Report: Mags R Us / AM Press Ass.
Category: Door to door sales people
Mags R Us - AM Press Ass. Convinced my son to join Magazine company that goes on road Door-To-Door selling magazines all over the U.S. NOTICE: Mothers with teenaged kids please read this Rip-off Report! Miami Florida
*UPDATE Ex-Employee responds ..I am an x- roadrunner
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Mags R Us / AM Press Ass.
Fax:
Miami, Florida, 33172
U.S.A.
Submitted: 5/30/2006 1:00:18 PM
Modified: 6/23/2008 9:43:33 PM
Penny
fort pierce, FloridaOn March 26th, 2006 my son went to Walmart. He come home telling me he had got a job traveling. I asked him what this job was and what did it consist of. He then told me that it was with this Magazine company that goes on road Door-To-Door selling magazines all over the U.S.
He told me he had met a girl by the name of Jessie and she had hired him and said that she would be here (at the house) to pick him up shortly. I was then shocked b/c he first did not have any I.D. on him, and i was only given the name of the company as Am press.. and that they had him packed and out the door in 10 minutes flat!
I started questioning the female mentioned above and asked her for any kind of crudencials or a business card.. the only thing she could tell me was..' Well we work through Am Press Ass. out of miami, with a woman named Sharyl, and her husband Brent.. and that they have a couple of children'.. Brent being the manager.
She also let me know that they hire guys/girls b/w the ages of 18-25, that are not employed and looking for work, and like to travel. She told me he would get payed daily, and that in a couple of years he could infact become a 'MILLIONAIRE' doing this type of job. She told me that they stay at motels where they travel to, when they travel. I asked her what motel they were staying at here, and she said 'she don't know the name of it, but it's the one up the road that has a pool in it.' I also asked her for a number I could reach my son at and all she could tell me was..' she didn't know it right off hand, and that she had left all that info at the motel.' I was really shocked! I told her how i felt in so many words.
She then tried to reasure me, by telling me that 'you're (I'm) doing pretty good and most parents act as if we are 'kidnapping' there loved ones... and that infact one time in New York, b/c we travel in groups of 30 , ppl thought that we were a cult, and that i would here form my son every Sunday.' And with this little bit of info, I told my son I loved him.. gave him hugs and kisses goodbye, and watched himleave out of the driveway still in shock and just as clueless as when i first found out about all of this. From that point there i had not heard from my son. Next time i had heard from my son was nine days later.
Mean while b/w this time left and not heard.. still looking for information and clues to link me with this company.. i found a number on my significant others cell phone. Infact this was the number that was given to my son, so that he could contact them while waiting for them to show up.I called the number. A man answered the phone and that his name was Brent and he was the manager, and he told me that he would give my son the message , and reasured me that i could contact my son on this number and that it would never be disconnected. The next time i heard from my son he told me that he had recieved any messages of me calling... that he did infact like the job/ people there, and that he had been very busy, too busy to call home. He told me that his day off was Sunday, and that he would try to call every Sunday.I had got one more call from my son telling me that he had bought a cell phone and he would call me with the number as soon as he could B/c they were not aloud the have cell phones.Since that day i had only heard from my son a few times the last day being May 13th, 2006 only b/c i had called that number to thank my son for the tulips he had sent for mothers day since he had not called me himself. He seemed very quiet and unable to give me direct answers saying that they were nere him and listening in on the conversation, instead of letting him talk privately.Since then I have tried numerous times to contact my son on this number. I then investigated this number, I was told Via:Opperator that this # was not a cell phone #, but infact a toll free business #, that had been disconnected. I did not know what to do from there.
The last time i heard from my son he was in Peartree, Tx. and that he would be going to California next to a town that started with a 'P'. My son goes by the name of Richard. He is 5'9', with strawberry blonde hair. He is in great physical health. He weighs b/w 160&170lbs, with blue eyes and home made tattoos on his right arm of a cross and right hand of a cross, he also has bucked teath and is very hairy w/ freckles. He also like to wears very baggy clothes (Preferbly jeans, and tee's, has his left ear pierced, but might not have a earing in, might have facial hair of mustache, he also has a dimple on hisleft cheek. He has very bad gitters 'shakes' due to the fact that he is on meds for mental conditions: ADD, ADHD,PTSS,
And type'2' insomnia, and depression. He needs these meds. and is w/o. He also studders. He is 21 yrs of age. He has been known to act on ipmulse, but is very intelligant. He has very nice manners. He is very easily cooersed, and not a leader in his social skills but a follower.
If you have seen my son... please e-mail me at
Badgirls@Bellsouth.NET with information... right or wrong.. or as close as possible with any sightings or possible whereabouts.
Please Contact Me @ (772) 475-8733
And if you have any other hard core information please feel free to call me with anything that could help me find my son.
Thank You For your time
Penny
Fort Pierce, Florida
U.S.A.
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Updates & Rebuttals:
- In case you are a victim too(AM PressAss./Mags r Us Penny [6/1/2006 2:01:14 PM]
- WATCH OUT!!!! Penny [6/2/2006 11:16:54 PM]
- Its up to your son now... Stephen [6/3/2006 7:45:24 AM]
- still searching P [7/5/2006 4:18:17 PM]
- Im sorry for you Mike [7/27/2006 5:52:27 PM]
- More Info...Please read Tammy Mike [7/31/2006 4:57:28 PM]
- Tammy.... Stephen [7/31/2006 7:52:27 PM]
- Call the FBI if you have to Melissa [8/25/2006 8:18:19 PM]
- God Bless You and Your Family Melissa [8/31/2006 7:59:51 PM]
- Penny... This business so indoctrinates the youth it exploits-that many former magcrew members defend this industry even after escaping the clutches of the folks who use them Stephen [9/3/2006 11:19:42 PM]
- WARN YOUR CHILDREN NOW Elizabeth [9/8/2006 10:48:58 AM]
- Misconceptions...... Heather [3/10/2007 8:38:06 PM]
- More info and corrections on the company in question Jackie [4/13/2007 2:48:13 PM]
- RE: mags R Us Jennifer [6/28/2007 8:03:30 PM]
- the crew Jena [7/13/2007 9:17:50 AM]
- Good to hear the crew is doing better Heather [7/23/2007 4:39:25 PM]
- Wow....Are you serious? Lue Danger [11/1/2007 4:14:59 PM]
- former peddler Roadrunner [1/8/2008 11:49:36 PM]
- Sorry for your ordeal X-roadrunner [4/7/2008 4:08:18 AM]
- I am an x- roadrunner Franchette [6/23/2008 9:31:06 PM]
In case you are a victim too(AM PressAss./Mags r Us
As you may already know my son is still missing. (june 1st 2006), i have yet to hear from him or know his whereabouts.
If you or any other mother/ family member is having the same problem with a lost or missing loved one linked to this event or company here are a few #'s / names that the company is run under and where...
-People associated with Am Press/Mags......
>Roberta Cheshire age 69 (owner) miami, Fla
>Robert G Spruiell age 60 glendale, AZ.
>Flo Roos (owner) WPB, Fla
>Renee Rylan WPB, Fla
-Adresses/ other businesses associated with Am Press...
>Premium USA, LTD P.O. box 19059 WPB, Fla 33416(own Am Press)
>Am Press Ass. LLC 1470 NW 10th Ave. ste H1/2 WPB, fla. 33172
>Mags R Us 15820 N. 5th Ave. #6 Pheonix, Az. 85053
>Integrity Sales 15820 N.5th Ave. #6 Pheonix,Az. 85053
>Press On LTD.
>Magazine Network
>Services Unlimited Plus P.O.box 12613 Glendale, Az. 85318
>Integrity Sales P.O. box 10025 Glendale, Az. 85318
-Phone Numbers linked to ass.'s
>(305)599-2670
>(305)629-8604
>(866)776-7828
>(866)667-4346
>(800)536-4704
>(877)249-9075
>(602)978-4704
>(602)978-4700
>(602)439-7353
>(888)293-5840
Has been reported to
BBB of Southeast FL,
2924 N. Australian Ave.
West Palm Beach, Fl 33407
(561)842-1918
WATCH OUT!!!!
This company not only rips you off, or takes your loved one's, but in fact steals your identity! This company goes around collecting information from customers(YOU'RE MONEY YOU GIVE THEM IS A BONUS!!) with intentions of identity theft, that's what they do and is what they are all about.. getting as much personal information as possible ! Don't become a victim! Yes, what you hear is correct. This is the reason why money is gone from your bank acct. and you do not recieve what you payed for. They go by false names, have false license plates, false credencials, False advertisements with false prices, and false addresses. They are con-artists, who go around making P.O. boxes everywhere, so that unsuspecting customers(victims)will think that they are a local business, with local children from local schools!
Please be aware of who you give your information to! And Elderly beware 'you are prime targets of theft!'
Its up to your son now...
Penny, first, let me tell you that your concerns are well founded. This company, under the direction of its parent owners, have committed many instances of violence and theft against the young people they exploit. The next time you hear from your son, implore him to just walk away-literally-away from the territory his car handler has dropped him... there is nothing in his hotel room worth returning for. The only possesions he is allowed to have are some clothes-easily replaced when he is safe again. If he is fearful of his coworkers, and probably is... encourage him to call the police. Stay on the phone with him if possible until they arrive. The magcrew scum will not go anywhere near a police officer. Do not ask him questions that he cannot answer with a yes or no, because he no doubt is being monitored. Keep it short, tell him you will get him home and to call from a location while on territory where he can talk freely. You must also consider that many kids embrace this itinerate lifestyle after their initial indoctrination-an enthusiasm that ultimately wears off over time as they come to realize the only people profiting from the hours of work they do are the lowlifes sitting on their fata$$es in the hotel rooms. He will not be paid monies owed him after his departure and he will be burdened with a 1099 tax status liability. Let your son know in no uncertain terms... when he is done with this lifestyle, he CAN walk away-thousands have before him. More and more is being done to reform this terrible business-tell everyone you know your story, and perhaps help another unsuspecting youngster. Good luck. Getabunch.
still searching
as you know per above information.. my son is still on the road and is not safely secured at home. i am now very worried i may never see or her form my son ever again. if you scum are reading this note i will not stop till my son is secure i my arms and out of yours! he deserves more than what you are doing to him. let him go.. not one 3 minute phone call is goingt o make me rest till i have my son. you so as hurt as of one hair on his head, god have mercy on your souls i will seek justice no matter what the cercumstance or cost. let him go, let him call.. if he is happy let him tell me, do not cooerce him. if he wants to come home let him you have no right to keep him against will, or blackmale him.
richard, ilove you mommy is going to get you home. XOX
Im sorry for you
Tammy unfortunatly Stephen is 100% right. There is a few things keeping your son from calling you or just coming home. The biggest problem he is facing is the constant bombardment of brainwashing from his managers, car handlers and fellow brainwashed peers. As much as you dont want to hear this he is drinking doing drugs and having alot of unprotected sex. That is the harsh reality of day to day life on the road traveling from hotel to hotel city to city saturating it and scamming entire communities.
Then when its 'worked' or 'hot' meaning people are getting pissed and the 'heat' is on and cops are locking up their salespeople, which is very common. By now he considers his peers as his 'new' family. Young people that do this job are rebels and are defiant. They love the freedom they get from this job. It makes them feel invincible in a way that is hard to explain unless youve been there which I was for a very regretable 10 years so im speaking from first hand knowledge of the in's and out's of the magazine business like few people you will come accross. Im going to email you in a couple days with hopefully some info that may help.
I wish you only the best of luck in getting you son back were he belongs.
Thanks,
A friend
More Info...Please read Tammy
Mike,
The company is owned by Lonnie R. Divine (also Lonnie Raymond Devine), and Brent's last name is Williams. You can look Lonnie up on Google, and you or the mom can call Earlene Williams of Parent Watch at 212.666.3538 if you need additional help. Thanks and I wish you luck.
Tammy....
I have looked in on this site periodically to see if you have heard from your son, or successfully engineered his safe return. My heart goes out to you...and literally countless other parents who lose their young adults to this very dangerous and unrewarding business. By now, he has been fully indoctrinated and does his mgrs bidding without hesitation. As his tenure grows...he and others learn to write business for no other reason than to avoid the mgrs wrath at days end...and hope they will tomorrow...a cycle that repeats until finally he will have had enough and he WILL come home. Its a matter of time right now. Keep the faith and keep us posted-OK? God Bless. Getabunch.
Submitted: 8/25/2006 8:18:19 PM
Modified: 8/25/2006 8:18:19 PM
Melissa
Three Rivers, MichiganU.S.A.
Call the FBI if you have to
Ma'am, you have a real reason to be frightened for your son. I worked for a door-to-door sales company for over five years. The best thing that happened to me was the day I finally left.
The idea of travelling all around the country for free sounds great to any young adult. Let me tell you its not free. You bust your butt 6 days a week, rain or shine. You may or may not get off for holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving.
It really depends on how much richer the sales agents make the company owners. You work very long hours sometimes even to midnight. Imagine knocking on a complete strangers door at midnight trying to sell your product so that you may receive the little kibbles and bits they give you as 'pay'.
Most of the pay is very minimal. $5-$20 bucks a day, and that is if you are working for a good boss. I have run into magazine salesmen that are practically starving. They give them PB &J sandwiches for dinner and a pop. Do you think you could live on that?
Luckily the company I worked for was not that bad, or a 'renegade' crew is what we called them. Most of the 'crews' are infiltrated with drugs, mostly crack cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine.
I was sexually harassed by my coworkers and bosses. I even told the company owner about a manager who was harassing me. He replied with ' managements got to get some too', could you beleive that? Luckily you have a son in there not a daughter.
Not to scare you, but he is very much trapped where he is. You can file a missing persons report for him. Call the feds if you have to, but get him home. It is very likely that he is very much broke, in need of a good meal, and quite possibly strung out on some sort of drug.
These people are very good at getting straight laced kids on drugs. I have seen it. It is very sad. Thinking about it now upsets me. I lost so many people to drugs when I was working for them.
When I was getting ready to make my big escape, someone told the owner. Now mind you I got married to someone on the crew and also had a child on the road with me, he went to 5 different kindergartens while I was traveling.
The owner yelled at me for wanting to leave. He made all types of promises to try to keep me there. He saw I still wanted to go, so he started to cut my pay. From $250 a week to $100.( I was in the office not on doors) and my husband got about $5 a day and $40 bucks on the weekend.( as a salesman)
So, I started to rip him off. He took me off door-to-door and put me in the office as a cash manager so that he could keep and eye on me. I stared stealing from him cuz he cut my pay down so little it was looking to be impossible for me to leave.
I am not a bad person I just needed out bad. He even went as far as putting my room right next to his at the hotels so he could hear my converstations, and again to keep an eye on me.
The night I finally left he actually stood outside my room till about 2 am. The second he got in his truck and left, so did me and my family. It took me almost 6 months to get out of there.
The reason why I am writing this is that I am aware of the hiring process you observed. I know they don't want phone calls except on Sundays but even then they leave you so broke you can't buy a calling card. Your son is trapped. He may or may not know it. You need to get him out.
Good Luck and God Bless YOU
Submitted: 8/31/2006 7:59:51 PM
Modified: 8/31/2006 7:59:51 PMMelissa
Three Rivers, MichiganU.S.A.
God Bless You and Your Family
I recently contacted Penny with info on finding her son. Good news everyone he is already home. Hopefully she will inform us on how it happened. Warn your friends and families not to fall victim.
Penny... This business so indoctrinates the youth it exploits-that many former magcrew members defend this industry even after escaping the clutches of the folks who use them
First, let me say its wonderful news that your son has come home. In my zeal to respond-I see I called you by the name Tammy. My apologies. This business so indoctrinates the youth it exploits-that many former magcrew members defend this industry even after escaping the clutches of the folks who use them. Google the owners name...or simply search the web r.e. this very old method of stealing across the Americas, and you will note the vastly negative info on this phenomenom. Mr.Devine is no exception-in fact he and his family have been letting young people support them in high fashion for many,many years. They would not know an honest days work if it hit them in the face. I don't need to tell you, Penny...but to other readers-never let these young folks into your home-the mgrs have dangerous kids on the crews. Not all are bad...not by a longshot, but don't take a chance that the young person at your door is someone of serious questionable background. Afterall, L.Devine and the other mgrs in this business have arrest records all over the U.S.,and they have no qualms about hiring others like themselves. Instead...always ask for a permit-and let the authorities know ASAP that they are in the area. We hope to hear that your son is doing ok-let us know.Getabunch.
WARN YOUR CHILDREN NOW
First of all, I'd like to say to Penny, I I am so very happy for you and your son! I am Chris, the mother who contacted you re: my daughter, Heather. She is on the same crew your son was on. Unfortunately, she is still ot there.
Parents, please, if you warn your children about all the other bad things in life such as drinking, drugs, unprotected sex, and talking to strangers, then you MUST warn them of this too.
This is a very dangerous business, not only for the customers that are being ripped off for their money and identities, but for our children.
My daughter was taken in the middle of the night while sleeping over with a friend. She went willingly at the time. But she has been brain washed by these people.
My daughter just turned 18 in Sept. of 2005, she left in Oct. a month later. Heather is beautiful, bright, intelligent, and a very loving and caring person. She had just graduated from the high school LPN nursing program and was waiting to sit for her boards to become licensed. She was very close to her brother , sister, and myself (mother). Her nursing instructor, her friends, and her entire family were so very proud and sure she would be one of the best nurses from her class.
Heather has been gone now for almost a year. I have spoken to her maybe 4 times. I did not hear from her from Feb. 2006 til just a few nights ago. I recieved a call from a police officer in Montana, due to the fact that I had filed a missing persons report, and he was responding. He had just arrested her for selling mags w/o a permit. This is not her first arrest. She was also arrested in Wisconsin for the same.
I asked to speak with her and she reluctantly came to the phone. This was a person with Heather's voice but not her personality! My heart is breaking because I don't know this person. I feel as if the girl I love and raised has vanished from the earth. I am very afraid she is on drugs and drinking. She was very snotty and acted as though I were bothering her. My sweet little girl would never have treated me this way!
Heather is 5' 10', she had blonde hair (sometimes changes the color) blue eyes, and dimples in both cheeks. I can't say how much she weighs because she stopped to see her aunt in Fla. and I was told she had lost a lot. She has a beautiful face with a nice complexion and pretty teeth when she smiles. If anyone has seen her, please contact me at (((ROR REDACTED E-MAIL ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER FOR SECURITY PURPOSES)))
I pray to God to please bring my child back to me safe and unharmed. I hope everyone reading this who has a child never has to suffer the heartbreak and loss I feel. Thank you all for reading my letter.
CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.
Misconceptions......
I am Heather, the daughter of Chris, the lady who wrote the rebuttal before me. I am home now, in Zanesville, and I have read alot of the stories on here. There are MANY different crews going door to door out there.
I just want to clear up the fact that Brent Williams crew did not use drugs, we werent even aloud to talk about them. It is true about working 6 days a week and sometimes until 1 am in the morning, but that was our choice, many a time did I go out after hours and knock on doors, sometimes for just one more sale to meet my quota.
But no, we were not paid as low as 5 dollars a day. I was a very good sales person, and I made $80-$100 a day. The other young adults I worked with were very good people, excluding a certain few. The kids that are still working on the crew do not have access to the internet, so they would not know that they are being used. We were not promised prizes or a savings bond, but a chance to be a millionaire, (A Mag Manager).
I also believed in the fact that I would be successful until I started noticing things. For example, there are Junior Managers in the crew, they had been there for about 6-8 years. I figured, hey, these guys are gonna be millionaires, and they are doing the same thing I do.
To let you know, if you havent read any other of my rebuttals, I NEVER scammed anyone. Anyway, these Junior managers were just like us, I even shared a bed with the girl junior, I considered her a vey good friend, we went shopping together,(we both generally made more money than most of the other girls), I told her everything. Everyone looked up to her because she was a very good salesperson, she had the record for the week until I broke it. She was also like me in the fact that she always helped other people when they werent doing good.
A lot of people told me I was the next Janet. I found out later, through other people on the crew that she was a scammer. that was one of the things that made me leave. Another girl who was dating the boy Junoir manager was another 'Highball' we were always competing. She was very mean to the other people on the crew, but she was good at sales, so I thought she was allright.
I found out later that she scams ALOT of people. After I found out that Ber scammed people too,I was really mad. I loved traveling and selling magazines it was the most fun I've evre had. If it wasnt for the people who scammed, I can honestly say I would still be on the road. And Penny, I was one of the people who helped your son, ALOT. I helped alot of the people on the crew, sometimes handing them orders that I had worked for.
Im sorry to say this, but your son was fired from the crew for sexually assulting a 15 year old girl, and after he was released from jail for it, he tried to call her the SAME night from his room. Brent found out when he got a printout from the frontdesk of the phone calls and fired him. Its a good thing, because he's home, but I just wanted you to know that before you judge me.
Submitted: 4/13/2007 2:48:13 PM
Modified: 4/13/2007 6:25:52 PM
Jackie
Maryland Heights, MissouriU.S.A.
More info and corrections on the company in question
First of all I would like to make a couple of corrections to the postings above. Roberta Cheshire is not the owner and never has been the owner of the company. She is no longer even associated with them. Lonnie Divine and his wife Yvonne Ruel Divine are the owners. They along with Lonnie's daughter, Deanna, has all just recently spent time in prison on federal tax charges. Lonnie was either just released or will soon be released.
The only number I know of that is still associated with the business is 866-272-8466. But it is never answered and has a message saying the voice mail has not yet been set up.
Besiedes the company names listed above here are several others that are owned/operated by the Divine's or their employees:
Youth of America
Babies Addicted to Drugs
World Wide Connect
America Fulfillment Center
Aids Prevention Institute
Heartline
Divine World Wide Ministries
These are just a few among many names the organization went by in the 7 years I worked for them.
Penny, I am happy to hear your son is home, but beware he will still have issues to deal with as a result of his time spent with them.
When I left, I tried to get a car loan only to find out that any medical bill I had from the previous 7 years was on my credit report. According to the company and Lonnie, when you go to the doctor on the road, they cover 100% of the charges...In reality when the bill comes in the mail, they throw it in the garbage.
Plus, if your son was ever ticketed, he will have a failure to appear warrant. Lonnie does not take his employees to any court date they are suppose to attend due to soliciting without a permit. Lonnie or his managers would have told your son that it was all taken care of, but in reality he will be wanted on a warrant. They convince you that they have an amazing lawyer that fights any and all soliciting without permit tickets and/or arrests and has the charges dropped.
In reality Lonnie does have a great lawyer, who I have personally met, but his job is to defend Lonnie and Yvonne on all of their crimial tax charges.
Heather....I am glad you enjoyed your time on the road and made some money, but you got out at the right time. You spoke of junior managers scamming people and ripping them off. In reality, that is the only way they have to survive on the road. As a junior manager they are responsible for their own expenses such as hotel, gas and any and all returned checks, such as NSF checks. They get charged for 100% of the returned check including p&h and the mail in amount, but only make 50-75% of the collected balance.
For example, junior manager(JM) writes a oneliner order for 24.95 the collect on this order would be $10. I will be generous and say he makes 75%, or $7.50. The p&h would be 2.50 and the mail in would be 12.45. (These were the typical prices when I was on the road. Probably much higher now...I will go into that later) The 24.95 check does not clear so he is charged 24.95 by the company for an order on which he pocketed 7.50. So in reality, for him to write this order it costs him 17.45 out of his pocket.
This problem of scamming customers is only going to get worse. Due to the fact that Lonnie and Yvonne were found guilty on federal charges they are no longer allowed by the clearing houses to clear their own orders. They are now cleared through another company...Palmetto I believe. It costs the company approximately 14 dollars to clear each order. Due to that fact the company does not clear their orders until the customer complains that they have not yet received their order. Only then is it sent to the clearing house. So, therefore, customers are not getting their magazines and learning slowly, but surely not to order from door to door agents, especailly with those prices and the lower probability of receiving the order. Customers don't realize they won't receive the order, and many don't complain because they just chalk it up to a lesson learned, but the less possible orders out there the jm's are more likely to scam because they are put into the position of scam or don't survive.
I know you speak highly of Brent Williams. I will agree, he is a nice guy. He was only an agent when I was on the road and became a manager after I had been on the road a couple of years. I know the company philosophy of not even speaking of drugs, or to speak of any negative. But I also know for a fact that what the managers say to their agents and do when the agents are not around are two totally different things. Certain managers for that company including Brent, Chris C., Cody A., and Kevin have been know to be drunk and under the influence of multiple drugs on more than one occassion. They have all day to do whatever they want when the agents are gone. They all also have huge gambling habits which they learned from none other than Lonnie Divine.
I still keep in touch with a couple people I was friends with on the road. We all agree that it was great to get to see all the places we did and do some of the things we were able to do, but we also agree that we got out at the right time, before things went totally downhill. I was gone before Lonnie and Yvonne were arrested but I was with them when their house and offices were raided in July of 1997 and they moved to the Bahamas.
I had a great time...got to see the entire country, take a cruise to the Bahamas, gamble with the high rollers in Vegas and met some great people along the way. But I am happy to be away from that scene...too much bad happening way to fast in that environment.It was time to grow up and have a real life...not one being sheltered from what was really happening and being kept in the dark.
If anyone would like more info or to discuss any situation regarding this please feel free to email me.
RE: mags R Us
I worked for Lonnie Divine when his company when it was called union circulation. I was a power agent did killer business and made nothing and left with nothing to show but a fairly cheesy diamond ring and ten dollars in my pocket. That ten dollars had to last me from Manitowic WI, to Alabama. Even in the early 90's , that wasnt much to last someone for 3 days. This was after working for the company for 3 years. I was allowed pretty much no social life and depression finally drove me to the desperate act of quitting.
its hard to leave people that you live with 7 days a week 24 hours a day and know that you will probably never see them again. I don't care what anyone says, its a business that makes money from the suffering of others. I find a certain amount of consolation fromt he fact that Lonnie and others actually did some jail time. I am sorry for what happened with your son and hope that he, like myself, learned a valuable life lesson.
the crew
first things first.....you people are so negative.....ive been on the road for almost 5 years now....ive seen people go out as managers (matt s) i watched my trainer (kenny) become a junior....and my jm ( janet) is not a scammer...even if she still is here or not...who knows...me kenny and ber pretty much run stuff now.....brent hops in every now and again throws up a bonus and leaves...things are very different.....for the better....you people have so much garbage in your heads....this is a business not a half way house or a traveling welfare....you get what you put in to it....and if being a folded agent is what you got....then you will never make anything of yourself
Good to hear the crew is doing better
Like I had said before, if it werent for the people who were actually scamming people, I would still be there..... Its good to hear that Matt took out his own crew... hopefully people learned a lesson and changed the way they write their business, because it is a good business to be part of, in my opinion. Just so everyone knows, I am almost a nurse now, so I am making something of myself. For future agents who knock on my door, I am a BIG ORDER.... so dont judge a book by its cover....
Wow....Are you serious?
ummm....wow. this is completely stupid. i was on the road for a lil bit over a year. the road was an experience ill never forget. but...anybody that actually has a good head on there shoulders should have noticed that the road is a bunch of b.s, and yes i said that. when you join with this crew yes you do travel, yes you make money everyday, and yes you have a possibility at making manager so that hopefully you can then possibly become a manager. in the time that i was there i had 3 juniour manager, one of them who then later became a manager. these guys/girls were very good people who i always felt bad for. then of course you have the manager who i will keep his name private, but man was this guy an act. he would seriously sit down every morning and feed us this garbage about becoming managers and becoming millionares and how people who punch a clock are stupid, and just a punch of stupid stuff that i always secreatly laughed about in my head. in the time that i was there i found out this guy had been a manager for about 12 years. when i heard this i left. i had the mentality to think to myself 'its it really gonna take me that long to make it'.
this guy finds kids, puts them in this imaginary world where they think the're balling or something, and profits from these kids who dont 'punch a clock' but yet work from 9 a.m till 9p.m. also working for this company does take your freedom from you. its more like going back to slavery days. in the year i was there i had a bedtime every single night, i couldnt go out unless i had someone with me, i couldnt drink when i wanted to, i had to have sex when i was told (and giving a time limit), i couldnt wear what i wanted, and the list goes on. i am a person that is going to be 22. maybe im still young but am i not my own man.
the only ones i feel bad for are all the cool people i had to travel with. there just stuck in this world being 'canvased' and they dont know any better because they have this high and holy 'business oppurtunity' in front of them. so i know alot of agents come here and read this, hell obviously ex-agents come and read this so if anybody is feeling salty in any type of way because of the words that i have written...come down to jersey and knock on my door....even tho my pockets are huge now im not a big order. i will not help this man profit on his canvas. and like i said if you feeling salty knock on my door...i just hope u make it out my hood when you do...by the way i live on the corner of Summer Ave and Taylor St in Newark NJ. please come holla....im out.
Submitted: 1/8/2008 11:49:36 PM
Modified: 1/9/2008 8:16:37 AMRoadrunner
Miami Beach, FloridaU.S.A.
former peddler
hello penny, my name is rich. i am a former peddler with a different company. i do not know your son, but i do have a little insight being with the company for 5 years. picture a pyramid. me at the top, my company name xyxy, i hire your son, train him and teach him to grow produce and hire, get him started with his own crew his own company name and it goes on. so there are really only a few big companies that have really spread their seed. it is really crazy. now with your son, the first thing i would do is hire a private investigator to do a all points bulletin, to see if he is in jail somewhere. the owner of the company i worked for lives up the road in boca raton.
richard
Submitted: 4/7/2008 4:08:18 AM
Modified: 4/7/2008 8:22:53 AMX-roadrunner
Pinellas Park, FloridaU.S.A.
Sorry for your ordeal
I am ex-employee of that company, although it went by a different name a few years ago, but with a little research I found they are one in the same. I worked for people under Lonnie Divine, specifically Nathan Combs, Kevin Blake and Tammy Cordingly. It's extremely hard to leave, mainly because they often keep the majority of the agents at such a low pay rate that you never make enough to save. And even if you did save, it would all get spent come Sunday anyhow. People are very unreceptive to kids who come to the door spilling some story about being brainwashed, so finding a phone is next to impossible really. We had no trouble calling home, but we were not able to 'go back and visit family' like we had been promised, because once you left that state, the chances of you being allowed back to that state at all were slim and none, and definitely not to the area you were from. I also believe that my things were examined when I was not there. Several photos mysteriously disapeared, and so did some clothing etc. I suppose it could have been coincidental, but I believe it was intentional. They tend to keep a very close eye on their agents so it's very difficult to plan to leave without some kind of explosive argument.There were no drugs used openly on our crew, if that's some kind of comfort (to anyone), although I suppose someone could have been doing it in secret... there was underage drinking though, but it wasn't all the time, and it certainly wasn't done in vehicles. I have looked for others that are ex-mag agents but finding them is next to impossible as they prefer everyone use only first names... making it harder to identify people later without a last name. It's also easier to influence someone who is alone.. strength in numbers .. so to speak. The owner of the crew I was on, Lonnie Divine, has his hand in several businesses, all of which are crooked, so if there's anything I can do please feel free to ask. I would also have anyone you know that is involved with magazine crews check their credit after they leave the road, I believe I have a huge hospital bill that was unavoidable, that they pegged me with. I was under the impression that they paid it, when in all actuality I believe it is still unpaid. The gift that keeps on giving...good luck.
Steph
I am an x- roadrunner
I also used to work for lonnie, it was in the late 80's for about 4 years. I loved it.I was a power agent and made pretty good money. When I heard about your missing son,my heart dropped because by knocking on doors it could get a little dangerous. I want to assure you there is absolutly no drugs aloud.They do not frown on calling family they just dont like it during the week cause they like you to stay positive and sometimes when you talk to family, they dont really know the ins and outs of the buisness and tend to be negative and that brings you down which affects your work.You do work very very hard but you also get to have fun,especially when you take care of your buisness first. I dont understand how come he has not called you, if he quit befor the 2 weeks the bad thing is you are left where you quit. The only brainwashing that was there when I worked for him is to keep positive, the sky is the limit. You get to see your family usually every year once they make it around the country again. There is not huge sex parties or anything, actually they kinda frown on sex if your a new person cause your there for buisness and if you do find yourself in a relationship its usually with a fellow agent.There is absolutly no abuse or any kind of punishments.I have also hired people from grocery stores and places like that, alot of them stayed some of them quit, but it wasnt out of the norm to do that.If your son is still in the buisness I want to assure you he is fine, if somehow he left it and went on his own I will say a little prayer that he comes home.It was not a scam when I worked there, we did tell people we were earning points to win things and people did send their orders to my house just to help me win but they didnt want the mags and if my mom was alive she would tell ya how many she received, she was not very happy. I hope to god you here from your son.
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