Why the change?

When I joined tvi back in September, I scoured every page on the site trying to learn all I could about the company. I wanted to be able to answer any questions people might ask me without having to turn to my upline for answers. I was very committed to making this work as I had already lost my job and filed bankruptcy.

Recently, I remembered coming across the “Community” tab that had a subheading of “COMMITMENT” that I no longer see anywhere.  Under this heading was an article about tvi and how a portion of its profits goes to Unicef.

This is to be found NOWHERE on the site anymore. Wonder why? This is the page it used to be found under:

http://www.tviexpress.com/commitment.php

They also mentioned it in their power point presentation and it has also been removed from that.

Interesting too, because so many members are still touting that TVI gives to UNICEF.  Go on…….. google “Tvi donates to UNICEF” and see how many you find that are still saying this. If I were an active participating member and chose to use this statement, I’d sure want to be able to back this claim up!

For whatever reason, tvi has made the decision to take this statement off of their website. Which makes me wonder if they EVER donated anything to begin with. Especially, since they they stated it in black and white that they actually DID. They didn’t say they were going to, they actually said they did. No amounts were ever mentioned and that is also bothersome, as you would think they’d make at the very least a quarterly announcement stating how much their donations were for each quarter. With all the millions they are raking in, you’d think they’d jump at the chance to share with the world their donations to a charity they were involved with. There never were any announcements regarding such, and if I were still an active member, I would be asking tvi why the change? Why remove the Unicef article and statements?

Hmmmmm, maybe I will do just that anyway. If I actually ever get a response, I will update it here. Note, that I haven’t received any responses to my last sets of emails and hey, even 99% of them, so, don’t hold your breath.

I did already write to UNICEF last week and have not heard back from them. I asked if they could tell me if a company I was involved with actually made donations to UNICEF as they stated they did. I also said I didn’t need any exact amounts, just if they ever donated. I am not sure if they are allowed to publicly state that information though, but I figured what’s the harm in asking right?

If anyone finds that I am wrong in my statement and they can give a link to the tvi site that states they still participate in donating to unicef, please feel free to correct me by commenting below.  As of this writing, there is nothing on the tvi site itself. Only members spouting information that may now be false. Ahhh, but what else is new, right? It’s a new year, but the same ol’ falsities still abound.

Just telling it like it is…..

Boards Unwrapped….

I have to get this out of the way: In case anyone is not familiar, I am a NON-Participating member of tvi.

I am going to tell you what they don’t want you to know until after you join. Tvi isn’t entirely open about how the whole process works. I will try to explain it as simply as I can.  It’s alot more than you join and sign up 2 more people. They LOVE to harp on this in the beginning. “Two people, that’s all you have to bring in, 2 people! Not 20, 0r 30 or even 100! Just 2 people!”.

Here begins the REAL deal:

There are 2 boards. The Traveller Board and the Express Board. Each board has 15 slots/positions and when you join you begin on the Traveller Board. You could be in any one of the slots depending on how filled the board is when you join.  (This can also determine how fast you climb the board)

The board is shared amongst many people. Some you may know, but most you will never know. It’s supposed to be a team venture to fill the boards.

First, you need to get 2 people signed up under you (or you purchase 3 positions total)

Second, they also EACH need to get 2 people signed up. This makes 6 people in your downline.

The Traveller boards you and those 6 in your downline are on (as they may not be the same after the first split) ALL have to fill up and SPLIT several times or no one from your team will ever cycle. If that doesn’t happen, you will sit there forever. 

It also depends on how fast your downline each gets their 2. If they get them fast and no one else on their boards has their 2 they can JUMP over the ones that don’t, which will speed up the process, but the boards still all have to fill up and split at least 3 times in order to cycle. It’s possible to do it in 2 splits, but not common.

To cycle off the Traveller board you CAN get spillover. Spillover happens when someone else in your upline already has their 2 people. Every person they sign up under them after that is spilled over to someone else on their downline that needs it. It goes in the order they joined. So, if everyone has their 2, but the 6th person in your downline, the extra(s) will go to them and so on.

When you cycle off the Traveller Board you receive $250 into your ewallet (good luck actually getting it put into real money though) and a $250 evoucher to sell. You are automatically put on the Express Board. (This is the board that if you cycle you will get $10k in your ewallet and a $5k voucher used for company sponsored events only. Also good luck getting the $10k turned into actual money)

Now here’s the tricky part alot of people don’t realize. In order to cycle off the Express Board AND qualify to receive the $10k and $5k company sponsored travel voucher, 2 members of your downline need to ALSO cycle off of the Traveller Board and join the Express board with you. (it doesn’t need to be the same express board, btw) If you are the ONLY one in your team to cycle the Traveller Board, you will never get off of the Express Board with any possibility of that $10k. You will get jumped over til the cows come home and never get the typed words and numbers “$10k” into your ewallet.

It’s actually entirely possible to sign 50 people up and you NEVER get off the express board. If those 50 never bring anyone else in, everything is at a stand still. People try to get their 2 signed up right away because they think that’s all they need to do. Then they find out that those 2 HAVE to get their 2 or they might as well have never signed them up. They are useless to them. So, people sign up mom and dad, but don’t think ahead that mom and dad may never sign anyone up.

 Pretty deceiving. You get your two and they each get their 2 and you’re golden you’re told. NOT! Until the traveller boards they are on are filled and 2 of them also cycle, you will never get off the Express board.

So, IF you’ve decided to join tvi, you’ll see it’s alot more difficult than they make it sound. So, quick recap, you join, get 2 more people to join and they each get their 2. Now, at least 2 get off traveller board and you qualify for the express board. Sounds simple until everyone else on the traveller board stops bringing people in.

I should also mention that if you are someone who cycled off the Traveller board because you got a spillover or 2 (you didn’t sign 1 or 2 up yourself), you will NOT qualify to get $10k if you cycle the express board! To qualify you MUST sign up 2 DIRECT members, NOT spillovers. Most are not told this and are left to find out the hard way. So, there you have it. The real scoop on the boards and how it’s possible to bring alot of people in and never cycle either board.

I hope people are doing their research and realizing this is NOT the company to do any kind of business with. It’s not legit and it’s not as easy as they make it sound either. Don’t forget, they’ve changed how to get ewallet “funds”. You MUST use a 3rd party company to receive any funds at all from tvi. (IF you use STP or LR, remember there are fees involved and it will come out to more like $8500 NOT $10k when all is said and done) OR turn those “funds” into vouchers and sell. OR I read about someone that transfers their “funds” to their upline and their upline pays them. Once tvi’s new amendment goes into effect, they will no longer be able to do this as “funds” will not be allowed from downline to upline anymore. Only upline to downline.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to comment and I will respond as soon as I can.

Hope everyone had a good holiday!

Just telling it like it is…..

Christmas Scenes

           

I am fired up……..Pt 2

So, the other night I was pretty ticked off at tvi. What’s new, right? Well, seems they’ve taken some things under advisement.

 See latest announcement released early last evening:

TVI Express Mailing (no-reply@tviexpress.com)
SUBJECT: Urgent Notification
SENT: Tue 12/22/09 5:02 PM

Urgent Notification

Hello TVIites,

Hope you are doing great!

This is to inform you that on request of our members and discretion of the management team, we have placed the implementation of changes stated in the announcement “Important Amendments”, dated 20/12/2009, under re-consideration. The changes will not be brought into effect until an announcement concerning the same is posted.

We advise you to purchase eVouchers either directly from us or from trusted sources to ensure legitimate purchase. The company would not be responsible for any repercussions in case of a third party voucher purchase.

For now, we wish you all a Merry Christmas. May you have a rewarding year ahead!

Sincerely,

TVI Express Team
Touching Lives Globally!

HA! Well, maybe my irritated note to them rang some bells. I am sure I was not the only one who emailed them all in a fit of rage though. They aren’t going to listen to one little disgruntled member, I do realize that. I would love to know how many actually did complain though. Too bad there’s no way to find out.

Even though they are not implementing anything from the “Important Amendments” announcement, they are indeed keeping the no direct bank transfers implementation. I checked the back office and looked just to see if they put the “wire transfer” tab back, but they haven’t.

NO WIRE TRANSFER TAB ONLY LR/STP

So, this part of the announcement is not in effect:

“According to the new system, new accounts can be paid for using evoucher or wallet of only those accounts which are in the senior line of sponsorship.”

And this part of the announcement is also not in effect:

“Inter-wallet fund transfers have also been limited and the funds can be transferred from uplines to downlines only. Fund transfers to uplines and cross-line members will be disabled from the date and time as specified above.”

YET, that is! Notice, the new email at the top of this page  says until the next announcement is posted. So, sounds like it will be, but maybe they are tweaking it.

Either way, tvi is still not legit and they still NEVER responded to my questions in either of my letters I sent the other night when this came about. Or all the other unanswered emails I’ve sent to support, for that matter.

Not surprised by that, I guess. I mean, why start answering now?

Anyway, for the time being, those who have funds or vouchers can still treat them the same as always. Members just can’t get a direct bank transfer.

Please note: I have not changed my perception of the company in any way, shape or form. I would not ever recommend joining!

Til next time,

Just telling it like it is……….

How can this possibly be?

Last week I mentioned something that has always bothered me and that was the Alexa site data.

This week,  I offer you one other piece to ponder.  When I joined in September, I scoured tvi’s website thoroughly and saw some things typed there that I wondered how they could be possible when the company was so new.

One of those things was under their “Community” tab on their home page titled “Events”.  Here they claimed to have already had travel events with the company. How? I asked other members and they had no idea and said it couldn’t be as the company had only been around for a period of months. I said, “yeah, I understand that, but it’s typed in black and white on their site.”.

Today, they’ve changed some things under the Events page, but they still have the same little paragraph about company events.  Here’s what it says:

Elevation Retreat – Typically a Hawaiian adventure beyond compare, this annual event is like a summer vacation for top TVI Distributors. Only, instead of having your family in tow, there are founders and top TVI executives milling around, offering training on the coast. And, though it’s also taken place in the Caribbean at the Grand Cayman, it’s usually in Hawaii. Either way, there are surfing and snorkeling and plenty of sunshine to go with your business tips.

Distributors who maintain Diamond status get the first shot at Elevation registration, and Gold’s fill in the gaps. But every attendee, regardless of rank, leaves with a tan to match the week’s intense TVI Express focus.”

I don’t get it. Can someone, anyone explain this please? The company only launched in February 2009. I have seen some articles saying it was prelaunched in the UK and India April 2008, but I have no actual information verifying this. The first announcement in the back office is from February 1, 2009 and announcements in July state that the company is now 6 months old. So, seems like the February date is the date the company is using as their launch date.

Notice in the quote from the site above that this “Elevation Retreat” is for TOP Tvi Distributors only. Diamond members who maintain their diamond status get first dibs on registering and any empty spots left are available for gold members. (how nice of them)

So, if this retreat is for the top people only then how in the world would they have been able to have a retreat in the first year? A retreat btw, which there is no info on. They make it look like it happened because they use sentences like “though it’s also taken place in the Caribbean at the Grand Cayman, it’s usually in Hawaii. “. Pretty misleading don’t you think?

Let me explain further. In order to become a Gold Associate, you need to have cycled out of the Express Board. That typically takes 60 or more days. In order to become a Diamond Associate, you need to have TWO members in your downline that have cycled as Gold Associates. However, it is even trickier because those two members need to be from two different “legs” of your downline. Or “organizational structure” as the FAQ likes to put it.

We all know that everyone is going to move at a different pace, so, achieving Diamond status is going to take a little bit of time. Of course, there are going to be these teams with feeder systems that may get through faster, but that is not typical.

So, how in the first year….even if it was started April ’08….could they have come up with enough Diamond Associates and Gold Associates to even have an “Elevation Retreat”? It just doesn’t add up.

Especially when companies that actually HAVE these kind of retreats SHARE the experience with all members in a newsletter announcement complete with photos of the event, meals, relax time, silly images, people whooping it up, the incredible hotel, pool, beach etc. Then they usually announce where the next event is going to be and hype that up too.

Sure makes one wonder why they would make it look like it happened, and not share the experience. They are FULL of things that don’t make sense and this is just another one of them.

Just telling it like it is……..

I AM FIRED UP!!! Pt. 1 (warning…..LONG)

I really wish I had a punching bag! I really do! Have you heard/seen the newest announcement tvi made last night after 9:30pm ET? I am sitting here FUMING! I put that this is Pt. 1, because I just sent two seperate emails to tvi support and the financial team, copying both on each email. Can’t wait to see if they respond at all, for one. And secondly, if they DO respond, I can’t wait to read what they have to say.

Those of you that have been reading my blog all the way through, know that I no longer participate in tvi as a member. I have indeed been scammed and with this latest announcement, it appears ALOT of people are going to be just as ticked off as I am. Please enlighten yourselves and see what I am referring to:

Important Amendments

Monday, December 21 2009
Sun 12/20/09 9:39 PM

Dear Members,

This announcement is to make you aware of a few changes in the payment and fund transfer sections which will be brought into effect as of 22/12/2009, 2 PM GMT.

According to the new system, new accounts can be paid for using evoucher or wallet of only those accounts which are in the senior line of sponsorship. For example. username XYZ can be paid for using an evoucher or wallet if the voucher owner or wallet ID paying the amount is in the upline of XYZ.

Inter-wallet fund transfers have also been limited and the funds can be transferred from uplines to downlines only. Fund transfers to uplines and cross-line members will be disabled from the date and time as specified above.

This has been done to ensure security of your accounts and to prevent increasing number of voucher and fund thefts.

P.S.: Payments done by Solid Trust Pay and Liberty Reserve will remain unaffected by these changes.

Sincerely,

TVI Express Administration
Touching Lives Globally!”

Naturally, I am immediately thinking of all the people that have “funds” and vouchers left in their back offices who are going to be left holding the bag. I being one of them, as I have vouchers that I clearly will never use. Tvi won’t give me funds directly and I refuse to sell vouchers and bring anyone into this. So, I am stuck. My upline offered to buy them from me, but I haven’t responded.

I don’t know about everyone else, but this announcement doesn’t seem very clear. So, I emailed asking some questions. Here is the first email I sent:

“Subject: Urgent questions regarding Important Amendments

Hello,

Can you please answer some questions about this new announcement? Surely you realize that giving such short notice (basically 24 hours since it was sent out after 9:30pm ET) is quite disturbing to alot of members. The announcement isn’t very clear about some things.

Are you saying that if someone has vouchers in their back office that they can’t sell them to anyone they want? Many have vouchers on hand for anyone on their team that might need one at any time. They were so sparce at one time, that people have been holding on to them.

The way it reads it appears that after the 22nd, if we have vouchers still in our account no one else can purchase them if they are in our downline. Seems members should be able to sell vouchers to anyone on their team regardless of status.

Is it a cross-recruiting issue? Trying to put a stop to the tvivoucherforum.com? The truth would be the way to go on this!

Also, regarding the “increasing number of voucher and fund thefts” statement, I have not heard of ANY thefts or hacking regarding this. I don’t believe this is why tvi is making the changes at all. If this was an issue, it should’ve been announced long ago! This new policy in no way protects us any differently. Vouchers and funds will still be in our back office. So, if this is a hacking issue, this won’t help!

Lastly, I still after many contacts have yet to find out why I was told on December 5th by the Financial team, that wire transfers are on hold. The Financial team cancelled the wire transfer to my bank on their own (after 24 days of me waiting for my transfer)and the “funds” were put back into my ewallet yet there has still not been a PUBLIC Announcement made regarding this! If it were true, why no announcement?

Why hasn’t the option to do a wire transfer been disabled? Why mislead members into thinking they can have the funds transferred to their bank account only to find out weeks later that tvi is no longer paying members directly?

Now we get this Announcement at the LAST MINUTE making it near impossible for members to do what they need to do so they don’t get completely shafted. Very shady business practices tvi!

I really hope someone responds to my questions because they need to be answered expediently since your time frame you have given is irresponsibly short!

Last 2 responses to questions from the back office to support were responded to, but NOT regarding the questions I asked. I ask about fees and I get a response about a user id. I ask about why no announcement regarding bank transfers being on hold and I get response to contact support to cancel my transfer. The responders obviously did NOT read my questions!

And can you please expand on what you mean by “senior line of sponsorship”? Are you referring to Diamond members? Gold Members? Who? We do not know who is “senior line of sponsorship”. Please explain.

Sincerely frustrated member”

Curious if I will get a response and IF I do, will they actually respond to what I have asked. I figured by emailing support AND Financial teams, maybe I have a better shot of being responded to.
I had to send the second email because I went to the site and saw a second announcement there that was NOT mailed out. This announcement was regarding STP and that you can use it for all facets of banking and purchasing vouchers.

So, I went to the “Financial Manager” section of my back office to see if they added the STP tab option to the Virtual Bank portion of the site. Well, they sure did AND they did take away the wire transfer tab as an option for direct bank transfers! So, when they told me direct bank transfers were temporarily on hold, they really meant PERMANENTLY!!! Now, the ONLY way for people to get funds is through LR/STP or turning funds into vouchers! Which is what I’ve been saying all along and it turns out I WAS RIGHT! Only, there are still people saying they haven’t gotten their transfers by using LR/STP.  I can’t personally verify that as I refuse to use either 3rd party service.

So, this is my second email to them: 

“Subject: Wire Transfers

Hello,

I just sent an email regarding why the wire transfer function in the back office hasn’t been disabled. I just went there and see that there is another announcement that hasn’t been sent out yet. So, I went to the financial manager and see that you did indeed take away the ability to do a direct wire transfer.

May I suggest that tvi actually come forth and make the announcement that NO DIRECT WIRE TRANSFERS are being done anymore?

In order for members to get funds out of their back office, they have to join a 3rd party service. They can’t get it directly from tvi. THIS IS VERY BAD!

Members should NOT have to use one of these services to get their funds that tvi is supposed to be paying them directly with.

Many have done their research on LR and STP and there are ALOT of complaints. Especially with STP freezing funds for no reason. It’s ok when funds are being sent and received, but when people have tried to actually request the funds transferred to their banks STP puts a freeze on their account!

Who would trust a company like this with their funds? I think tvi only chose STP because they don’t allow chargebacks or refunds and that is also shady business practices. TVI doesn’t realize how bad this looks, but it looks VERY VERY bad!

So, the only way for members to really get their funds is to turn them into vouchers and sell them and now, tvi has put restrictions on even that!

Things keep going from bad to worse! What a way to treat your members!

Very upset at all that keeps transpiring with this company! If I could get all the money I’ve invested back, I would in a heartbeat!
There’s a reason you don’t have a 30 day money back guarantee. More than half would be using it! I definitely would be!”

I started out trying to ask things nicely, but I am too frustrated! It’s very upsetting that so many people are losing money with this company and they just keep making things worse. What’s next?

I really hope they get shut down and SOON!

Just telling it like it is……..

Coconut Water Health Benefits

 

I have noticed an increase in coconut water being sold in stores over the past year. I had been doing some research on Virgin Coconut Oil and it’s health benefits over the summer and started also reading about coconut water. It’s pretty amazing stuff!

Did you know that it’s as close to human plasma as you can get? Because of this, it was actually used for blood transfusions in World War II. In case of emergency and dehydration, it has also been used for IV’s in place of a saline solution. I’d say that’s pretty amazing stuff!

Coconut water has plenty of electrolytes, potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorous, zinc, selenium, iron, b-vitamins, vitamin c, manganese, amino acids and even some fiber and is also low in calories. (typically 65 per 11oz) Also low in natural sugars! These elements make it a nutritious rehydrating sports drink in itself!  It has more potassium than a banana! Potassium is by far the highest element in the beverage. So if you know someone whose doctor says they are low in potassium, this is a great way to add it to the diet.

Alot of companies sell 100% pure coconut water. No added sugar, color, flavors etc. Personally, we have found that VitaCoco is our favorite brand. It has several flavors including plain coconut water. The flavors are 100% fruit puree though, no added colors or sugars. We tend to prefer the pineapple flavor the best. Soooooo good, healthy and refreshing!
is also very good. I believe they only have plain coconut water and it is sweet and very refreshing! I would purchase either brand without hesitation.

Coconut water has health benefits such as:

• helps to remove or dissolve kidney stones
• killing/removing intestinal worms
• rehydration
• low glycemic index
• helped people get off of dialysis
• helpful for diabetics by improving insulin sensitivity and controlling blood sugar
• helps with weight loss/control
• relieves itching of rashes when applied topically
• helps sunburn or sun poisoning when applied topically
• increases blood circulation
• relieves digestive issues



• relieves constipation
• fights fatigue
• helps with libido for men and women
• helps with sterility
• natural anti-aging nutrient
• helps lower cholesterol
• helps lower blood pressure
• non-allergenic
• increases metabolic rate
• helps with glaucoma and cataracts by drinking it
• helps with alkaline/acid balance which is important for immune function or disease resistance (alkaline forming food)

The list actually goes on and on. There are so many positive health benefits from coconut water, that there’s no reason to not make it part of your every day beverage.

Coconut water or coconut juice is different than coconut milk. Coconut milk is made from grating and squeezing the white part of the coconut meat/flesh.

Coconut water is taken from young green coconuts. The older the coconut, the sweeter the water, but also less nutrients. If you want to get fresh coconut water, make sure you get it from green coconuts. Not the brown shelled coconuts in the store. You want it still in the husk. Once the green husk is taken off of the coconut shell is no longer protected and can be introduced to germs and bacteria causing it to mold inside. If you do buy the brown coconuts, make sure to shake it and verify lots of liquid inside. If it doesn’t “slosh”, don’t buy it. The liquid inside will have absorbed into the white “meat” or “flesh” of the coconut and you don’t want that.

Next time you go to your grocery store get some coconut water and try it out. It has a naturally light, refreshing, sweet flavor. Make sure to read the ingredients to make sure it’s 100% coconut water. There are a few that have preservatives and sugar added, so read the label.

~bloggerwatchdog

My story…….extra short version

Here is the extra short version of my story: (If this is the short version, imagine my long version!)

• Hours cut drastically at work for many months. (used to work 60-80hrs a week regularly, then they cut it to 30 or less a week. Sometimes only 8 hours!)
• Filed bankruptcy June 5th, was laid off June 8th.  What timing, eh?
• Having been laid off, I also surrendered house in bankruptcy.
• September 27th I Joined tvi thinking this was the answer to my prayers
• October 5th, emailed support regarding general questions everyone wants to know. (never got reply)
• October 6th, Wanting to prove this was legit before bringing in other members, I purchased the other 2 positions required to cycle off the Traveler board and be eligible for the Express board.
• At least 25 people or more were very interested, but hesitant.
• October 9th, emailed support regarding fees about transfers. (never got a reply)
• October 20th, emailed support 4 seperate questions.
• October 26th, 2 replies to 2 October 20th questions. One regarding the forum. I asked when it would be available. They said they would forward my request to “higher officials”. Second reply was to question regarding if there was going to ever be any live webinars/training. They said they would keep us informed by announcements. (Never got a reply to the other 2 questions.) 
• November 7th, I cycled the Traveler board.
• November 9th, to prove to everyone that was on the fence about joining that tvi was legit and indeed would transfer funds into your personal bank account (like I had been told from the very beginning), I requested the funds to be transferred directly to my personal bank account.
• November 28th, I emailed support regarding my wire transfer pending for 19 days! Also asked again about fees and why hasn’t anyone responded to my question regarding fees associated with transfers and there better not be any since I’ve received no response.
• December 5th, Tvi financial department emailed me and told me my pending wire transfer had been cancelled and the funds were put back in my ewallet. They said wire transfers were on hold and to use Liberty Reserve. So, what do you think happened to all who were on the fence? They bailed, and I can’t blame them!
• December 11th I emailed support 2 seperate questions regarding FEES and Bank transfers being on hold and why hasn’t a general public announcement to all tvi members been made regarding this. With upgraded customer support they responded same day, but did NOT answer either question. They replied with answers that had nothing at all to do with my questions. I replied back immediately asking that if they are going to respond to questions, they should at least read them because they are replying not making any sense whatsoever.  To this day still no general announcement regarding bank transfers being on hold. I believe they have this option as a front and have never paid anyone directly this way. It just makes it look good as an option. That is, until someone tries to request the transfer and they refuse!
• Present day, still have not received responses to my actual questions. Still have not been paid. Still believe it is a legitimate SCAM.

Sorry if that offends people, but I am telling what has transpired with my experience with tvi. I have ruffled alot of feathers by coming out with the truth about how people get paid. Some people think that turning funds into vouchers is ok. As long as they get money into their pockets, they don’t care how they get it. I don’t know about you, but I think that is quite disturbing.

I believe wholeheartedly this is a scam. There are too many red flags and they refuse to take any of them away by not responding to people’s questions or concerns about tvi. They have not put rumors to rest and they are NOT a US based company like someone out there is trying to tell people.

Yes, there is actually someone commenting on another blog saying that tvi is a US based company! lol Amazing! They are also claiming that the blogger from a well-reputable mlm review site needs to get their facts straight about tvi and that ”everyone has gotten paid”. They obviously didn’t read the comments before commenting themselves or they would’ve seen that I have NOT been paid. Besides, it’s IMPOSSIBLE to tell others that “everyone has gotten paid”. They can’t possibly know that! And to tell that to people like myself and others who HAVE NOT gotten paid, just irks me to death!

Well, seems someone should stop talking about tvi if they don’t even know that this company is NOT a US based company! This person is trying to talk about “facts” and they don’t even have their own facts straight. It’s just really frustrating how blinded people are. I certainly hope they aren’t recruiting other members by telling them this is a US based company. How embarrassing for them. 

There are also people saying I should “stop spreading the negative” and that I am “not helping my team”. Well, gee, NO I am not helping my team, because I think it’s illegal and the way people are really getting their money is completely dishonest!

As I stated there, if tvi can erase ALL their red flags and prove that they are a legitimate business, I will take down this blog and replace ALL of my negative comments with positive ones. After all, if anyone wanted tvi to be legitimate and really work, it’s me! I am with the millions of unemployed across the US, filed bankruptcy and have lost my house! So, YES, I wanted this to be real and shout to the world that tvi has been a lifesaver for me, but I can’t with all good consciousness say that to anyone. I want to be able to sleep at night knowing I did not scam or cheat anyone and have made an honest wage. Don’t you?

Just telling it like it is………even though I am getting alot of flack for it. At least I am speaking out for those who are afraid to, are too embarrassed or who don’t know how and for those that are doing their research on tvi. Maybe I will help at least one person.

Would You Choose TVI or Airtran?

Yesterday for kicks, I went to TVI’s booking engine and Airtran’s and decided to scan what I found into my computer and share it with all of you.   

Please forgive my photos as my scanner is giving me a bit of trouble. Can’t seem to size my images the way I want to. Click on the images and if you use your zoom % tool on your computer, (150% works well for these images on my computer) you will be able to see that the dates, times, flights, locations are EXACTLY the same. You will also see what a huge difference in price there is! Airtran has tvi beat by $90! I’d say that’s quite a significant amount!   

TVI Booking Engine $399.20

Airtran Site $289.20

  These flights were scheduled for:   

December 19, 2009 
Boston to Orlando flight #899   
  and   
December 27, 2009 Orlando to Boston flight #898
  
As you will see, tvi came to $399.20 and Airtran $289.20   

I wish I could’ve shown you the flight I scheduled for a last minute trip so you could see what a great deal I got on Airtran’s site. However, when I tried to use TVI’s booking engine for the same date and time, it said there was nothing available.     

 I had put into Airtran’s website Dec 18th, Boston, MA to Akron, OH. The price they came back with was $107! Now, as most of you know for a last minute price that is unbelievably good! Not sure why TVI wouldn’t even acknowledge it. I thought it was because maybe their booking engine won’t let you book with 24 hours before departure time, but I did a few other comparisons and they came back with plenty of other airtran flights, but not the cheap ones I found on Airtran’s site. So, I couldn’t compare at all on some of the ones I tried yesterday.   

Just from personal experience, if you are able to fly airtran, you will more than likely find the best deal going directly to their own site. That goes for ANY other travel site, not just TVI’s. We have flown Airtran since they started and have never been dissatisfied. Believe me, we have used them ALOT since we are 600 miles apart! We’ve even gotten flights for $39! So, they are certainly worth a look in our book.   

And no, we are in no way affiliated with Airtran at all. We get no perks for mentioning them, we just have had really good experiences with them and we like to share the good and the bad with people. They’ve had their days where things got delayed, like every airline experiences from time to time, but they make things right. So, even if we WERE still participating members, we would never use tvi’s booking engine. Especially for flights. We do much better on our own.   

Now, there have been times I’ve searched both TVI and Airtran and they have been the same price or Airtran was only a few dollars cheaper, but TVI has NEVER been less! Not one flippin’ time!   

Just thought I’d share this with you, so you can see for yourselves. I probably will do some other searches and share with you another time. Any requests? Just post below.   

Have a good one!   

~ bloggerwatchdog……..lookin’ out for you………and telling it like it is.

Is there a Product?

This seems to be one of the biggest controversies surrounding tvi. Is there a product? ALL participating tvi members will quickly reply with a resounding YES! Are they brainwashed? Blinded by the almight dollar, maybe? Desperate? Some I think actually believe there is a product. OR want so badly to believe it because they have already sunk so much money into it that they have blocked out all logical thinking and refuse to see the red flags.

Is it the trip, vouchers or the booking engine? Members are quickly scolded by their uplines if they try to say anything is a product but the booking engine. However, I do find it quite interesting that tvi itself is very contradictory.

If you go to their home page and view the video, at approximately 3 min and 5 sec they actually say:

Approx 00:03:05:82 says "NO PRODUCT SELLING"

 Did you see that? NO PRODUCT SELLING!

Yet on their site under “Company” go to “Corporate Message” and you will read: “….We are shaking it up with our amazing line of Products and Services….”.

Under their Opportunity heading  you will find “We offer a wide range of products and services to match almost every lifestyle…..”.

Go to their FAQ #3 and it says:

3. Do I need to sell any products?

No. You don’t need to sell any products. TVI Express is a unique e-commerce opportunity allowing you to build the Business around the globe sitting at your home. However, we do support leaders who take initiatives to promote the opportunity offline conducting seminars and workshops about the Opportunity.

So, which is it? Is there a product or not? Not as far as I have been able to see, and having access to the back office and team info, NO there is NOT an actual viable product. Certainly not a “wide range of products…” or “line of products..”. Unless they come up with some things in the future, but right now they don’t even have one product much less a “line” or “wide range”!

The closest thing they have to a product is the 6night/7day certificate, but they are adamant about NOT getting people to sign up this way. They don’t want people signing up for the trip itself because that would mean that those people aren’t in it for the “business” side of the company. If they aren’t in it for the “business” side, then they won’t be bringing other people in. And if they don’t bring other people in who also bring other people in, then the boards will become dead and will stop cycling. If they stop cycling, people stop getting the ability to get ewallet funds so they can turn them into vouchers to sell and get their money.

Next non-product, please don’t try to sell me on the booking engine as a product folks. It’s just not so. A “service” maybe, yes, but not a product. The prices you get from that are not that much different from travelocity itself and other sites. Not to mention, so far, they have not been able to beat prices from Airtran’s own website. Why pay $250 membership to use a booking engine that you can do for FREE folks! Don’t be so gullible!

I am sure there are some of you saying, “But what about the discount you get if you find it cheaper?”. Yes, I do know about the 10% deal if you find your room cheaper (you do realize this ONLY applies to the hotel portion of the booking engine, I hope) within 24 hrs of booking it and make sure you read the fine print on that too. AND that “deal” is ONLY for the “Hot Rate” or “Save” marked rooms. NOT ANY room you book. That’s a whole other post! So don’t even try to throw that one at me. I am well aware that it is there, but not very likely you would ever be able to use it. Especially since their response time and actual HELP has not been witnessed by so many including myself. I wouldn’t trust putting my credit card through that site, NO WAY!

They say, “no product selling”, so, how are you going to make any money? The ONLY way so far, anyway, is to recruit other members to join by selling vouchers OR selling vouchers to other members. And how do you get those vouchers? Ahhhh, yes, by turning your ewallet “funds” into vouchers and reselling them to whoever will buy them from you. Upline, downline, or poor unsuspecting people that believe this is a legitimate business because you’ve convinced them to TRUST you. You keep doing this over and over because all you see is the next $10k typed into your back office. Remember, this is NOT real money until you ask TVI to transfer it to your personal bank account. And they are counting on you NOT asking for it, believe me. Turning it into vouchers costs them NOTHING.

SO, for all you doing your due diligence, you will pay for a voucher to join and then you will ONLY move forward (meaning make any money) if you SELL more vouchers. So, this doesn’t really add up to a legitimate business. Not only is there no actual product, but you won’t make money if you don’t recruit members into your downline. So, once again, it comes down to members paying members…..NOT tvi paying members……and still NO ACTUAL PRODUCT.

Oh, and just in case there are any wondering why I never put links to tvi’s website, I will NEVER direct anyone there by putting a link. I refuse to do so as I do feel it is not a legitimate company and you should certainly invest your money elsewhere. If you feel so inclined to verify what I have said is true, I always give instructions on how to find this information publicly. Nothing hidden here.

Just telling it like it is………..