractor that market.
If they don’t sell a MCA membership they are not paid commission.
🙂
Then you were against it for the wrong reason. They had a product, penny auction bids.
One is a Ponzi scheme, the other a pyramid. Vindicating one off the other is a pointless excercise.
I didn’t say you had to pay to become an affiliate, infact I’ve stated multiple times you don’t. Again, I say “x”, you counter with “y” and ignore “x”.
“If” isn’t good enough. TVC affiliates are paid to recruit new members into the scheme. Affiliate membership is the token process of signing up to the same company again at no charge (psuedo-compliance). Thus marketing the membership with the attached income opportunity is how most if not all TVC affiliates wind up marketing the scheme.
This is false. MLM companies without retail sales of something to non-affiliates (I believe someone mentioned earlier in the comments self-qualification is possible in TVC via MCA membership purchase) are one of two things, a pyramid scheme or Ponzi.
They are first and foremost an MLM company. If TVC was a single level affiliate opportunity we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
I like you OZ and K. Chang you guys are great. I will always support your site…
Oh and you didn’t answer the question:
How many TVC affiliates have to recruited vs. MCA non-affiliate customers?
Be honest…
So your saying is if it was a single level program it will be okay? Oz Quote if TVC was a single level affiliate opportunity we wouldn’t be having this conversation….
So if it safe to say the structure of the company is fine you just don’t agree with the 2nd level and 3rd level and down.
Right…..
To be honest with you Oz, you can share the tvc website with anyone there’s no limited Oz. but the problem with other are they are lying to people saying join MCA its a great business opportunity.
They should be saying buy a MCA membership the have great service’s.
What they are doing is wrong not all but some.
People call me all the time asking me for advice and I tell them don’t lie to other you are selling a membership and nothing else.
TVC/MCA is an MLM company. The structure is not fine in it’s present format, as there’s sufficiently inadequate differentiation between affiliates and customers, resulting in it being marketing as a membership-driven income opportunity (pyramid scheme).
There is no ill truth to what they are saying. MCA = TVC, and quite obviously nobody is selling MCA without the income opportunity. Given this requires nothing more than re-signing up again to the same company, effectively the two are one and the same for affiliates to market.
You getting upset about it is no different to Zeek Rewards’ affiliates getting upset at people marketing as an investment opportunity and crapping on about how Zeek Rewards was about retail bids.
The ironies are delicious.
Third and last time I’ll ask:
(Ozedit: Don’t waste my time deflecting with marketing spin BS. Answer the question.)
Two additional comment attempts (marked as spam) and you continue to dodge and weave from the simply question put forth to you four times now.
Thus I can only conclude that you, like every other TVC affiliate, has recruited more TVC affiliates than non-affiliate customers.
That, right there, is the problem. There is no retail.
Crapping on about charge-backs and the insurance industry is irrelevant.
@Tyrell, your attempt to defend your “opportunity” is admirable, if slightly replaced.
It is NOT us you need to convince. It is your own corporate, as I said before. THEY need to go rein in the abusers and whatnot. THEN nobody, even us, will have much to say. (That, and they to differentiate between an affiliate and a customer-member).
Anything else you add really is a bit… avoiding the issue.
To use an analogy… You’re arguing “mitigating circumstances”, not whether the alleged is guilty or not.
Actually the issue most of the TVC Associates miss is this, you do not have to join TVC by paying the membership fee!
I know because I am part of TV Matrix, and have signed people up without them paying the $39.90 and they market the product and get paid. The issue is that many of the associates tell people they cannot join for free, and thus it does give the impression of a scheme.
They fail to mention the chargebacks, licensing requirements and such. The problem is that they make it seem like you HAVE to pay $39.90 just to join the TVC Matrix side. Which is completely untrue. I have an issue with that.
I do ask prospects if they want to join on the MCA side and use the benefits (I do believe that using the product/service is helpful in the sale, but not a total requirement. Like selling a Ford but driving a Chevy), but if they don’t want to or don’t have the $39.90 then I still ask if they wish to earn extra money on the side.
If they say yes I proceed to get them started. My upline even told me not to tell people it’s free to join TVC Matrix! I didn’t like that and actually started building my business how I saw fit and have been successful with it despite that.
So I believe the real challenge is making sure people are truly educated about the opportunity and thus can make an informed decision. I have issues with people who market TVC Matrix in such a way that IT DOES SOUND LIKE A A SCHEME! It makes it difficult for those that are doing the right thing the right way.
I think the reason that happens is due to the inevitable:
“Oh ok, so all this stuff is great but you yourself don’t use it? Right… Yeah listen leave me your phone number and I’ll get back to you”
And then 5 minutes later they’re tossing the affiliates ph number into the bin.
Generally speaking in MLM customers want to know if you yourself are using the product, and if not – why?
We’ve already established that MCA makes little sense (overpriced comparatively) without the attached income opportunity. You can still probably find a few naive people to join without the income opportunity but I’d say they fall into the minority.
Good point Oz! My experience has been that those who want the benefits/service are okay paying the $20 (19.95) per month. However there are flaws in the system that I would agree make it difficult to come across as a legitimate opportunity.
I work hard on my MCA business, to be upfront and honest with those that want information. I let them decide. The challenge in the industry as a whole right now is that so many people want the “golden ticket” and do not want to put in the work required to have a successful and honest business.
I guess that would be another discussion topic for you. I enjoy the site and read it to learn what NOT to do in my marketing. I believe sites like this are good for the business despite what other may think because it does make an honest attempt to give information for others to make a decision.
I appreciate it and welcome the dialogue. Keep up the good work Oz!
Man, when will people stop falling for this? Go out and get a real job. If you have to *pay* to work at a “job,” then it’s not a real job!
It’s not job, its a opportunity.
I’m a member and the benefits work great.. No scam.
The “benefits” have never been in question, only the opportunity.
All these people saying MCA isnt real. Ive been in MCA for 3 months and i get all the benefits. THE BENEFITS ARE REAL. The opportunity (Not a job) is not a lie.
I get paid every friday by direct deposit. I get paid $80 per every person i invite to the business. The more people join the more i get paid. So if You’re thinking this is a scam, try for yourself.
My brother joined after he saw my first paycheck which was $345 and my second was $900. Its been doing my so good that i recently upgraded to the Platinum plan.
Im not going to give you my website or anything, because i dont want you to think im only saying this to get people. Im saying this because its real.
Uh, who said anything about the company not being “real”?
/facepalm
@OZ
if someone were to simply sell the MCA package without signing up with TVC, how would one get paid?
@marsx1
They don’t get paid. You have to sell MCA through TVC even though it’s the same company.
If you’re not signed up as a TVC affiliate you get nothing.
TVC MArketing bought out MCA, They offer the compensation plan to their members and only their members. Its all real service Ive took advantage of lots of the benefits they offer.
I make around $3000-5000 a month as a sales associate. This is real, nothing fake or “Scammish” about it. 100% legit, Im living proof! Stop Bad Mouthing MCA!
@Brock
How many affiliates vs. non-affiliates have you signed up?
According to the site the original Motor Club of America changed its name July 1, 2001 to Preserver Group, Inc.
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/east/2001/07/02/12411.htm
This site sponsored by Business Week shows that the Preserver Group is still in existence and was started in 1926
http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapid=289459
This FTC page shows that the Motor Club of America acquired North East Insurance in 1999
http://www.ftc.gov/bc/earlyterm/1999/9906/et990607.shtm
Something highly suspicious is going on with TVC/MCA setup operating out of OK ….whatever the current MCA is … **is not** the original MCA!!!
More confusion!!!
So I just visited the Preserver Group site….
http://www.preserver.com/pbips/index.html
Note in 2006 Preserver Group (still in existence) was acquired by The Tower Group …check out its about page:
http://twrgrpintl.com/
Note company is “Bermuda-based”
I am still trying to determine if TVC is connected to the Tower Group or is misusing a former name and a history that rightfully belong to another company.
Best advice to prospective associates ***DON’T ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE RECRUITED** into a company that is lying to you!!!
ESPECIALLY one that allows a pyramid scheme / endless chain recruiting to exist within its’ business.
Wow…just found this as confirmation to my previous post!!
http://capitolbeatok.com/reports/secretary-of-state-glenn-coffee-to-leave-office-in-january
Virgil Glenn Coffee, the now former Oklahoma Secretary of State, is general counsel for TVC Marketing. Another public servant legally fleecing the public. 🙁
In care any of you were wondering, Motor Club of America was bought by JVL Holding Properties, Inc in 1996. Not TVC Marketing.
Here ya go,
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/09/obituaries/william-w-green-92-founded-motor-club.html
Does it matter, as it’s TVC that’s running the show?
And who can JVL be, other than Virgil Coffee, the general counsel for TVC? And they even have the SAME ADDRESS?
http://www.wysk.com/search/doEntitySearch.cfm?q=3200%20W%20WILSHIRE%20BLVD%20%20OKLAHOMA%20CITY%20OK%2073116
Different name, same people running the show. Meh.
Just wanted to clarify.
At the end of the day its a great business providing great services to there members. They also have a lot of contract with your local towing companies.
tvc/mca is legit, enjoy the services…
I’ve been a MCA member for 15 months still current and love the services….
That’s great.
Meanwhile how much have you made through the MLM business opportunity, and out of that how much was from recruited affiliates vs. non-affiliate retail customers?
Nobody is disputing the providing of services, it’s the MLM business opportunity and recruitment commissions that are the problem.
OZ Your not making any sense.
MCA is a auto club, I purchase the services over a year ago. I love the services
Where is your evidence that you have provided your readers on this blog about MCA is operating a (scam or pyramid scheme)?
hope this will help readers looking for true evidence about the business opportunity. This is fact not my opinion.
(Ozedit: Attempt to take discussion offsite removed)
@will
TVC Matrix.
TVC Matrix are running a recruitment driven business model that pays out primarily on the recruitment of new affiliates (who buy into the services).
Please don’t waste my time with semantics when we both know they are effectively one and the same company.
@ OZ,
SMH I’m not wasting your time you’re wasting other people’s time by your lack of evidence and proof to your claims.
I don’t care about your personal opinions or agenda.
I care about evidence and the facts.
You fail to prove anything… All your doing is Expressing your opinions about multilevel marketing.
Until you have proven facts to your claim from FTC, SEC, your just like everyone else’s that try to get there personal gain.
TVC is not an investment company. MCA is not a investment company.
When you show some proof and Evidence andfacts to you claims for your readers, Until then please don’t waste my time or your readers times on your personal Opinions…….
And there it is. Chief you should have just opened with that.
“The authorities haven’t shut us down yet so we’re not (insert particular scam here)!” falls flat on its face because a company’s business model determines whether it is a pyramid scheme or not.
There’s no crystal balls or super secret methodology that regulators use to determine the legitimacy of an MLM business opportunity, they use what everyone else should – the business model.
TVC pays affiliates to recruit new affiliates, hiding behind the MCA auto services front. It’s an open secret that TVC is primarily made up of affiliates, as has been demonstrated earlier in this article’s comments (you did read them all, didn’t you?), MCA’s services are overpriced.
You want proof? Hand over an income disclosure statement from TVC that identifies the company’s revenue from non-affiliates and retail customers (who have no access to the comp plan and excluding ex and inactive affiliates).
Your failure to identify the difference between investment companies and pyramid schemes speaks volumes.
Are you a TVC affiliate? If so, how many non-affiliates have you signed up? How many affiliates have you signed up?
We’ve seen all the “we’re not a scam” arguments here before, yours is nothing new. Failure to provide anything but the revenue figures requested above will result in your comments being sent to the spam bin.
Enjoy the new year and best of luck with the recruiting.
(Ozedit: I did not see an Income Disclosure Statement in your comment, clearly listing the retail revenue of TVC vs. their affiliate revenue)
Just because you deny the evidence doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
It’s also very strange that he demands that YOU produce some evidence to prove YOUR side, yet you keep demanding that HE produce some evidence for his side.
So what’s wrong with the evidence he has now, hmmm?
“The rest” don’t use MLM.
False comparison, automatic FAIL. Try again?
K. Chang????????
I’m denying Evidence???? What evidence? Please show me where I can see the proof to your Claims that this is what you say it is. Opinions are not proof nor evidence.
Please don’t waste my time. I’m Discussing this with OZ. so please exits.
SMH you fail
This was a waste of my time, I will never reply back to you never……
Exhibit A: TVC’s compensation plan.
Over to you: Where are the figures showing TVC Matrix’s affiliate revenue vs. retail?
We know the compensation plan is stacked in favour of affiliate recruitment and as per the comments here that this is how most affiliates make their money.
A compensation plan and affiliates making money recruiting other affiliates is not an opinion, they are facts in and of themselves.
Are you a TVC affiliate? How many retail (non-affiliate) members have you brought into the business vs. recruited affiliates?
Finally Chang’s observations are wholly worth your time answering. You made the statement that TVC and MCA are just auto clubs, when attached to a recruitment driven MLM compensation plan clearly they are not.
Failing to answer questions directed at yourself while republishing points that have already been addressed will not get you very far here.
(Ozedit: Spambin, you were warned)
This entire blogpost, perhaps? If you think it’s wrong, prove it. Show us evidence to the contrary.
But simply saying “I see no evidence” doesn’t make it not evidence (except in your head).
MCA is NOT the original MCA from New Jersey, founded by the Green Brothers. The ORIGINAL MCA is now a insurance group, called Preserver Group Inc. That’s strange… Hmmm. I found that from this website answers.com/topic/preserver-group-inc . And they even sited their answers.
You can also find additional info here maine.gov/pfr/insurance/hearing_decisions/99-7.htm .
You can find Preserver Group Inc. info here investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=289459 as well as here biz.yahoo.com/ic/14/14169.html.
An addition, if you look up the address on google maps, their “headquarters” is kind of cut off from view and rather small.
I also googled their address, and found this website start.cortera.com/company/research/k3q8kxq2o/tvc-marketing-associates-inc/ stating that the company is privately owned, and was founded in 2005.
Now on top of that, it states there are 10-20 employees. Really? That’s it? Something seems strange about that. And their annual sales range is $500,000 to $999,999. Hmmmm. Why that low if they generate that much income?
I also searched for TVC here sos.ok.gov/corp/corpInformation.aspx?id=1900482027, and found out TVC Marketing under Virgil Coffee, but when i hovered over the question mark it read “entity not ceased to exist”..
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Coffee There is the wiki for Virgil Glenn Coffee, who was Oklahoma’s secretary of State. But NOWHERE does it say anthing about MCA, or TVC.
Oh, here’s something funny.
Apparently some Crooks promoting MCA tried to recruit people in Botswana.
Yes, the AFRICAN COUNTRY OF BOTSWANA.
While they do have cars there, having an MCA membership is not going to do the member any good in Botswana.
When faced with that obvious fact, the crook started sputtering some really nasty language.
http://consumerwatchdogbw.blogspot.com/2013/12/todays-dose-of-insanity.html
Thanks for the smackdown by Richard Harriman of Consumer Watchdog (of Botswana)
It’s unfortunate that TVC did not have the experience in network marketing and let the inmates run the prison. The opportunity it’s self seems to be pretty straight forward and easy to understand. But, because of the total lack of marketing TVC alowed anybody to set there own rules.
I looked at many of the different web-sites promoting this program and have to honestly they are the worst sites I have ever seen. Crappy videos with thug like people going to check cashing joints with paychecks in hand. Just for consideration, if you have to go to a check cashing place, then I would assume they have no real checking account. So how did they sign up for the beifits?
I actually called some one who was in the program and from what I could understand from what he was saying, is that most rep’s don’t mention the platinum program because noone can understand it. Interesting. But, you really can’t blame the promotors of this deal, once again it’s the fault of the parent company that offers nothing and I mean nothing regarding market materials Web-sites and such. So nobody has a clue ofwhat to do after they sign up.
For this company toget in the mainstream they would have to start by putting some control over it’s distributors. Reign them in in other words. Start getting rid of all those scamy looking you tube vid.s all the other garbage out there and start all over. In my humble opion.
Thank you
Skydancer
@Isaac
Issac, you’re wrong with that assessment. MCA IS from the original MCA of New Jersey. Motor Club of America Corp sold its original membership division to JVL Holding Properties, parent of TVC Marketing Associates in 1997.
Oz said:
You’re wrong. TVI Express DOES NOT OWN Motor Club of America.
Sounds to me that you and KChang making false information about MCA or any legitimate home based business. Granted that you’re trying to get the word out, but for you guys making lies about certain companies without no proof, it makes you look foolish.
@David where did you get TVI from?
That’s supposed to read TVC Matrix. Thanks for the pickup, I’ve amended the comment (#322).
That said, MCA/TVC Matrix is most definitely not a “legitimate home based business”.
No recruitment scheme is.
Ironically, between TVI Express’ travel matrix recruitment scheme and TVC Matrix’s “insurance” matrix recritment scheme, it’s not just their abbreviated names that are similar.
Oz Said:
First, What makes you think TVC is not a legitmate home-based business.
Second TVC offers Motor Club membership “assurance” NOT AN AUTOMOBILE LIABILITY INSURANCE CONTRACT AND DOES NOT COMPLY WITH ANY FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY LAW.
Read the review.
This is secondary to the affiliate membership recruitment scheme they’ve got going.
I’m not interested in the pseudo-compliance technicalities of their insurance or assurance or whatever you want to call it. It’s smoke and mirrors for the recruitment scheme, which is the problem.
I did, and my conclusion is that your review is full of rotted Swiss Cheese holes. You keep saying the MCA’s membership is a recruitment scheme. WRONG! The membership is actually a product (over $150K worth of benefits; and members are considered customers – Members = Customers; Customer=Members…GET IT?
The only thing recruitment is involved that is a member becomes an MCA associate, which BTW, there’s absolutely NO ADDITIONAL COST TO BECOME ONE.
plus, there’s no obligations for a any Associate to become a member in order to sell a membership and get paid the $80 commission.
The only draw back with that however, is when the non-member Associate doesn’t get paid the team overrides and residuals that comes with it when they are a member. That’s rollover to the next associate/member. In other words, he/she left a lot of money on the table.
Affiliate membership to an MLM opportunity is not a product, regardless of what it’s bundled with.
Which is pseudo-compliance, as 99.9999999% of “members” are affiliates.
Sounds like an obligation to me. More pseudo-compliance BS.
Want to take a guess how many MCA “members” aren’t TVC affiliates?
Didn’t think so.
The problem is you can’t seem to differentiate between MCA the auto club, vs. MCA the income opportunity. Autoclub may be a product. But not the income opportunity.
Maybe you’re explaining it wrong. Maybe you understood it wrong all along.
KChang said: The problem is you can’t seem to differentiate between MCA the auto club, vs. MCA the income opportunity. Autoclub may be a product. But not the income opportunity.
Maybe you’re explaining it wrong. Maybe you understood it wrong all along.
Maybe its you having a problem of the way you’ve comprehend your counter-argument about MCA. YOU JUST MAKING ANY SENSE AT ALL.
There’s no counter-arguments, there’s TVC Matrix’s compensation plan and their affiliate’s hopeless attempts to justify an opportunity operating as a recruitment-driven scheme.
Really? then AAA, NMC and others, are equally as guilty like TVC/MCA for the same recruitment driven scheme in getting members, and they should not make money off of people who wanted roadside assistance, and other services.
Is what you’re suggesting that no motor club companies, using advertising in the media, online or word of mouth should not recruit a single person to become Motor club members and be out of business?
Your argument on that is VERY VAGUE!
Do they have MLM compensation plans attached? If not – fail.
Not half as vague as trying to legitimize a recruitment-driven pyramid scheme on the back of the auto-insurance industry.
Stop reading off your TVC sales script, it might work on dumbasses that you’re trying to recruit but you’ll have to disconnect from it and engage your brain here.
It simply made no sense TO YOU. You don’t have an counter-argument. You just said “you don’t understand” without pointing out what exactly don’t we understand. I know exactly what you don’t understand. Too bad you don’t.
Really? If anyone that doesn’t has an argumentative proof that MCA is a scheme is you, my friend.
You’ve based your argument that MCA is a scam solely on your opinions. I based my counter argument with factual information which apparently, you do not have. You’re just an ignorant person that does accept the fact or to believe otherwise.
KChang, you lost this debate.
Oz said: Do they have MLM compensation plans attached? If not – fail.
1) Who say that MCA DOES NOT have an MLM compensation plan? – Some MLM expert you turned out to be – EPIC=FAIL :/
2)MCA has two components in the comp plan: A) The direct sales of the membership; B) the team sales overrides.
3) The 3 x 8 MCA Reward Matrix program for Gold and Platinum members only, which adds on top the plan that I just mentioned.
No associates in MCA cannot make money off of other associates unless members are referred
LIKE your cohort KChang, you also based your argument that MCA is recruitment driven scheme not on factual, but your opinions.
I said no such thing, either here or on my blog.
I wrote that you don’t separate the two: the auto club, and the income opportunity. You tried to sidetrack the talk onto something else.
And you just did that… AGAIN.
No wonder you don’t understand us… You’re busy arguing with a strawman.
Unless associate *is* the member.
Nobody. Stop asking silly questions.
Given your demonstrated level of comprehension, no wonder you were talked into TVC.
Both of which revolve around the recruitment of TVC affiliates, defacto or otherwise.
And when 99.999999999% of MCA “members” are TVC affiliates, TVC Matrix becomes defacto recruitment-driven.
Horseshit son, it’s right there in the compensation plan.
Oh, are we a little touchy today? You’re the one brought it up that silly question that MCA has the MLM compensation plans attached, son…just like you brought up the silly wrong information that MCA is owned by TVI Express a while back. #YOUMADBRO??
Oh, are rated level of comprehension, no wonder you were talked into TVC. So what if someone did…One thing I did however, is I did my research, connecting the dots and decided to join MCA. Something you didn’t do.
(Ozedit: Offtopic waffle removed)
No, I didn’t.
I was calling out your asinine attempts to compare MLM companies to non-MLM companies.
Right, because a typo equates to ignoring the fact that a compensation plan is recruitment-driven.
Yeah, clearly.
Anyone who researches a recruitment-driven compensation plan and can’t see the pyramid scheme for the forest is anything but thorough.
There you go again, gone off in your own la-la land with your strawman argument. You can’t seem to accept that there are alternate viewpoint to yours, and you are so far ignoring every fact we’ve shown you.
So why are you here? Proving to yourself you can stand up to critics?
Fixed.
okay so first off i work for auto help line. We do dispatch for over 300 motor clubs in America and Canada.
MCA and TVC is Auto Help Line and i can assure you we are not a scam if we were we would not have over 150 service calls a day for members using their road service. you don’t have to sell the product to be a member and have the benefits.
We value our members and go above and beyond to help them even people that don’t have the road service benefits we still help them find someone at a discounted rate.
I see memberships every day for 8 + hours a day and can tell you that people make really good money at this. It all depends on if you know what your selling.
I’m sorry some people deem it necessary to blast something they know nothing about. I hope these people don’t corrupt your intelligence 🙂 thanks for your time
Right. You can just recruit new affiliates and earn commissions… because it’s a pyramid scheme.
Service calls do not negate a recruitment orientated compensation plan.
The question is how many members actually know this? i.e. how many really joined for the benefits… and how many joined the “income opportunity”?
Perhaps the question you need to ask the corporate HQ is… are they selling the membership wrong?
@K Chang @Oz, you guys have a forest/trees issue. That’s the beauty of the MCA/TVC operation. One cannot mutually exclude the benefits from the opportunity.
K Chang, you can’t reach that conclusion because they are one and the same, coming attached. MLM do not enjoy this factor and its effect can be measured simply because those reps can avoid purchasing product at all and still enjoin themselves under the opportunity, which is what really hurts MLM companies.
The rep can hate the products and still benefit. In the case of MCA/ TVC you can hate the product but it’s being purchased.
In addition, it has another unique factor…..it benefits from being a hybrid insurance plan where it legally bases itself on the law of presumption and prediction.
Being the case, that company enjoys an affiliate, referral practice, totally legit and not to be chopped and blended with MLM in that traditional sense.
@Tony
Benefits schmenefits. Nothing negates the commissions paid on the recruitment of new affiliates.
You can sing the praises of the insurance till the cows come home, fact is anyone in MCA making commissions does so via recruitment. The rest is smoke and mirrors.
It amazes me people still don’t get this right.
Anyone an sign up to sell the products and services as an affiliate without being required to own a service plan. You do not have to own a MCA membership to earn commission on retail sales.
period.
If you wish to sell the product, sign up as an associate for free. Sell the product. If you sell a total security membership you will make $80 on the sale.
You can sell the services offline manually using traditional selling methods or use tvc matrix website to process orders.
Your customers are not associates just because they purchased a membership plan. If they choose to they can register as an associate. Which is a separate sign up process.
The product can be sold without associating the business opportunity with your customers and the most successful sellers retail the services to motorist without associating a business opportunity with it.
There are many marketing funnels for the opportunity that direct people to the mca page to make a purchase but if a person clicked on the TOS which isn’t a long read, it clearly states you do not need to own a mca membership to be a seller of the products and services.
What people can and can’t do is irrelevant if the only affiliates are the only ones purchasing the service.
All the “but you can” pseudo-compliance in the world makes no difference if operationally an MLM company is functioning as a chain-recruitment scheme.
And you and I both know that’s all that’s happening here. One need only look up how TVC Matrix is marketed to confirm as much.
Might want to update your review if you haven’tt. MCA revamped the pay structure from $80 payouts to $35.
Guess they finally cracked down on losing money upfront.
That all they changed? Still the same pyramid then?
TBH I can’t believe it’s still going. How many gullible people in the US are there?
Motor Club of America are still paying $80 per referral. Instead of receiving the full $80 up front, you’ll get an advanced commission of $35.
You’ll then receive $4.62 a month in residual income for each customer that pays their membership until you reach $80 for that person.
As long as there are people driving cars on the road, people are going to need the service and there’s always going to be people turning 16 and getting their drivers license.
Are you absolutely sure MCA is a pyramid and will collapse??
Not withstanding retail doesn’t exist within TVC Matrix, this is faulty logic.
You’re assuming 100% participation based on age. If this was the case no company would ever go out of business, not withstanding TVC Matrix is a pyramid scheme.
Is it true that they cut compensation in half?
No idea. What is true though is TVC Matrix collapsed some time ago.
If someone is still trying to recruit you into it they’re pretty desperate.