Case #113-2023: Administrative Closure – Vic Beauty, LLC

BBB NATIONAL PROGRAMS

The Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council 
Case Number 113-2023: Administrative Closing – Vic Beauty, LLC

 

Company Description

Vic Beauty, LLC (“Vic Beauty” or “the Company”) was a direct sales cosmetic and personal care company based in Los Angeles, California. The Company was founded in June 2021.

Basis of inquiry

The Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (“DSSRC”) is a national advertising self-regulation program administered by BBB National Programs. This inquiry was commenced by DSSRC pursuant to its ongoing independent monitoring of advertising and marketing claims in the direct selling industry.

This inquiry concerns representative earnings claims located on the Facebook accounts of the Company salesforce members. Those claims are set forth below.

Earnings Claims

  • “You could have TEN extra paychecks between now & then! You don’t have to put Christmas on a credit card and stress about how you’re going to pay it off. I’ve been there & I don’t ever want to do it again! Maybe you don’t want this to be your full time income & that’s okay! But an extra $300 a month definitely couldn’t hurt you, right?! I don’t just see incredible VIC Beauty products when I see this box. I see financial freedom, debt paid off, groceries to fill the fridge and family vacations paid for in full ❤️”
  •  “Well, the number has already surpassed 25k & is now over 30,000 dollars in personal sales, BUT it’s STILL a moment I wanted to share with all of you. In 4 short months, I have personally shared over 30 thousand dollars in VIC Beauty products!
    Whether you want to add an extra 100$ a month, or you want to go after this as a full time career…add income…”

 

 

  • “🙌Earn extra $ to help with rising family expenses…🙌Free travel”
  • “you can learn to share online to earn part-time or full-time income, OR AN extra income stream along with discounts, bonuses, founder program benefits, MORE+++++”
  • “If you could spend $20 to start your own business to lead you to financial freedom would you?”
  • “If you've been looking into ways to make extra money or replace your income stream all together then let's talk now!”

 

 

In its Notice of Inquiry that was sent to the Company on March 1, 2023, DSSRC expressed its concern that the subject social media posts could be reasonably interpreted by consumers as meaning that Vic Beauty salesforce members can earn significant income and achieve financial freedom from participation in the Company’s business opportunity. The Company did not provide a response to DSSRC, as requested, on or before March 23, 2023. Accordingly, DSSRC then sent a 10-Day Notice to Vic Beauty indicating that if the Company failed to provide a response to the inquiry within 10 business days, DSSRC would refer the matter to the appropriate regulatory agencies pursuant to section V(C)(4) of the DSSRC Policies and Procedures.

Administrative Closing

Shortly after the 10-Day Notice had been mailed to Vic Beauty, DSSRC learned that the Company closed its business operations in October 2022. This was confirmed in postings made on direct selling message boards and in social media posts from both consumers and salesforce members.1 In addition, DSSRC learned that all content on the Company website (www.vicglobalshop.com) had been removed and the telephone number for Vic Beauty is no longer in service.

The social media posts that were identified in this inquiry all remain publicly available and were identified by DSSRC due to its concern that the amount of earnings communicated by salesforce members in the advertising was atypical and not representative of the amount of income that would be earned by typical salesforce members. As noted in section 1 of the DSSRC Guidance on Earnings Claims in the Direct Selling Industry2, it is misleading for a direct selling company and/or its salesforce members to make any earnings claims unless the direct selling company and/or its salesforce members: (A) have a reasonable basis for the claim at the time the claim is made; and (B) have documentation that substantiates the claim at the time the claim is made.

Moreover, while DSSRC will evaluate any claim based upon the context in which the claim appears and the potential net impression of such claim to the audience … some words or phrases carry a particularly high risk of being misleading to consumers when communicated in a general context. Such words and phrases include but are not limited to “financial freedom,” and “time freedom.”3

Accordingly, while DSSRC remained concerned with the substantive earnings claims communicated in the posts at issue, because the Company is no longer in operation, it was determined that this inquiry is no longer appropriate for investigation in this forum. As such, DSSRC administratively closed the inquiry pursuant to section V(B)(3)(d) of the DSSRC Policies and Procedures.

(Case #113 closed on 5/2/23)
© 2023 BBB National Programs

 

 

[1] DSSRC noted that all of the social media posts at issue were disseminated prior to October 2022.

[2] https://bbbnp-bbbp-stf-use1-01.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/default-source/dssrc/dssrc_guidanceonearningsclaimsforthedirectsellingindustry.pdf.

[3] Id at section 6(A).