| Comment Number: | 522418-03043 |
| Received: | 6/16/2006 11:09:47 PM |
| Organization: | Neways |
| Commenter: | Karl Nichols |
| State: | AZ |
| Subject: | Business Opportunity Rule |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 437 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
To whom it may concern, We are concerned about the proposed Business Opportunity Rule R511993. and believe that in its present form, it could hinder us from continuing as a Neways distributor. We understand that part of the FTC's responsibilities is to protect the public from "unfair and deceptive acts or practices," but some of the sections in the proposed rule will make it very difficult, if not impossible, for us to sell Neways products and sign up new distributors. One of the most confusing and burdensome sections of the proposed rule is the seven-day waiting period to enroll new distributors. Neways' sales kit for new distributors costs only $25. People buy houses, cars and other far costlier items without having to wait for seven days! This waiting period gives the impression that something is inherently wrong with Neways' business opportunity. It would stifle our business by requiring considerable extra paperwork and follow-up communication. The proposed rule would require that we tell new enrollees about any lawsuits against our company related to misrepresentation or unfair or deceptive practices, even if the company was found innocent. Today, anyone or any company can be sued for almost anything. Unless Neways is found guilty, it does not make sense to us that we would have to disclose these lawsuits, which are already a matter of public record for anyone who wants to find them. Otherwise, Neways is cast in a questionable light even though the company has done nothing wrong. In reality, this rule would encourage companies to sue each other for competitive reasons. Finally, the proposed rule would require that we give each prospective new enrollee the contact information of the 10 most recent purchasers who live the closest to the prospective new enrollee. Not only would this cause us and my company an undue burden of time and energy to research this information for every new potential customer, but it would violate the privacy and confidentiality of the people provided as references. In addition, it would cause us and our company to lose our competitive advantage by providing customer information to people who could possibly use it for competing business purposes. Finally, the proposed rule would drive away potential new enrollees with the following required sentence: "If you buy a business opportunity from the seller, your contact information can be disclosed in the future to other buyers." We have been a Neways distributor for over 7 years. Originally, we became distributors because we loved Neways' products and wanted to earn some additional money. Now our family depends on this income as our main source of income. Please don't make legitimate business owners suffer because of the fraudulent activities of a few others. We appreciate the work of the FTC when you are protecting our rights as a consumer. We believe that this proposed new rule would cause many unintended negative consequences, and we urge the FTC to find less burdensome alternatives for achieving its worthy goals. In effect, this rule could function as a ban on our industry. Thank you for considering our comments. Karl & Signe Nichols