"TST" investigation involving pyramid selling: new agreement prohibits agency relationship
Two months ago, the relevant departments disclosed that Shanghai Dalway Trading Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Dalway”), the operator of the daily chemical brand “TST Court Secret” (hereinafter referred to as “TST”), was investigated for allegedly using the Internet to engage in pyramid selling activities. information.
Darwin once responded through social platforms that "it is a legitimate business company".
Nearly two months later, the news of "spending 30 million yuan to establish a new company" made Zhang Tinglin Ruiyang and his wife once again attracted public attention.
On December 28 last year, the day Darwin was investigated for alleged pyramid schemes, the reporter registered as a red card agent on the "TST" APP.
Since then, the reporter found that "TST" has changed, modifying the mall information, adding purchase and sales agreements, and prohibiting agency relationships.
Is it propaganda?
On March 11, a staff member of the Shijiazhuang Yuhua District Market Supervision Administration told People's Daily Online "People's Direct Strike" that the case was still under investigation.
Darwin confirmed to reporters that it is still cooperating with the investigation.
Online shopping mall "change face"
According to "TST"'s interpretation of the conditions of the red card agent, after registering an account, newcomers need to share the products in the mall to the circle of friends, and they can become blue card members after accumulating more than 4 times.
Blue card members are not eligible for card issuance and distribution.
After becoming a blue card member, there will be on-line guidance to upgrade to a red card agent.
The reporter registered as a red card agent of "TST" on December 28 last year, joined the company of founder Feifei, and has the qualification to attract people to open a card.
According to Feifei’s introduction, the red card is divided into 6 dealer performance levels. The team’s monthly performance exceeds 1,200 yuan, 5,000 yuan, 20,000 yuan, 100,000 yuan, 250,000 yuan, and maintains more than 250,000 yuan in sequence from F. Level up to Level A, the percentage of sales discount bonus increases from 12% to 32% of team performance.
"If you want to complete the performance, you must either keep stocking up on your own to meet the performance amount, or pull in a partner to share the investment."
In mid-February, when the reporter logged into the "TST" APP again, he found that the original "red card" related information had disappeared, the name was changed to "gold card", the relevant bonus system was also modified, the dealer level was deleted, and its team performance data Unchanged, the name of the system table is changed to "Ting Live Membership Discount Table", and an explanation is added, "Coordinate with regulatory requirements at any time to adjust the system".
The comparison between the original dealer bonus system of "TST" (top) and the new system (bottom).
Image from "TST Court Secret"
In addition to the above changes, two new electronic agreements have been added to the account, namely "Purchase and Sales Agreement" and "Marketing Service Agreement".
The agreement clearly states that "no partnership, joint venture or agency relationship shall be construed between the parties".
In addition, the agreement also remarks that logging in to the platform to bind and activate the account is deemed to have signed and recognized all the contents of the agreement.
However, the "Agent" column appears on the main page of the "TST" APP, where relevant product introductions and membership prices are released every day.
"The agreement is only recently, and I haven't seen it before." The reporter's "online" said, "In fact, we are acting as agents."
The troubled "founder"
Lin Ruiyang once told the story of joining the e-commerce platform "TST" from the film and television industry in his autobiography "Lin Ruiyang Farewell to Lin Ruiyang".
He calls himself a "dream weaver", and in the book lists the stories of 14 micro-business "stars" who became rich from grassroots because of their exposure to "TST".
Lin Ruiyang concluded that "women's money is relatively easy to earn", saying that the proportion of "TST" female members exceeds 90%.
Qin Li joined "TST" and did business with Lin Ruiyang for 6 years.
In 2016, Qin Li was introduced by a friend and became a micro-business of "TST".
"Invite people to join the team and become the one on the top of the tower." After listening to "Online" talk about how to make money, and showing screenshots of earnings after joining "TST", Qin Li began to set up a WeChat group.
In 2018, Qin Li's WeChat group once approached 500 people.
In the first half of 2019, Qin Li could no longer attract people, and could not complete the performance of the founder of the company, and the hoarding of goods had not been dealt with.
"At that time, I was brainwashed, I couldn't listen to anything, I was trapped here and couldn't move, and more than 300,000 yuan became a pile of cosmetics that couldn't be sold." In the first half of 2021, she left her identity as a founder.
At the beginning of 2018, Zhang Meng also joined "TST" due to a friend's introduction.
From ordinary agent to founder, Zhang Meng spent nearly two years and invested more than 1 million yuan.
"According to the requirements of 'TST' for founders, an agent is required to build a team, with 100 downlines, a team performance of 100,000 yuan, and continuous performance for 3 consecutive months to establish a subsidiary company to become a founder." Zhang Meng introduced. , "The team's performance in the first 6 months after becoming the founder must exceed 100,000 yuan, and after 6 months, the monthly performance needs to reach 200,000 yuan."
Zhang Meng calculated that according to the founder's "rebate" method, if the monthly team performance is 200,000 yuan, according to the 32% interest rate, the founder can get 64,000 yuan that month.
"If you want to achieve performance, you have to keep bringing people into the team and spend money to stock up." Zhang Meng found this model to be a bottomless pit. "Once the performance is not completed for 3 consecutive months, the founder's qualification will be cancelled."
"TST" is known as "zero investment, zero stockpiling".
Zhang Meng calculated an account, sold the product to the downline at a discount, completed the performance, plus the monthly rebate, minus the monthly personal investment, the basic balance of payments.
"The company holds an offline meeting every two months, or invites some well-known public figures to hold concerts and the company's annual meeting to cheer up the founders." Zhang Meng recalled the situation of participating in the event, "The founders spent tens of thousands of dollars to stock up on goods. , can be qualified to take a photo with Lin Ruiyang. The photo of the group photo is used to show off to the downline members, so that everyone thinks this is a profitable business."
In the future, it will be difficult to attract people. Zhang Meng borrows from relatives and friends, overdrafts credit cards, and borrows online to stock up.
In the end, the interest is less and the debt is more, and there are still more than 300,000 yuan unpaid.
She privately asked other founders and found that her experience was not an exception, and she laughed at herself as "harvested leeks".
"Bad face" and "coupons" turmoil
"TST" was questioned several years ago.
In 2016, Ms. Cui from Shanghai posted a Weibo saying that she was "disfigured" after using the "TST" live yeast product, and the hospital diagnosed her with skin allergy and inflammation.
According to "Consumer Reports", "TST Court Secret" cosmetics have caused many people to have bad faces, and many consumers have complained to them that they have various degrees of allergies after using TST live yeast products, and have hard pimples and pimples on their faces. Unusual symptoms such as acne.
At that time, Zhang Ting once responded that each user's skin type is different and will have different reactions.
In early 2021, a "coupon incident" caused Zhang Meng to lose trust in "TST".
In March of that year, the topic of "two people using the coupon loophole to make 7.7 million profit" appeared on Weibo's hot search.
According to Shanghai Kanan News, a company found that about 1,600 purchase records were abnormal in its APP backend. After comparison, it was found that two customers used the same coupon to make purchases.
According to the Qingpu police, after investigation, the suspects Zhu and Li used system loopholes to repeatedly swipe orders, swiping goods worth 6.4 million yuan and 1.3 million yuan respectively.
The two were charged with criminal compulsion in accordance with the law on suspicion of fraud.
The attorney for the person involved, Zhu Mou, told reporters that the first instance judged that Zhu Mou constituted fraud, and Zhu Mou appealed.
The lawyer introduced that after the two agents involved in the case obtained the coupons, they used them in the "TST" online mall within 3 months, and used the coupons to place orders with their own funds.
"TST" believes that this behavior is an illegal operation and requires the two to settle at the original price.
After being rejected, "TST" called the police in the name of two scammers.
"When looking at the coupons used by the two people involved in the case, it was found that the coupons have no identification function, no serial numbers and other distinguishing symbols." The lawyer said, "When Li and Zhu used the coupons, they did not have any doubts about the platform. Modification, tampering behavior."
Zhang Meng recalled that during the "Double 11" period in 2020, Zhang Ting brought goods in the Douyin live broadcast room and issued "TST" coupons.
"At that time, there were many rumors in the circle about this case. Some people said that the two people deserved it, and some people said that the two people were tricked." An agent told reporters, "This is a signal. Since then, many agents have seen Get out of 'TST' when you clear this up."
"Life Two"
According to people familiar with the matter, the relevant departments received reports one after another just after the "voucher incident".
"Li Xu's Anti-MLM Team" said that in April 2021, a whistleblower from Hebei sent "TST" internal information, recording the "TST" red card payment model and the related rebates on the purchase of goods by "pulling people" at different levels system.
Subsequently, the whistleblower reported to the Shijiazhuang Yuhua District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, and the case was successfully filed.
In late December 2021, the "Li Xu Anti-MLM Team" wrote a verification letter to the Shijiazhuang Yuhua District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, "requesting to verify whether 'TST' is suspected of pyramid schemes".
At the end of December, the Shijiazhuang Yuhua District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau responded that on June 5, 2021, the bureau opened an investigation into Shanghai Dalway Trading Co., Ltd. for suspected pyramid schemes, and reported it to the superior.
Because of the use of financial institutions to transfer or conceal the funds involved in pyramid schemes, the bureau has applied to the people's court to take preservation measures in accordance with the law, and the case is currently under further investigation.
The news that "TST" is suspected of pyramid schemes once appeared on the hot search.
Since then, Li Xu has been abused on the Internet.
Some participants called "TST" a "big tree to attract wind" and believed that Li Xu "attacked private enterprises under the guise of anti-pyramid marketing".
Li Xu said that most companies use celebrity platforms as endorsements at most. "TST" is operated by well-known artists, and other artists participate in shares, which can attract a lot of traffic and attract a lot of fans.
"In the eyes of ordinary people, the degree of trust will be very high, and this star effect is unmatched by other companies."
Lin Ruiyang also described the group photo with the agents in his autobiography, saying that "it is not only an act of worship by fans, but also a powerful prop for selling products on social e-commerce platforms."
Zhang Ting once assured the "family" of "TST" in the video, "As long as you have a mobile phone, as long as you know how to share, you can put all the pressure on Sister Ting."
Lin Ruiyang, who calls himself "Big Brother Lin", assured his "family" that "it will never fall."
On February 14, 2022, news of the establishment of Shanghai Yisheng Er Technology Co., Ltd. came, Zhang Tinglin Ruiyang and his wife were on the hot search again.
Tianyancha information shows that Darwin's legal person Lin Jirong (Lin Ruiyang) is the chairman of the company.
One of the company's major shareholders, Shanghai Shangyang Investment Management Consulting Co., Ltd., is also a major shareholder of Darwin.
Another major shareholder—Shanghai Tingran Technology Development Co., Ltd., whose legal representative is Zhang Shuqin (Zhang Ting).
On the afternoon of March 11, a staff member of the Shijiazhuang Yuhua District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau told reporters that the case was still under investigation, and it was inconvenient to disclose the specific details of the case.
When the reporter asked about the scope and duration of the investigation, the other party said: "It depends on the progress of the investigation, because the impact is quite large."
"The company is still cooperating with the government to investigate the suspected MLM model operation questioned by public opinion." Jiang Feng, director of media and public relations of Darwin's integrated marketing department, responded to "People's Direct Attack" on March 11, saying that some of Zhang Ting and Lin Ruiyang's social accounts Still unsealed.
In addition, regarding the "coupon incident", Jiang Feng admitted that the persons involved were two agents of "TST". "This matter is too complicated to explain for a while."
On December 29 last year, Darwin's official Weibo posted information that "it is a legally operating company", and said that "the company is operating normally" and "will actively cooperate with relevant departments."
(At the request of the interviewee, Qin Li, Zhang Meng and Feifei are all pseudonyms in the text)