Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council Recommends inCruises Discontinue Salesforce Member Earnings Claims

McLean, VA – June 5, 2024 – The Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (DSSRC) of BBB National Programs recommended that inCruises discontinue certain earnings claims made by salesforce members on social media.  

The inquiry into inCruises, a multi-level marketing company that sells vacation package memberships, was commenced by DSSRC through its ongoing independent monitoring of advertising and marketing claims in the direct selling industry. 

The earnings claims that formed the basis of this inquiry include, but are not limited to:

• “He always dreamed of building a lifestyle based on traveling and financial freedom. So, in 2017, a friend with whom he had worked before talked to him about the inCruises opportunity, and he immediately signed up as an inCruises Independent Partner. 🤩. . . ’These past 6 years, I've been able to travel more than ever before, visiting over 27 countries and sailing on over 12 cruises. I've built the lifestyle I always dreamed of and grown as a leader surrounded by inspiring professionals and friends from whom I learn every day.‘“  
• “If you want to be a top leader, travel for free and have financial freedom, you are lucky to be part of our team, or if you need a change in your life, you have have an open invitation to become one !” 
• “starting an online business needs low investment but provides you with location freedom and also financial freedom. . . . This allows us to be F R E E to enjoy life, participate in our social events and spend quality time with our loved ones. / It also allows you to save for retirement, secure your kids future and pass it to them later. WOW / People are joining everyday and taking this opportunity seriously because they wanna live life on their own terms and enjoy their lives while generating revenue.” 
• “inCruises changed my life completely. I finally have the time and financial freedom I've always dreamed of. Through hard work, I was able to buy my first home, pay off debts, and help my family and friends do the same. I am eternally grateful.”
• “You can’t even imagine how many lives you are changing all over the world by giving them the opportunity to quit a routine job, or 2 jobs, or life without a time to live⏰” 
• “Have a life of financial freedom & time liberty to bask in your new-found wealth!”  

As stated in DSSRC’s Guidance on Earnings Claims for the Direct Selling Industry, some words and phrases commonly used in earnings claims can carry a particularly high risk of being misleading to consumers. Such words and phrases include claims such as “financial freedom,” “full-time income,” “replacement income,” “residual income,” and “career-level income.” Furthermore, earnings claims must be substantiated and representative of a level of earnings that can be generally expected by the audience. 

When DSSRC opened its inquiry and informed inCruises of its concern that these types of earnings claims can lead a reasonable consumer to conclude that salesforce members can earn significant, career level, or replacement income from the inCruises business opportunity, inCruises did not try and substantiate the claims but instead promptly removed five of the six posts from social media. 

With respect to the remaining social media post, inCruises notified DSSRC that the individual responsible for the posts had not been an active salesforce member for over a year and demonstrated to DSSRC that it made multiple attempts to contact this individual. Despite these efforts, the individual was unresponsive to the takedown requests. 

DSSRC recommends that inCruises contact the social media platform to request that the post including inappropriate claims be removed and use any mechanism available on the platform for reporting trademark or copyright violations. 

If these efforts are unsuccessful, DSSRC recommends that inCruises contact the website or platform in writing and request removal of the post.

All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For full text of DSSRC decisions, visit the DSSRC Cases and Closures webpage.