Is Total Life Changes a Scam and Pyramid Scheme? [2021]
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Welcome to my Total Life Changes review 2021!

Total Life Changes (TLC) formed with the mission of providing Independent Business Owners (IBOs) and their customers with a diverse array of products that are easy to sell and healthy to share.

So, in this review, we will look at whether TLC has actually achieved this mission or not.

Let me assure you that I’m not related to TLC, and my purpose of this review is to share the honest opinion about it.

I will cover all;

  • Whether it is really that easy for Total Life Changes to fulfill its promises? 
  • Is it worth your time?
  • Is Total Life Changes a scam or legit?
  • Is Total Life changes a pyramid scheme?

 So, let’s start;

Product Name: Total Life Changes

Founder: Jack Fallon

Product Type: MLM

Price: Minimum $40 monthly purchase

Best For: People who love recruiting

Is Total Life Changes a Scam

Summary: Total Life Changes (TLC) is a network marketing company that is working since 1999. The Company deals in the “Health and Wellness” niche and its most well-known product is Laso Tea.

There are a lot of complaints about the Company’s products, and also their products aren’t approved from FDA. Concerning their business model, they haven’t disclosed their “Income Disclosure Statement” which raises doubts about the success of their IBOs.

Rating: 60/100

Verdict: No

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  What is Total Life Changes?

Total Life Changes (TLC) was formed by Jack Fallon and John Licari back in 1999. It was started from the basement of Jack’s home.

They have both worked together and transform this setup to worldwide organization. The Company initially incorporated with the name of SeAcai but in 2012 they re-branded it to Total Life Changes.

Total Life Changes is a Direct Selling Company (DSC) offering health and wellness supplements worldwide to help people live healthier lifestyles.

The portfolio consists of:

  • Weight loss
  • Essential oils
  • Coffee
  • Skincare
  • Beauty and hygiene products

Consumers may choose to be their Customer or an Independent Business Owner (IBO).

Today they operate in 120+ countries including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

According to Direct Selling News they made over $88 million in sales in 2017, and Total Life Changes were even ranked #94 in DSN’s 7th Global 100 Awards for being one of the top revenue-generating direct selling networks.

Health and Wellness is the most common targeted niche by direct selling companies, and it is very difficult to compete when you have companies like;

Total Life Changes Product Line

Let’s look at the products that are included in a different portfolio;

Total Life Changes Product Line

1. Health and Wellness

There are 15 products included in this category but most poplar ones are;

  • Iaso Tea Instant: Their flagship product intended to provide the benefits of herbal slimming, colon cleansing and natural body detoxification.
  • Gano: It is known as Ganoderma Lucidum, and its antioxidant properties may help to reduce stress and create anti-aging effects.
  • HSN (Hair, Skin, & Nails): HSN’s includes different vitamins that help to ensure the optimal nutrition which reflects in healthier-looking hair, flexible skin, and strong nails.
  • Iaso® Tea – Gentle Detox Formula: A blend of natural herbs designed to produce herbal slimming effects and its sustained use may improve physical energy and mental clarity as body toxins are flushed from the intestines.
  • Life Drops: It plays a key role in increasing cellular energy metabolism, to increase personal energy and aid in weight loss.
  • Nitro:  It is designed to improve athletic performance and increase body strength.
  •  NutraBurst Liquid Multivitamin: This liquid multivitamin is designed to detoxify your system and supply essential elements that help strengthen your body. 
  • Resolution Drops: Resolution Drops is meant for individuals who aspire to drop weight quickly and safely, with small to no change to their daily routine.
  • Slimpm (Black Raspberry): It targets cardiovascular health and endothelial cell cleansing
  • Techui: The SUPERFOOD that is rich in protein, minerals, vitamins, chlorophyll, and other essential nutrients that are needed daily.

2. Skincare

  • Essential Soap: Essential Soap is a perfect pairing of touch and scent that helps promote deep sleep and relaxation.
  • SOL Daytime Face Crème: SOL cream works for face and neck and is a useful way to begin your morning with fresh, younger-feeling skin.
  • Renique: Renique can be a good solution for freckles, age spots dark patches and surface scarring. It even brightens the complexion.

3. Essential Oils

  • Blood Orange Essential Oil: The health benefits of Blood Orange Essential Oil can be attributed to its properties and uses as an antispasmodic, antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, aphrodisiac, antiseptic, and mood-relaxing agent.
  • Lemon Zest Essential Oil: Lemon oil is typically used for its antibacterial, antifungal and cleansing qualities. Its awesome clean scent can help reduce stress and uplift your mood.
  • Peppermint Essential Oil: Peppermint Essential Oil is an ideal choice for improving mood, invigorating the mind, and relaxing a tension-filled nervous system.

LASO TEA – Their Flagship Product

The TLC flagship product is their health and wellness “Iaso Tea” which contains 9 natural plant and herbal ingredients.

These ingredients are persimmon leaves, ginger, holy thistle, Malva leaves, chamomile, marshmallow, papaya, blessed thistle, and myrrh. 

These ingredients are meant to provide numerous health benefits, including:

  • Detoxifying the lungs, liver, and gallbladder
  • Soothing inflammation
  • Relieving symptoms of indigestion and gastrointestinal distress
  • Improving skin health
  • Supporting in weight loss

The packing for the tea shows a “Certified Organic Authentic” icon on the front. There is no further information from whom this certification took from.

There is also an ingredients section which implies that the ingredients are sourced from organic farms.

Apart from this product, NutraBurst is also considered as one of the popular product of TLC and many people are even searching TLC using the name of NutraBurst (like Nutraburst scam, Nutraburst pyramid scheme etc).  

Total Life Changes Products Complaints:

Every company makes big claims about their products, but these products are bound to have complaints against them.

The customers are in a better position to give an opinion about products.

So, I have seen through the Better Business Bureau and their Facebook page to see what customers are complaining about their products.

The range of complaints can be categorized into three types;

1. Expensive Products

This issue is inevitable with every MLM company as they have to charge a premium price to cover 50% profit which they will share with the reps.

2. Delivery Issues

This is by far the biggest complaint I have seen over the web. People either don’t receive their products, or they receive too late.

The Company doesn’t entertain their customers in the form of compensation or even not taking steps to improve their customer service.

So, the issue is continued to be getting bigger and bigger. 

Total Life Changes Complaint
Total Life Changes Complaint 2
Total Life Changes Complaint 4

3. Refund Issues

Total Life Changes offers a 30 days refund for all of its products, but still, people are facing issues with getting this.

This issue is getting even worse when the Company appears to be more casual by sending;

  • Empty packets, or 
  • Defective packets

And when you ask for the refund they uses delaying tactics. 

Refund Issues

  How to Make Money from Total Life Changes?

There are two ways you can use to buy TLC products:

  1. By becoming the Customer
  2. By becoming their Independent Business Owner (IBO)

A customer can purchase any product on the TLC website, but he/she cannot take part in the business opportunity to earn residual commissions.

While TLC Representatives (IBOs) can take part in the compensation plan and earn residual commissions, they can also enjoy;

  • wholesale pricing on Company’s amazing selection of health, wellness and beauty products
  • exclusive Company member events, contests, and product promotions

IBOs or reps are required to purchase a Business Starter Kit (price starts at $40) to become qualifying. 

Total Life Changes Compensation Plan:

Like any multi-level-marketing (MLM) scheme, there are levels you qualify based on your sales and team. 

As their IBO your main focus will be selling product and recruiting team members into your downline.

You can view the Total Life Changes (TLC) compensation plan here (PDF).

In short, there are five ways you can earn commissions:

i. Retail Commission

You can buy products at wholesale price and sell them to the customers to a 50% margin. They give you a website and when someone buy products through your website, you will get 50% commission. 

ii. Fast Start Bonus

The Fast-Start Bonus (FSB) pays up to a 50% commission to you on your personally-sponsored IBOs.

If such a person chooses the basic packages of $40, you will earn $20, and he/she buys leadership pack of $499, you will earn a $250 and so on…

iii. Binary Commission

As the term indicates, if you enroll two people one get placed on your left side and other is on your right.

There is no third side and if you enroll the third person, then that person will either be placed the left or right side person directly under you.

compensation plan

You can earn 10% to 25% binary commission every week based on the performance of your team.

iv. Matching Bonus

This is 50% commission you will get every month for the binary commission earned by your directly enrolled IBOs.

v. Lifestyle Bonus

To earn the Lifestyle Bonus (LB), the following requirements must be satisfied:

  1. You must achieve a rank of National Marketing Director (NMD) or higher, and maintain at least 20,000 Weak Leg Volume (WLV) for a minimum of 3 of the weekly bonus periods committed, where that period end date falls within the Lifestyle Bonus (LB) monthly qualification period.
  2. Must be Active.

The Lifestyle Bonus pays you $1500 per month to cover the cost of expanding your business like office, promotion or travel expenses.

  Pros & Cons:

The Good

1. Trusted Company

Very few companies that are existing so long and TLC is also one of the trusted names that are operating since 1999. 

Existing such long is itself a big plus and a symbol of trust and their legitimacy. 

It is also a BBB accredited business having an A+ rating. Everyone knows to maintain such ratings with the BBB aren’t an easy task, and they definitely have focused on customer issues to get such ratings.

The Bad

1. Monthly Autoship

Affiliates are required to maintain a monthly 40 personal Qualifying Volume (QV) to be eligible to receive commissions.

It means you need to spend at least $40 per month in the form of autoship.

So, at one end you are wiping out your hard earned money, and at another end, you are getting frustrated with not being able to enroll new reps.

So, all you see is the piles of stock at your home which are of no use to you.

2. Recruiting, Recruiting and Recruiting

If you are taking TLC as a business opportunity, you have only one option, i.e., to recruit as many people as possible. But believe me, not everyone can do this.

Even somehow you manage to bring two people, but you are not sure whether they could bring new people under their downline and so on.  

This had happened to me in the past when I started this business model. I brought 19 people, and even none of them could bring new people under them.

So, what happened?

My network got stuck in that position. Not everyone has the style to do this type of business model.

If you bring in 100 people, you can expect only one person that has such entrepreneurial skills.

3. Lack of training and support!

You join and become IBO. Now what!

You are asked to promote this to other people. You ask different people, do follow-ups and at the end get tired and demotivated because you don’t know how to proceed further.

Even if you get training, it is from your upliner or sponsor (the person who’ve referred you to TLC). They are even also not suitable for this job.

So, getting the training from the right person is very important, and that is why more than 99% person fails in this business model.

The training and support are essential in any kind of business, and if you do not have a top-notch leader who is willing to invest their time and effort to nurture you, then you are doomed to fail.

4. A lot of Negative Product Reviews

Though I have above mentioned certain issues associated with their products, they are more of administrative nature. 

Concerning the product itself, I have seen numerous negative reviews from customers. See this;

Negative Review 1
Negative Review 2

Also, their products aren’t approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to see whether they are fit for your health or not. 

Though you can use a few times to check their effects, but continual use can cause harm to your health.

5. No Income Disclosure Statement

Income Disclosure Statement is a one-page document shown by nearly all the MLM companies to get an idea to their future reps about how much money their reps are currently earning. 

I have found their Income Disclosure Statement page, but there is no such information shown on this page.

In the absence of this document, we cannot trust their business because it seems like their IBOs aren’t getting good results for the marketing efforts they put on.

Either there may be product issues or lack of training to them, but whatever the reason we have a right to say that their business opportunity doesn’t have good potential to carry on.

  Is Total Life Changes a Pyramid Scheme?

Total Life Changes (TLC) has a pyramid shape compensation plan, but they aren’t typical pyramid schemes. 

Binary compensation plans look like a pyramid shape because it gets wider and wider if you move to the lower side.

Is Total Life Changes a Pyramid Scheme

However, a pyramid scheme is a business which doesn’t offer real products, and it is solely created for the purpose of recruiting new people.

But when we look at TLC, it offers real products to sell along with some valuable products that people demand just by becoming their customers, and they don’t have any interest in becoming their IBOs.

So, as long as people are becoming their customers and it isn’t shut down by the FTC, we have no right to say that it is a pyramid scheme.

  Is Total Life Changes a Scam?

Honestly, it is also not a scam rather a legit and trusted brand that is working since 1999.

How many MLM companies have you seen that are running since long? Very few!

Otherwise, they are notorious for closing down by authorities as witnessed by me in the case of MOBE and Digital Altitude.

You can become TLC customer and see whether their products are working for you or not, but I don’t recommend you to use it for a long term because it isn’t approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

However, I don’t recommend TLC for being used as a business opportunity because;

  • It is very difficult to recruit new people
  • Their products aren’t of great quality
  • Very highly priced items
  • Not shown  their income disclosure statement

Also, you have to bear monthly autoship cost along with other expenses like arranging parties for your prospects.

All in all, I don’t believe TLC is going to be the right opportunity for you.

  How I Make Money Online?

If are serious about making money online, I recommend you to see my favorite business model Affiliate Marketing. 

You don’t have to do recruiting and face to face marketing at all.

I have been using this business model to earning a four-figure income from home since 2015. If you are a complete beginner, I suggest you see my #1 recommended platform which is designed for beginners. 

What’s your thoughts on my Total Life Changes review 2021, and do you still think;

  • Is Total Life changes a Scam?
  • Is Total Life Changes a Pyramid Scheme? 

Please share it in the comment section.