LuLaRoe- All Liability on Consultants

Ok, you've read about why I decided to leave LuLaRoe. You heard all about the consultant attacks on other consultants, home office bullying reps into submission. You got all that... I'm going to give you yet another reason I bowed out and many, many more are following me out the door. If you shop LuLaRoe, you probably know about the new Bless system. If you don't know what Bless is, let me take a moment to explain. LLR's back office system is called Build. That's where we see our sales and order merchandise, etc. Bless is the sister program to Build that we use to send invoices via the payment system called Audrey. Audrey has been under fire in the media and in a lawsuit because the system charges illegal sales tax. Before that lawsuit hit the media, LLR began to talk about rolling out a new Bless system. We would all be called "retailers" and would have a merchant account with a bank instead of processing through Audrey. Having owned a retail store myself in the past, I am very well versed on merchant systems and the bank documents provided to the retailer. I'm also very well versed in the liability a merchant can assume for having this processor. A stay at home mother who hocks leggings out of her guest room- acting as an independent contractor, who doesn't have an incorporated business or LLC may not. So I started asking questions of the powers that be: -Please provide the merchant agreement terms. -Please provide complete disclosures. -Please itemize fees. -Is there a credit check? Shortly after, we were sent an email stating that even though we are entering in our social security numbers, there is no credit check. LuLaRoe was underwriting the deal, there was no reason to worry. I called the bank. They told me yes, there is a credit check. I went back to LuLaRoe. Shortly after, there was another email sent out claiming that the check was a soft hit. I have personally seen and have in my possession multiple screen shots from home office to various consultants claiming it's a soft hit to your credit, then others claim it's a hard hit. Let me clarify this for anyone still wondering: IF YOU PUT YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER IN, and click SUBMIT on ANY application- it's a hard hit. Don't argue with me. This is a fact, not an opinion. I used to love hearing about how car dealerships would tell people they were just going to "peek" at their credit. No one can peek when applying for financial support of any kind. If you're handling money, it's a hard hit.

And the blind, zombie like responses I got from my team- from other LuLa-ticks... "LuLaRoe has my back. They wouldn't do that to me. I'm all in." And then the hits happened. People began reporting their credit scores dropping upward of 20 points. And it was no big deal. There was no direction from home office. No sheepish apology. Nothing. I had actually reached out to DeAnne personally. My financial situation was different, circumstances were unique- but I know I was not alone in the general story. I reached out to DeAnne and I said that two years ago, my son was born, lived long enough to rack up millions in medical bills, and he passed away. My credit took a massive hit, but I elected to pay off my end of the bills. Happily, they are almost paid off. Shortly after he died, I found out I was pregnant again, and I needed a very expensive treatment plan to keep my baby alive. Once again, the credit got hit. But, thankfully, my son is here, he's 7 months old, and a total blessing. My husband and I were planning on taking a conventional mortgage in a year on a home we seller financed because of our credit issues. I was under strict advice from my lender not to allow any unnecessary hits to my credit. I had also been advised by my lawyer that a financial encumbrance like a merchant agreement could damage my ability to get a mortgage. We're responsible for fraud charges, the bank looks for collateral... assets are collateral. Another bank may not want that risk on a home they finance. This was a big, glaring, flashing red NO. I carefully explained to DeAnne the potential ramifications of this situation to a consultant. I reiterated that I'm sure she was aware and would never intentionally put anyone in financial harm's way. She never replied.

You can imagine how I interpreted that. Sometimes no response is all the response you need, you know? I sent an email to home office. I have included screen shots of that email in this article. I have yet to receive a reply. I began to ask more and more questions in my upline's groups. And a few girls held back signing the agreement. A few others told me "If you don't like it, quit. Stop muddying the water for the rest of us. I'm all in. Get out if you aren't." All in. All in a world of shit. I can't wait for the merchant processing system to get hacked and all these ride or die Mormon Mafioso cheerleaders see just what some of us have been warning them about. But that's ok. I worked really hard to try and rebuild my life after my son died. I'm not risking that on some crappy leggings. Ignore me, DeAnne. I'm good with it. Then, the icing on the merchant agreement cake came to be. They launched the new Bless system- and guess what? It's only for iOS platform. So what did they do? They scooted and pushed us to go buy Apple products. (I'm waiting to find out that an Apple big wig is DeAnne's cousin or something. Line those pockets, mama.) So here's the thing. Even if I were all in... even if I drank the koolaid, ate the unicorn, and shit glittery sprinkled hopes and dreams- would I ever buy an Apple product. My family is extremely PC and Android. EVERYTHING is integrated that way in our home. And guess what? I'm not about to go out and buy a MacBook and an iPhone because DeAnne thinks they are pretty. In the mentor groups, they are telling people to go buy Apple. Running contests for Apple. Reassuring us that "Don't worry, you can get Apple products refurbished and more reasonably priced." What IS it with this company making credit checks not be a big deal? Taking out loans is not a big deal. Going out and buying more equipment is not a big deal. While I'm over here returning and exchanging everything I have ever sold, who is paying for that luxury? What about US, DeAnne? Our families live in homes we work for. Why is the notion of wanting to protect what you have not significant enough to you? Is it insignificant because most of them have smaller homes than you? That our credit didn't buy us private jets? My credit buried my first son. My credit gave me a second to love and adore. My life- my love, my happiness trumps my contract to line your gaudy floral pockets. MY family comes first. Not yours. Not now, and not ever. My email to home office February 13