| Comment Number: | 522418-10880 |
| Received: | 7/16/2006 11:33:00 PM |
| Organization: | Xango LLC |
| Commenter: | Larry Hill |
| State: | GA |
| Subject: | Business Opportunity Rule |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 437 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
Ladies and Gentlemen of the FTC, as a concerned American businessperson I respect and appreciate your efforts to protect the American consumers from fraud and misinformation in regards to potential business opportunities. It is my opinion after much study and reflection that the proposed rules you are considering will not result in the intended protection of the American citizenry. I have been involved in direct sales for over ten years and I have experienced the very problems you seek to address. There are indeed some companies that seek to do business at the expense of the American consumer. I honestly believe however that these are in the extreme minority and would not abide by the new rules you seek to implement. This is a key concern in that any reputable company that works to benefit consumers now would continue to follow these new rules even though they would hinder growth and profitability. The unscrupulous element you seek to control would however not abide by these new rules as they refuse to follow acceptable business practices today. The key to correcting this situation is putting in place the necessary procedures to ensure that any company that refuses to treat the American citizens fairly is quickly and decidedly punished. To often today we see many examples of companies that defraud the consumer and are never punished or are given a simple slap on the wrist and allowed to keep the lion’s share of their ill-gotten gains. The direct selling industry is a great benefit to my family and to the families of a great many people I know. The proposed rules you are suggesting would, in my opinion, unnecessarily limit the free enterprise system that is the backbone of this country. Take the seven-day waiting period for instance, this rule would cast a negative light on the entire industry and impose unnecessary delays on the recruiting efforts of honest distributors and in so doing would be costly and impractical. The elimination of the $500.00 business threshold would force the majority of honest direct selling companies to comply with other provisions that really more appropriate for business’s requiring a greater investment that a simple sales kit. The requirement to provide the nearest references would impose many difficulties in ensuring that the information was always correct and up to date not to mention the ways it would impact and compromise the safety and privacy of each individual concerned as well as the possibility of corporate liability for consequent ID theft. The litigation reporting rules suggested would be unfair in the way that it does not distinguish between winning and losing lawsuits and could well leave legitimate companies open to frivolous litigation solely for the purpose of besmirching their reputation. Please take these concerns into consideration as you work to protect my family and the families of all Americans. We respect and appreciate your interest in our position and opinions and we feel that after due deliberations you will ultimately make the correct decision to not implement the proposed business opportunity rule.