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An Odd Experience - some very dodgy people out there!

An Odd Experience - some very dodgy people out there!

I wanted to tell everyone about a recent experience I had. I hope that by writing about it, I can come to terms with it, because it's made me feel very anxious.

Last week a man rang my husband and said he wanted to meet with him and to talk about an "entrepreneurial opportunity". I thought it sounded strange to me, as he didn't expalin what the opportunity was. I said to my husband "Do you think he wants to sell us some time-share stuff? Could that be what it is?" My husband had no idea, but since the man was calling from a local number, he decided to go and meet him.

It didn't bother me too much - I just thought it was odd that the man didn't elaborate over the phone. My husband wanted me to come with him, but I tried to get out of going, saying "You go. You won't really need me, I may as well stay home." Then I told my husband he could just call the guy and cancel the appointment, if he couldn't be bothered going himself.

In the end, we both went. It didn't seem like such a big deal. Although I thought it was odd to be meeting someone we didn't know, on a Sunday, at a pub. As though we were already friends or something. Very Strange.

It turned out to be the man and his wife, sitting there, waiting for us, beers in hand (at 11.30 in the morning) looking for all the world that they were out for a casual Sunday lunch, and not a business meeting.

The man made chit chat about the weather and then launched into (what I thought) was a silly explanation about the course of the average person's finances over a life-time. He used a little piece of paper to draw a pointless diagram. He talked in very vague terms about "gaining financial independence" and "earning a stream of income". It was very repetitive and pointless. As though we don't all know what money is and what it is for!

I started to get a bit restless. If this was supposedly an "opportunity", then he wasn't getting to the point at all; he was going no-where.

I said "Ok, yes, but what does this opportunity actually involve?"

He said "Is this something you would be interested in?"

I said "Well, I can hardly say whether or not I'd be interested, since you haven't told us what this scheme involves."

Then things got slightly nasty. Very, very slightly weird. He said "I can tell you are not interested, you are only curious - you are not asking the right kind of questions."

I was floored. He came there to sell us something, but now he seemed to be criticizing me. I said something along the lines of "Well if you have an interesting opportunity, you have to be able to sell it. How can people be interested in something so secretive? Can't you just give us a hint as to what this is all about?"

He said he was not selling anything and that we would have to attend a conference in Melbourne in order to learn more. Again, he said that I was asking him the wrong questions. Then he sort of implied that we were wasting his time! (More like the other way around, I would say!)

It was just so odd. I have never had someone try to sell me such a vague concept and get annoyed with me for not wanting it. I sort of felt like I was being chastised, like a child.

The wife was mainly mute, but I thought she had weird, staring eyes.

My husband was really nice about the whole thing- he seemed so relaxed and showed a kind of polite interest, without saying very much at all.

After we left, I felt really angry, but I tried to make a joke of it. Then later I told my husband that I would never, ever attend something like that, ever again.

I even wondered if that couple were from some kind of cult or something? I mean, a typical salesman loves to be asked questions and will even say "good question" to you in the conversation. This guy was not like that at all.

I know I am anxious. But this man made me feel really, really upset, for some reason. Has anyone out there experienced this kind of thing before? I talked to my friend about it over the phone and she thought it was really odd, too.

16 replies

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In response to: An Odd Experience - some very dodgy people out there!

Re: An Odd Experience - some very dodgy people out there!

Its probably a pyramid scheme of sorts and the people were just not effective at prospecting new people. I wouldn't worry about it unless they continue to contact you.

The idea was probably to get you to go to a meeting with a good speaker who can motivate an audience and sign you up to a product marketing program or something along those lines.

The idea is sell the dream of financial freedom then reveal the product line and lastly tell you whats needed to achieve your new goals.

I still wouldn't rule out the cult thing 😕 if you don't want to be like these people don't do what they do or you could check out the conference if its open to the public and sounds legit

In response to: Re: An Odd Experience - some very dodgy people out there!

Re: An Odd Experience - some very dodgy people out there!

I got "coned" by my then-manager at work into going to an Amway talk. Some noisy American lady who gesticulated lots (not saying all Americans are noisy and gesticulate, just trying to paint a picture... hahaha...)

My boss was cagey about what it was. I think most pyramid schemes have a bad reputation (gee, I wonder why?) and people involved in it feel that they would scare off their potential marks by naming the scheme...

I stood up and posed some rather challenging practical questions to the noisy American lady. At first she tried to answer them. Then she tried to find other people's questions to answer...

Sorry if I upset anyone, but pyramid schemes are, to me, a whole lot of hogwash. I've had friends, even relatives try to sucker me into their flimsy little pretend businesses, but I politely say "No thanks". I wouldn't touch that stuff with someone else's barge pole...

In response to: Re: An Odd Experience - some very dodgy people out there!

Re: An Odd Experience - some very dodgy people out there!

Hi @Sahara

I can understand being annoyed by having a morning wasted by a rude person. It depends on how much anger was triggered by the event. I tend not to like associating with couples where the either party is silent, I try and even things out when there is a dominating male or female.

I had an Amway relative who was painful. I am getting used to the fact that people often try and sell stuff or ideas ... Sometimes I have gone out to a promotional event just to get out of the house and do something different .. dont worry too much about it .. but you are right .. there are some odd. even dodgy people out there.

In response to: An Odd Experience - some very dodgy people out there!

Re: An Odd Experience - some very dodgy people out there!

He doesn't sound like a cult to me,just a really shady character.

From the sound of it,your questions were too intelligent for him.You saw straight through him which possibly annoyed him as he was hoping to just deal with someone financially desperate,or of low intelligence,or someone just as unethical as himself.

People like this often have no product to sell-just a "scheme".

Their whole intent is to obtain money at any cost....often yours.

In response to: Re: An Odd Experience - some very dodgy people out there!

Re: An Odd Experience - some very dodgy people out there!

Hi @Sahara

Ditto to all the above. A very shady character - a con artist (and not a very good one at that).

His initial phone call was to test out the financially vulnerable - if they agreed to a meeting with a stranger for a business deal they knew nothing about they were deemed "fair game" and easy to rip off. So your questions at the meeting would of caught him by surprise and thrown him. His vague business waffle was to lure you in deeper before you knew what was going on. So your questions that sought to uncover this agenda were naturally the wrong ones.

It's a bit of a similar situation to a person looking for love online that can be easily taken advantage of as it offers something they badly need. As can be the case with money. These type of low dodgy individuals you met up with "prey on the vulnerable" for theIr own financial gain. We live and learn as once bitten twice shy.

I usually go by the thinking that if something feels wrong question it, and if it seems too good to be true it usually is. Good thing you spoke up - well done my friend. xx

In response to: Re: An Odd Experience - some very dodgy people out there!

Re: An Odd Experience - some very dodgy people out there!

Thanks @itsRay, @Silenus, @Former-Member, @Appleblossom and @ivana,

wow, you guys are so supportive! Yes, @Appleblossom, the incident triggered a lot of anger for me, as one thing I can't stand is people being exploited and ripped off. I absolutely detest these type of predatory characters.

I did some research on-line and I now believe it was a pyramid selling scheme. These schemes are illegal - you can read more about them at Scamwatch on the ACCC website.

Multi-tiered selling is a bit different - that is the method used to sell stuff by large companies such a Doterra and Arborne. These companies might not be eithical, I don't know, but they are legal. Pyramid selling schemes are not legal - I believe that is why the guy was so defensive and secretive.

The man stated that the opportunity was not open to members of the public. He said it was a 12 billion dollar industry. He repeatedly declined to say what industry it was. He was very, very interested to know if we could give him the names of anyone who might be interested. "Interested in what, exactly??" I said!

He would not elaborate on anything. He tried to challenge my tendency to ask questions as though this was a personality trait of mine that was some-what defective!

In response to: Re: An Odd Experience - some very dodgy people out there!

Re: An Odd Experience - some very dodgy people out there!

I've lost count of the number of times I've been offered an amazing "business opportunity" without any concrete idea of exactly what the "opportunity" was, only to subsequently find out it was Amway.

They are always very cagey about the Amway name because it has such a bad name - they pressure participants to exploit family and friends in order to become "successful" according to the gospel of Amway. In the end people are left with the shattered remnants of relationships and the dream of rivers of money has melted away like mist in the sun.

It would not surprise me at all to find that this too was just another Amway flogging session.

Well done for keeping your head and not getting sucked in to the BS.

In response to: Re: An Odd Experience - some very dodgy people out there!

Re: An Odd Experience - some very dodgy people out there!

I have an uncle who was "an officer" in the army who reckons 'the best defence is a good offence' and raised his kids that way. He turns everything into a oneupmanship, I put you down before you got me .... ha ha .. One of his kids turned into a drug dealer. I guess there are a lot of people who live that way and often using their mouths as a fencing weapon to get under people's skin.

Genuine outrage over social injustice is important to acknowledge.

I cant stand rip off merchants or scammers either. All we can do is warn others about their existence.

In response to: Re: An Odd Experience - some very dodgy people out there!

Re: An Odd Experience - some very dodgy people out there!

Hi @BeeGee,

thanks for writing.... I was just doing some more research on-line and I think you could be right. Amway selling techniques have been compared to cult recruiting techniques by many people. And my initial reaction to this guy was that he was from some kind of cult! So this makes sense to me. It could well have been Amway. I can't believe this kind of thing is legal. It's just plain wrong.

I think I will email the guy (we have his business card) and ask him directly if he is selling Amway. I will pretend that I am interested in selling it myself and that a friend passed his card on to me.

I will try to scam the scammer!

In response to: Re: An Odd Experience - some very dodgy people out there!

Re: An Odd Experience - some very dodgy people out there!

Hi @Appleblossom,

I am sorry to hear about your Uncle and your cousin. I hope your cousin we be OK. Our up-bringings have such a powerful impact on us. I know this from my own childhood where things were not too great.


@Appleblossom wrote:

Genuine outrage over social injustice is important to acknowledge.

I cant stand rip off merchants or scammers either. All we can do is warn others about their existence.


I agree with the above comments whole-heartedly.

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