It appears that the US-base travel company WorldVentures is currently in a legal battle with the Cypriot Ministry of Commerce and with the Association of Cyprus Travel Agents (ACTA).
The company is being criticised for a) taking away the exclusive rights of Travel Agents to sell holidays and b) the structure and transparency of their commission-based business-structure.
The turmoil between ACTA and WorldVentures started in November last year when the ACTA issued a press release to warn the public about an unnamed travel firm that uses a pyramid system of sales.
In parallel, the Ministry of Commerce have issued WorldVentures with a fine of 50,000 euros for breaching other legislation which protects consumers: the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive of the EU Consumers Act 103(I) – 2007, a law which was harmonised into the Cypriot constitution and enforced in December 2007.
WorldVentures have failed to pay the fine and according to a source are currently lodging an appeal to the Supreme Court. A spokesperson at the ministry revealed the fine remains in place and is outstanding.
Representing former members, the Consumers Association are investigating whether former recruits of the company are able to recoup their WorldVentures membership fees under the 2007 Unfair Commercial Practices Directive.
The CyprusMail covers this story whilst bringing some scary statistics to light:
According to the company’s latest Annual Income Disclosure Statement for the USA, only 0.582 percent of representatives in the United States have actually reached a rank high enough to qualify for what they call Monthly Residual Commissions.
We will continue to follow this story, and bring you the latest news. Stay safe out there everyone.
Update : Another article about the in-depth workings of the travel company’s commission structure is published via the CyprusMail, entitled ‘Make a living… out of your friends‘
Update2: Due to Cyprus-Mail’s refusal to archive their news stories, some links may be broken.
