Talk Fusion
Talk Fusion Class Action Lawsuit Street Fight
Kevin Thompson an MLM attorney has described the recent Talk Fusion class action lawsuit as a “street fight”. The lawsuit was filed by Spreter Law Firm, based out of San Diego, California. The Plaintiff is Dennis Gray.
This is going to be a battle over the future of Talk Fusion.
Here are the key claims made in the class action lawsuit:
- Talk Fusion is a pyramid scheme disguised as a multi-level marketing (“MLM”) company offering supposedly “revolutionary” and “patent-pending” video-conferencing technology.
- Participants pay Talk Fusion a $39.00 signup fee, and are required to purchase product packages ranging from $250 to $1,499 (as well as pay a monthly storage fee that ranges from $35 to $215 a month), for the right to participate in the “Talk Fusion Opportunity.”
- The majority of Talk Fusion’s products are individually available for free (or at much lower monthly rates than Talk Fusion) on the Internet, through commonplace programs such as Skype, YouTube, and Google. Additionally, nationally-recognized, long-standing brands such as Adobe, Webex, Centrix, and Cisco offer a product similar to Talk Fusion’s–without the $250, $750, and $1,450 signup fees. Talk Fusion is able to sell its “business opportunity” by misleading prospective Associates into believing they are getting in on the beginning of the “biggest invention in the history of the internet:” videoconferencing.
- Beyond selling video-email and videoconferencing, Talk Fusion sells Associates “a dream” of financial prosperity. New recruits are told: “Give us your Dreams, we’ll take care of the rest.”
- Associates have little (if any) genuine chance of selling the products at retail. In fact, Associates are limited in their earning potential unless they fully invest and purchase the Pro-Package, regardless if they even want it or not. Because Associates earn so little from retail sales, their real income derives from a pyramid-scheme based on internal consumption and recruiting.
- New Associates are specifically instructed not to talk about Talk Fusion’s products’ “functions” and “features,” and instead focus on emphasizing the “wealth building” that the Talk Fusion Opportunity presents.
- Associates are told to follow Talk Fusion’s Rule of “2 in 72.” New recruits are instructed to personally sponsor one associate on their left leg, and one associate on their right leg within 72 hours of joining. The Associates are then instructed to teach their new, personally sponsored Associates to immediately duplicate this process themselves, and personally sponsor two new Associates within 72 hours.
- In Talk Fusion’s own income disclaimer is the following statement: “In any case, it is rare for the Talk Fusion Independent Associate to earn any income at all.” However, watching Talk Fusion’s official promotional presentations, training videos, and marketing materials, one would think the exact opposite, and believe that it would be easy to get: “2 people in 72 hours” (which qualifies you for a bonus), and to follow the proven 4-Step system.
If the claims of this lawsuit prove to be true, this would be a strong case for this company being a product-based pyramid scheme. We will have to see how this plays out in court. Spreter Law’s Geoff Spreter will be taking on Talk Fusion’s lawyer, Lawrence Steinberg.
Steinberg said Talk Fusion “adheres to the highest ethical business practices, has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and is a member of the prestigious Direct Selling Association. The company denies the allegations of the lawsuit and intends to vigorously defend against them.”
This will be a “street fight” indeed.
