International Law

$250 Realistic Income Potential

Over at Franbest, I read an adsense ad that stated:

$475K+ 1st Year Potential Better than a Franchise, Turnkey Business. Only $13,000 Startup Fee!

Since this screamed out at me "business opportunity fraud" I thought that it would be amusing to read what this opportunity was about.

The usual nonsense about "discovering" what was wrong with all the other business opportunity frauds out there.

With a novel twist: the site explained how much money that you could earn with their new marketing system.

At the bottom of the page, the site then attempted to resile from its earnings projections by saying:

"OUR LAWYERS INSIST WE MAKE THE FOLLOWING DISCLAIMER: These results ARE NOT TYPICAL and we cannot verify income claims by our members. Some members may make little or NO MONEY AT ALL with this program. Individual results will vary greatly and in accordance to your input, determination, hard work, and ability to follow directions. By using this website you are agreeing to our INCOME DISCLAIMER at the bottom of this page."

There is a lovely link to a webpage the reinforces the earnings claim disclosure, with language like:

"ANY EARNINGS OR INCOME STATEMENTS, OR EARNINGS OR INCOME EXAMPLES, ARE ONLY ESTIMATES OF WHAT WE THINK YOU COULD EARN. THERE IS NO ASSURANCE YOU'LL DO AS WELL. IF YOU RELY UPON OUR FIGURES, YOU MUST ACCEPT THE RISK OF NOT DOING AS WELL.

WHERE SPECIFIC INCOME FIGURES ARE USED, AND ATTRIBUTED TO AN INDIVIDUAL OR BUSINESS, THOSE PERSONS OR BUSINESSES HAVE EARNED THAT AMOUNT. THERE IS NO ASSURANCE YOU'LL DO AS WELL. IF YOU RELY UPON OUR FIGURES; YOU MUST ACCEPT THE RISK OF NOT DOING AS WELL.

ANY AND ALL CLAIMS OR REPRESENTATIONS, AS TO INCOME EARNINGS ON THIS WEB SITE, ARE NOT TO BE CONSIDERED AS AVERAGE EARNINGS. TESTIMONIALS ARE NOT REPRESENTATIVE.

THERE CAN BE NO ASSURANCE THAT ANY PRIOR SUCCESSES, OR PAST RESULTS, AS TO INCOME EARNINGS, CAN BE USED AS AN INDICATION OF YOUR FUTURE SUCCESS OR RESULT"

Of course there is only one little minor problem with all of this: under the new FTC Biz Op Rule, and many state's legislation, an earnings claims has to be based on objective facts, cannot be atypical and you cannot consent to waiving the protection offered by the FTC Biz Op rule.

The income disclaimer is legally invalid: like so many of those warranty disclaimers we get as consumers.

Jeez, maybe I should sign up and take a free ride?

Full post as published by Misleading Advertising Law on May 18, 2008 (boomark / email).