I'll tell ya what, if my power is out and I'm freezing, I don't want to get into a ComEd/ACN dispute on who needs to get their butt out to fix it.
I've long worked in the utility field, and in situations similar to this where the "last mile" is provided by LEC and this damn fight happens every time and ALWAYS delays repairs.
It's better to work with ComEd or Nicor and know who is responsible for what.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

It's called a pyramid scheme.

But if you are really looking for more info, call up Jeremy Roenick.

Just write it off.

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Donald Trump loves ACN!

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General Jim wears Fort Bragg down... to get it!

It's just another company taking advantage of the deregulation of utilities and using an MLM approach rather than direct advertising.

At least they're not trying to pitch a bunch of "green energy" hogwash like Viridian.

Regarding Darkside's concerns as stated above, you'll still be paying ComEd for delivery and they are still responsible for their equipment. I doubt they're looking at a repair ticket and prioritizing them based upon which provider they use, but who knows? That is an objection you'll have to overcome if you decide to sell this shit.

Have you ever been to an Amway meeting?

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General Jim wears Fort Bragg down... to get it!

Delivering Dial Tone is much different from delivering power or gas I suppose. cLEC's do have their own Rings and Nodes and generate their own signaling, but they use SBC or VZ to deliver that to the end user once signaling is delivered to the LEC. Therefore, the LEC always tests their circuits, sees the actual connectivity there, and always claim the problem isn't them and it becomes a finger point back and forth. I'm not terribly sure how the other utilities work, but I am guessing all the juice is still generated delivered and maintained by Com Ed, in which case I'd ask, why the middleman?

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

It's a pyramid scheme. The money made is due to new hire intial "start up costs". Very little money is actually made off of "customers".

Boomerang Marketing Group is much more profitable. Hold on, I'll find the bar napkin I signed to come on as a partner with them a few years ago. I'm sure the agreement is transferrable.

I think the deregulation is supposed to provide choices for consumers and keep prices down. At least theoretically. I think the way it works practically is that the provider enters the market with what amounts to a low introductory price, although they don't call it that. The price will eventually sneak up close to what ComEd charges but will likely never exceed it due to lower overhead.




Are you sure about that? I don't know. A pyramid is illegal. I'm sure when utilities are involved there is plenty of government scrutiny. ComEd itself is the partial owner of one of the outside providers. I don't remember the name, but they advertised on the Score. That one isn't an MLM. In any case, the MLM approach is just a different way of advertising the product.

I will grant you that most people probably pay the fee, convert their own service and maybe that of a few friends or family members and then stop. There are those that make a living doing it and a few hundred bucks for an off-the-shelf business isn't a bad investment for a guy who is willing to hustle.

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General Jim wears Fort Bragg down... to get it!

My favorite get rich scheme is the one where you send 5 people a dollar in the mail, in hopes that your name is sent out to many other people who will be sending you a dollar in the mail.

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Do you want my address?

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General Jim wears Fort Bragg down... to get it!

Agree, fighting with Com ed on things already hard enough. The " insert co name here" discussion is not on my list. Will pay the extra 10%

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Well, look at it this way:

ACN's (and most MLM companies) business model starts with one interested invester going to a meeting. At that meeting, he is told to get two of his friends to also invest. Those two friends then tell two of their friends, so on and so on.

Diagram that out on a piece of paper and tell me what shape you can get.

As was stated in this thread, these companies don't make their profit from selling products like cell phones or computers.

But you do know that's not the definition of a "pyramid scheme", right? I'm not sure where they make their money, but I doubt any MLM company that lasts is doing it based on the "sign-up fees". In a true pyramid, someone is left holding the bag at the end. That really isn't the case with an MLM. It's just a marketing tool. I understand it is viewed in a negative light by many people. I'm not the slightest bit interested in it myself. But it isn't really a pyramid or a Ponzi.

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General Jim wears Fort Bragg down... to get it!

Well of course they aren't going to call it a "pyramid scheme", because like you said, those are illegal.

MLM companies do make most of their profit from start-up costs. ACN is included in that. Sure, they have other products they sell to supplement their books, but in the end these companies are selling a hope or empty promise to most individuals while "leadership" is left holding the bag.

I knew a pastor that was getting a lot of people in his church to fork over $500 for the opportunity to get rich. This was a decade ago.

Getting paid to mail letters.

So, Panther, have you switched any services yet?

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General Jim wears Fort Bragg down... to get it!