I signed up to a WhatsApp scheme promising to make me thousands – I even recruited my family but we lost everything
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WHEN Charlie Harris, 34, from Derby, was approached on social media about joining a travel MLM, she jumped at the chance of making easy money from home.
Instead, she ended up in debt, her family relationships fractured and her mental health in tatters.
Reading the WhatsApp message, I felt a wave of stress and exhaustion.
“You have HUGE GOALS. This business works for 100% of people that do the work,” it said, followed by rocket and dollar-sign emojis.
Already working 40-hour weeks for online travel agency InteleTravel, I’d barely made any money so far, but vowed to hustle harder.
When a rep from the company first contacted me on Instagram in October 2019, I was struggling.
I have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome – an inherited condition that impacts my joints and blood vessels – and I’d lost my bank job following an extended period of sick leave.
So I needed a flexible role I could do from home.
Rachel* was around my age and seemed very friendly.
She said she was an independent travel agent with InteleTravel, earning commission from booking clients’ trips.
I could do the same and make four figures a month, she claimed, working hours that suited me.
When she added me to a Facebook group with other “travel agents”, I was reassured to see women from my area, including stay-at-home mums and others with disabilities.
When Rachel told me I’d need to pay a £150 sign-up fee to cover “agent certification”, and an ongoing subscription of around £50 a month, I felt confused, but she explained this would insure me if bookings fell through, plus cover start-up costs.
Trusting her, I agreed. I skimmed the small print then signed two contracts, one with InteleTravel and another with its “enrolment partner”, PlanNet Marketing.
Over the next few days, I was added to several WhatsApp and Facebook groups.
Messages poured in, and it soon became apparent I was expected to recruit others.
Feeling overwhelmed, I urged family and friends to book any trips through me, and also shared posts on social media about my services.
For the first month, Rachel regularly left supportive voice notes.
But they quickly became more intense, telling me to focus on recruitment rather than booking travel.
Determined to succeed, I encouraged my sister Ellie, then 18, and my best friend Kat, 28, to join.
Read more https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/37143652/mlm-scheme-scam-money-lost-thousands/
Content retrieved from: https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/37143652/mlm-scheme-scam-money-lost-thousands/.
