Is Wake Up Now Club a scam?

[bjl584]

No, I am not gonna give you my W2 because we're not employees of WUN; We are Independent Contractors that we get what is called a W9 form at the end of year. Therefore, we're responsible for paying our own taxes; and even if I did have a copy of my W-9 form I won't give it to you; and since you're already dodging my questions that WUN is a scam and I asked you to prove it, you know I'll get you in a trap because you could not come up any answers.

Thanks for playing though.

As pointed out you don't even get a W2. You get a 1099. Not a W9.

But beyond that, you came here touting the benefits and legitimacy of a product or service. The burden of proof is on you to prove it with actual numbers. The burden of proof is not on me to prove anything. Why would I or anyone else get involved in something based off of nothing more than baseless claims? If you truly have an interest in having people sign up and become a part of your business, then you should be willing to provide some hard facts and numbers for others to study and research so that they can make an educated choice as to whether or not to become partners in this business. I don't think that is asking for too much. After all, if this truly is legitimate, then there should be nothing to hide right?

[BritExpat]

Short Sighted

Excuse me for butting in but I wanted to be a new poster that pointed out WUN is a ridiculous pyramid scheme and should be avoided.

I have seen 3 of my American facebook friends (people I have met on holidays) turn into nothing more than spammers - Constantly posting about conference calls and how amazing the opportunity is. Any opportunity that costs you money month in and month out is not a great opportunity, guys their literature even confirms 90% of people lose money!

The thing that makes me laugh though is the fact they try and say working a regular job is a pyramid scheme, the difference is without having to coerce others into parting with money you can rise up through the 9-5 pyramid and come top, as a lot of people do by having talent and even at the bottom you have a steady reliable income. The notion that MLS creates more millionaires is hilarious, I would bet 1 cent to every Dollar it leaves 10000% more people out of pocket. If you want to get rich quick sit yourself in a dark room and invent something as I would guarantee inventing unique usable products creates more millionaires a day that a pyramid scheme will ever.

Good website by the way.

[Tati1991]

Well, I feel bad for people who talk more than they know. Do your research!!! People what are you trying to prove by saying wakeup now is a scam? Didn't you see thousands of proof online of happy people making money? Didn't you see our members withdrawing money from wakeupnow card from the ATM? Wakeupnow issues MasterCard for us, so do you think MasterCard work with scammers? All the big companies who put their promotions on wakeupnow like to work with scammers? Please! Stop taking nonsense and join us and change your life! Instead of working at the low paid jobs and being this 9 to 5 system slave! We are all not! We work when we think its the best time, we never stuck in traffic getting back from work, we never worry about rent tomorrow! Instead, we are thinking how to bring more people to start looking for the house to purchase! So please, people who just talk, just keep silence and don't bother us happy wakeupnow members, we are not getting into your life and don't try to ruin what you already have or currently doing! Just live your live and stop being jealous, it's not our fault that you don't have 3 people to refer!

[Ms.Nissanemployee]

Been there done that

Scam stay away. My title explains it all from mca empower network and wake up now. You damn straight i woke up went to the bank and shut down. They sellin dreams. Theyll even get mad if you mention scams and wont explain How youll really make money and how to. Its bs i lost so much money but i work a 9-5 better yet. A11-7:30 overtime $19.33 and day 7 places me 25.50 an hour i make 1000$ a wk elgible for taxes 401 k benefits damn a discount i can get a discount on. 40,000$ car. I get vacations im not dumb i know how to budget my money. You need to tell ur frenemies to follow the yellow brick road an help the lyin us his to find a brain cuz they tryna play you.

[Wino]

The envelope, please... (pause)

The answer is....

Wake up now is a SCAM!

Thanks for playing, ladies and gentlemen! It's been a great night. Don't forget to tip your waiters. Come back soon, when we'll discuss other get-rich-quick schemes and Ponzi networks.

Good night, folks!

[IAMNICKNATION]

Guys you are crazy. First off you need to know about the information before you talking about the word scam! Scams are designed with a purposed of of getting over on people or providing a service with no intention of benefiting the other party. Secondly they are a credited business with BBB with an A+ rating.lol It sounds to me that there are bunch of people here who like to make excuses on why they need to stay in their current state. Im not saying that everyone on here is broke because i dont know that for sure, What I do now is that just because some of you may not THINK its something that YOU would do, doesnt mean its a bad idea. Thats called he blind leading the blind. Stuff like this makes me laugh..seriously..

[lorraineb]

Guys you are crazy. First off you need to know about the information before you talking about the word scam! Scams are designed with a purposed of of getting over on people or providing a service with no intention of benefiting the other party. Secondly they are a credited business with BBB with an A+ rating.

When you ask people for the need to know, it would help if you then provided accurate information. Wake Up Now is NOT accredited with the BBB and currently has an A rating (http://www.bbb.org/utah/business-rev...em-ut-22245038)

The scam part is when sales reps tell you you can make a lot of money from this which was the OP original question. Again, their own disclosures say that more than 90% of all people who join lose money.

[MaestraG1]

LorrianeB I hope you know you posted the WorldVentures Comp Plan not the WakeUpNow Comp Plan.

After carefully reading through every post I can genuinely see valid arguments on both sides. My bf joined WUN less two weeks ago, I graduated from an Ivy League University and work full time as a HS Math teacher so I was very skeptical about this company as well. In less than 2 weeks he has been able to enroll 7 people so he is not down any money besides the initial $100 (since once you enroll 3 IBOs your membership is free each month, you no longer need to invest anymore).
Let's go through product by product and see what the true value you are getting for your $100 every month. Again, this will be an estimation an will vary on how much you shop and how many vacations you book (since calculating savings on these benefits will vary person to person). The 22% off phone bill which will be around 22 bucks if your bill is $100. The taxbot program I have seen is worth $10 a month. The Language Program TellMeMore is worth over $500 (this quote may vary since I could not find the exact package that WUN members receive on the Tell Me More Website one language is $350 and multi-language programs like the one WUN members get are worth over $800 so I took a mid range quote), the Protection program Invisus I have seen quotes from 14.99 a month to 129.95 a month (on the Invisus website) but just to be on the conservative side lets say the product is worth 14.99 a month. Let's also not count the discount coupons for groceries and shopping since there is a possibility of finding these online for free. Let's look at the vacation packages all are 60%-90% off each saving members at least $500 when booking a hotel, villa, or condo. I have looked up some of the deals myself and have not found an equal or lower rate but if you can tell me where to locate/what websites give free access to the back inventory of timeshares to have a fairer comparison I would love to see for myself these free deals. Besides all of the products and services there is commission earned not only in enrolling new members but based on group volume. When members on purchase products via the WUN marketplace hub they will receive benefits such as discounts and cashback as well as an increase in group and personal volume which increases the team payout and monthly commissions. With the compensation plan there are two forms of making money through retail sales and through sponsorship of new members since most people join to make money via sponsorship let's discuss this plan. You are required to always pay the monthly membership fee of $100 each month so when you enroll 3 IBOS you receive $100 but obviously there is no profit made because this money is to be used to cover your monthly membership cost. Once you help your 3 IBOS also enroll 3 IBOs (making a group of 12) then you will earn a minimum of a $600 commission (I say minimum because commission is also earned via group value) then your profit will be $500 each month ($100 will be deducted for the membership cost). So, taking into consideration what everyone has said my question is even if it takes you lets say 5 months to get your first 3 sign ups you lose $500 and then it takes you 5, 6,7+ months to build a team of 12 wouldn't your very first commission check recuperate your loses? And then the next month of $500 commission will bring you a profit. My understanding is that you may lose money in the beginning but once you hit a commission ranking you will be making a monthly income that will recuperate all loses. Additionally, according to WUN the Bring3Help3Get3 formula allows reps to build their team at rates which takes other members month due to the team work aspect (they say they discovered this after years of studies). So with all this being said I personally do not see how many will be loss in joining this company perhaps and even if some the discounts and benefits are available for free the fact that it is packaged neatly in one product that is easily to find and use that the click of the button also makes them valuable because the hours saved in looking for these deals can be invested elsewhere. I have not seen any website that provides an easy access inventory of 4,000 coupons daily, over 3,500 discounted vacation deals monthly, access to thousands of products with free shipping, cash back, and discounts, plus access to extremely useful software products - Finance program that helps users figure out how to eliminate debt the quickest way possible and better manage their money, a Tax program that neatly stores all deductions and helps you save $1 for every 2 miles you drive, a Language program that can help you learn 5 different languages, and a Protection program that helps guard you against identity theft, spyware, and computer viruses.

Everything stated above can be cross referenced for accuracy if you could explain how with all this being provided you still see a loop hole or have an argument to refute any of the information above I would love to hear it. Again, I completely agree that most network marketing companies are bad investments and provide crap products but when I have personally attested to the benefits and success that my bf and a few friends are making it seems having the standard logical argument of all mlms are bad falls short. Again, I welcome all opinions and all information is based on quotes I have researched online I encourage you to do the same and show me quotes you have found to get an accurate picture of the legitimacy of this company. I do believe that there are people who misrepresent the company and try to make it seem like this is a get rich quick scheme because it isn't it takes true effort to build a strong team and it is not by any chance easy. According to the mlmrankings.com (the last time I checked) WakeUpNow was the #1 home based business (top performer) with a growth rate of 608% so the company is expanding at a huge rate meaning the opportunity to expand one's profit and team is also greater than before. Additionally, it is not BBB accredited (certification requires a fee and companies must seek their own certification which is not obligated so this should not tarnish the company's rep) but it does have a review of an A with no complaints in the last 12 months and the company opened in 2009. So, I think that's a pretty pristine record. If you disagree, factual evidence/references would be greatly appreciated.

[Darren Johnston]

...

MaestraG1


As a new user this forum won't let me post links, but page 22 of the compensation plan shows that 97.29% of people in the business make less than someone would working minimum wage part-time. I also find it odd that they average the income using outliers of high earners. They indicate that the "high" earning of a founder 3 is up to $1,204 per month, but the low is $191.67 and the average becomes $760.53 per month. If someone earns $500 per month by having 12 people enrolled (subtracting the $100 per month they still have to pay in order to be in the business) then that would equal $6,000 per year before taxes. Where does the extra $3,126 in annual income come from? They have the "average" annual income = to $9,126 for Founder 3's. The income figures are obviously misleading if they average between a high and low that show extreme variance. You as a former math teacher would know that.

Another thing I find disturbing about the income figures: 82.76% of the people in the business lose money. Feel free to check yourself. Add the proportion of distributors making less than founder 3 (Director 1, 2, and 3) and look at the amount of income they make accounting for the $100 a month they pay to stay in the business. Using their annual income figure of $354 (another figure highly distorted by variance) for director 3 shows that 82.76% of people, on average, would lose -$846 annually.

The discounts they offer are subject to restrictions and qualifications. The "up to" 22% phone discount is a corporate rate offered by your provider through your provider. Your provider (Verizon or AT&T) have to accept your application and review it based on their agreement with this business and may or may not accept it.

The coupons are freely available online as you said. Why would they even mention this as a perk in the business? Most coupon websites will give you a complete list of coupons based on the store you are shopping at.

There are many services that this company offers but it's ridiculous to pay a $100 monthly fee for them unless you planned on using them anyway - it doesn't save you money by just having access to those services. My $100 a month goes towards paying for language learning software, off-brand ID theft, computer ID theft, and a host of other services the average person doesn't even use or want. I could pay $25 a month for the off-chance I visit an art museum, then have a discount on how much I pay to visit that museum. Is it worth paying monthly for that? Not unless you visit art museums often. I don't see how $100 a month is justified for the average person, given how many people lose money or make very little money in this business and by paying monthly for services the average person will never use. If you want services such as taxbot, just pay the $9.95/month and save $90.05 a month without paying through WakeUpNow

[rappkim]

I Agree

I agree. If you have $100 a month in extra income try saving or investing it! You will come out better than 90% of the sheep that try to follow this knuckleheaded 'plan'.

[MaestraG1]

Darren,

I appreciate your thoughtful response. My response is that the compensation ranges depending on group and personal value which will yield a higher average. I also agree it is less than minimum wage which is why it's a good source for additional income since depending on who you are/know it requires every little effort to receive a commission. Additionally, the majority of the discounts are corporate discounts which are not available on discount/coupon sites for example regal and amc theater tickets costs $14 and we can purchase an unlimited amount for 6 bucks. Additonally, with one vacation booking you can save $500 or more. This is certainly not for everyone but for those who are interested in the products and services then it is extremely beneficial. If people don't need it then they dont have to buy it and the idea of using these benefits and receiving an additional income easily (for people with extensive networks) is what attracted my bf. So, I think that stating it is a scam and it isn't beneficial is far reaching because I personally know of many individuals who are making extra money and benefitting from the products. My bf has multiplied his initial $100 investment by 5 in just a few weeks people who aren't making money may be individuals who have 3 referrals and do no more because they just want to use te product for free. Not everyone's intention and vision would be to make money. Additionally, people waste money all the time by buying overpriced products like buying Christian Louboutin instead of Payless because they see a certain value in the product. I see a value in the product since I use it and have access to it but others who don't may not see it which is ok too but I don't codon bashing the decisions of others because you disagree on what the product is worth.

[Darren Johnston]

...

"Scam"
Noun
A dishonest scheme; a fraud

WakeUpNow/opportunity page states:

"READY TO MAKE MONEY
HELPING OTHERS LIVE A BETTER LIFE?
START TODAY."

Referencing the income disclosure in my last post, it's clear most people LOSE money. "Helping others live a better life" is misleading at best. Other people generally don't want to begin a $100 a month club to learn foreign languages and get off-brand ID theft protection among other things. To me, this is a dishonest claim for a dishonest scheme - it is a scam.

82.67% of people lose money. More than 4/5 people in the business. Plus the average person won't use or want the services offered but it is marketed to the average person.

You mention it could be a supplemental income, but don't mention the risk associated with it. It is a risky venture to pay $100 monthly until you are offered the service for free, let alone the time it would take to get 12 others to join the business under you to get the $500 a month. On top of that, if people in your network leave the business, you will fall in rank. If you have 12 people and 1 person leaves, then you make $0 profit once again.

Your odds are better playing roulette at the casino than joining this business to receive an income. Playing roulette at a casino, you have a 47.37% chance of winning your bet if your bet on red, black, odds, evens, 1-18, or 19-36. The win or loss is instant vs. the time it takes to sign people up for WakeUpNow. If anything, you save time and have less of a risk betting at the casino in a game of roulette. Remember, your chance of not losing any money is 17.33%. Your chance of making ANY money is 4%. These odds are horrific for any person "ready to make money."

I challenge the basis of the claims that you save money by paying $100 a month for the services themselves. If you don't go through the same services they do, language, ID theft, ect,. you could get much cheaper alternatives and you would be paying much less than $100 a month. For example:

1) Languages: Learnalanguage.com gives you access to 8 languages for FREE. There are also countless videos on youtube giving step-by-step lessons for those wanting to learn a language online.

2) ID theft: LifeLock is a top brand and charges $9.00 a month. Lifelock.com

3) Grocery discounts. Couponmama.com or countless others offer them FREE. Like I said, there is no need for WakeUpNow to mention they give discounts on groceries when they are just free coupons available elsewhere.

4) Magazines. Magazines.com gives 88% off Time magazine and 86% off Sports Illustrated - TOP BRAND magazines, not brands available from the selection of WakeUpNow's magazines.

5) WakeUpNow finance: Budgeting tools are available for free through your bank. Wellsfargo.com has them.

6) The "Up to 22% off" phone discount: This is just a corporate discount. I would be shocked if they even gave this discount to members. Let's assume they did. It's "up to" 22%" off the plan - the highest they can give, and this discount is not on the phone bill each month but on the plan itself. The corporate discount needs an application, takes months to review and accept, and only qualifies with certain plans. For arguments sake, I'll assume you get 22% off a $100 plan and save $22.

7) Vacation discounts. I would love to hear more details on this. Are they excluding budget travel agency prices such as expedia, travelocity, ect,. and how limited is their discounted vacations and when do they offer them? I just don't see the logic in going through wakeupnow.com for this. There are other "vacation clubs" such as Marriott and Disney that are third-party reviewed and critically acclaimed. There are also cheap vacation clubs that don't incur a large monthly fee.

This is all assuming you wanted ALL of these services before paying $100 a month to join WakeUpNow. The chances you wanted each service before joining WakeUpNow is basically 0.

Is it a scam? yes. You don't save money by going through WakeUpNow, most people lose money, and the 4% that do make money are running the risk of people dropping (which is highly probable given the cheaper and higher quality alternatives to the services they offer).

[Moonbay]

Wake up npw is obvious scam!

I joined just to post on this thread. It hurts my soul when I see good-hearted people fall for these scams The first warning sign I saw: I stumbled across a video ad for wake up now on youtube & after it was over, I had no idea what the product was or what you actually DID to make the $. So right off I knew that the products are beside the point, that the $ comes from getting your friends, family & strangers to join. I have had to turn down several friends for similar things in the past.
The first warning sign is always when they talk in a very scripted way about all the $ you can make, then they will talk about how great the company is, then on to how it's not multi-level marketing, it's some other shape or maybe it's a "team" with a team leader. The point is, you'll have to sign up several people before you can start to make your own $ off the people you sign up. I don't know that many suckers & I wouldn't deceive them like that even if I did!

If a person is paying monthly membership fee then in order to Just Break Even they have to "take advantage" of the special offers. This is so obviously a scam, how to people fall for it?

I've seen friends fall victim to Mallueca as well. To get ahead in that scheme, you have to sign people up AND make minimum product orders each month. These products aren't yours however, if you can't use them all, you have to pay for return shipping. You will be sued if you're caught selling them yourself. My friend was able to sign 2 people up, but he needed to sign 5 before he made any $. He paid a yearly fee AND was on the hook for several $150 automatic product shipments. Then he realized the body care products weren't organic, sulfate free, as promised. He found that out by getting rashes & now he's stuck with the junk because he doesn't want to pay return shipping.

[SimpleTrigger]

A few friends and I were having this same debate on Facebook when someone posted a link to this thread. Obviously threads like this are important to the website, because now I can see the long time members credibility and now I am very curious as to what this website can offer.

As per the subject from the original poster:

Please read carefully through all the comments made. The rebuttals by members of Wake Up Now are littered with grammatical errors and lack any sort of fact. Each and everyone member of WUN use the same three tactics to attack the credibility of the more experienced posters. Not one of the WUN members has deviated from these same three methods which are:

-Personal attacks on Open Mindedness
-Name Calling
-Leave Us Alone (being the victim)

The experienced members of this forum have stated several hard facts that discredit Wake Up Now.
It is obviously a scam.

I for one am excited that a Facebook conversation lead me to this forum which seems to be a very useful website.

[RSinsights]

Same stuff different day

Simple Trigger I have had the exact opposite experience on this very thread then you have described. I opened up and described in detail the discounts that I had been able to utilize from this program personally, and was called a liar by a moderator. I apologize if my grammar was flawed and I hope that isn't a reflection on the type of person I am... In actuality it may be a far greater indicator of who you are judging people based on their ability to sentence structure correctly. I mean, what if it is their second language? Does that mean they are less intelligent than say you? I am not accusing you of this type of generalization only pointing out based on what you typed it could easily be inferred.

Darren you also describe an experience I have to assume is fabricated in order to make your case, ironically exactly what I was accused of by the moderator but I have yet to see anyone call you out on it. Are you citing personal experience with the program or are you making assumptions to validate your position? This is an honest question.

The reason I ask is that my cell phone discount was applied immediately but you contest it probably won't happen, would happen at a lesser degree, or wouldn't happen for several months.

Additionally you reference Wells Fargo personal finance package in lieu of the finance program this company offers. What if I don't bank with them or more likely what if I'm concerned that the information they provide might be potentially littered with marketing and propaganda used to guide me into their profit ranges. I am confident that since this website is so dedicated to informing the hapless public that you surely know that any "free" product is not in any way free but actually is using subscribers to generate profit. i.e. data analytics, marketing, partnership ads, etc. When you subscribe to a "free" service you need to do so with far greater caution than a paid service typically but it seems in this case the obvious nature of this relationship is being ignored or at a minimum dismissed.

I haven't used the ID Theft program but even if it's as you claim a worthwhile expense at $9 a month why wouldn't it be a $9 a month value?

You also failed to identify what I think is one of the larger values in the program, TaxBot. Maybe because I work for myself or because I'm a numbers dork but I really like the tool and it has saved me vastly more than the things that you mention but you didn't even address it.

Coupons are useless for the most part in any case because they direct you to name brand products and the vast percentage of them are pre packaged. I like to buy base ingredients when I can usually bulk and find it saves far more than coupons ever do. Additionally I think the trend with coupons is that you typically end up buying things maybe you wouldn't have purchased otherwise which really puts you at the whim of marketers and retailers attempts to influence your purchases. It's the same reasons grocery stores are laid out with the produce generally being leveraged immediately to the right upon entry so they are the first products you choose because we have discovered that if consumers purchase their healthy items first they are far more likely to purchase high profit unhealthy crap we place close to the aisles at checkout. But you don't dismiss the value of coupons only the value of printing them off with this program.

I mentioned previously that I saved $160 on tickets to Disneyland. I spent a lot of time trying to find the same or better discounts anywhere and wasn't able too.

I am not supporting their get rich with this program recruiting people mentality.. that seems like a fools errand but the constant scam accusation seems as ridiculous as me quitting my job to work for an MLM full time.

I only pay $24.95 a month and I receive far greater benefit than that investment which seems to me would be the exact nature of a worthwhile retail product; which oddly enough I think a few people on this very thread have tried to suggest was non existent?

Again with no moderation from the "moderators" who seem to have a dog in this fight... And the dog doesn't appear to be giving their subscribers quality thoughtful and logical information, it appears that nobody here is providing anything other than hearsay, conjecture, and hyperbole.

Granted I understood when I signed up for this free forum that it wasn't free because my information would be monetized but I did expect the information to be far more intelligent and useful than this thread has been. Buyer beware I suppose.

I guess the point I've been trying, with no success, to make is that if this website is here for people to get unbiased, factual, and honest information or answers to questions then why do the moderators all such clearly biased and unrequited information to slip by? I of course have my thoughts as to why but maybe it's something that you should all be asking yourselves.