Sunday, April 25, 2010

TVI Express operating ILLEGALLY in Indonesia

Indonesia's Detik news reported that TVI Express is busy signing up people in Indonesia. However, it is NOT registered with Government's Direct Selling Bureau, and thus far, it will NEVER be registered because it is all recruiting, no product! Here's Google Translate Link:


http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fus.detiknews.com%2Fread%2F2010%2F04%2F23%2F164536%2F1344319%2F159%2Fsambil-berlibur-kantongi-imbalan-ribuan-dolar&sl=id&tl=en

Here's an excerpt:

"... every MLM company in Indonesia must have direct trade business license... if you do not have [license], it [business] is considered illegal... Indonesia TVI Express leader admit they are not registered [to have license]...  only do business over Internet, thus no sales took place..."
Can you say "weasel"?
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Tuesday, April 20, 2010

TVI Express: even their "member list" is a fake!

If you go on the TVI Express website, you will notice a "scroller" that supposedly lists the members online because it's labeled "Today's Members".

It is a Flash object, called "today.swf". Out of curiosity, I decompiled it using the 15-day trial version Flash Decompiler Gold, and opened up the object. (You can download it off CNet's download.com).

And here's the shocker: it is NOT connected to a database! The only code that refers to an outside file is this line in Today.swf:Scripts:MainMovie:
pxml.load("data.php?c=" + getTimer());
So what DOES getTimer() do in Flash? It returns the number of milliseconds since the flash player loaded and initialized. It has NOTHING to do with a date at all. It's just a number. In fact, it is a random number. It is usually used to seed random number generators.

Why would a database display need to read in a random number?


So I tried entering the following URL, try to get access to the data directly:

http://www.tviexpress.com/data.php?c=1

And I got an XML file back. Okay.

I tried some OTHER number for c, and I got back the exact same file!

I tried it the next day, different numbers, and I still got back the exact same file, no matter when I try, or what number I put in for c!

The file is STATIC! It is NOT DYNAMIC that they want you to believe! IT IS A FAKE!

Oh, I know you'll probably say "it could just be a static file updated nightly!"  Then I ask you, if it's only updated NIGHTLY, why would it need a random number generator? And if it's updated nightly, then it would be YESTERDAY'S MEMBERS, right? But it says TODAY'S MEMBERS. So that is STILL a LIE!

WHY WOULD A LEGITIMATE COMPANY FAKE ITS OWN MEMBER ROLL ON ITS OWN WEBSITE?!?!

Looks like someone got LAZY in writing the PHP routine that is supposed to randomly pull names out of a table, generate a fake XML file, for the member display!

Here's a simple test for TVI Express members: login as yourself. Do you see YOUR name in the list? I seriously doubt it.
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Another MLM veteran calls TVI Express scam

Read the article here: http://www.obtainer-online.com/where_money_goes_down_the_pan_3_315_EN.html

"With that it seems to be clear that TVI Express is a large-scale international fraud.  Many thousands of networkers and people believed in the promises by TVI Express. In America, Europe, Arabia, Asia and Australia people invested in this company. Many networkers cheered in the light of the high commission amounts the online back office showed them. Many a person saw themselves as a millionaire already. But now the bubble seems to have burst."
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Monday, April 19, 2010

TVI Express: 16 questions to ask your recruiter/upline

Another hubpage, for all TVI Express members, or prospective members... Will your upline answer ANY of these 16 questions? I'll just name the first three:

1)  Is TVI Express a travel club or a business opportunity? The website says business opportunity, but a lot of TVI Express distributors are claiming “travel club”. If you say both, please explain.
FOLLOW-UP 1: If it is a business opportunity, why does the FAQ say "You are not required to sell any product"?
FOLLOW-UP 2: If it is a travel club, why does the FAQ say "You need to recruit two people, and teach them each to recruit two more people"?

2)  TVI Express claims to have “strategic alliances with some of the biggest names in the Travel world”. Can you name some of them? Can you also explain why a Spanish newspaper is reporting that Lufthansa, Avis, and Marriott have initiated legal action against TVI Express for falsely representing them as “partners”?

If they want to see the article, print this out:

New Pyramid Scheme in Mallorca: Wealth to all

FOLLOW-UP: The same article also said that Lufthansa have repeatedly sent letters to TVI Express, but the letters came back as undeliverable. Does that mean that the address given on the TVI Express website is fake?

3) Can you explain WHY when I plug in the Cyprus address into Google, I get at least three other businesses at that EXACT SAME address, no suite number difference, no room number difference, but the EXACT same address?

FOLLOW-UP: If TVI Express is NOT really in Cyprus, then where is it? Where are its employees? Corporate officers? Where is their REAL OFFICE?



Read the whole thing at http://hubpages.com/hub/TVI-Express-16-question-you-should-ask-your-upline
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Sunday, April 18, 2010

TVI Express = scam

Hubpage has a new hub that summarizes all the various problems about TVI Express, including TVI Express lies, member lies, and disreputable practices, and came up with the inescapable conclusion: TVI Express is a scam.

"TVI Express claims to be an international conglomerate. However, with some simple investigation, you will find that TVI Express is an international scam that is founded on lies and vagueness. Furthermore, it has continued to lie, and allow members to lie for them. They have even deleted their own announcements that made themselves look bad. Their business practice is a pyramid scheme cloaked in buzzwords, disguised by a product you are NOT required to sell, and gives benefits that are available free elsewhere. It is a scam of international proportions."
 You can read it at http://hubpages.com/hub/TVI-Express-is-an-international-scam
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TVI Express, the obfuscation of money trail

TVI Express has actually reorganized multiple times, but that's one of this things they don't tell you.

When they claim to March Arch Tower (January thorugh late 2009), their disclaimer in their own website actually says your info is used NOT by TVI Express, NOT by Travel Venture International, but by "TVI Services". This had since been modified, but a clone of the original, TVIExpress.vn, has saved the original and can be presented here: http://www.tviexpress.vn/terms-of-use_intro--143.html

There was a "TVI Services" in UK, but it's in Surrey, and its address goes to a company registrar.

BrokerJones was able to trace the money funnel to Cyprus, to a "TVI Services LTD" registered in Cyprus.
In fact, this name appeared on some TVI Express instruction sites. I have to give you the Google Cache, because the original site is down (the original owner went on to some other stuff).  But the info given is:
Do not forget to email the scanned copy of the bank receipt as soon as possible after processing the wire. Please keep in mind that usually wire transfer payments take a couple of days to process and that is why you should email them the receipt immediately. That will expedite the process.
Phone: +44-2032899918
Account Name: TVI Services Limited
Account Number: 179-32-227028
Bank: Marfin Laiki Bank
Swift Code: LIKICY2N
IBAN No.: CY45003001790000017932227028
Bank Address: P.O. Box No. 22032, Postal Code 1598, Nicosia, Cyprus

So you are indeed NOT wiring money to TVI Express, but to TVI Services. So who owns TVI Services, or TVI Express, or whatever? According to a TVI Express fan website, it is...
Director: Rahul Khurana
Company Secretary: Michael Thomas Gordon
Shareholder: Anita Khurana
There is a report of another TVI Services, this time in India. headed by Rahul and Anita Khurana. No idea of they are the same people, but it's getting mighty suspicious. The TVI fan site above would like you to believe it's the same company.  Even gave link to both UK and India government website for you to look it up. However, the UK site does NOT list the owners. Indian site listed Rahul and Anita Khurana.

If you search for Rahul and Anita Khurana, you will find them in Danville, CA, operating an outfit called VisionTech Camps for children. It teaches kids about computers and technology. It even has their pictures. And yes, they were from India. Is it a coincidence? Could be, so the jury is still out on this topic.

Furthermore, BrokerJones has a strange encounter on Yahoo! Messenger... with rkhurana1991. This Y!M user claims Rahul and Anita Khurana to be NOT affiliated with TVI Services. However, he cannot provide proof.

Here's one more piece of the puzzle... Rahul Khurana *was* a member of TVI Express advisory board, documented by yet another website. However, his name does NOT appear on the official TVI Express website, not now, at least. Due to the way these clone websites "copy" the official one, they are basically time-lapsed mirrors, and proves that at one time, there was a Rahul Khurana involved in TVI Express. Whether is this the same Rahul Khurana in Danville, CA, remains in question. 

If they are the owners, why can't they just say so?
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Saturday, April 17, 2010

TVI Express owner: Tarun Trikha?

With my investigation of TVI Express, one name that keeps coming up is Tarun Trikha, resident of New Delhi, India.

If you look on TVIexpress.com, under "Advisory Board", you'll see his name under "India". At least one TVI Express "fan" site called him "Asia Pacific Head, TVI Express".

Further digging revealed he used to run an outfit called V2 Global. According to his own profile on MoneyMaker Group website, he specializes in Internet Marketing, and that is what V2 Global does. He had a website called CashYourPassion.com but that expired a while back.

On ConsumerComplaints of India he was named as one of the co-owners of TVI Express. While this is not exactly proof, it is one of the first real NAMES we have that is attached to the company. This item was repeated at an ex-TVI member memorial site. A "letter to editor" in India pointed to him as close to the top, if not THE top of TVI Express.

Then BrokerJones dropped a bombshell... he traced the money of TVI Express to a company called VisionTech in California. And Tarun Trikha, according to BrokerJones, is the head, and had previously ran a similar scheme and made off with a huge amount of dollars. Not quite Madoff, but maybe mini-Madoff. (100K or so).

So what does Mr. Trikha look like? Here's a photo of him: (he's on the right)
http://vishalbudhwar.blogspot.com/2009/12/tvi-express-tarun-trikha-vishal-budhwar.html

And here's another picture, from a TVI Express "fansite" (It's in Thai) -->> It's the same picture as the blog.

And here is the same guy in China, pushing TVI Express and posing with friendly locals:


Definitely the same guy. So what does the blog entry actually say?

六月十號來自全國各地的120余名TVI鑽石會員,齊聚深圳,與代表公司的印度領導人Tarun Trikha共商TVI發展事宜。
June 10th (2009), 120 or so TVI "Diamond Associates" of TVI Express, from all over the country, gather in ShenZheng (Guandong, China), and met with India Leader Tarun Trikha, representing the company, to discuss further developements. 

據悉,自公司1月開始全球運作開始,全球共誕生6位皇冠會員。中國自3月份開始運作,就占了5位皇冠會員。另外一位就是Tarun Trikha。
TVI Express started operating globally in January 2009, and there was a total of six crown associates in the whole world.  TVI Express started operating in China in March 2009, and China has produced 5 of the crown associates. Mr. Trikha is the 6th.


The blog also says that Mr. Trikha already has 36000 downlines.(blog entry was dated June 2009)

Well, isn't that interesting. Based on this information, the only logical conclusion is that Mr. Trikha is the FIRST EVER member of TVI Express! He is "member zero"! Why else would he be "representing TVI Express"? A member don't get to do that, not even one on the advisory board!

So it is logical to assume that he either founded the company, or is very close to the founders. How else would he get to join TVI Express so early,and thus, reap all the benefits?

Now that you've seen "face of the enemy", what is your reaction?
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Friday, April 16, 2010

Another TVI Express cheerleader cites bull**** as support

Recently, a comment was left on one of my articles on Hubpages. It was so ridiculous, I decided to publish it, and pick it apart, to show you how TVI Express cheerleaders ignore reality, use logical fallacies for their material, and in general behaving like morons. It is another symptom of TVI Express madness!

hey Hubs,
you are full of it. all i know is tvi express is booming and you can't stop it. i have people that are making $10's of thousands of dollars following the simplest steps. Hubs, i think you should join in too. you asked what is tvi express selling? the idea is to eliminate any selling which causes many of those home-base business to end up down the drain. do u think people want to put up with the hassle of stocking/selling things? tvi express members only helps the company expends it's market sharing, and we get unbelievable commissions for doing just that. do u think companies like disney world, hertz, marriot, klm, sheraton, and many many more would have partnered with this company if it wasn't a legitimate company? c'mon dude!
First of all, the name's URL goes to "Meet Plan B", which just teaches you how to market to people, and make them join your MLM or whatever. It's basically what's taught by various "marketing coaches", and goes under the name "attraction marketing" or others.  It can be useful for recruiting others to join your TVI Express downline, but only if you want dozens of people coming after you.

What is even more interesting is... the IP address used to post the comment (which I am NOT revealing) is from Comcast.net in Florida. I had previously rejected a comment for posting in Spanish. Well, same subnet. Hmmm... 

Then the writer starts off with an insult, but that's all right. That's his summary and purpose: to prove me wrong. So what arguments did he use? Unfortunately, it's the same old arguments as always: 1) it pays (implying it's legit), 2) selling "membership" is legal, and 3) "real" companies "support" TVI Express, therefore it's legit. We've disproved each of those before, and we will do so again.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

TVI Express in Vietnam? Yeah, right...

"Breaking" news in Vietnam investigated TVI Express, found tviexpress.vn and tviexpress.com.vn are both operated locally by Vietnamese distributors of TVIexpress.com, and copied verbatim from the main tviexpress website.

Both local sites represent themselves as travel companies, and even "offer tours". However, they are NOT registered travel agencies. Thus, they are suspected of operating illegally!

Furthermore, there are questions whether it is even LEGAL to use multi-level marketing to promote intangible products, such as travel, in Vietnam.

Wonder what will they say when they read the news I've collected?

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=vi&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww6.vnmedia.vn%2Fnewsdetail.asp%3FNewsId%3D190399%26CatId%3D26
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Wednesday, April 14, 2010

TVI Express deletes own annoucement to cover up its own problem

TVI Express decided to rewrite history, by removing one of their own announcements from their website.

In February 2010, TVI Express put up an announcement that they are implementing a new booking engine, and it should go online March 1st, 2010. Here's an excerpt:
Monday, February 01 2010

Dear Members,

We are pleased to announce the launch date of our much awaited standalone booking portal on 1st March, 2010. The initial booking system we launched couldn't support booking requests of masses and hence, laid the foundation for the development of a fully online booking system to ensure speedy processing.
..

cited from http://www.tviexpressreviewblog.com/free-vacation-booking-status-update/
Then in March 2010, they released another message that says the rollout isn't working.
Friday, March 05, 2010


Dear Members, 



This is to inform you that our product fulfilment booking engine due to be launched on 1st March 2010 will take a few more days to go live as the integration of inventory for some of our Channel Partners has taken longer than expected...
Cited from http://www.tviexpressreviewblog.com/tvi-express-booking-engine-update/
However, if you now look on the TVI Express website, under announcements, the March 05, 2010 message is NO LONGER THERE. However, that message has been cloned by various TVI Express clone sites, by helpful TVI Express members.  

If you do an analysis of the announcement page, you realize that the REAL announcement page is is actually

http://www.tviexpress.com/announcement1.php?id=XX

Where XX is the announcement ID. For example, here's the link to the announcement that the booking engine will be up on March 1st, 2010.

http://www.tviexpress.com/announcement1.php?id=52

Yet the next announcement, about TVI Express India, dated March 22, 2010, is id 62!

http://www.tviexpress.com/announcement1.php?id=62

What happened to announcements 53-61? If you punch in those ID's, you'll get "announcement expired".

So, TVI Express can "expire" announcements that makes itself look bad, and leave only those announcements that make itself look good. Is that what a reputable company would do?

Also makes you wonder, what are in the announcements 53-61 that we don't know about?

Keep in mind that there is no specific announcement that the booking engine is functional. Yet by deleting the announcement dated March 5th, 2010, which did NOT specify a time when the engine will be up and running, TVI Express gave the impression that the engine was functional since March 1st, 2010!

Folks, no matter how you spin this, this is NOT what a reputable company would do. If they made a mistake in announcing the March 5th, 2010 outage, just put up another announcement "sorry, it's never really broken". By actually DELETING the announcement, they made it appear as if they have SOMETHING TO HIDE!

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Tuesday, April 13, 2010

TVI Express member plays the weasel and not quite lie

EPIC FAIL.Image by locusolus via Flickr
Welcome to another episode of TVI Express Madness, where we highlight the various lies, untruths, and weasel-like activities perpetrated by TVI Express members in order to "support" their continued addiction to suspect pyramid scheme already illegal in China, under investigation in Hungary, and denounced in plenty of places!

Today's article in question is http://www.betternetworker.com/articles/view/mlm-news/companies/is-tvi-express-a-valid-business

The article contains several problems: 1) comparing TVI Express to AAA (auto club), 2) recruiting is not scam, 3) recruiting only two is not scam, and 4) bandwagon fallacy.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Chinese TVI Express distributor arrested -- dupe report

Here's the original link: http://dt.66wz.com/Article/mssd/2009-10/28/10_38_58_330.html

OOPS!  Just realized this is refers to the SAME individual who was sentenced to 1 year in prison as stated earlier. This is NOT a separate case. Sorry!


天上真能掉馅饼吗?
Will food drop out of the sky? 

警惕“英国TVI 旅游快车”传销陷阱
Warning about "TVI Express" pyramid scheme trap

洞头新闻网 2009-10-28 10:36:03 
DongTow Newsnet

本网讯(通讯员 王静静 郭杰成)
Reported by Jingjing Wong, JieChen Guo, reporters for this agency

只要交271美金注册一个账号,成为TVI会员即可获得7天6夜住宿五星级酒店的假期、免费返程机票以及在线参加打折旅游活动,可能获得 15000美元的回报。天上真的能掉馅饼吗?
Just pay 271 USD, register an account, become TVI Express member, and get 7-day 6-night accommodation at 5-star hotel, free return ticket, and online participation of discount travel activities, and you can get $15000 USD in return. Will food really fall out of the sky?

近日,洞头警方迅速出击,一举摧毁了以蒋某、陈某为首的“英国TVI旅游快车”网络在我县的传销组织,用事实告诫投机者,“馅饼”只是一件美丽的外衣,掩盖的是诈骗钱财的传销活动。
Recently, Dongtow Police have speedily investigated and broke open a pyramid scheme organization in this area, headed by Jiang and Chen, called TVI Express. The facts will warn those who are desperate for money: the promised huge reward is just a pretty overcoat, hiding the fraud known as pyramid scheme.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

TVI Express supporter fakes post attempting to discredit critic

I have previously reported that I have been asking some pointed questions on VoiceofSikkim.com, and after some pointed questions, one of them faked a post, pretending to be me, "apologizing" to all for criticizing TVI Express. Oh yeah, what utter BS.

This is really me

K. Chang says:  April 4, 2010 at 12:12 pm


@Tsairong Chang — good, what about those TVI Express members who are NOT in Asia? And how many of your fellow TVI Express members in Taiwan have gone on those trips?


And it’s only a 3-star hotel. So it still begs the question… when did TVI Express downgrade the “5-star hotel” down to “3-5 star”, and why was this never announced on the TVI Express website?


AND why TVI Express never publishes a list of available hotels? People have been begging for this list ever since TVI Express got started! I am glad to hear that you got your trip in Taiwan, but again, what about the rest of the 150 countries that TVI Express claim to have members in?


Well, at least you provided a LITTLE PIECE of an answer to one of those 16 questions. Now we know that hotels OUTSIDE of India may be available, but again, it’s not an complete answer.
And this is the fake post
K. Chang says:  April 4, 2010 at 12:56 pm


Dear.. All


I am Very very sorry for negative comment. I dont have idea about TVI Express at all, I just got few blog are posted in other links. I had copied from there.


Actually I want to know the fact about TVI Express. So, Today I am going to announs TVI Express is a Legitimate and real MLM company . I want to work with TVI Express forever.


Please dont mind, Ok Guys lets work together, we are the Family of TVI Express


K. Chang
China
Ungrammatical, poor word choices, wrong typos, and I don't even live in China! But let's dig a little deeper... Look at the HTML source. The real post has this line:

<img alt='' src='http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/0f2f77d9561244ee9fb2b2ff8599ff2c?s=32&d=&r=G' class='avatar avatar-32 photo' height='32' width='32' />  <cite class="fn"><a href='http://kschang.blogspot.com/search/label/TVI%20Express' rel='external nofollow' class='url'>K. Changa>cite> <span class="says">says:span>  div>
And the fake line has:
 
<img alt='' src='http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/becc3976de2eeb026871d89e31cb5011?s=32&d=&r=G' class='avatar avatar-32 photo' height='32' width='32' />  <cite class="fn"><a href='http://www.tviexpress.com' rel='external nofollow' class='url'>K. Changa>cite> <span class="says">says:span>  div>

Completely different Gravatar ID.

See what kind of unscrupulous people TVI Express seem to attract?

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TVI Express and other MLM scams caught in Chinese sweep

CHONGQING, CHINA - JANUARY 21:  Chinese youths...Image by Getty Images via Daylife
Here's the translation of the official Chinese government news about their sweep of illegal MLMs, including TVI Express. The release is by Zhejiang Administration (bureau) of Industry and Commerce

http://www.zjaic.gov.cn/zjaic/jrgs/gskx/200912/t20091214_74662.htm


全省打击传销工作联席会议扩大会议今日召开
Provincial Anti-Pyramid Working Group Meeting starts today

(dated 14-DEC-2009)

作者:吕律     来源:省局新闻中心
Author: Lew Lu   Source: Provincial News Agency



组织1403次专项检查,取缔传销窝点2469个
Performed 1403 inspections, cited 2469 illegal pyramid scheme locations
浙江打击传销百日联合执法行动成效显著
Zhejiang's Anti-Pyramid Schem One-Hundred-Day Combined Operation is a great success
全省打击传销工作联席会议扩大会议今日召开
 Provincial Anti-Pyramid Working Group Meeting starts today


记者今天从正在杭州召开的“浙江省打击传销工作联席会议扩大会议”上获悉,
Reporter today, at the Zhejiang Anti-Pyramid Scheme Working Group Meeting" has learned

自今年7月份 开展全省打击传销百日联合执法行动以来,全省工商、公安等职能部门集中优势兵力,共出动执法检查人员45942人次,组织开展专项检查1403次,取缔传 销窝点2469个,依法刑事拘留613人,逮捕360人,劳动教养41人,有效遏制了传销活动在我省的蔓延势头,维护了正常的市场经济秩序。

Since July (2009), when the province-wide Anti-Pyramid One-Hundred-Day United Operation started, in the entire province, Administration of Industry and Commerce, as well as Administration of Public Security, has combined forces, and sent out inspectors total of 45942 times, performed 1403 inspections, cited 2469 pyramid operating points, detained 613, arrested 360, and sent 41 to reeducation and rehabilitation, successfully inhibited the proliferation pyramid scheme in this province, and maintained regular market economic order.

今天的大会总 结了此次专项整治行动取得的成果,并对在此次行动中荣获先进集体和个人称号的单位和个人予以表彰。
Today's meeting is to publicize the results from the entire operation, and to commend those organizations and people who have protected the people.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Pyramid sweep in China ends, TVI Express devastated

Chinese Ministry of Public SecurityBureau of Public Security, China by xiaming via Flickr
I will make a custom bilingual translation later, but here's the Google Translation link if you are in a hurry.

And an excerpt (translated by me):

"Wenzhou Province LuCheng City, Bureau of Industry and Commerce, has uncovered TVI Express, suspected in international online pyramid scheme, with over 2 million (RMB) involved, making it an major crime. The case has been transfered to Bureau of Public Security for further investigation and disposition."

NOTE: I assure you, that the auto-translation of "200 million" was wrong. It was written as 200 x 10000, or 2 million.

And yes, China *do* send offenders of civil crimes to "re-education facilities".
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Is TVI Express legal under INDIAN Law?

Map showing Mountains and Rivers of IndiaImage via Wikipedia

TVI Express claims it is subject to law of Cyprus and India. We've already concluded previously that it seem to fit the definition of a pyramid scheme under Cyprus Law (which is also E.U. law). So what about Indian law?

In India, money circulation schemes are banned under the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978. Section 2 (c) of the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978 defines a money circulation scheme as, "any scheme, by whatever name called, for the making of quick or easy money, or for the receipt of any money or valuable thing as the consideration for a promise to pay money, on any event or contingency relative or applicable to the enrollment of members into the scheme, whether or not such money or thing is derived from the entrance money of the members of such scheme or periodical subscriptions."

This is a bit on the vague side, as it is trying to be comprehensive. but basically it says "it is illegal to pay money to join a scheme where you are paid based on the amount of people you enroll (who also pay to join)".

Well, in TVI Express, you pay $250, and you recruit people, and when you got enough, you get paid $250+something, then you recruit some more, and you get paid $10000+something. Yep, fits Indian Law, at least to me, but then, I am no lawyer.

But I am starting to see why TVI Express claims to be legal in India. Apparently the regulators there had okayed it by issuing them Reserve Bank of India certificate to open an operating account, so they are registered and operating.

And they do NOT meet any of the following red flags as listed on this Indian MLM Blog http://indianmlmblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/indian-mlm-and-network-marketing.html

However, those are by no means the only ways a MLM can be an illegal scam.

Furthermore, it still doesn't really prove that TVI Express are compliant with the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Scheme (Banning) act. The jury is still out on that.

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Friday, April 2, 2010

TVI Express member lie, lie, and lie some more

On a comment board in India, this member went as far as claim Warren Buffet had invested in TVI Express!
Hello Friends,
I am going to give you some facts here, which are for you to decide whether you have to be a part of it or not:
1) TVI Express is verified by Trust Guard which is one of the top Compliance Companies in the US. Address, phone number and legalilties have been successfully verified and you can find a proof of the same by going to the footer of TVI’s official website.
2) TVI is duly incorporated in Cyprus, INDIA and is managing its financial operations wonderfully well. Many people have got their payouts transferred to their Bank Accounts and Every one is getting Travel products which shows that TVI is not just a website and is a properly managed International Company.
3) TVI’s office is on the Business listing of Google and if any business has to be listed on google, they need to get themselves verified. This is another fact that count towards the legitimacy of the Organization.
4) They have been backed by World Choice Travel to provide Travel inventory to its members which is also the backing company of two more Multi Millionaire Brands.
Hope this will guide you in taking a firm decision.
and above all waren buffet has also invested in this company.
 Okay, let's see how many lies this guy made...

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Yet another TVI Express insider quits in disgust

Kelly Williams, often cited as one of the pioneers in TVI Express, has expressed disgust at the lack of integrity of TVI Express, and can no longer endorse or recruit for it. This was two months ago.

Read the whole thing at Troy Dooley's MLM Helpdesk

http://www.mlmhelpdesk.com/2009/10/05/tvi-express-leader-kelly-williams-reaches-out-to-mlm-help-desk/

Another marketing coach calls TVI Express a scam

You can read his article here:  http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/Expert-TVI-Express-Scam-Analysis/214286 and it comes with a warning:
For those of you residing in the United States and/or Canada, and possibly other countries but I only speak on what I'm certain of, there is a well documented history of distributors getting held lawfully responsible for involvement in an illegal pyramid. Even if you had the best of intentions, realize that TVI Express resides in the UK so if the powers that be are going to go after anybody, it will be the top earnings earners here locally.
In other words, you can be held LIABLE under LOCAL laws for running a pyramid scheme, esp. those of you who got the "big payout"! 
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Another TVI Express insider calls it a scam

Carcassonne meeples, or followers {{ca|Els mee...Image via Wikipedia
You can read the whole thing at http://www.tviexpressreviews.info/?p=280 but here's an excerpt:
TVI Express has cleverly tied the free travel vouchers to a slick money game type compensation plan. Many around the world have admitted that the TVI Express board game has pyramid scheme written all over it. It’s a slick revamp of the pyramid with TVI Express exchanging some sort of product that costs them nothing to make it all somehow look like it’s almost legal and almost a business.
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Another marketing coach says TVI Express is a scam

Watch Reginald Stinson's video and see if you agree.

http://reginaldstinson.com/tvi-express-scam-truth-revealed

TVI Express: smells like a scam according to marketing coach

Multi-Level MarketingImage by larryosan via Flickr
James Hicks, marketing coach, reviewed TVI Express, and found it to be very scam-like. He in fact predicted it will fail soon. Here's an excerpt:
TVI is an illegal scam?

Well when looking at an MLM company to join I always look at the products and if they provide REAL value to the end user.  Also I think about if the product would sell on its own if there wasn't the enticement of an MLM comp plan attached to it.  The company TVI fails on all counts for me.
And here's a clincher

Would I Join?

Never.
You can read the full review at http://www.top-online-earners.com/articles/an-expert-review-of-tvi-express-is-this-a-modern-day-ponzi-9455/?c=26386

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TVI Express shills threaten to "visit" me, except...

A photograph showing various types of beaters,...Image via Wikipedia
A bunch of TVI Express shills threaten to pay me a visit, except they seem to have me confused with someone else who had been criticizing them from Nepal! And I think they are threatening violence! What the heck is a "tabala"? Should I notify the police? Is this the kind of company you want to join?
"Saran, Danish, Yogesh, Monaj says:
Hey!! Mr. K Chang!!!
Who are you? Why you are posting negativities about TVI Express?
I know very well,
You are basically from Nepal Kathmandu, you Name is C. Agrawal, You have own International company over there. You have joined TVI Express in May-2009 and you have enrolled total 15 members, 15 X INR 13000 = INR 195000. Your total investment in TVI Express is INR 195000. Your ID has been split out by other team in Jan 2010 and you have earn INR 5,20,000. Further you don’t have any option to generate more income from same ID or from your Down line because those person you have enrolled they all are dead. They are unable to make more sponsors and your board goes stagnant.
So, now you don’t have work and you are trying to flash out bad name of TVI in markets.
My all team members are very much angry with your comment; they are coming to your place at Kathmandu soon. Hence, it’s time to cover your ass and run to home.
My team members will play TABALA in your ass.
Whatever you have posted, it’s doesn’t matter to TVI Express and also in my team members. They knows the truth about you."
http://voiceofsikkim.com/2010/03/25/%E2%80%98tvi-express-does-not-operate-any-investment-schemes%E2%80%99/comment-page-2/#comments 

P.S. Tabala seems to refer to an Indian percussion instrument. Now that is definitely a physical threat! 
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