I got this by Skype from a group of very p1$$ed off Karatbars people - hope it serves as a warning -



Karatbars operates illegally in the United Kingdom. Full Stop! UK Department of Trade & Industry’s 2005 Trading Schemes Guide states the following

In the first 7 days after you have signed the contract, the scheme can legally bill you for no more than £200 in total. This alone makes the Silver, Gold and VIP package sales illegal. The cheaper Bronze package is just an empty cardboard box, (actually all of the packages are worthless empty card board boxes) so the Bronze package fails the “value for money” rules, while the Silver, Gold and VIP boxes fail the “initial cost” rules.

You have the right to cancel your contract in the first 14 days after you have signed the contract. (Some promoters may give you a longer cancellation period.) You have the right to return to the promoter anything that the scheme has provided to you, to cancel any service to which you have subscribed and to claim a full refund, provided you have not let the goods deteriorate. Karatbars terms and conditions violate this and several UK rules. If you were not told about this beforehand you may have a claim for mis-selling or misleading/fraudulent activity, making the company liable for a full refund. Contact support@karatbars.com for refund claims, failing which, below are some next steps (UK only)

UK based Karatbars affiliates may complain in writing to The Consumer and Competition Policy Directorate, The Department of Trade and Industry, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET or phone the Citizen’s Advice Bureau on 03444 111 444 and explain your case if you believe you were misled into the Karatbars pyramid scheme. At their discretion, your case may be passed to Trading Standards Officers for investigation. Trading Standards have the power to prosecute and bring criminal charges against the company for mis-representation and unfair trading practices. A case of mis-selling should result in full refund from the company in due course. Karatbars operate a zero refund policy. This is illegal. If you were not warned sufficiently, you may have a case of mis-selling.

In case you failed to spot the red flags, here is a summary: Karatbars were kicked out of Russia, forced to refund all Russian affiliates and pay an undisclosed regulatory fine. Karatbars are banned in China, the worlds largest gold market. Karatbars are banned in India, the worlds second largest gold market. Karatbars are unable to resolve/close the AMF sanctions in Quebec, Canada. Karatbars now have warning letters issued from the Central Bank of Aruba and the Netherlands authorities.

Want some more?

Karatbars are not a member of any direct selling association anywhere in the world. Karatbars are rejected by Bundesverband Direktvertrieb Deutschland or BDD the German Direct Selling Association. Karatbars operate a 2:1 ratio binary compensation plan. This alone makes it a pyramid scheme, regardless of what the so called affiliate leaders claim. Karatbars gold products have no resale value in the open market, unless removed from the packaging, then also, by weight and purity alone, not because of branding. Karatbars rely entirely on internal affiliate purchases and have a negligible external customer base, making it a ponzi scheme. Karatbars has added a range of cosmetic products to appear less ponzi-like, but the added products are just another distraction. The truth is that tens of millions of EURO’s are stuck in binary units inside the system and Karatbars enjoys profits most when over 90% of affiliates fail to convert units into cycle payments. The binary system is designed to act as entrapment and benefit only very few top affiliates. The free member option exists only to divert attention from the primary business which is a paid-affiliate ponzi.

Finally, AMF’s text reveals a bigger problem. Quote: In its decision, the Bureau held that Karatbars affiliates are investors, that the contracts between the affiliates and Karatbars are investment contracts and that, accordingly, they are subject to the rules the AMF is responsible for enforcing. Unquote. This statement alone puts Karatbars in Financial Regulatory territory, but the company has slipped through several regulatory nets simply for lack of public complaints. Expect several financial regulators to move heavily against this company. Get out while you can.