| Comment Number: | 522418-10381 |
| Received: | 7/16/2006 11:07:02 AM |
| Organization: | lia sophia |
| Commenter: | Debbie Wills |
| State: | IL |
| Subject: | Business Opportunity Rule |
| Title: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
| CFR Citation: | 16 CFR Part 437 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
July 15,2006 I am writing this letter because I am concerned about the proposed Business Opportunity Rule R511993. I believe that in its present from, it could prevent me from continuing as a lia sophia Jewelry Advisor. I undertand that part of the FTC's responsibilities is to protect the public from "unfair and deceptive acts," yet some of the sections in the proposed rule will make it very difficult, if not impossible, for me to sell lia sophia products. I have been a lia sophia Jewelry Advisor for 16 months and it has changed my families way of life. I became an advisor with lia sophia to make a little extra money. Now, my husband and I see it as our future. After 22 years my husband has had to leave his job due to restructuring within the company. With out lia sophia, my families future would be very insecure and even scary. The part that really concerns me is the seven-day waiting period to enroll new advisors. lia sophia's sales kits only costs $99. People buy TVs, cars, computers, and other items that cost much more and they do not have to wait seven days. This waiting period gives the impression that there might be something wrong with the company or the compensation plan. I also think this seven-day waiting period is unnecessary, because lia sophia already has a 90% buyback policy for all products including the sales kits for a period of one year. This will also cause a huge burden on me to send in many reports to my company headquarters. The proposed rule also calls for the release of any information regarding lawsuits involving misrepresentation, or unfair practices. It does not matter if the company was found innocent. Today, anyone or any company can be sued for almost anything. It does not make sense to me that I would have to disclose these lawsuits unless lia sophia is found guilty. Otherwise, lia sophia and I are put at an unfair advantage even though lia sophia has done nothing wrong! Finally, the proposed rule requires the disclosure of a minimum of 10 prior purchasers nearest to the prospective purchaser. I am glad to provide references, but in this day of identity theft, I am very uncomfortable giving out the personal information of individuals without their approval to strangers. The sentence "If you buy a business opportunity from the seller, your contact information can be disclosed in the future to other buyers. People are very concerned about their privacy and identity theft. They will be reluctant to share their personal information with individuals they may have never met. I appreciate the work that the FTC does to protect consumers, yet I believe this proposed new rule has many unintended consequences and there are less burdensome alternatives available to achieving your goals. Thank you for your time in considering my concerns. Respectfully, Deb Wills lia sophia, Unit Manager