Is this legal ??

[fillymum]

A friend has just phoned me to ask advice on syn values for her daughter who has just joined a Slimming World Group.

Nothing unusual in that you think.

The group is here in Spain, in the next village to me.

My friends daughter has been sold photo copies of the SW books and literature, charged an enrollment fee and will be charged a weekly fee.

Everything she has is photocopied.

I contacted SW sometime ago to ask about starting a group here and was told they have no plans to expand into Spain.

I feel really peeved.

 

[sugar_lipswales]

On the one hand people will be losing weight because of this but at the same time someone is ripping SW off, I'd report them ASAP myself!

 

[Devon Dolce]

No Sue! It's not legal - its copyright infringement! If you've got your book handy look at point 9 in the small print at the back - it says it all very clearly xxx

 

[Mummy_Helen]

I would report it, because although she'll be losing weight, it's not a legit group. I would think it would be fraud using th SW name and taking money but not sharing the profit with SW. Imagine you had a business selling goods and someone made copies of those goods and sold them as originals. You'd be peeved right?

Besides, if the person running the group isn't trained up by SW they may not even know what they are doing, and could be giving the wrong advice, and therefore giving SW a bad name unneccesarily. Selling the copies of the books is def illegal.

taken from one of my recipe books.

Slimming world 2010 - All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Slimming World.

 

[Jennyonaplate]

Completely agree with what everyone else has said, absolutely no way legitimate, and absolutely unfair that this person is duping innocent people into her scheme to make money off the back of a sucessful business. I would also wonder about the quality of information that is provided, (as we all know, there is only so much available in the books) which can reflect badly on the SW brand.

 

[fillymum]

I know the venue and they obviously meet on a Tuesday night cos friends daughter went last night.

What do I do next ????

 

[Jennyonaplate]

I would contact Slimming World directly, they will probably do the rest.

 

[tarka]

I'd go along to a session and ask a few questions etc about the setup under the guise of becoming a member... Does all seem very odd though.

 

[Circes]

Yep totally dodgy! How do they know the person running the class is even qualified?!

I'm not sure what SW can do about it though. But the people in the class have a right to know the true position.

 

[Jennyonaplate]

I would imagine that SW would report it to the relevant spanish authorities if they were aware of what is going on. And leaving it to SW means that nobody is taking on the issue personally, as getting personally involved could have repurcussions (you never know these days!).

 

[Leapfrog]

Like you, Sue, I had enquired about bringing SW to France and was told there were no plans. This can't have SW approval, otherwise all the merchandise would be official.

 

[The Punisher]

I would take the information that you already have and just drop an email to SW to voice your concerns. I can completely understand why people are going to this group, but on the other hand, as it doesn't appear to be legit, they're going to suffer in the long run. if they don't have access to the website and up to date materials how on earth are they going to follow the plan properly. Things like this could be detrimental (sp) to the excellent reputation that SW has.

 

[furbaby]

Defiantly contact Slimming World, not only will the advice possibly be wrong or inappropriate especially for a younger dieter but they lose out on the Slimming World website which is such a valuable tool.

I question the motives of an individual who would run an illegal group like this- obviously it's all about the money to them and not the actual people

 

[eternity]

Maybe it's just a group of friends weighing togehter and using the Slimming World plan.
Personally I wouldn't report it because I think that it's a great plan and maybe the only chance they'll get to follow it if they're in Spain and I wish them luck.

 

[Caroline82]

I would report it to sw and let them do the rest x

 

[Stefanie]

This is a toughie - I personally wouldn't report it. This is your friends daughter and are you sure any repercussions won't come back to bite you? But, if you feel you can't be implicated in anyway, then go ahead. I would be wary though. People must know that it's an infringement going by the photocopies, so if they want to be part of that, then so be it. xx

 

[maclynn]

before you report it, maybe ask you're friend if her daughter was giving an online membership number? It's a difficult one but, sounds does not sound good

 

[Starlight]

Maybe it's just a group of friends weighing togehter and using the Slimming World plan.
Personally I wouldn't report it because I think that it's a great plan and maybe the only chance they'll get to follow it if they're in Spain and I wish them luck.

If it wasnt for the fact shes charging an enrollment fee and weekly class fee Id agree but doing that makes it sound a totally different ball game.

if it was a friend photocopying her own books and giving them to friends and they were meeting up for a weigh in and support then Id turn a blind eye but when theres money changing hands.... thats wrong

SW take all breaches of copywright very seriously, theyve had issues with people posting things on here before

 

[furrysmudge]

If it wasnt for the fact shes charging an enrollment fee and weekly class fee Id agree but doing that makes it sound a totally different ball game.

if it was a friend photocopying her own books and giving them to friends and they were meeting up for a weigh in and support then Id turn a blind eye but when theres money changing hands.... thats wrong

SW take all breaches of copywright very seriously, theyve had issues with people posting things on here before

Totally agree x good luck with whatever you decide

 

[fillymum]

I had never thought of repercussions for myself. What repercussions could there be ?? Someone will threaten me, beat me up, do what ?? How dreadful if we have to live in fear of doing the right thing.

This morning I will speak to my friend and ask her to take the matter over. She is already extremely indignant that her daughter has paid for something that she feels is not fulfilling what they promise. She is the one that is angry and if she is angry for sure others are too.

Thank you for your input, it is really appreciated.