Jack Panaghis attempts to validate TVI Express
A straw man argument is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent’s position.
To “attack a straw man” is to create the illusion of having refuted a proposition by substituting a superficially similar yet unequivalent proposition (the “straw man”), and refuting it, without ever having actually refuted the original position.
-Wikipedia definition of a “strawman argument”
For some reason, when you criticise the compensation plan of TVI Express and the fact that its members are not awarded any commissions based on the use of TVI’s product, members of TVI Express interpret this as ‘TVI Express’ product does not work’.
Given that this is not the argument presented to them about why TVI Express is nothing more then a money game pyramid scheme, it’s accurate to label their retorts as strawman arguments.
Despite the ineffectiveness of countering an argument with an irrelevant rebuttal, recently NSW based TVI Express member Jack Panaghis decided to record a video of himself redeeming one of TVI Express’ travel vouchers;
Panaghis’ clip is interesting in that it refutes the claim that the only available hotels on offer are based in India and require a $150 fee in taxes to book.
In the video Panaghis makes a booking at the ‘Blue A Taj’ hotel in Woolloomooloo Bay, NSW and claims it cost him just $
Panaghis also repeatedly claims that ‘this is a first for Australia’. I’m not entirely sure what he means, but presumably either Blue A Taj is the first hotel in Australia to accept TVI Express vouchers or that Panaghis is the first Australian TVI member to actually redeem a travel voucher.
Either way though neither of these scenarios, nor the fact that the voucher worked, address the claims that TVI Express members are only rewarded compensation upon recruiting others to the business opportunity.
Case in point? If Panaghis wants to obtain another travel voucher from TVI Express there’s no other way for him to obtain one other then by cycling out of a compensation plan matrix.
How does he do this? By recruiting new members to TVI Express of course.
Nobody made a commission on Panaghis redeeming his voucher and there’s no way for him to purchase another one independently of recruiting a new member to TVI Express.
Panaghis also happens to belong to the TVI Express group ‘TVITeamOz’ who were recently named by the ACCC after they succesfully won an injunction against the operators of the team, Laulhati Jutsen (also known as Teddi Jutsen), Tina Aroha Brownlee and David Graeme Scanlon.
The injunction effectively banned the three owners from ‘promoting the scheme, accepting payments from new “members” or paying other participants‘. However whilst Jutsen, Brownlee and Scanlon seem to be barred from promoting the business, that hasn’t seem to have stopped other members from doing so.
For now it appears TVITeamOz are still alive and actively promoting TVI Express not only in Australia but worldwide.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to see that TVI Express’ travel vouchers actually work but the point remains that the compensation plan TVI Express uses is unsustainable and reliant on a constant supply of new recruits.
This is actually not a strawman fallacy, but “fallacy of composition”.
Basically he’s saying “if I can do it, you can too.”
But redeeming ONE voucher, out of however many vouchers sitting unredeemed in Australia (10000? More?) proves nothing, other than it can be done… by one guy.
http://www.logicalfallacies.info/relevance/composition/
After watching the video itself, this proves LESS than nothing.
He just flashed a piece of paper in front of you, and claim it’s from TVI Express. For all you know, it’s booked through somebody else, and he simply LIED on Camera. Other possibility is booking through TVI Express “backoffice” (i.e. Travelocity). He never actually SAID it’s the “free trip” that you allegedly get when you pay for the membership.
Another way to “fake” this without really lying is pre-pay online and only pay the incidentals at the hotel and claim that’s all you paid. It’s technically true, just not the whole truth. He meant paid at the hotel. You thought paid “total”.
Also, he said he paid for only 1 night for $59 USD (see the 4:30 timemark). So it’s clear he is NOT referring to the 7-day 6-night trip at all. If he paid $59 for entire 7-day 6-night, and actually showed a receipt ON CAMERA I’d be more impressed.
Sorry, but this is about as convincing as going to the front door of of “Marble Arch Tower”, film that, and claim that somehow proves “TVI Express is real”.
This tactic wasn’t new. CitizenCorps, which gave TVI Express initially a glowing 5-star (out of 5) review, but had since put it on “alert status” and calling it a scam, was also taken by this deception. People sign up with TVI Express, go through the “back office”, sees all those deals available (which is actually Travelocity), and concludes “TVI Express works!” (implying/assuming the rest of the company must work as well)
A lot of the personal testimonials are actually people shelling out their own dollars for a room or car rental or plane ticket, and attributing their “savings” to TVI Express, instead of Travelocity.
All that video showed is a guy checking into a 5-star hotel in Sydney. Nothing else is shown, just verbal allegations.
He SAID it’s a TVI Express voucher (no proof)
He SAID he only paid $59 USD for 1 night (no proof, and since when do Aussies use American dollars?)
This video proved nothing, and is actually MISLEADING.
Sorry, one last note… You see the deviousness of TVI Express members. There are TWO separate things TVI Express members claim are their products A) the “back office” where you can book trips, cruises, hotels, etc. (which is powered by Travelocity, which is free to use by everyone), and B) the 7-day 6-night trip voucher you get upon enrollment.
The video did not explain what exactly it is doing. He did say he only paid $59 (or was it $69?) for one night, so he’s obviously NOT refering to the 7-day 6-night trip voucher. That leaves the “back office”. But that’s just Travelocity underneath, so OF COURSE it will work! That proves nothing.
Paying $250 for a service that is free is sign of altruism, madness, or victim.
All the charges of additional $150, only in India, and all that applies to the “free” 7-day 6-night trip, NOT to the booking portal. Please don’t confuse the two, which is what TVI Express supporter such as this “Jack” want you to.
I took the timing of the video as well as the fact that Panaghis is part of the TVITeamOz team that the ACCC named, as a direct response to the claim by the ACCC in court that TVI Express’ products were irrelevant.
Panaghis is basically trying to state that the products do actually work without adressing the fact that they are not tied into the business opportunity, and that you can pretty much ignore them and still earn an income via recruiting (infact this is the only way to make any money in TVI).
In that sense I believe it’s a strawman argument. The ACCC have asked if you can only make money by recruiting in TVI and Panaghis has replied with ‘hey look you can redeem our travel vouchers!’.
I also don’t think Panaghis was trying to infer that the bonus free trip was valid either, like I said this video was produced solely to address the ACCC allegations but failed because it’s a strawman argument.
But that would prove the exact opposite: it *is* fraud.
If you don’t recruit, you’ve paid $250+ fees for something that is free (Travelocity), and a voucher that is worth nothing (impossible to redeem, cost extra $$$). It’s simple fraud, and is a rehash of the “TVI Express is actually a travel club” argument.
The fact that TVI Express website says on its FRONT PAGE that is is an “opportunity to earn $10000 per week…” should be obvious it is NOT a travel club.
And if you recruit, it is a pyramid scheme.
EITHER WAY TVI Express is doomed.
But that’s not what the ACCC have gone after them for though. They’ve gone after them on the sole fact that TVI is a pyramid scheme because recruitment is compulsory for commission payouts to members.
I’m not saying the fraud argument is invalid but in this instance the pyramid scheme fact is what the ACCC have chosen to go after them for.
I sort of see what you’re saying, but technically that’d be lack of relevance, or “red herring”, not a strawman.
Just for fun, here’s a visual analysis of Kaspi and Jackson’s website:
http://kschang.blogspot.com/2010/10/more-hilarity-visual-edition.html