Arbonne scams

I’ve been talking to this guy for a few weeks and he’s been telling me about this thing he’s been doing. He goes on zoom calls, goes to meetings, etc. I was asking him questions about it and he tells me it’s called Amway. After a literal 2 second search I find all this information about how it’s a cult/pyramid scheme/scam. I remember one a few years ago called Arbonne which is why I started asking questions cause it sounded familiar. Anyway, I told him about this and he was shocked but is still continuing on with it. Is this good reason to cut him off? He clearly lacks intelligence right? He says, “Maybe there is good in this, you know?” What should I do? I’ve already tried telling him about how he shouldn’t do it anymore.

I have an old friend from high school that has recently become an Arbonne consultant. They have messaged me many times trying to get me to join their team and with literally less than 20 minutes of research I could see how big of a scam the entire thing is…but that’s not the point.
Currently, she and other young women/moms I know are partaking in a 30 Day cleanse and bragging about how much weight they have lost already. “2 weeks in and down 7lbs, etc.” They are not nutritionists. They know very little about the product they are pushing and the impacts it could have on their potential customers.
The cleanse involves cutting alcohol, coffee, dairy, wheat, gluten, soy, and artificial sweeteners completely out of your diet. It encourages you to replace 2 meals a day with their protein shakes:
2 scoops of Arbonne Essentials protein shake
1–2 cups of water or nondairy, non-soy milk
1/3 cup of leafy greens or 1 scoop of Arbonne BeWell Superfood Greens powder
1/4 cup of fruit
1 tablespoon of peanut butter or half an avocado
I have been on my weight loss journey for close to 8 months now and have successfully lost 55+ pounds. I am not a certified nutritionists, but I have done extensive research on safe and healthy weight loss. I may not know everything, but one thing I do know is replacing 2 meals a day with these shakes will put you in a daily calorie deficit that is neither safe nor sustainable.
I am mainly upset because these products and this cleanse are being pushed on young women, mainly young mothers, as a healthy reset and way to lose weight when there is little scientific evidence to back up these claims. The consultants do not have to know anything about nutrition or weight loss to sell these products. The consumers are going to mess up their metabolism while they basically starve themselves for 30 days…and they have to pay $300+ to do it.
All of this and I haven’t even touched on the MLM scam of it all!
Please do not join Arbonne or partake in this cleanse for weight loss reasons. I want to scream from the rooftops how unsafe it is that these breastfeeding mothers are doing this to themselves. Rant over.

This is going to be a sizeable post, but I felt like this story was to interesting not to share. Last summer when I started working I found myself working with a coworker who was quite chipper and intense. I later learned that she had just finished up her undergrad in relation to nutrition and was a college basketball player. She had such a depth and understanding of knowledge when it came to nutrition that I found having conversations with her absolutely fascinating. While I don't have a huge depth in biology, I had just finished my sophomore year in a mathematics/statistics degree and heavy into running so I had garnered a sizeable wealth of research around health/fitness.
Now, one day she showed up to work and couldn't stop talking about this great new opportunity she found with a wonderful company that has wonderful products... It was Arbonne of course. Being someone that she knew was analytical she kept going on about all the great research that Arbonne had around it's products and how their natural and organic compounds made them SCINETIFICALLY better then anyone else. So, after she gave me a link, I went onto the website and quickly realized how much of a scam it was. "Research" wasn't focused enough, ingredient lists were broad statements, no nutrients-labels anywhere to be seen, and all products were OBSENLY PRICED (I am talking $3 for a hydration packet that should be $0.80 - 1). Anyway, I thought that I could explain this to her and that she would understand... That was poor judgement.
So I wrote her an article/analysis of the company, referenced all the things I noticed that were red flags, and naturally it didn't change ANYTHING. But the one thing that really stuck to me was one of the last text-voice memo conversations we had. I was debating with her (through voice memos over text) that "Natural Ingredients" weren't scientifically proven to be "better" then "Synthetic Ingredients" as proven through various random control trials. But her response to all of it, after all of her schooling and expertise she had shown to me, was something along the lines of "You can't always rely on science for your health, sometimes you just need to try things." WHAT THE ACTUAL F**K. I honestly was just so disappointed because I ended up witnessing a smart person get swept up in the messaging of a business so much that she was blind to all of her knowledge and expertise in a field and just went full on Hun mode.
Anyway, that is a bit of a rant but if you have any questions about it I have loads more details.
Final Note: If anyone knows good information about Arbonne "independent consultant" count for 2023 I would love to know! I know back in 2019 they had close to 500,000 and made a total of 600 million but in 2023 they made a revenue of (I believe) 15 BILLION. Which to me means that they must have be at all time highs

Maybe this is a bridge too far, but curious what you all would do. I recently moved to a new city (nearby suburb of major metro area), and I found a Pilates studio that I love. The classes are awesome, the instructors are cool, I love the ambiance, and the schedule works well for me.
I was just looking through their membership packages, and there was a link to a “store” on the website…..annnnnnd it’s full of arbonne supplements. I checked out the studio owner’s Instagram, and her “sales rep” status is prominently featured in her bio.
Now, every time I take a class, I see a room full of potential victims. I assume she uses her fitness class network to perpetuate the scam. That said…Pilates is one of my favorite workouts (it’s done wonders for my body after a traumatic injury a few years ago), and this is the only studio in town. I’m not about to buy a reformer to work out at home. And the individual instructors are—as far as I know—not MLM reps. It’s just the owner. Everyone is legit as far as Pilates goes.
Tbh, I just want someone to tell me that it’s not unethical for me to keep going to this studio, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’m indirectly supporting this woman’s predatory behavior.

Got a message from my bank asking if I had made a purchase. Not trusting the text, I checked my mobile banking app and found 2 purchases from Arbonne. The total was almost $300.
I had to call my bank and the process is started to get my money back. Someone is scamming me to run their scam.

This is a story/rant of what happened to me this morning:
I was looking at local restaurants and business on Google and Facebook and came across a place with the name “Good nutrition in it” when I typed that in I noticed there was another store named something similar near another city. I saw the reviews and considered to give it a try. So I went over there inside this woman’s shop. There was a guy in felt of me who got a coffee or shake or something. The decorations were nice but as I looked around I saw vitamin supplements and a bag that said “Arbonne”… I contemplated on whether I should just walk out or just give it a try and avoid the arbonne product. Well I soon found out after asking the owner about her drinks and “waffles” that she uses mixes to make them. the coffee was about the size of a 44oz drink. She didn’t ask me what size I wanted to I assume that’s all she had or she tried to give me the biggest one. The waffles she “made” was from a shake mixture that she mixed up and plugged up a waffle maker to make it. I had to briefly leave the store so I didn’t see how she made it but I found this out after asking her what’s on the waffle. So I made the mistake of buying a “sugar free protein iced coffee” and a protein based “waffle”. It cost around $16 with no tax. I said thanks and walked out and went in my car to try it. Another red flag. So I tried it when I got in my car and…wow that coffee tasted like straight aspartame in water. The coffee was no where to be found. I immediately cringed and then tried the waffle. Surprise surprise it was tasteless. The sugar free syrup was questionable. The waffle was hard to describe but the best way I can explain it is that it was bland. I’m mad that I wasted my money by giving it the benefit of the doubt. She thankfully did not try to recruit me but she mentioned her business supporting a local blood drive for Christmas. Now I will avoid nutrition shops. Always follow your intuition and signs right in front of you. I hope the $16 I could’ve used for another place(I threw everything away then went to a local restaurant with lots of reviews that serves breakfast). I don’t know why I didn’t just walk out especially since I don’t have as much of a problem saying no like I use to. I know I’ll get my money back it’s the principle of me feeling unsatisfied as the customer. That was my first time walking into a mlm store I’ve only seen them online or the Mary saleswomen trying to sell skincare and makeup(had a aunt who did at one point and my mom tried to support her so I didn’t have a say so but knew something was off with the skincare products.) I’m just disappointed in myself for allowing that to happen even with me seeing obvious signs and knowing about these predatory scams. I’m a college student and do not like my money going to waste even if I have it.

title basically says it all but i’ll provide more info just for context (apologies for any typos)
my godsister has fallen into arbonne and i am so terrified for her. she’s in her late 20s and is a navy wife living in japan with her one year old daughter. a few years ago after she got married she had two miscarriages and they really changed her. we both grew up very religious in the church of christ and, she is still very religious. i know a lot of the huns aren’t the most educated but she has two degrees and is a teacher with ambitions of being a professor. she started a few months ago and can be VERY defensive. i (22f) have known her my whole life and when we were kids we were super close but when she went to college we started to drift apart. it wasn’t bad blood or anything just life and going on two different paths. i love her like we’re blood relatives, she was my first friend and as kids she was like my big sister. i don’t want to see her or her daughter get hurt. in the past she’s struggled with anxiety and depression and i’m scared that when this eventually comes to a head, it’ll send her to a dark place.
this is extra :/ for me because my dad is a victim of the iraqi dinar scam and for the past 14 years, it’s ruined his life and hurt my family a lot (like i got into my dream college with a full tuition scholarship but, couldn’t go because my dad “invested” my college $ into it). i’m not trying to project but, i know first hand what happens when people get deep into scams like mlm’s and bad investments. both of them are people with the mindset that these are opportunities from God even though nothing about it really reflects what i know she believes. i know it’s too late for my dad to change but, maybe i can help my godsister? any advice or suggestions would be helpful.

I started working with a “wellness “ coach about a month ago… I had friends who worked with her prior to my experience so I thought she was legit. Turns out she is an Arbonne hun and I have never been so stressed about food in my life.
I ate one piece of pie this weekend after falling for the 30 day detox and she told me I had “fallen off the wagon” and the reason I wasn’t losing weight was because I had eaten this piece of pie.
I feel like a micromanaged idiot and I want her out of my life - I signed a contract for her wellness services and now I can’t get rid of her unless I pay her wellness contract fee. I might just put my head down for the rest of the month and ignore her.
Im so upset with myself. I can’t believe I fell for this. Im not an uneducated individual. I really just wanted to make some positive changes in my life. When I initially talked to her, she said her focus was to support me on healthy nutrition and exercise. It feels like the opposite of that.
I feel scammed and so vulnerable.

So... never thought I'd be in this position but I almost got recruited into an MLM.
To give a little bit of context I've known about MLMs for a long time through YouTube videos debunking their claims and through family members unfortunately being roped into them. My mom got into Young Living back when I was in high school (probably around 2017-18) and though she doesn't expect to make any money from it now she still continues to buy products and has even got my aunt and my sister into her downline. Speaking of my sister, she also got into Arbonne but to my knowledge has stopped trying to sell the products.
Ever since my mom got suckered into Young Living I've hated MLMs for the false hope and cult like status that they hold over their members and never thought that I'd be susceptible to any of the devilish tactics that they use to recruit new people. That was until this past Friday.
I'm a 21 year old male who currently works at Panda Express (I know, depressing). I'm relatively close with the AM and Chef at my store and because of the work culture at panda we really genuinely try to push each other in and outside of work. We keep each other accountable with working out and trying to achieve our personal goals and I feel like we all have each other's best interest at heart. All of this is to say I genuinely trusted them.
Recently they have been meeting with this guy, lets call him Glenn, who's been getting them into this "side-hustle" where they sell life insurance. Glenn claims that people who have been with him for less than six months are already making upwards of $5000 a month and they're doing this as a supplement for their normal 9-5. Somehow I didn't already see this as a red flag and I even entertained the idea of joining. My AM said that Glenn and his friend "Joe" would be coming by the store after hours to talk more about the company and future prospects. I decided to come back to the store for the meeting and sit in to hear them out and to try and gain some insight into how all of this works.
In the meeting they told me about how they get leads from the company and there's no cold calling/door to door sales and about the company's founder who was this poor guy who immigrated to the US and built this business from the ground up. They showed us videos of the annual Vegas conference that they hold and told us about how they rent out the biggest club on the strip and hold a huge after party. They told us about the work culture and how they inspire people to better their lives and gain both financial freedom and financial literacy and that this was more about people development rather than sales, saying down the line we'd be guiding others on how to sell life insurance rather than selling it all the time. He even mentioned the companies plan to buy a building and have an entire floor dedicated as a garage for the management's luxury cars to be on display as an incentive for the lower level associates.
At this point the red flags were popping up but being in that environment, having the conversation be guided by a salesperson from the company, and being surrounded by my superiors made me go along with the narrative. We even learned at the beginning of all of this that their boss (our area manager) was also part of the company and had already gotten a check for over $1000. This all came to a head when they told me I'd have to put in $200 to start off for access to the software I'd be using, and for training. When I asked if the $200 would have to be committed today, Glenn responded "Yes" and I folded. I didn't even have my card on me at the time so I had to Venmo my AM the money and he put it on his card...
Immediately once I left I had doubts about my decision to join, I even remember thinking to myself in the meeting that I should ask them the △ question. I went home and began to research the company and my heart sank. I just gave $200 to an MLM, and that MLM was PHP. I first looked them up on the Better Business Bureau and read the numerous complaints from people requesting refunds on their initial investment. I then went on to the countless videos talking about their business model and how it was unsustainable, citing the annual income disclosure which shows that 50%-60% of licensed agents make around $300 A YEAR, and 90% make less than $7000. I finally made my way to the new associates agreement I was emailed which told me I had 3 days to formally request a refund. Luckily I was able to talk to Glenn the next day and even though he tried to convince me to stick with it, saying that all those videos were from people who didn't make it and if I stuck with it I would eventually be making the figures he promised, he finally told me he would issue a refund.
Part of me feels like an idiot for even falling for all of this, I was talking to my girlfriend about all of the things we'd be able to do in the future with the money id possibly be earning, and after the fact everyone I've talked about this to immediately responds with "Oh so is it like a pyramid scheme?". I don't know how but even me, one of the most ardent critics of MLMs still got scammed into one of these companies. I'm just glad I was able to get out in time, unlike my managers and many other hopeful souls.
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TLDR: I got suckered into joining an MLM (PHP) by my managers at work even though I know of and hate the ethics of MLMs. I'm getting my money back though so that's good.

TW: mentions of Mental health issues
For some quick backstory, I was manipulated into joining Arbonne in 2019 when i was finishing up college. (i quickly caught on to the scam and quit about a month in)
The girl (i’ll call her Maya, not her real name), was your basic arbonne hun, wore the brown hat and everything. Posted about the buisness all the time, went to the events, drove the mercedes, you name it.
Even when i left her team, we remained friendly but didn’t talk nearly as much. I continued to follow her and her upline on social media (mostly because i’m nosey and their kids are cute lol).
I never saw these people in real life because we live in different countries.
About a year or so ago, i noticed a change in Maya. She seemed to be going through some hard times and out of respect for her, I won’t say what. She barely posted about Arbonne anymore. So one day, I asked if she was still doing it and she said yes. She was also posting on her instagram how she had picked up a “side-hustle”. She was working at a fast food chain. This was the first time my heart broke for her and I had wished i could do something to get her out of Arbonne, but she was so brainwashed and so far gone that i knew there was going to be nothing i could do. I was worried because she was stuck with a mercedes that she clearly can’t afford, she is also single with 3 kids. (As far as i know she’s single)
Recently, she’s been sharing posts on her social media how she had a psychotic episode, got evicted from her home, got arrested due to her mental health and admitted to hospital. A lot of her posts lately have been all over the place, don’t make a lot of sense and you can just tell she is struggling mentally. My heart is broken for her and her children, to be totally honest.
She’s not working (she’s posted about that) and still has the mercedes, and i believe her kids are not staying with her but i don’t know that to be a fact.
This is all happening with her arbonne link still in her bio and i just want to get her out. i don’t know what to do. i feel so bad for her.
it is my belief that this all happened as a result of the MLM. (not saying that as fact, but this is what i believed to have happened). I believed she had a mental breakdown as a result of stress. Maybe financial stress, relationship breakdown and perhaps many other factors.
the person who once told me that i would be able to work from my phone the rest of my life and be able to travel and live a luxurious lifestyle, got a job in fast food to make ends meet, got evicted and understandably, had a mental breakdown.
If this isn’t proof to not join an MLM, i don’t know what is.
i don’t hate her, i worry for her. i wish i could tell her this. maybe i could but i don’t know how. i also don’t want to cross any boundaries.
UPDATE Thank you everyone for your comments. I really want to update and share a message i got from this person this morning.
She messaged me and APOLOGIZED for some of the things she said that may have invalidated my experience or my health struggles (which is what she used to get me to join her team in the first place). She also shared how the people in arbonne made her “crazy” and fall into her own unhealthy habits and that i was glad i stepped out when i did because she didn’t want the same thing to happen to me. I messaged her back and straight up asked her if she left the company. She has yet to respond but it’s only been a couple hours. By the sounds of it, i think she has left, and if that’s the case, im going to cry tears of joy for her.

One of my Instagram friends is now a part of this MLM scam called Arbonne and she asked me yesterday and I quote
"Hi I’m really excited to let you know that I’ve just launched my own Arbonne business, would you be open to joining my VIP page? Please look out for my invitation!"
I said "No thank you, you really need to look into the horrors of people who worked for Arbonne! A lot of people have lost money to those businesses and they have gone into big amounts of debt and they have failed! Statistics have shown that 99% of the people working for an MLM company will fail!"
She said "That’s alright if don’t want to join. U have your choices and I have mine and that’s alright in the end 💕"
I was glad she didn’t drop me as a friend at least because a lot of people do that when you don’t wanna support their MLM company and then she just changed the subject into something we both liked.
And then I said "Did you know that Arbonne has been in several lawsuits over the years. Inserts pic of the article about the liver lawsuits I'm only telling you this cause I love you and I don’t want you sucked in that company for so long only to lose so much money!!! i’m telling you, I wish I was joking. I am not joking."
She responded with "Love you lots also 💗💗 no matter what" I just said ok with a heart and didn't go any further!
I think she’s pretty new in the business and at least she wasn’t trying to defend the company! honestly, I don’t even think she was listening to what I had to say!! She was avoiding talking about that stuff as much as possible and changing the subject was further proof!! I’m telling you these people get sucked into these companies and they don’t even realize they’re in a scam, and that they are are in a cultish group that just sucks to life and money out of you!! so if any of you ex Arbonne‘s wanna tell me your horror stories please share below!!

One of my Instagram friends is now a part of this MLM scam called Arbonne and she asked me yesterday and I quote
"Hi I’m really excited to let you know that I’ve just launched my own Arbonne business, would you be open to joining my VIP page? Please look out for my invitation!"
I said "No thank you, you really need to look into the horrors of people who worked for Arbonne! A lot of people have lost money to those businesses and they have gone into big amounts of debt and they have failed! Statistics have shown that 99% of the people working for an MLM company will fail!"
She said "That’s alright if don’t want to join. U have your choices and I have mine and that’s alright in the end 💕"
I was glad she didn’t drop me as a friend at least because a lot of people do that when you don’t wanna support their MLM company and then she just changed the subject into something we both liked.
And then I said "Did you know that Arbonne has been in several lawsuits over the years. Inserts pic of the article about the liver lawsuits I'm only telling you this cause I love you and I don’t want you sucked in that company for so long only to lose so much money!!! i’m telling you, I wish I was joking. I am not joking."
She responded with "Love you lots also 💗💗 no matter what" I just said ok with a heart and didn't go any further!
I think she’s pretty new in the business and at least she wasn’t trying to defend the company! honestly, I don’t even think she was listening to what I had to say!! She was avoiding talking about that stuff as much as possible and changing the subject was further proof!! I’m telling you these people get sucked into these companies and they don’t even realize they’re in a scam, and that they are are in a cultish group that just sucks to life and money out of you!! so if any of you ex Arbonne‘s wanna tell me your horror stories please share below!!

Recruited into Arbonne after a mental health section after an attempt on my life
Titles says it all really - in 2019 when my daughter was 9 months old I was sectioned (UK) after an attempt on my life. I left the hospital in sept 19 and left my husband’s home with my baby to live with my parents.
My mum was shortly after diagnosed with bowel cancer. With the threat of early covid concerning us in 2020 my father looked for a home nearby for my daughter and I as my mum was so Ill and vulnerable.
We moved into our house in the first week of lockdown in the UK. So I was a single mother, with a 1 year old, with complex mental health needs, living alone in a worldwide pandemic, in a new town.
And I was approached to join Arbonne. I actually remember being used as an example in an online training session - they told all the UK consultants what an amazing thing it was that Arbonne could turn my life around. That someone so mentally I’ll and vulnerable now had a future due to arbonne.
Many friends and acquaintances reached out to me to tell me that Arbonne was MLM / pyramid scheme to try and protect me. I was so poorly I couldn’t hear what they were saying.
I think I lost about £1k of my £1100 savings (that’s all the money I owned). I still haven’t been able to re-save that money yet.
I left about 6 months later, only because a local social and family service/charity stepped in to help me enrol on an access to higher education programme to train to be a nurse.
If I hadn’t have had the mental health team visiting my home weekly, and the eating disorder service delivering food parcels for me and my daughter I would never have had that referral made to the charity to helped me on to the college course that eventually made me see that I was part of a scam / arbonne cult.
Only now, a couple of years on after a big self discovery due to being diagnosed late in life as an autistic woman with ADHD do I really see how much vulnerable (predominantly) women are targeted.
I think the impulsivity and naivety that comes with being a neuroldiverse adult was prayed on.

Titles says it all really - in 2019 when my daughter was 9 months old I was sectioned (UK) after an attempt on my life. I left the hospital in sept 19 and left my husband’s home with my baby to live with my parents.
My mum was shortly after diagnosed with bowel cancer. With the threat of early covid concerning us in 2020 my father looked for a home nearby for my daughter and I as my mum was so Ill and vulnerable.
We moved into our house in the first week of lockdown in the UK. So I was a single mother, with a 1 year old, with complex mental health needs, living alone in a worldwide pandemic, in a new town.
And I was approached to join Arbonne. I actually remember being used as an example in an online training session - they told all the UK consultants what an amazing thing it was that Arbonne could turn my life around. That someone so mentally I’ll and vulnerable now had a future due to arbonne.
Many friends and acquaintances reached out to me to tell me that Arbonne was MLM / pyramid scheme to try and protect me. I was so poorly I couldn’t hear what they were saying.
I think I lost about £1k of my £1100 savings (that’s all the money I owned). I still haven’t been able to re-save that money yet.
I left about 6 months later, only because a local social and family service/charity stepped in to help me enrol on an access to higher education programme to train to be a nurse.
If I hadn’t have had the mental health team visiting my home weekly, and the eating disorder service delivering food parcels for me and my daughter I would never have had that referral made to the charity to helped me on to the college course that eventually made me see that I was part of a scam / arbonne cult.
Only now, a couple of years on after a big self discovery due to being diagnosed late in life as an autistic woman with ADHD do I really see how much vulnerable (predominantly) women are targeted.
I think the impulsivity and naivety that comes with being a neuroldiverse adult was prayed on.

Titles says it all really - in 2019 when my daughter was 9 months old I was sectioned (UK) after an attempt on my life. I left the hospital in sept 19 and left my husband’s home with my baby to live with my parents.
My mum was shortly after diagnosed with bowel cancer. With the threat of early covid concerning us in 2020 my father looked for a home nearby for my daughter and I as my mum was so Ill and vulnerable.
We moved into our house in the first week of lockdown in the UK. So I was a single mother, with a 1 year old, with complex mental health needs, living alone in a worldwide pandemic, in a new town.
And I was approached to join Arbonne. I actually remember being used as an example in an online training session - they told all the UK consultants what an amazing thing it was that Arbonne could turn my life around. That someone so mentally I’ll and vulnerable now had a future due to arbonne.
Many friends and acquaintances reached out to me to tell me that Arbonne was MLM / pyramid scheme to try and protect me. I was so poorly I couldn’t hear what they were saying.
I think I lost about £1k of my £1100 savings (that’s all the money I owned). I still haven’t been able to re-save that money yet.
I left about 6 months later, only because a local social and family service/charity stepped in to help me enrol on an access to higher education programme to train to be a nurse.
If I hadn’t have had the mental health team visiting my home weekly, and the eating disorder service delivering food parcels for me and my daughter I would never have had that referral made to the charity to helped me on to the college course that eventually made me see that I was part of a scam / arbonne cult.
I have since been diagnosed with adhd and I am being assessed for ASD. What I am wondering is has anyone else been victim of MLM or pyramid schemes?
I feel like my impulsivity and naivety that I suffer with due to my adhd have a part to play in why it was so easy to coax me in to their scheme.

Titles says it all really - in 2019 when my daughter was 9 months old I was sectioned (UK) after an attempt on my life. I left the hospital in sept 19 and left my husband’s home with my baby to live with my parents.
My mum was shortly after diagnosed with bowel cancer. With the threat of early covid concerning us in 2020 my father looked for a home nearby for my daughter and I as my mum was so Ill and vulnerable.
We moved into our house in the first week of lockdown in the UK. So I was a single mother, with a 1 year old, with complex mental health needs, living alone in a worldwide pandemic, in a new town.
And I was approached to join Arbonne. I actually remember being used as an example in an online training session - they told all the UK consultants what an amazing thing it was that Arbonne could turn my life around. That someone so mentally I’ll and vulnerable now had a future due to arbonne.
Many friends and acquaintances reached out to me to tell me that Arbonne was MLM / pyramid scheme to try and protect me. I was so poorly I couldn’t hear what they were saying.
I think I lost about £1k of my £1100 savings (that’s all the money I owned). I still haven’t been able to re-save that money yet.
I left about 6 months later, only because a local social and family service/charity stepped in to help me enrol on an access to higher education programme to train to be a nurse.
If I hadn’t have had the mental health team visiting my home weekly, and the eating disorder service delivering food parcels for me and my daughter I would never have had that referral made to the charity to helped me on to the college course that eventually made me see that I was part of a scam / arbonne cult.

Hello all!!! I honestly don’t know if this is still a HUGE problem on campus bc most of my classes are still online/ were online but before lockdown this problem was insane! There was constant advertisements for companies offering like crazy amounts of money for “easy work” and such. Such as the jobs 4 knights thing that was constantly being written on white boards in lecture halls. But even if it’s not, there’s hundreds of MLMS out there that prey on people like college students, single moms, military wives, such. People they think are low on money and could use a “side gig”.
These companies are scams and usually you will make no money/ LOSE MONEY!!! they usually will not pay hourly wages and if they do it’s only for “appointments”. Or you make money only on commission and recruiting other people into the company. Kinda like a pyramid scheme, but they actually have products to “sell”.
If you get an offers like this, just be reminded. If it’s too good to be true, it’s probably not true. Be smart out there yall, don’t fall for these scummy companies that are making money off your back while you’re losing money. With the recent inflation and everything going on in the world, these scammers are just going more hard. Be cautious and don’t fall for a company that wants you to pay to be apart of it! Common MLMs to be aware of: Arbonne, amway, Herbalife, melaleuca, Tupperware, USANA. For more info on this topic check out antiMLM

A family member who is a long time Arbonne member is now saying she’s starting a “career coaching” business that seems equally if not more scam-y than her Arbonne shilling did. This is an MLM still, right? Or has she moved on?