Market United Kingdom’s internet and WebCenter policies cover all forms of internet activity related to Market United Kingdom, including, but not limited to, Secondary Websites, auction sites, social networking sites, weblogs/blogs, classified ads, message boards, email communications, and WebCenters. For purposes of this internet and WebCenter policy, Secondary Websites shall mean any UnFranchise Owner website with its own unique URL that promotes Market United Kingdom products or the Market United Kingdom business opportunity, other than the Market United Kingdom Custom Website, Mini-Websites, maWebCenters, and Mini-WebCenters.
(A) Market United Kingdom’s Custom Websites, WebCenters, are the only accepted points of sale (for example, selling through an online “check-out” or “shopping cart” or accepting an online payment) for Market United Kingdom products and services on the internet.
(B) UnFranchise® Owners may not supply Market United Kingdom products to a non-UnFranchise Owner with the knowledge or suspicion that the non-UnFranchise Owner intends to market the products over the internet. UnFranchise Owners must immediately cease and desist from supplying products to a non-UnFranchise Owner upon learning that the products are being marketed on the internet.
(A) Market United Kingdom UnFranchise Owners may not sell any Market United Kingdom products or services through online auction websites, including, but not limited to, eBay or Yahoo!, nor place any advertisement or promotion of Market United Kingdom or its products or services on such sites.
(B) Market United Kingdom UnFranchise Owners may not sell any Market United Kingdom products or services through online shopping websites, including, but not limited to, Amazon.com, nor place any advertisement or promotion of Market United Kingdom or its products or services on such sites.
(A) Secondary Websites are permitted only if they are registered with Market United Kingdom’s Compliance Department before they are posted for public access on the internet.
(B) Registration can be completed by emailing the URL of your website to webregistration@marketamerica.com.
(C) All registered Secondary Websites must prominently display a registration number in the bottom right corner of the landing page of the Secondary Website.
(D) Registration of a website does not constitute approval of the website’s content, and all websites are subject to Market United Kingdom’s periodic review to confirm compliance with the Market United Kingdom internet policy.
(E) Any Secondary Website that has not been registered in compliance with Market United Kingdom’s internet policy must be taken down immediately. UnFranchise Owners who are contacted by compliance personnel will not be permitted to keep the site posted while changes are being made to bring the site into compliance. UnFranchise Owners who own or control websites that violate this registration policy are subject to having their access to UnFranchise.com blocked without prior notice, in addition to being subject to the Corrective Action Procedure and other appropriate remedies.
(F) Secondary Websites shall, pursuant the Trading Schemes Regulations 1997, contain the following wording:
(1) It is illegal for a promoter or a participant in a trading scheme to persuade anyone to make a payment by promising benefits from getting others to join a scheme.
(2) Do not be misled by claims that high earnings are easily achieved.”
(A) Any UnFranchise Owner communicating through the internet must use the word “independent” to describe their status, for example, by using the terms “Independent UnFranchise Owner” or “Independent UnFranchise Owner.”
(B) If the title or page of any Secondary Website, message board, social networking site or any profile pictures or weblog/blog references Market United Kingdom or contains any Market United Kingdom trademark or trade name, the title or page must also include the words “unofficial” or “Independent UnFranchise Owner.”
(A) UnFranchise® Owners may only make the precise claims concerning Market United Kingdom products or services and income claims that appear in official Company literature or publications. All other claims are strictly prohibited.
(B) UnFranchise Owners may not make any unauthorised testimonials concerning Market United Kingdom products or services, the marketing plan or the Company via any forms of communication on the internet.
UnFranchise Owners may not distribute materials or make statements in any form on the internet that:
(A) Use any Market United Kingdom copyrighted material, including, but not limited to, materials from Market United Kingdom websites, publications or presentations, or recorded webinars or tutorials of any kind;
(B) Depict the Market United Kingdom business plan;
(C) Misuse the name or likeness of any Market United Kingdom executive or employee, or the trademarks or trade names of Market United Kingdom’s Partner Stores (direct or indirect partners); or
(D) Disparage or defame Market United Kingdom, including, but not limited to, Market United Kingdom’s related companies, subsidiaries, officers, directors, employees and other Independent UnFranchise Owners.
However, UnFranchise Owners may distribute materials on the internet that are provided to them through the downloads section on UnFranchise.com, including, but not limited to, pre-approved Banner Ads and Sponsored Ads.
UnFranchise Owners may advertise “free shipping.” However, UnFranchise Owners may not list or advertise any products below the Suggested Retail Price. Any other reference to product prices, discounts, additional units for the same price, or the use of the terms “discount,” “free,” or any other terms that suggest discount pricing or favourable financial terms below the Suggested Retail Price of products, is strictly prohibited.
Contact information, other than the URL of a Market United Kingdom website, as a means towards purchasing Market United Kingdom products, is prohibited. For example, UnFranchise Owners may not display a toll-free number, email address, mailing or postal address, or link to a third-party website as a way in which a potential customer can contact the UnFranchise Owner to purchase product; however, linking to the contact information on the UnFranchise Owner’s website is acceptable.
(A) Only pre-approved Sponsored Ads, provided to Market United Kingdom website owners through the download section of UnFranchise.com, may be submitted to search engines, either directly or by proxy (for example, but not limited to, using a pay-per-click service). The use of any other ads for this type of advertising is expressly prohibited regardless of the ad’s content. UnFranchise Owners may submit proposed ads for review by Market United Kingdom by sending them in an email to internetcompliance@marketamerica.com with the words “Online Ad Request” in the subject line.
(B) Ads may not disguise the UnFranchise Owner’s domain name to appear as a Market United Kingdom domain name. For example, a Sponsored ad for Isotonix® may not show the domain name as UK.SHOP.COM but must show as UK.SHOP.COM/[YOUR WEBSITE NAME].
(A) Copyrights: Market United Kingdom grants a limited licence to its UnFranchise Owners to use and display current Market United Kingdom product images and logos (but not Partner Store images and logos) from www.marketunitedkingdom.co.uk on the internet for marketing and promotional purposes only; provided, however, that such images may not be altered in any way. For example, current images of bottles or product packaging for exclusive Market United Kingdom products can be used.
(B) No other images, photographs or logos contained on any Market United Kingdom website may be used on Secondary Websites or for other internet uses.
(C) Secondary Websites or other internet use may not copy the “look and feel” of any Market United Kingdom websites or publications.
(D) Trademarks: Market United Kingdom grants a limited licence to its UnFranchise® Owners to use and display Market United Kingdom’s brand and product names; provided, however, that such use must contain the appropriate trademark designation as shown on www.marketunitedkingdom.co.uk. For example, “OPC-3®”, not “OPC-3” or “OPC-3™”.
(E) The use of meta tags and keywords with Market United Kingdom’s trademark brand and product names is permitted.
(F) Market United Kingdom owns the copyright to all Market United Kingdom-created videos. UnFranchise Owners may embed or link to such videos on Secondary Websites and social networking sites, but may not download, copy, transfer, sell or make any other use of Market United Kingdom-created videos without Market United Kingdom’s written permission.
(G) Except as permitted under this Section, Independent UnFranchise Owners may not advertise or promote any Market United Kingdom products if such advertising or promotion will violate the copyrights, trademarks or trade names of Market United Kingdom or its Partner Stores (direct or indirect partners).
(A) No domain name shall incorporate in part or in whole or be confusingly similar to any of Market United Kingdom’s trademarks or trade names, or incorporate the names of Market United Kingdom executives or employees, the terms “discount,” “free,” “free shipping,” or similar terms, or the trademarks or trade names of Market United Kingdom’s Partner Stores (direct or indirect partners).
(B) Market United Kingdom retains the right to reject a domain name selected for a Secondary Website at any time. In the event such a name is rejected by Market United Kingdom, the UnFranchise Owner must select another name.
(C) UnFranchise Owners may use a domain name pointing service to link a domain name to their Custom Website. However, UnFranchise Owners may not mask the domain name of their Custom Website, including, but not limited to, the use of wrappers, frames or other known methods to change the “look and feel” of their Custom Website.
(D) Names for UnFranchise Owner Portals shall not incorporate in part or in whole, or be confusingly similar to, any of Market United Kingdom’s trademarks or trade names. Also, these names shall not incorporate (i) the names of Market United Kingdom executives or employees; (ii) the terms “discount,” “free,” “free shipping,” or similar terms; or (iii) the trademarks or trade names of Market United Kingdom’s Partner Stores (direct or indirect partners). Market United Kingdom retains the right to reject a Website name at any time. In the event such a name is rejected by Market United Kingdom the UnFranchise Owner must select another name.
(A) UnFranchise Owners are allowed to reference their Market United Kingdom UnFranchise Business and Market United Kingdom products on social networking sites strictly according to the internet and WebCenter policies contained in this Chapter and the Advertising and Promotion policies contained in Chapter 19.
(B) Profile pictures and/or avatars may not include Market United Kingdom’s copyrighted or trademarked images or logos.
(C) Group names may not use the word “official” or “corporate.” The names of groups or pages with (i) a Market United Kingdom focus or (ii) containing links to entities or individuals affiliated with Market United Kingdom must contain the words “Independent UnFranchise Owner.”
(D) Market United Kingdom may, at its sole discretion, prohibit the use of any social media group or page name at any time. In the event Market United prohibits the use of a social media group or page name, the UnFranchise Owner must select another social media group or page name.
(E) UnFranchise Owners may promote their Market United Kingdom business on their own social networking pages but may not promote the Market United Kingdom business on the pages of Market United Kingdom Partner Stores.
(F) UnFranchise Owners’ social networking activities must comply with all rules and policies set by the social networking site on which they are conducting activity. Violations of any such rules or policies shall constitute a violation of Market United Kingdom’s Internet Policy and WebCenter Policies.
(G) UnFranchise Owners may not advertise or promote both Market United Kingdom and any other competing company on the same social networking account. (See the IUA&A for details.)
(1) Advertising and promotion of a competing company includes, but is not limited to
(a) Liking or commenting on a social networking post concerning a competing company;
(b) Sharing a social networking post about a competing company;
(c) Directly posting on a social networking site about a competing company.
(2) If an UnFranchise Owner’s contract with Market United Kingdom is terminated for any reason, the UnFranchise Owner’s social networking account used to advertise and promote Market United Kingdom may not be used to advertise or promote another competing company for a period of twenty-four (24) months (or longer if UnFranchise Owner is subject to other Agreements with Market United Kingdom).
UnFranchise® Owners are only allowed to reference Market United Kingdom in emails as follows:
(A) A signature block that identifies the UnFranchise Owner as an Independent UnFranchise Owner is permitted.
(B) Text hyperlinks to the UnFranchise Owner’s own Website or WebCenter are also permitted as part of an email signature block that identifies the UnFranchise Owner as an Independent UnFranchise Owner. The email where this link originates may not make any statement that is inconsistent with the rules, regulations, policies, and procedures of Market United Kingdom or the Market United Kingdom Internet Policy.
(C) UnFranchise Owners are prohibited from sending SPAM or SPAMMING (sending unsolicited emails) that is either directly or indirectly related to Market United Kingdom. This prohibition includes any SPAM emails that reference Market United Kingdom or any Market United Kingdom products or services, any hyperlinks to an UnFranchise Website or to the Market United Kingdom website, or the Market United Kingdom marketing plan, directly by name or otherwise. Such unauthorised references include the use of close approximations, generic references, and/or the use of general descriptive references to any intellectual property of Market United Kingdom.
Market United Kingdom products and services may not be sold in countries where Market United Kingdom or its affiliates/related companies have not officially opened for business, including the Emerging Markets Programme countries, with the exception of products and services being offered on SHOP.COM Global. Market United Kingdom shall be considered “open for business” in a country in which the MPCP has been initiated or where Market United Kingdom is otherwise authorised to conduct business.
Independent UnFranchise Owners may promote or refer exclusive Market United Kingdom products to individuals in countries that Market United Kingdom is not yet open for business, including the Emerging Markets Programme countries, through their SHOP.COM Global site. SHOP.COM Global is the only point of sale of exclusive Market United Kingdom products to countries where Market United Kingdom is not officially open for business. Independent UnFranchise Owners shall not engage in sales of Market United Kingdom products directly to customers in countries where Market United Kingdom is not open for business. UnFranchise Owners may not supply exclusive Market United Kingdom products to an individual with knowledge or suspicion that such individual intends to retail the products in countries where Market United Kingdom is not yet open for business.
(A) WebCenters, Mini-Websites, and Website Sales: UnFranchise Owners participating in the maWebCenter programme must adhere to the following terms and conditions in exercising the use of their WebCenters:
(1) WebCenter owners who elect to solicit the help of non-UnFranchise Owners to sell websites may not preclude or deny the non-UnFranchise Owner access to the Market United Kingdom business opportunity if the non-UnFranchise Owner wishes to begin an UnFranchise Business. Non-UnFranchise Owners who are on trial runs of the UnFranchise Business opportunity through selling websites for a WebCenter owner may not be solicited for sponsorship by another WebCenter owner.
(2) A WebCenter owner may not allow his or her WebCenter to be used by another UnFranchise Owner to sell websites for the purpose of avoiding the purchase of a WebCenter. A WebCenter owner may help another WebCenter owner learn how to sell websites. However, any BV and retail profit generated from such help and support must be duly credited to the assisted UnFranchise Owner.
(3) WebCenter owners who own Mini-WebCenter subscriptions may not assign nor permit usage of a Mini-WebCenter to another Market America UnFranchise Owner. If a Mini-WebCenter user working with a WebCenter owner becomes an UnFranchise Owner, the Mini-WebCenter must be disabled. The new UnFranchise Owner can then purchase a WebCenter of his/her own if the new UnFranchise Owner wants to continue selling websites.
(4) In providing cross-line support, an UnFranchise Owner shall not make such support conditional upon the cross-line UnFranchise Owner or prospect engaging in any activities which attempt to divert his or her effort, production or activity away from the original line of sponsorship within the MPCP.
(5) Monies accepted in consideration for creating or modifying a third-party website through the WebCenter interface must first be applied to activating the website prior to applying the payment to any other purpose.
(6) UnFranchise Owners may not use the pre-approved UnFranchise Owner merchant accounts (associated with Websites and the accompanying virtual terminals) to collect monies for website sales. Such accounts are not underwritten to allow website sales.
(B) Website/WebCenter Collections:
(1) Definitions:
(a) A “chargeback” is defined as a customer-disputed charge on a credit card statement and/or bank statement if paid by credit or debit card, respectively.
(b) A “return” is defined as an e-Cheque payment returned by a customer’s bank for any reason. Examples of returns include, but are not limited to, non-sufficient funds, uncollected funds, stop payment and revoked authorisation.
(2) Chargeback/Return Policy: All chargebacks or returns received will incur service charge.
(3) WebCenter/Website Collections Policies:
(a) If the Chargeback Prevention Forms available through the Sales Support section of the WebCenter Administration are filled out completely, including the imprint of customer’s credit/debit card, and the originals (not copies) are submitted to WebCenters prior to the receipt of a chargeback, the UnFranchise® Owner will not incur the service charge(s). The mailing address to send the applicable original Chargeback Prevention Forms is:
Market United Kingdom WebCenters
Salisbury House
5 Cranmer Road
London SW9 6EJ
Sending facsimiles or copies to WebCenters is not acceptable. UnFranchise Owners should retain a copy and proof of mailing for their records in case of a dispute or discrepancy. Customised forms that contain the verbiage and customer information/authorisation found on the downloadable WebCenter forms are also acceptable.
(b) UnFranchise Owners are responsible for repayment of any profit on transactions that are charged back or returned from the bank, and any related service charge(s), in order to clear any chargeback or return.
(c) All chargebacks and returns must be cleared with a credit card, money order, credit on account with Market United Kingdom, cashier’s cheque or personal cheque (cheque writing privileges apply).
(d) If Market United Kingdom receives a chargeback or a payment/electronic draught was returned for non-payment, we will contact the UnFranchise Owner by telephone to discuss the chargeback or return. If contact is not made with the UnFranchise Owner on the first attempt, Market United Kingdom will suspend any or all of the UnFranchise Owner’s contract privileges, including without limitation all WebCenter privileges, until the chargeback or return is cleared, or alternative payment arrangements are made.
(e) Commission cheques may be withheld until all chargebacks or returns, including any service charge(s), are cleared with Market United Kingdom. A commission cheque will be held for only four consecutive weekly commission cycles from the week the commission cheque would have otherwise been mailed, and if the chargeback has still not been cleared or payment arrangements made, the commission cheque(s) will be forfeited.
(f) Business Volume for transactions that are charged back or returned will be removed the day Market United Kingdom receives notification of the chargeback/return. The Business Volume removed will be applied to the week of the original transaction and any commission cheque earned on that volume may be adjusted as appropriate.
(g) Unless other repayment arrangements are made to clear the chargeback, any chargeback or return balance not satisfied within 30 days will be turned over to a collection agency. If the chargeback or return is still outstanding after 30 days, it will be reported to the Credit Reporting Agency. (This means that the outstanding balance could affect the UnFranchise Owner’s credit score.)
(C) WebCenter and Website Cancellations and Credits: The following policies are applicable to cancellations of websites and WebCenters.
(1) Websites (including Family Websites) must be cancelled within the 10-day trial period in order to receive a full refund.
(2) WebCenters must be activated at the time of purchase. A WebCenter subscription is considered a service and is non-refundable if cancelled.
(3) UnFranchise Owners must repay Market United Kingdom any profit received on a website sale that was cancelled within the 10-day trial period. Payments can be made with a credit card, money order, Credit on Account with Market United Kingdom, cashier’s cheque, personal cheque (cheque writing privileges apply) or bank transfer.
(4) If the retail profit was paid on a website that is being charged back or a payment/electronic draft was returned for non-payment and the UnFranchise Owner has already received payment for the retail profit on that website, Market United Kingdom will contact the UnFranchise Owner upon notification of the chargeback or returned payment. The UnFranchise Owner’s account will be suspended until arrangements are made with our Web Collections Department.
(5) Commission cheques may be held or applied to outstanding balances until all profits are repaid to Market United Kingdom. Any commission cheque will be held for only four consecutive weekly commission cycles from the week the commission cheque would have otherwise been mailed, and if the profit has still not been repaid, the commission cheque will be forfeited unless other repayment arrangements have been made and accepted by Market United Kingdom.
(6) Business Volume for all websites (including Family Websites) that are cancelled within the 10-day trial period will be removed the day Market United Kingdom receives notification of the cancellation. The Business Volume removed will be applied to the week of the original transaction.
(7) WebCenters that have been cancelled for any reason must be reactivated using the appropriate reactivation code and fee.
(8) Credits for WebCenter-related and website-related services are issued at the sole discretion of Market United Kingdom on a case-by-case basis.
(D) WebCenter Suspensions: WebCenter owners may not suspend their WebCenter hosting at any time. WebCenters that are delinquent on hosting fees for 15 days will be disabled without notice. WebCenter owners may reactivate their WebCenters within 75 days of the date their account became delinquent by paying all of the delinquent hosting fees. WebCenters that are delinquent for more than 75 days will be cancelled.
Due to the frequency that internet-related products and services (and the related GMTSS training presentations) are updated, internet trainings and corings are governed by the following:
(A) Emulated Trainings and Corings: UnFranchise® Owners who are not Certified WebCenter Trainers (CWTs) may not conduct trainings or corings that emulate the WebCenter Certification Training (WCT) using materials obtained from previously attended Certified WebCenter Training courses. Non-CWTs may conduct corings using materials available to all UnFranchise Owners via UnFranchise.com.
(B) Approved Website Trainings and Materials: Without specific prior written approval from the Market United Kingdom internet Training and Sales Department, UnFranchise Owners may not teach or promote website sales methods or systems which deviate from Market United Kingdom’s WebCenter Certification Training (WCT). Only CWTs may conduct WCTs. In addition, only Company-approved materials may be used in representing the Market United Kingdom WebCenters Website sales programme at corings and GMTSS meetings.
(C) Approved Trainings: CWTs may not conduct WebCenter Certification Trainings that have not been approved through the GMTSS system, for a given date and location. A CWT who plans to conduct a training in an area within 100 kilometres of another CWT’s locality, or within 100 kilometres of another scheduled CWT curriculum training, should contact the affected trainer as a courtesy to inform him/her of the training and/or to coordinate training efforts.
(A) Leader Responsibility: It is the responsibility of all leaders (Certified Executive Coordinators and higher UnFranchise Levels) to enforce Market United Kingdom's Internet and WebCenter Policies.
(1) Any leader, upon learning of a clear or suspected violation of the Market United Kingdom Internet Policy, should immediately attempt to bring about compliance by directly contacting the violating UnFranchise Owner.
(2) If a leader cannot bring about compliance after directly contacting the violating UnFranchise Owner, then that leader should report the violation(s) or possible violation(s) to Market United Kingdom's internet Compliance Coordinator immediately. UnFranchise Owners can contact the Internet Compliance Coordinator with the relevant facts at the corporate office by mail, fax or by email at internetcompliance@marketamerica.com.
(3) All Independent UnFranchise Owners, regardless of UnFranchise Level, should report violations of this policy to upline leadership and/or Internet Compliance.
(B) Disciplinary Action: Any violation of the Market United Kingdom Internet Policy may result in initiation of the Corrective Action Procedure, which provides for a variety of sanctions, including possible cancellation of the violating UnFranchise Owner’s contract.
(1) Violations of this policy may result in immediate suspension of the violating UnFranchise Owner’s Website, Mini-Website, WebCenter, and/or Mini-WebCenter(s), etc., as applicable pending the correction of the violation. UnFranchise Owners will have 10 days to correct minor violations of Market United Kingdom’s Internet Policy.
(2) Failure to comply, repeat violations or egregious violations will result in initiation of the Corrective Action Procedure as described in the Market United Kingdom UnFranchise Manual.