Utility Warehouse (Telecom Plus) Discussion

HalloweenJack

Thank you - so you get paid a commision based on customer sign up - money up front + a further benefit in kind of reduction of your own bill (the amount doesnt actually matter) then regular payments afterwards.

so you are running your own self employed business as a reseller, ergo it is on benefit to acquire a large ` team` of customres for you.

a nice system , isnt it pyramid selling though??

edit:

say you sign up customer A - who is interested in your product ; they are happy and extol the virtues to there family and friends - and customer A then gets there own sign up from a family member - call them customer B


as the top of this chain , do you also get a small bonus for customer B as well?

MillicentBystander

HalloweenJack wrote: »

Thank you - so you get paid a commision based on customer sign up - money up front + a further benefit in kind of reduction of your own bill (the amount doesnt actually matter) then regular payments afterwards.

so you are running your own self employed business as a reseller, ergo it is on benefit to acquire a large ` team` of customres for you.

a nice system , isnt it pyramid selling though??

edit:

say you sign up customer A - who is interested in your product ; they are happy and extol the virtues to there family and friends - and customer A then gets there own sign up from a family member - call them customer B


as the top of this chain , do you also get a small bonus for customer B as well?

Interesting. I'm sure if you explain what you mean by pyramid selling we can all look and compare to see if it is.

Quentin

HalloweenJack wrote: »

as the top of this chain , do you also get a small bonus for customer B as well?

Check out their on-line recruiting training video.


You'll see the big money is in recruiting, not flogging the expensive energy!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR_bd_b16PM&feature=related

HalloweenJack

so its an MLM then , and each reseller is therefore self employed (hope your keeping good books for the taxman)

MLM dont make quick cash , but more of an annuity, BUT some schemes do sail very `close to the wind` of legality in reference to the Trading Schemes Regulations 1997 (part 9 fair trades act)

edit:

if anyone is interested:

http://www.bis.gov.uk/files/file24757.pdf

the DOT guidelines - but it comes down to:

This is often referred to as "pyramid selling" (but not all "pyramid" schemes are "pyramid selling"). Note that recruitment rewards are not in themselves unlawful. But it is unlawful to persuade someone that the main motive for joining a scheme is to profit from recruiting others or to take money from someone on the basis of such a motive.

asi can see from the posted video`s - selling the product is the first thought *direct selling* with an interest in making money from refferals afterwards - ofc that could be for the benefit of the camera

Cardew

UW's sales technique is variously referred to as Network Marketing, Multi-level Marketing, or pyramid sales.

It is not however a Pyramid scheme which is illegal.

As long as goods or services are sold - which is obviously the case with UW - it is not illegal for someone at the top of a pyramid to collect commission from different levels of sales.

keggs

HalloweenJack wrote: »

Thank you - so you get paid a commision based on customer sign up - money up front + a further benefit in kind of reduction of your own bill (the amount doesnt actually matter) then regular payments afterwards.

so you are running your own self employed business as a reseller, ergo it is on benefit to acquire a large ` team` of customres for you.

a nice system , isnt it pyramid selling though??

edit:

say you sign up customer A - who is interested in your product ; they are happy and extol the virtues to there family and friends - and customer A then gets there own sign up from a family member - call them customer B


as the top of this chain , do you also get a small bonus for customer B as well?

UW doesn't sell pyramids:)

Seriously though, pyramid selling is illegal. UW is a FTSE 250 company. It uses a system called referral marketing. Basically you refer customers to the head office and recommend the business to those who would like to develop a residual income. The company has been around for about 13 years now. The chairman used to be the owner of People's Phone - a mobile phone company in the 1990s. he sold this to Vodafone.

All companies that use network marketing to sell their products and services are the most regulated in the country, which is a good thing. There is an investment required as there is if you want to start your own business. But this is limited by law to £200 max.

It might interest you to know that (a) Network marketing companies are the only companies that are riding the current economic climate, (b) some major well known and well respected companies use network marketing for some or all their services - Sony, Toyota, Avon, Usborne educational books. UW was recently voted in the top ten of the worlds best companies in the direct selling market.

Some of the people here think they know what they are talking about, and even if they do, they conveniently leave out important facts in order to skew the arguments in their favour. The fact is UW operate legally and offer something that benefits many people. And you can't really tell whether you will benefit if people don't try the services. Except for mobile phones (which is probably right) there are no minimum contract terms. People can try them out, and if they don't benefit then they are free to move. What's more, they are not hassled to try and force them to stay if they don't want to. It is a club - the company want people who want to join. Personally, I find that refreshing. I am constantly getting harassed by energy companies by phone or junk mail. Yes I do advertise but I do not harass.

All companies have their problems - what business doesn't. But if UW was carrying out operations illegally then they would be closed down. Don't you think? With 350,000 members both business and household, all gathered by word of mouth recommendation - that's an impressive record by anyone's standards.

Just noticed your last point. The answer is yes. If a customer recommends a service to their friend, they get a discount. But I also get a small percentage over ride as well. So both my original customer benefits and I benefit, and so it goes on. There is no limit. Some network marketing companies restrict payment down to a particular number of levels. UW used to do this in the very early days, but the compensation plan as it is called is now unlimited down to infinity.

There is only one basic difference between a company like UW and say British Gas. People working for BG get paid what BG decides to pay and the unions can negotiate. UW pays its authorised distributors based on how mush work they are prepared to put in. There are no middle men taking a cut. And to use the pyramid nonsense as analogy each ID is at the top of his own pyramid. However that's as far as the analogy goes. Anyone in a person's team can earn far more than the person who sponsors him or her. It is about how much you are prepared to do yourself and not how much you can climb over all and sundry to get what you want, contrary to the non entities here that will try and tell you otherwise.

BTW Every organisation is structured as a pyramid. Think about it. At the top of the pyramid is the owner or chief. At the bottom are the grafters - shopfloor workers, office staff. It doesn't matter whether it's a business or a public service - every one has a pyramid structure. Those at the top earn the most - those at the bottom earn the least. And how many people are in competition with each other to scramble up the greasy pole.

That doesn't happen in any legal network marketing company.

If you would like information about pyramid selling then let me know. I might still have an article that talks about it - I'll check.

HalloweenJack

aye , its an MLM - whilst not my personal `cup of tea` - it works for some ppl. But some ppl do have a gripe with the company , although for me , i havent come into contact directly (i do my own research before moving utilities anyway) so good luck to anyone who wants to try the reselling - but like everything , you are self employed so keep darn good books (cough* mr taxman*cough*) and have to work hard to get new business

keggs

HalloweenJack wrote: »

so its an MLM then , and each reseller is therefore self employed (hope your keeping good books for the taxman)

MLM dont make quick cash , but more of an annuity, BUT some schemes do sail very `close to the wind` of legality in reference to the Trading Schemes Regulations 1997 (part 9 fair trades act)

edit:

if anyone is interested:

http://www.bis.gov.uk/files/file24757.pdf

the DOT guidelines - but it comes down to:



asi can see from the posted video`s - selling the product is the first thought *direct selling* with an interest in making money from refferals afterwards - ofc that could be for the benefit of the camera

No one gets paid unless bills are paid by customers.

keggs

UW is a reseller of services. My job is to recommend those services. End of. I am given a monetary reward for recommending those services. In summary these payments are in three parts: 1. remuneration for expences paid gathering customers. 2. Residual income based on how much a customer's bill is. 3. A bonus for helping team members gather customers.

MillicentBystander

Surely UW is about as far removed from pyramid selling as any network marketing company could be? It's not like you can stockpile gas and electricity in your garage, is it? And AFAICT no-one gets paid anything unless something is sold?