All over social media I've seen thousands of mysterious job ads.
The best experience you'll ever go through.
It just keeps getting better and better.
It's not a job, it's not a nine to five. It's a lifestyle.
They're offering massive salaries, cars and holidays.
A free white mercedes and a six figure income.
It's £15,000 a month. And you can earn more than that.
But very few of them say what job actually is.
I didn't know much about multi-level marketing before this
and once you start looking, these ads are everywhere.
I'm investigating whether the reality matches
up to what these companies seem to promise.
And one name keeps coming up again and again.
This little black box that says
Younique across it, changed my life.
Younique is an online make-up company.
If you sign up to sell for them you're called a presenter.
It only launched in the UK in 2014.
Jessica left Younique in 2018.
Hi. Hi Jessica.
She's asked us to hide her identity.
Can you explain a bit more about how it affected your relationships.
It's 24 hours a day, you eat, sleep and breathe it.
You know they have this hashtag #teamnosleep.
I was losing friends because of it.
And you know my family were like "it's a cult".
I was like "no, it's not, it's not". You know.
And they do training where basically what they tell you is,
if someone doesn't support you then you get rid of them.
That doesn't matter if it's your mam, your brother, your sister,
your husband, your friends - "you don't need that in your life".
Me and my partner would argue constantly.
I even nearly said, well I did say it to him,
"why are you even marrying me?"
Some of them get really nasty and that as well.
And I think that's why you get a bit nervous about leaving,
cos they starting calling you names like fat and ugly.
They proper pull you apart.
They say, like, if you leave. That you've failed.
"How dare you, you could've made it".
But you don't know. Because you quit.
At Younique I have also heard from people who feel they were
encouraged to spend their own money to improve their business.
I lost roughly with Younique, £1800.
We had no money for food and things because I was
promised if I put this in I would get more back.
Probably spent upwards of a couple of thousand, thinking about it.
There's another multi-level marketing company
that's come up in my research and they're even bigger.
This opportunity has completely changed my life.
It's the time, retired my mum, buy our dream home.
We travel the world and spend every single day with my children.
It's a cosmetics company called Nu Skin.
I've come to Cornwall to meet someone
who was drawn into this company at a difficult time.
Hi Vicki, I'm Ellie.
Vicki has two children.
She signed up for Nu Skin when she was pregnant with her first child.
When you joined up, you were heavily pregnant.
Were going to have a new baby soon.
How much do you feel like you were targeted because of that?
Oh, extremely.
It was a few weeks before my maternity leave
and me and my husband went through our finances
and thought 'oh my god, how are we going to survive?'
We had just moved into a temporary accommodation,
we were in quite a desperate situation. We weren't getting any housing.
What expectations were you given when you signed up?
All the people at the top had these lovely cars.
They have lots and lots and lots of money.
And lots and lots of nice houses.
And I didn't want to live like in a council property forever.
I wanted more out of life and I thought,
that's what was going to give it to me.
Over the last five months. I've heard from former distributors and their loved ones,
who felt that working for these two companies
isolated them from their friends and family.
Younique affected my mental health
in such a way that it's nearly impossible to describe.
My brother saw us as negative influences
and negative influences need to be cut out of your life.
I really did not like the person it was turning me into.
It seemed a little bit like a cult. I'll be honest.
It's time for some answers.
I want to speak with the people at the top of these two companies,
and it turns out Younique and Nu Skin both started in the same place.
Utah, USA.
Temperature -9.
It's most famous for being the home
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints, or LDS.
But surprisingly,
it's also famous for being the world capital of multi-level marketing.
Every year thousands of recruits flock to conventions here.
More than 100 MLMs were founded here.
And these are two I recognise.
During bring my research I've realised the founders of Younique and Nu Skin
are also members of the LDS Church.
Many in the state claim there is a link with Mormon culture
and the high number of multi-level marketing companies here.
Gina is 25 and has tried selling for three different MLMs.
She and her husband Cole first met when they
were Mormon missionaries six years ago.
This seems to be the heart of MLMs in the world really.
Yes.
Why do you think that is?
As members of the church, I'm a member, we are taught
that we, the mums, are supposed to stay home with their kids
and nurture them and raise them.
And so I think a lot of women in this area
take that a little, almost too seriously.
Where they are like, 'this is the only way I can stay home
is to do an MLM, so I earn money to help'.
Do you think that the people that are founding MLMs
in Utah are almost exploiting that?
Yes, I do,
I feel like they're targeting those young mums
and those young women who want to stay at home.
When it comes down to it, it's a little bit
more predatory than a lot of people realise.
Can you tell me a little bit more about LDS culture?
In the church we have these things called missions.
Men go for two years and women go for a year and a half.
So we would go out and we would knock on doors
and we would talk to people about Christ
and see if they were interested in learning more about our beliefs.
And so does that teach you quite a lot about,
I suppose almost recruitment in a way?
Yeah, definitely.
Because of my mission,
when I was in an MLM, it was easier for me to reach out to people
because that's what I had done for a year and a half.
Having spoken to women like Geena, the question I'm left with is;
were these companies set up as a genuine opportunity for women?
Or have they been set-up to capitalise on pressures
for young women to stay at home with their families?
And is that message now being spread all over the globe?
I've managed to reach someone
who used to work at the Younique head office.
She's agreed to meet me tonight,
but says it's too risky to reveal her identity.
Why did you leave Younique?
Because I think you can't say that you are uplifting or empowering women
when you're trying to convince them that they need these products
and that it will ultimately improve their lives.
How big is the mark-up on the products?
Oh my gosh, massive.
Some are more than like 400%.
The make-up is not what Younique is marketing.
They are marketing a lifestyle, they are marketing a dream,
they are marketing a support group.
For the majority of promotions, we put on, are focused on recruitment.
I've spoken to women now who have lost thousands of pounds at Younique.
Do you think there was an awareness in the corporate office
that that was happening?
There is a shifting of blame.
If you lose money, it's because you aren't working hard enough,
it's a lack of fortitude.
Have they made lot of money from this?
Younique has a billion dollar valuation.
They have made millions of dollars.
They are multi, multi-millionaires.
It's my final day in Utah,
I gave both companies a deadline for an interview and I've heard nothing back.
I start with Younique.
I'm looking to speak with Derek Maxfield.
That's probably not possible.
He's not here. So that's a no go.
Do you know where he is?
We are only in Utah today
and we have been trying to get hold of someone all week.
I just have a couple of questions that I want to ask him
on behalf of a number of women we have spoken to.
No-one calls me back.
Next, I try Nu Skin.
Hi, my name's Ellie Flynn, I'm with the BBC.
I'm trying to get hold of your CEO.
I wait.
So, I just talked to Rod.
Says he's in a meeting. But he is going to send you a statement.
But he cannot meet with you today.
When does this meeting end? Can he not meet with me after?
No I'm sorry no.
I think that says it all.
People have lost everything to these companies.
They've lost hours of their lives.
They've lost money, they've lost friends, they've lost family.
When you come here to try and question the people that are responsible for that.
No-one acknowledges it, and I think that's the reality of what happens.
People are buying into a dream
and when it all goes wrong nobody cares.
We did hear back from both companies.
Nu Skin said "... the level of success varies greatly
based on factors such as a person's goals, ambition, commitment and skills".
They said they have "... strict policies against misrepresentation and exaggerated claims
and take appropriate remedial action.
They said they "... do not charge a sign-up fee
and there is no requirement for [sales leaders] to purchase products".
They said they also have a refund policy in place for resalable products.
They comply with the laws and regulations and they have implemented
policies and training to help their sales force comply.
They have more than one million customers globally who enjoy their products.
Younique said they "... developed their business model
to allow presenters to run at a level that makes sense for each individual".
They say their "... sign-up fee is low
and presenters don't need to build-up a product inventory
because their digital platform allows customers to buy... directly from Younique".
They also have a one year refund policy in place for presenters' unused products.
They said they have strict policies in place
to ensure adherence with local laws
they supplement these policies with a large compliance audit team
that provides ongoing training and enforcement
including termination for non-compliance.
Many people do say that multi-level marketing has changed their life.
Not just in terms of money but also friendships,
gaining confidence and personal support.
These companies seem to be everywhere
and yet they're so shrouded in secrecy.
I think that until there's more transparency
and awareness about what it means to work for an MLM
and what your chances of success are,
I just fear more people are going to lose out.