On the eve of the ACCC’s lawsuit against Lyoness being heard in court, ABC News Australia have interviewed some of the affiliates who’ve lost money in the scheme.
Unfulfilled promises, unrealistic AU maturity projections and using well-known merchant names to lure new AU investors in is apparently all in a days work for those sitting at the top of Lyoness Australia.
Three Lyoness affiliates were interviewed by ABC News, as well as Tom Godfrey from local consumer group Choice.
Affiliates Tom Zeaiter and Paul Maait share the all too familiar story of new recruits being coaxed into signing up to Lyoness via investment in account units:
Tony Zeaiter and Paul Maait each invested $3,000 in Lyoness to become premium members of the Australian arm of the company.
“When it launched in Australia, they said ‘You’ll have a minimum of 500 people under you, and you’ll get a percentage of whatever these people do’,” Mr Maait told the ABC.
“[They told us] ‘You don’t have to go out and sell, you don’t have to go out and recruit people. We will give you 500 people and, you know, you’ve really got it made if you get in at this time’.”
Exactly who gave the presentation is unclear but if it was Lyoness themselves, the consequences aren’t likely to play out pretty in court.
Mr Maait said both he and Mr Zeaiter were impressed with what they saw at the presentation about the company in Sydney.
“There was literally thousands upon thousands of people joining and when they told us like Woolworths were able to get six million people to join their rewards system, it was quite believable that this could actually happen,” he said.
But partnerships with major retailers such as Woolworths and Harvey Norman did not eventuate.
As part of their recruitment efforts (and engaging in discussion about the company), Lyoness affiliates regularly name-drop well-known merchants.
The usual spiel is that they are just about ready to jump on board, that Lyoness have “partnered” with the company in question (when in actuality all they did was purchase gift cards), or just plain old attempts at legitimacy by association (“why would (insert reputable well-known company name here) get involved if Lyoness was a scam?).
“They haven’t been able to deliver on the promises that they made to people like us in order for us to work hard and put the effort in
and get some return on the money that we put in
,” Mr Maait said.
“And I don’t know of anyone else who at the time who was involved who has actually made any gain of any kind out of it.”
The men hope the ACCC’s court action could help them to eventually get their money back.
It’s likely that the only people who made money off of Maait and Zeaiter’s initial investment are the Lyoness affiliates they (and purportedly thousands upon thousands of others) signed up under.
Affiliate Grant Powell meanwhile shares his story after he invested in emerging Lyoness markets.
Australian businessman Grant Powell bought a premium membership for him
🤖 Quick Answer
What complaints have emerged against Lyoness Australia?Lyoness Australia affiliates have reported unfulfilled investment promises, unrealistic maturity projections for account units, and deceptive recruitment tactics using well-known merchant names. Multiple investors, including Tom Zeaiter and Paul Maait, lost significant funds after being recruited as premium members through promises of financial returns.
Who has investigated Lyoness Australia's operations?
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) filed a lawsuit against Lyoness, which proceeded to court proceedings. Additionally, ABC News Australia conducted interviews with affected affiliates and consulted Tom Godfrey from consumer advocacy group Choice regarding the scheme's practices.
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