Sports Marketin - Sports Marketing International Dishonest Misleading Job Scam Takes Advantage of Young, Naive Job Seekers DS-MAX, the aftermath Nationwide

This company was formerly known till May 2008 as the LANDERS group named after Matt Kelly's grandparents. Two players, Lindsay Latta and Beth Curly are either not there, or out of site. Now you apply to a new person, Brittany James at 818-907-0175 -- pretending that she runs an HR dept... only to find out that you will be an independent contractor ( but trust me, this company does not meet the independent contractor criteria!).

You dont need to take my word, this company operates all over the world, under different names, and if you go to this website

http://groups.msn.com/DSMAXTheAftermath/alumni.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=8436&LastModified=4675699532221614135

you will get to read ALL about your new boss and how very unethical he will be.....

Iin the meantime, the goal of many of the former workers is this
Pledge to do your part against the descendants of Ds-max.

Many of us have been hurt by ds-max either directly or indirectly. We ourselves might have been in, or a loved one was in this organization. The recruiting lies, the treatment of the representatives and the handling of the clients are terrible. There is no need to go into it all here. The testimonials on the aftermath and other sites speak for themselves. The mission statement on the aftermath speaks for itself.

Now do you want to do your part to fight back and make the world a better place? People always ask what they can do to help stop the business. There are many steps that can be taken.

Challenges:

This organization has been in existence since the 80's and it spans many continents and languages. They know how to word documents and how to promote what they do in ways that will not violate existing laws. This organization is made up of hundreds of independent corporations that have informal relationships with each other but there is no central authority that could legally be held responsible. Thus, pinning anything on these people can be very hard. Nevertheless, there are many things that individuals can do to help stop and even cancel the growth of ds-max related companies. One must work within ones circle of influence.

Furthermore, we are spread all over the world in different time zones. It is hard for us all to meet together and to plan. But we can encourage each other and work inside our own circles of influence to make a difference.

No one person doing all these things alone will make a difference. But many people all over the world doing these things - will have an effect. Can you just imagine this? The aftermath has members all over the world. Just as the aftermath started as a grass roots movement that created momentum simply by word of mouth, so too can this pledge grow into a very powerful voice to affect change. Each person that is truly committed to change can undertake these steps.

Action plan:

1) Take the time to write to your local, regional and national leaders to inform them about how these organizations affected you. Was it innovage? Granton? Quantum? Smart Circle? Cobra? Cydcor? IPG? Which independent office were you in? Tell them about the group, their business practices and how you or your loved ones were treated.

2) Educate yourself. Do some research about the descendants of ds-max as well as other multi-level marketing companies. Understand how they work. Here are some examples to start with. Look at the links on the aftermath. Spend some time on the factnet site, the mlm watch site, the parent watch site and reading up on things like Amway and quixtar. In particular I'd recommend reading "combating cult mind" control by Steven Hassan. Read up on about at least three different types of cults and mlms so that you can get a perspective on how these groups operate. Knowledge is power. Another bonus about educating yourself on these groups is that you will start to become quite an expert on coercive business tactics and be able to spot the subtle (and not so subtle) uses of manipulation that are employed everyday by these multi-level marketing companies.

3) Don't support the business monetarily. Don't buy from reps of the descendants of ds-max or any other mlm type company (be it magazine sales or stereo speakers or vector or whatever). Don't donate to any cult. If you just want to help out an individual guy that is one thing - have it stop with just that guy (buy the rep lunch or give cash), but do not purchase or sign up for any products which will put money into pockets of the owner and the all the other powers that be. Be firm yet kind about this.

4) If it is possible, when you met that individual rep tell them the truth about the organization. Be non-confrontational, treat them kindly, civilly and let them know that you affirm them as individuals. If nothing else, write the web sites of the aftermath and the ripoffreport down and give it to them. If they offer resistance to what you say and seem combative, just leave.

5) Contact the media that advertise for ds-max descendant jobs in your locale and let them know that you are dismayed that a legitimate newspaper/internet job board would run false ads filled with half-truths and gross misrepresentations. At the very least, contact the media outlet that you first used to find out about the business and inform them about the illegality of ads that they run.

6) If you live or work in an area where it is illegal to solicit door to door, and you see these laws being violated, contact the proper authorities. You might feel bad doing this, and it may or may not be ok to warn the rep, but in the long run, this action will be good for the rep and good for the community as a whole.

7) If you have been mentally scarred from your time in the business, get the help you need. See a doctor, go to a work shop or go to church. Many former cult/mlm members end up joining similar groups or looking for jobs or religions that use the same psychological tactics that were forced upon them in their former cult/mlm. Also, many people go through some depression. Education and time are the keys here. If you have friends that were mentally impacted from being in the business, try and get them help. Do what you have to do keep your mind on healthy productive things and not on the business.

8) Contact companies that do business with the descendants of ds-max. It can be campaigns that you sold or that you know have relations with the group. Write to them and let them know why you are displeased that they use unethical outside sales forces like the descendants of ds-max. At the very least, write to companies that you or your loved ones represented while in the business.

9) Post in the action/pledge board when you have done some or all of the above tasks. Keep us posted as you go along. Feel free to tell us about your experience as you went through the tasks and what you learned along the way. Encourage others to do the pledge!

10) Get the name of the Affiliate you were with known. Since 2003, the ds-max affiliates have been downplaying the big names of ds-max, cydcor and the rest and have instead been having the independent offices stress their own names. With thousands of office names that come and go, it is much harder to tie there names to ds-max. You will make it easier for people doing internet searches to discover the truth about the vast organization they have been affected by.

a former worker
Los Angeles, California
U.S.A.