Complaint Review: Vartec Excel Communications Mims Global - Texas

It is my feeling that when individuals post their resumes online they are looking for an EMPLOYMENT opportunity, not a BUSINESS opportunity. I have found a web site that explains the telecom business opportunity to a 'T'. Its explantion shows that the overall drive in telecom MLM is RECRUITING not residual income from long distance use. The Web Site URL is: http://users.tns.net/~mpat/scam/ It is discussing a telecom MLM from Australia I think, but the concepts apply to Excel as well. All you Excel kool aid drinkers need to respond to the logic and math in this very well researched and documented web site. Hopefully you will see the error of your logic and the fact that the money you are making isn't as clean as you think... Your ever viligent Rip Off Reader

I am frustrated with companies like MIMS Global who continue to hit me up because I have a resume on Monster.com. Here is the email I got today: === I have selected your resume for consideration, as I am looking for strong candidates who lead by example in your area. I would sincerely appreciate the opportunity to review your qualifications in light of our current needs. We are a provider of a wide array of telecommunications services. We are seeking self-motivated independent contractors who can work equally well alone or as part of a team to help us market our products around the U.S. Because of the high volume of candidate submissions, I must selectively schedule appointments for candidates who are interested in building a dynamic future with us. CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report. Brett Meerman National Recruiter/Regional Training Director Business Development Centre Dallas, TX === End of message

First of all I must say that I am not some poor un-employable telecom slob that has nothing better to do with my time than slash out at creative, hard-working people. It seems that this was the argument about me before, because I was unemployed at the time, and posted my resume on some career sites. However, then I was bombarded with MLM's, Network Marketing careers and a host of other dead end proposals. Excel/Var-tec was just one of them. My main gripe is ANY unsolicited job, or career, or other independent small business proposal (or whatever you want to call it) that is again, unsolicited. The key word here is (again) UNSOLICITED. Posting a resume on a job board is not a request to be called to give YOU money. Previous stories of grandeur and massive wealth are meaningless. To put it simply, if it could stand on its own and actually make millions of dollars then you wouldn't be wasting your time calling me, especially if I am truly this un-employable slob you claim I am when I don't agree with you to give you $400 to actually work for you. (Like HELLO) Word of wise to the previous farmer that wrote in it is called SPELL CHECKER. If you can't even write effectively then I will never believe that you made a millions dollars selling services. And to Andrew of Vancouver, British Columbia: I am back with AT&T and your company still blows.

I am an Ex-Independent Rep. and I have a few truthful things to say without using the words con, scam, or cutting anyone's throat. Here are some honest points from an EX-buisness owner. 1. Q. Is Excel a pyrimid Buisness? A. Yes, but look at buisness you are/were working for last. I almost garentee that if you draw it out on paper it will be triangular in form as well (like a pyrimid). It's just a shape and has nothing to do with legality otherwise the way our president office is set up would be illegal, think about it. So ask yourself could this company really exist for this long and be this successful, and be a scam? NO way! It's Legal and it works BUT, only if you do the work! 2. Q. Is Excel a Scam? A. Asolutely NOT! Ask yourself what is a scam? If you think a company that is still paying an EX- representative monthly income from things he did over a year ago is a scam then you're crazy. I have never heard of anyone doing something and not getting paid for it. 3. They only thing that have to say to watch out for, is that some reps may be pushy in getting you started, which I don't agree with at all. So do your reasearch on a legit website and make sure that it is some thing that you want to do before you make the $398 investment. And keep in mind whatever you read about reps making this and reps making that has everything to do with the rep, not the company. If a rep doesn't money it's not because the rep is LAZY. If you are a good person, enjoy helping others, and want at least a good education on how to run a buisness give Excel/Vartec a try or any other legit MLM.

I got two e-mails for the same guy regarding this scam, apparently he was cruising CareerBuilder.com for unemployed people's resumes. I actually started checking it out a little and then paid a visit to rip-off report, and wouldn't you know, another big scam! I would think that someone who has their resume posted on careerbuilder probably doesn't have $398 to be conned out of!

Maybe I should reiterate in more depth. Telecom companies that do not provide any other services besides telephone services, i.e. long distance OR local services will be soon going under. Good for you, you are now reselling multiples. Market share - Since you brought up the claim that Excel has rolled out local service to all 50 of the United States, I would also add that AT&T, the recognized world leader of telecom, is getting out of the local market because recent legislation passed by This Administration has made profitability in the local market not only harder to obtain but also more expensive to maintain. Cellular I don't know much about the cellular arena but I can say this much, mobile service is only as good as coverage. It doesn't matter how inexpensive your basic service is if you are: A) Always roaming (at premium cost) B) Can't get a service connection at all (either IN or OUT OF NETWORK) C) Can't dial 911 in an emergency D) Live in the rural market areas because of A, B and C above It is expensive to maintain good cellular coverage because of the necessary cell sites, towers, the associated property costs for same (leasing), mobile switching centers and support staff. A cellular provider with their main base in the rural arena is going to be extremely costly. Maybe Excel is only a reseller of cellular service then? So maybe they don't even own their own network? In which case they don't really have control over the service or the maintenance priorities or the access priorities (i.e., Excel customers could be first in line for roaming rollover and the actual provider's customers stay In Network.) Paging Unless your clients are either in A) emergency services, or B) illicit drug trade, don't expect much revenue in this market. And I am sure Excel doesn't have their own satellite, and anyone can become a paging service reseller. This is like a nothing. DSL Internet Again, as with Cellular Service, I doubt seriously that Excel owns or maintains their own DSLAMS as I also doubt seriously that they actually have their own network. So they are, again, at the mercy of the actual provider whom they are also completing against. So you are Joe Blow Technician with BellSouth in Marietta, Georgia and you have two maintenance tickets for broken Internet service. One is for your actual end user customer and one is for Excel's customer. Which one is going to get fixed first? You do the math. If you think this is bad, wait till you get the point about Satellite TV down below. Web Creation Just another fluffing service to provide the illusion of a larger, more sophisticated organization, however any one of the zillions of web hosting providers out there will provide the same thing. Many college students can also set you up for less. Or the infamous claim, Get a website and you will see your business grow! What they fail to tell you is that if no one knows your website is out there then it won't do much good. You have to pay to be seen. How do you think those search engines get their money? Expect to pay premium dollar to come up on the top of the hit list. XM Radio Just another pay-for-service newbie for people too stupid to use the USENET if you ask me. Then again there are people stupid enough to pay $1 or more for a ring tone. Don't even get me talking about the Pet Rock syndrome of the 70's However I can say this much, again, I doubt seriously that there is an Excel XM radio satellite up there. Again, Excel is probably just a service reseller and has no actual physical commodities. Again, it is just another fluffing service to provide the illusion of a larger, more sophisticated organization. Satellite TV - Again, Excel is probably just a service reseller and has no actual physical commodities. Again, it is just another fluffing service to provide the illusion of a larger, more sophisticated organization. But this just in, the Baby Bells are going to start to fight back. In fact, Verizon is pulling fiber optic cable into my home as we speak. Verizon will be providing television services (including coveted HDTV), high speed Internet service and POTS over fiber to the home. And when I say high speed Internet, I am talking HIGH SPEED INTERNET. It is fiber optics after all, and there isn't a DSL product out there (electrical) that can compete with the speed of light. Home Utility Service You are killing me now. Home utility service? Fuggetaboutit. Now I am thinking The Mall of All Services - like Bernie Ebbers (Ex Worldcom CEO) used to claim, The One Stop Shopping Mall of Telecom. Again, just a reseller, obviously Excel is branching out into as many service industries as possible to diversify their market share (i.e. limit their risk). A smart move. However, the mindset of thinking to get as many people on the grid as possible so last century. This just in, as a nation (and as a world) we need to get off of fossil fuels. (We also need to get off of expendables, but don't get me started). Hate to be the one to break it to you, but technology has been changing and the thought of plugging into the grid is becoming more and more obsolete. Open source power, or free power is the future. There is current theoretical technology allowing a reduction of almost 99% of power usage, i.e., with a 1 watt input it can produce 100 watts of output. It is coming, so your 5% cut will just get smaller, or even go away completely. Advances in solar energy technology could take the home completely off the grid, and there are other cutting edge technologies coming out from under suppression. Suppression you ask? Now who would want to suppress technology that would eliminate the need for a large utility bill? Hmmm. VOIP launch No, go ahead, pile it on. I can't wait. As this technology and almost endless bandwidth makes telephone service practically, well I would have said cheaper than water but Coke and Pepsi sell water for more then sweetened sodas - and there are oxygen bars in Los Angeles So who knows? I guess people like giving their hard earned money away, I have no other explanation. Effective marketing I suppose. A good salesperson should be able to sell matches to people in hell. However, I personally don't want to be on either side of that transaction, but that is just me. I still say telephone service will soon be free. nothing short of phenomenal. No, I don't have to agree with you. I can also say that I am shocked that the pet rock made millionaires too. I think it says more about this mindset of this country, our fallacies and weaknesses, than it promotes awe or aspirations. Unfortunately there are lots of gullible people out there, just look at the diet/weight loss industry and the vitamin industry. Let's not talk about the cabbage soup diet or the grapefruit diet. I guess it is all about how much money can I take other people for and it's all about me, the hell with everyone else. I say this is an unacceptable character flaw perpetuated by old and current American marketing and business philosophies and is well overdue for change. You have to have actual value for value. You are telling me that I can choose to pay you $400 for a chance to make millions, and I say that I would rather take that $400 and start a real business, without you. "Only an idiot would pay to work for a telecom company under the guise of "owning their own small business" while working out of their living room." I stand by this statement. Just because 6 thousand people took advantage of others, took in several people's start up fees and possibly even hit the pavements and sold a few accounts doesn't make it right or justifiable. I can state that there is NO WAY to enter into that group of 6 thousand people unless you start bringing fresh blood into the system and those people do in turn, and those people do in turn, etc. You can not make millions by selling onsies and twosies of 56Kb/s POTS lines to Ma and Pa Kettle's in the rural arenas. You would need several large accounts of channelized DS-3's to make it over a period of time (and that is in the old days - nowadays everything is moving to VOIP and the incomes are only going to get SMALLER.) However, again, Excel is a rural player, not a metro player. How many big business accounts are you going to land in farm country USA? I have an idea, instead of talking about the six thousand millionaires Excel made, let's talk about the hundreds of thousands of everyday people who paid $400 or more to get started but never made anything significant. Let's talk about the everyday hard working, believing people who were suckered into the hope of financial freedom only to put in hours of hard work with no significant pay out. I don't want to hear that these were all lazy people who didn't follow your guidelines or model of success, that is bull. Let's talk about your statements on a college education. You are saying forget it, it is a waste of time and people should just follow into your business model. I can see where that would work for you, but how about the individuals who listen to your advice? Not everyone amounts huge student debts, some actually get paid to attend via outstanding scholastic record and aptitude. Your statements on following blindly into the Excel's business model must assume that Excel will always be there. I say they won't and a college degree never hurts. The job sector will only get more and more scrutinizing and I say you better go to or stay in college. And not everyone who goes to college or works for Corporate America is a drone, mindlessly following the organization. So your career model comparisons have about as many or more assumables as my vision of Excel. Unfortunately most representatives treat their Excel business like a hobby instead of like a true business, so their results are directly related to the effort they expend. I doubt this. I think the majority of people find out quickly that it is harder to get Ma & Pa Kettle to switch off of AT&T, SBC and Verizon than they originally thought, or were led to believe. They used to have a saying in New York, If it works don't fix it. And companies didn't want to save a couple of dollars a month if it meant taking too much risk or if the cut-over time was too long. People don't want to be punching in long 10 digit access numbers either If you don't have them then great, but it still doesn't prove your case. David, the complete irony of your situation and your attack on Excel is that you were contacted regarding the Excel opportunity in the first place because you have recently been downsized after faithfully (I assume) serving a telecom company(ies) for 23 years! That's the reality of corporate America today. Maybe it's more ironical to me that Excel is also a corporation. It is still putting your trust into an entity that may or may not be there in the future. You are not creating small business owners with independence and singularity, you are creating downstream for you and Excel these people, small business owners, whatever, are only becoming resellers of a reseller. They do not truly own their own business in the truest sense this is an outright fabrication and lie. Excel only manages to continue its existence and perpetuate through ignorance and (I will give them this much) effective marketing. People really want to believe that they can survive, or even become millionaires while working comfortably from their homes. This is nonsense. For the majority of people this is unobtainable and it is so only because of the percentages of reality. The only people that can make true big money from this are those who create MASSIVE downstream and continually perpetuate the dream (read lie) and their downstream does so as well, so on, so forth. Additionally, people representing Excel have not contacted me in the first place because I was recently downsized after faithfully serving telecom companies for 23 years. THEY HAVE BEEN BOTHERING ME FOR YEARS - EVEN WHILE GAINFULLY EMPLOYED. The reality of Corporate America is that Excel is also a corporation and telecom regulations could be morphed in any way, at any time, as to make the Excel business model archaic. For instance, access charges for resellers could be tariff-ed as to make your products too expensive to provide. Agreed that this is all speculation. Who knows? Good luck to you. Fortune 500 Magazine A magazine will w***e anyone who pays it. It's a business. But don't forget it's also Corporate America. You want a fluff article to promote your business? Then pay their advertising or editorial dept some bucks and watch the spin begin. Too bad about all those journalists, business analysts and market researchers, and shame on them for paying for a college degree and working for years to build a reputation that can be trusted when they should have just started into some kind of home business, such as Excel. You can't have it both ways. You can't down them as needless, blood-letting, heartless entities yet use them to prove your validity because of where they stand. What exactly are you saying here? They are bad yet they are good? (July? August?) of last year (which, interestingly enough, was written long after the advent of free cellular long distance, VOIP, and other technologies Free cellular long distance, VOIP and other technologies have been around longer than last year. Again, Excel only survives and perpetuates via ignorance of the common people whom it takes advantage of, and effective marketing. Let's talk about a real small business in your market. Let's talk about starting a real reselling business where someone, or group, negotiates bulk discount purchasing of telecommunications products, from say Verizon or SBC, enabling them to resell those services to the user for even less than the provider. You don't have to pay $400, you don't have to rely on your upstream (read pay them a percentage), and you are closer to truly owning your own business then. Now let's look at the Excel way. You pay $400 or more to become actually a sales employee, you hit the streets of Cowville and Hickville, USA (I have nothing against farmers now, and when I say farmers I mean anyone who lives between Manhattan and L.A.), and you soon find out you are burning up a hell of a lot of expensive, imported Iraqi and Saudi Arabian oil products, and you see that the only way to really make it into the coveted inner circle is to bring in fresh meat into the system. So then you start perusing the resume boards for suckers, (read poor people out of work - and I am sure everyone knows the Telecom sector is on shambles these days), and then you (hopefully) bring in new people (suckers) and (hopefully) they will sell a lot of single line telephone service to private homes or realize as you did and start the next level in the pyramid. And yes, any I understand that any organization is like a pyramid, however I mean this wholeheartedly in every negative annotation you can surmise. While I don't know the Mims group personally, I believe they are successful people O.K. then, let's prove it. Let's see their federal tax statements for the past several years. If you can't produce them and send it to me then you are just blowing wind. This type of draw the next sucker into my scheme is just the kind of warning that good, hard working, good hearted Americans need to be wary of. I would suggest that anyone thinking of starting their own business do extensive research and utilize all of the freely available information from the U.S. Government, specifically the United States Small Business Administration at http://www.sba.gov/ and all the online sites dedicated to home business ventures and about Frauds & Scams on The Internet at http://www.elsop.com/wrc/complain.htm, specifically the portion on MLM's. Personally, and I may be biased, but I believe that all MLM's - and especially online Internet Network Marketing should be illegal. But that is just me. Then again I think Casino's are a rip off too, but it's basically the same principle. A couple of winners maybe, but they don't build and support those huge buildings with just sand. I really don't want to debate with you anymore. It's a waste of my good time. I know who and what you are, and you probably have a lot at stake in propagating this dream. But I will say that I am just one of those millions of unfortunates who are out of work at this time. I choose to post my resume on a JOB board, not BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY board. I am looking for INCOME, not a PURCHASE CHOICE. I don't appreciate being bothered CONTINUOUSLY by people's DOWNSTREAM attempting to move themselves UP IN THE PYRAMID. The shear QUANTITY of attempts by your company's employees only further prove the MARKET SATURATION of poor, believing slobs you employ. I have even met one of these slobs in person, while trying to enter a sushi restaurant, when they drove their beat-up truck with McDonald's trash wedged up in the windshield and started talking about Excel. I may currently live in Dallas however I am from Manhattan. I am not impressed with your company, your associates, your business or you. Not if, BUT WHEN I start my own business IT WON'T BE WITH YOU OR EXCEL. Since you obviously can't telemarket much anymore you have evidently moved onto the Internet and e-mail venues. Well, I am here to tell you - WE DON'T APPRECIEATE IT! AMERICANS - KEEP YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY AND START A LEGITIMATE SMALL BUSINESS! As for Mr. Burke, go and sell a POTS line you schmuck.

David, thanks for your calm and reasonable contribution to this discussion; I'd like to respond to some of your points. First of all, you state that "...I can tell you that any telecom company that depends on long distance charges, solely or in large part, will be going under in the near future as IP telephony will kill the long distance sector." The most obvious response to your statement is that Excel does not solely or in large part depend on long distance for it's revenue. This did used to be the case, however Excel has now rolled out local service to all 50 of the United States, and that market is even greater than the long distance market which originally spurred Excels exponential growth in the 90's. This doesn't even mention the cellular, paging, DSL internet, web creation, XM radio, and satellite TV components of Excel, which have truely made it a diverse company serving not only telecom, but home entertainment as well (an industry *EVERYONE* predicts will show massive growth in the future). Also, Excel will begin trial rollout of home utility services such as electricity by end of this calander year. David, you have simply completely misjudged the way that Excel is positioned to take advantage of all the current trends in telecom, entertainment and utilities when you predict it's death due to a shrinking LD sector. The telecommunications industry alone continues to grow at a rate approximating $1 Billion per month. (I won't even bring up the fact that Excel may very well launch it's own VOIP service in the future, that would only be 'piling on' in this argument). As for your statement that "Excel is still just a little guy in the big game." I would wholeheartedly agree. The success and growth that Excel has shown since it's inception on Kenny Trout's kitchen table 16 years ago has been nothing short of phenomenal, I think you would have to agree with me there. And all this with a *very* small market share in the US! Imagine what will happen as Excel continues to expand... as you say, they're still the little guy here, and therefore the potential for growth remains wide open. Next you admonish that "only an idiot would pay to work for a telecom company under the guise of "owning their own small business" while working out of their living room." Lets examine this statement as well. Excel has been in existance for some 16 years, as we know. In that time the company has created more than SIX THOUSAND MILLIONAIRES out of ordinary everyday people starting their own home business for a few hundred dollars. That's a staggering statistic, it's almost impossible to comprehend. And at every single step of the way, from the start until present day, there have been people vowing up and down that it couldn't work, it doesn't work, it won't work, it's sure to fall apart at any second. They claim the company is too small. Then after it grows, they claim they can't make any money because they didn't get in early enough, on the ground floor. Then they claim the markets are changing... it's just the latest hue and cry of the negative, doom-and-gloom, corporate-programmed naysayers who can't bear to admit that there's another way than traditional corporate America to find success today. In fact, lets compare the two models for a moment. First, traditional thinking: Start at zero. - go to school and obtain a degree. Incur massive and overwhelming student debt. - come out of school with an education that may or may not be relevant to the field you decide to practice in. - try and find a job - start at the bottom of the corporate ladder - put in long, difficult work weeks, under the complete control of the company - start paying off your student loans, which will linger for years to come. - claw and fight your way upwards on the "ladder", competing against your peers all the way - possibly get to a decent position with the company. Be subject to reassignment, downsizing, rightsizing, whichever you want to call it, and have no control over it. Have precious little security in your position. - possibly make it to retirement age, and retire on 40% of what you very likely struggled to live on in the first place. Or, the Excel model: Start at zero - Invest $400 ($500 in Canada) in yourself as you start your own business, in addition to your present employment which currently pays your bills. This pays your licensing, all your materials, accounting, collections, company support, etc etc etc. (Personally I think that it should realistically be about triple that amount to start with Excel, but that's just my own opinion. By keeping it this low, they keep the opportunity available to everyone, so that's a benefit). - work hard building your business - become profitable immediately, earning money your very first week of business, and every week or month after - recoup your *entire* initial $400 investment at the end of the year in tax breaks associated with owning your own business. (Most likely turn a profit with that as well actually, depending on your tax bracket with your other employment). - work hard for 5 years, developing your business and building your downline - promote yourself based SOLELY on your work ethic, not your age, sex, race, creed, intelligence, nepotism, sucking up to the boss, etc etc - stop working your original job once your Excel income surpasses that of your job. This can be a matter of months with hard work and dedication. - create an organization that pays you residual income, every single month, whether you continue to do active work with the company or not - retire at age 25 if you so choose (yes, this is absolutely a realistic goal if you put in 5 years of hard work, as you would have at the comparable corporate career). - include the business in your will so that your spouse, children, heirs, etc, continue to receive the full amount of monthly residual income after you die. That, David, is a direct and reasonable compare/contrast of the two career models. Yes, it does take hard work, dedication, and a strong desire to be successful with your own business in order to acheive high levels of success. Unfortunately most representatives treat their Excel business like a hobby instead of like a true business, so their results are directly related to the effort they expend. And so David, your rationale for not getting started with Excel, that of "forking over a couple hundred bucks", really shows how limited you are in your view of this business's potential. Whether this is a result your having endured "23 years as a telecom professional" would be unfair speculation on my part, but it definately would explain your negativity, your lack of vision and belief, and your complete unwillingness to accept that something other than what you know and have experienced personally might actually work. The fact that it is working spectaculary now, and has for the past 16 years, seems to have escaped you completely. David, the complete irony of your situation and your attack on Excel is that you were contacted regarding the Excel opportunity in the first place because you have recently been downsized after faithfully (I assume) serving a telecom company(ies) for 23 years! That's the reality of corporate America today. Not one single person has ever been downsized from Excel in 16 years. Ever. They don't call up a representative and say "I'm sorry, we've decided to eliminate your position of Regional Director due to increased competition in the LD market, we're sorry, and we hope you understand". In closing, I would suggest that if you *still* have lingering doubt about Excel as a company, you should consult the glowing and very positive assessment of Excel the company which appears in an issue of Fortune 500 magazine (July? August?) of last year (which, interestingly enough, was written long after the advent of free cellular long distance, VOIP, and other technologies to which you claim Excel is fatally vulnerable). I would further suggest that you find a good sponsor who will support and train you; get started with Excel, and get your career back on track. While I don't know the Mims group personally, I believe they are successful people and I would suggest it would be a great idea for you to get in touch with them and find out if Excel will meet your needs. Of course you could drop me an email as well, I'm always happy to work with people from Dallas ;) I look forward to reading your reply, Andrew Burke, Vancouver, BC, Canada. p.s. Whether you agree with Excel as a profitable or worthwhile business model or not, really belongs on a site dedicated to discussing the relative merits or faults of different businesses. This site here, www.ripoffreport.com is to report fraud, scams, ripoffs, etc, and this *clearly* has nothing to do with a legitimate, certified, and established business such as Excel.

I would like to add that I get e-mails from Vartec/Excel reps almost every week. The most elaborate of them claim fancy titles such as International Recruiter - WT3 [[email protected]] to give you the impression they are legitimate international recruiters from some kind of large company and spin the pitch like: From: Les Butler [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2004 4:28 PM To: David Paloff Subject: CareerBuilder.com: Your Resume Your resume has been selected for consideration. We would like to jointly review your qualifications in light of our current needs. MimsGlobal Inc., is a provider of a wide array of telecommunications services in partnership with the world's largest privately held telecommunications company ($2+ billion annually), operating in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands. We are seeking strong individuals with start-up capability, a vision for rapid marketing, and an aggressive work ethic. Successful candidates will be independent contractors who can work equally well alone or as part of a team. We selectively schedule appointments for candidates who are interested in building a dynamic future. To save travel time and expense, we conduct 30-minute online discussions during the week. The schedule for this week is below. EASTERN TIME ZONES Monday September 13 @ 1:30 p.m. & 10:30 p.m. Tuesday September 14 @ 12:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. You are invited to join us on our live online group conference call to review more specific details. You will learn about our company, the communications industry, international expansion, our products, your contribution, and compensation. You may ask questions during this session as well. YOU MUST REPLY PROMPTLY TO LET ME KNOW YOU PLAN TO ATTEND SO THAT I CAN RESERVE A SPACE FOR YOU! No preparation is required for this initial session. You will be given an opportunity to submit final follow-up contact information after the online call someone from our team would consider your input and then contact you by phone for a personal interview within 48 hours. Thank you and have a great day, Les Butler Director of Recruitment MimsGlobal Inc. Please be aware, acceptance to this invitation does not constitute an offer to you, or an acceptance by you for any position. It is merely a first screening using technology. If no response occurs from you, no further communication will occur. I am a telecom professional of 23 years and I can tell you that any telecom company that depends on long distance charges, solely or in large part, will be going under in the near future as IP telephony will kill the long distance sector. Since MSO's and local providers will soon be giving dial tone and long distance away for free as part of bundled services, i.e. video, high-speed Internet and free POTS, companies such as Vartec/Excel have no future. We have already seen the wireless sector providers give LD away for free. You can bet that there is no future in selling phone services or attempting to build a team, i.e. your downstream, so all of the latest push activity is merely already established higher-ups attempting to get all they can while they can and the poor simpletons who don't know any better. I would also like to add that being the world's largest privately held telecom company is still chickenfeed if you realize the spread between even the top three big telecom companies, AT&T, MCI and Sprint. IN fact, the spread between AT&T and MCI is like HUGE. So Excel is still just a little guy in the big game. In fact, considering that they play in the rural market and not the big metro's says they are smaller than small. Only an idiot would pay to work for a telecom company under the guise of owning their own small business while working out of there living room. Sure, starting up a small business would require incorporating fees, possible licensing or re-sellers fees, etc. Even starting up a Starbucks will set you back over a million smackers. But no one pays to bring in a company re-occurring revenues. This is completely absurd, and forking over a couple hundred bucks to your future boss is, well, laughable at best. Anyone who pumps up the Var-Tec/Excel sales pitch or defends them on here is either fresh meat still hypnotized by the smell of the potential millions they were psyched into believing they could actually obtain, or possibly even some of the lucky, more established early guys who want to finish milking this cow until it dies. I would alternatively suggest starting up an E-bay company if you have any Internet or web skills whatsoever.

What you did was not very intelligent, you reported this bogus site, AND IT IS BOGUS, its a god damned forum where everyone EVERYWHERE FOR ANYTHING WRITE ABOUT PROBLEMS, that THEY never even tried to solve in the first place.!!!! You went to THEIR CHATROOM, and posted a link of a complaint that attacked their credibility.. you posted a link in a chat, doesnt matter if it didnt damage their credibility, YOUR not supposed to post links in chats like that anyhow.

What you did was not very intelligent, you reported this bogus site, AND IT IS BOGUS, its a god damned forum where everyone EVERYWHERE FOR ANYTHING WRITE ABOUT PROBLEMS, that THEY never even tried to solve in the first place.!!!! You went to THEIR CHATROOM, and posted a link of a complaint that attacked their credibility.. you posted a link in a chat, doesnt matter if it didnt damage their credibility, YOUR not supposed to post links in chats like that anyhow.

What you did was not very intelligent, you reported this bogus site, AND IT IS BOGUS, its a god damned forum where everyone EVERYWHERE FOR ANYTHING WRITE ABOUT PROBLEMS, that THEY never even tried to solve in the first place.!!!! You went to THEIR CHATROOM, and posted a link of a complaint that attacked their credibility.. you posted a link in a chat, doesnt matter if it didnt damage their credibility, YOUR not supposed to post links in chats like that anyhow.

What you did was not very intelligent, you reported this bogus site, AND IT IS BOGUS, its a god damned forum where everyone EVERYWHERE FOR ANYTHING WRITE ABOUT PROBLEMS, that THEY never even tried to solve in the first place.!!!! You went to THEIR CHATROOM, and posted a link of a complaint that attacked their credibility.. you posted a link in a chat, doesnt matter if it didnt damage their credibility, YOUR not supposed to post links in chats like that anyhow.

I would like to comment on the start up fee. $399.00 or $744.00. I paid that and much more to be an IR. I really didn't have a problem with that. What I did have a problem with was the "Normal Way" I paid allot for college and other technical courses and couldn't find a good job, And when I did find a job all the stuff I had to put up with to keep that job. I found with Excel powered by Vartec to be a company that empowered me to make as much money as I like, and many many many people to help me achieve my goals. I didn't need any special degree all I needed was desire and now I have time and money. Hopfully you see that Excel is just another way to make money. P.S. my other normal way of making money (Stocks) almost put me in the poor house. Wish me luck with that piece of paper (BS Degree) that helped me make someone else money. And I will not wish, I will DO EXCEL. Get with the person who thaught enough of you to show you a way.

"The richest people in the world build networks, everyone else looks for work" -Rich Dad Poor Dad. Don't care if the scheme is in a pryamid...square or circle shape....Don't really care if I have to sell dog poop in a brown paper bag. Network marketing is taking over. You can't beat us...whynot join us=) Don't be bitter cuz i'm only 19 and making more money than you...lol

I AM THE OWNER!!! MY OWNER!! You all say that Excel is a scam. One must look at the source when taking advice. I've trained many people in MLM's. The bottom line is. They all work, if you work. You are all just lazy and want to be told what to do and when to do it. You can't think for yourself. Do this: Get a job, take your 15 minute smoking break, go back to your pathetic little cubicle and continue to work for the CEO til noon and then take your hour lunch 'AND DON'T BE LATE ON YOUR RETURN TO YOUR LITTLE PATHETIC CUBICLE OR ELSE" and continue to work to 5pm. You fool. Then go home and eat, sit on your couch with the TV thats programmed you anyway, and then play with yourself, go to bed and wake up and do it all again! You could pay now and play later or, play now and pay later. The choice is yours! I am with Excel forever. Feel free to correct my spelling because I dont need it to become a a success. Point as many fingers at Excel as you want, just remember, the other three are pointing right back at YOU!

My husband and I became independent reps. 1 1/2 yrs ago and it has changed our lives completely !! Because of Excel we now have FREEDOM. We can now do what we want, when we want, and how we want to do it & still have a larger income than when we both worked full time plus JOBS. My husband was a super for a construction comp. making almost $100k per yr. and I was a pharm. Tech. not making much at all but really enjoyed my job. Now we put in about 25-30 hours a week together and spend the rest of or time with our 4 children. WE LOVE EXCEL.

I've been browsing through this website reading all the complaints and rebuttals. Decided to search for the company that I represent and here it is, with the same type of complaints and rebuttals. I'm not here to defend nor bash network marketing. It is what it is: a legitimate business. Unconvential but nonetheless a business. If anyone were to start their own business, for example a small flower shop, it would cost money to start up. You would have to advertise to get your customers and make people aware that your business exists. You would want to tell people you know about your business...you probably get the idea by now. A franchise would costs a lot or money as well. And as with any business, there's no guarantee of success. Network marketing is no different. The bottom line is that we all have to realize that there is a difference between a job and a business. Individuals who operate from a "job" mindset find it difficult to see network marketing as a business. It's easy to get frustrated at the thought of spending money when the returns are not concrete. i.e. as in a job, you do the work and get paid immediatly. In a business it takes longer. My suggestion would be for anyone looking at a home business to do research on the subject. There are wonderful books out there, which I'm allowed to suggest here, that will bring awareness to the differences between jobs and businesses. Research the companies and the industries that you are considering well before reaching a conclusion. And after doing your due diligence, if you find yourself unable to switch your mindset from being an employee to being a business owner, by all means, keep looking for a job. That's ok. The world needs employees too.

I too have had experience dealing with Excel. My best friend signed up as a rep 2 years ago, and was telling me how great it was, how well he was doing with it. I'd seen a lot of other things, from people selling soap to jewelry to car washes to oil etc... and I didn't know anyone who made any significant money at it. I smugly told my friend he was nuts and had just kissed his $300 deposit goodbye, and expected him to give up within a few months. Well a year went by and he stuck with it, just part time as he was working 2 other jobs... he's a motivated guy no doubt. Then we'd be out golfing and his phone would ring... one of his reps just got a rep of their own into the business and my friend got paid $300 for it, for not having lifted a finger for that particular transaction. I was still extremely skeptical but now interested in how things worked. I sat down with him and he went over the business plan, and I did see some real opportunity to make some cash, but my skepticism always overrode what I saw, and I didn't have any faith that it would work. Fact was, I needed a home business at the time as a tax writeoff, so I was seriously considering joining for that purpose only. First thing I did was call the Better Business Bureau here in Canada, which had an Excellent (no pun) review of Excel Canada. Only 2 complaints were on file in 4 years, and both of them were completely resolved to the satisfaction of both parties. I then contacted several of his customers and asked them about the service, seemed to be exactly the same... you pick up the phone, you dial it, it works. Now satisfied that it wasn't a scam, but still not really having any faith that it would work (for me or for my friend for that matter), I became a rep, mostly for tax purposes as I said. Well it's been a year and a half now, and I'm still an Excel rep, on the verge of my second promotion. I still have a full time job and am by no means rich, but I have a nice supplimental income, and it's almost tax time again, which has become a favourite time of year, because the government sends ME checks now. As for my friend, he's quit the 2 other jobs that he had and now does Excel full time, his wife closed the daycare that she ran and will never work a real job again, and they just bought a ranch and have horses, etc. He's not 'rich' by any means either, but he's only been doing this for less than 3 years, and he's on track to where he wants to be. His time is now his own, which was his goal when he set out. My advice to anyone interested is to do your own FACTUAL RESEARCH, and get first-hand real knowledge of whatever company you're considering dealing with. There will always be people who expect something for nothing, and then get disgruntled when they join a company and don't get rich by doing nothing. As well, there will always be scams and ripoffs who pray on unsuspecting people's trust. My own personal opinion is people who get on sites like these and rant about companies such as Excel, (who are now over a $2 billion company, have been featured favourably in magazines like Fortune 500, have been around for 15 years, and are in the middle of huge international expansion... *obviously* not a scam) are doing a great dis-service by crying wolf... and watering down the complaints against true scamming or ripoff companies. I'll end with a couple of other comments about above posts. Someone said something like "you should never have to pay $400 to a company just to be able to work for them". Right, tell that to people who spend over half a MILLION dollars just to open a McDonalds franchise. How many years does it take to start making back your investment there? And to the person who wrote "what's wrong with having a normal job like everyone else" Nothing. Nothing at all. If you're happy working for someone else, happy with your current promotion options, happy with your income, happy retiring on a fraction of what you make now, then by all means, a regular job is great. And I'm not being sarcastic, for a lot of people that suits their needs perfectly. But for a lot of other people who are entrepreneurial, motivated, and not satisfied with the minimums in life, thank goodness there are opportunities like these available so that people don't have to settle. Sorry for the length, have a great day.

First of all, I have been an "Excel," not "Excell," INDEPENDENT REPRESENTATIVE for just over a month. I have worked my a*s off at this job and it is already paying off for me. I gather new representatives, and I train them as business Men and Women, so they can achieve their goals. TO FIRST OF ALL THINK that you can come and put NEGATIVE information in the chat and not get booted???? Positively STUPID. ANY employer would do that. Next, to think that Excel representatives only target these unemployed slobs, sure, why not... make a little money off those losers. But, what Excel and most representatives want to do is get people that will work hard for them. It should be a full time job, offering decent services, competitive prices, and benefits. You make minimal money off getting one slob to do nothing for you. When I am looking for a new representative, I look for someone who is motivated, personable, has goals, and needs and out. People that don't need Excel, shouldn't sign up. What a better place to go than to work with a place where people are unemployed. I think it's almost genious. By the way... downsizing is getting fired... just in saying it in a nicer way. But, to attack someone because of his spelling and his poor english?? That adds NOTHING to your argument. People make mistakes, deal with it. Finally, I'd like to point out that Excel is a scam, if you don't like working. Spend $300 bucks for nothing. It's not that much...

I would like to address the comment about MLM being a pyramid. This includes Excel and other MLM companies. Most hierachy structures known to man are shaped like a 'pyramid'. What are you chances of becoming CEO of the company you work for? With MLM everyone has the chance to get paid for 'your efforts'. If you put in the time and effort, you will be rewarded justly. When was the last time you gave 'yourself' a raise on your job. We are the first generation of the masses to have an opportunity to establish generational wealth.

I would like to address the comment about MLM being a pyramid. This includes Excel and other MLM companies. Most hierachy structures known to man are shaped like a 'pyramid'. What are you chances of becoming CEO of the company you work for? With MLM everyone has the chance to get paid for 'your efforts'. If you put in the time and effort, you will be rewarded justly. When was the last time you gave 'yourself' a raise on your job. We are the first generation of the masses to have an opportunity to establish generational wealth.

I would like to address the comment about MLM being a pyramid. This includes Excel and other MLM companies. Most hierachy structures known to man are shaped like a 'pyramid'. What are you chances of becoming CEO of the company you work for? With MLM everyone has the chance to get paid for 'your efforts'. If you put in the time and effort, you will be rewarded justly. When was the last time you gave 'yourself' a raise on your job. We are the first generation of the masses to have an opportunity to establish generational wealth.

I would like to first start off by saying my roommate is a rep for excell he has forked out 400$to excell to join and earned back 350$ in 6 months not too shabby i guess if you live in a box he devotes everyday all day to excell he is in no way lazy. I really think that the guys at the top appreciate his service to the business. He works fulltime for excell and has to go to the weekly meetings to keep himself going i'm sure. I pay for his rent and utilities being the nice person that i am. This business targets lost souls people who are not normally motivated to do anything but get rich quick, greed is funny that way it blinds you and makes you do things that you wouldn't normally do, but to each his own, i stumbled upon this site doing research i do have a question for those of you who post here they say they make all this money. why are you here? are you looking for something to convince you that it's not working or are you the high paying excell owners spotting every antiexcell website and acting like normal people? cmon people if i was as rich as you say i would have no need to put down others to defend my job. What's wrong with a real job anyway so you dont' make a million dollars big deal go to school get educated and get a job that guarantees a future forever like a docter if you wanna be rich they make plenty of money to satisfy the needs. someone please pick apart what i said it's funny i have nothing better to do while working.

Not sure what to say. A little over 8 years ago I was looking for a business. Being that I had less than $5,000 in liquid assets and no college education my options were limited. I looked at 40-50 companies none fit, but Excel did. I could start a business for under $500 so I did. My 5th month I made $1,500 having worked 17 hours that month. After that I started putting 10 hours a week in. The rest is history. The last 7 years I have not had a job, and live a far better lifestyle than my buddies with the fancy degrees. If Jack wishes to call it a scam or whatever... OK. I PERSONALLY know better. Hope your life shapes up Jack... your true colors show.

In reading throught the responses on the Rip-off report It's amusing to see just how many excel IRs have been scammed by the upper promotion levels who have made millions off of recruting only. Let's give you some realistic stats. 85% of IRs drop out in their first year and 98% NEVER make more than a couple of thousand per year. This might be all fine and dandy but you are sold on the promise that you will make thousands per month. The only way to properly do that is to solicit customers and I wlll continue to do that but with the new comp plan customer gathering is not rewarded but recruiting is. If you think that paying $400 +$21.99/mo and then you will get back a whopping $50 for pushing product then have I got a bridge to sell you!!! I find it very amusing that you can sign up for Cognigen which is also an MLM company that sells ALL of the same products that Excel does and there is not a single complaint on the Rip-off report about them. You know why? THEY ARE FREE to sign up. If you sign up and you don't work well you don't get paid. Gee imagine that! Excel's old comp plan was that if you paid $300 and got 20 customers you'd get back $450. With local the numbers are $400 & $550 respectively. Then you could choose to recruit if you so desired and if you did you had to maintain the 20 customer base to receive downline commissions. Now the plan is recruit and drill as deep as possible to make any money from residual sales. Your upline won't like this since your level 7 commissions are beyond sponsor's commission base. That being said what would a rational person think if you pay for something you'll get that type of behaviour. So if you pay for recruiting ONLY you will get recruting only reps! Duuuuuhhhhhh!!! As a result what customer gathering is required will be shoddy at best and only to get to the next promotion and in the end will result in the collapse of the company and the Pyramid itself. Excel is in a death spiral. Get out while you can and let it sink into the depths where it so justly belongs.

I have been working with Vartec/Excel for the past 6 months. I think the general misunderstanding here, and thats all it is, would be the difference between a job and a business opportunity. Vartec?Excel, the largest independently held telecom, offers individuals the opportuity to rep the services from the corporation. As with any franchise, it is not an offer of employment, it is an offer to let you start own and operate your own business. My real question before becoming a representative was .. why doesn't this cost more to get a global ID? For less than $1000 (US) I could market and profit from telecommunications services. I can't speak to what Rebecca had for a personal experience, but from my experience thus far, it is clear that no matter how clearly you say Business opportunity.... they still hear "job". Vartec does have employees... they are at corprate HQ in Dallas. The people that make the most money are reps working for themselves as business owners. If you want to work, as an employee for Vartec/Excel, contact corporate and ask to get a list of JOB postings. The difference between a job offer and a business of your own is huge. Please pay attention to what you hear not what you think you heard.

I have been working with Vartec/Excel for the past 6 months. I think the general misunderstanding here, and thats all it is, would be the difference between a job and a business opportunity. Vartec?Excel, the largest independently held telecom, offers individuals the opportuity to rep the services from the corporation. As with any franchise, it is not an offer of employment, it is an offer to let you start own and operate your own business. My real question before becoming a representative was .. why doesn't this cost more to get a global ID? For less than $1000 (US) I could market and profit from telecommunications services. I can't speak to what Rebecca had for a personal experience, but from my experience thus far, it is clear that no matter how clearly you say Business opportunity.... they still hear "job". Vartec does have employees... they are at corprate HQ in Dallas. The people that make the most money are reps working for themselves as business owners. If you want to work, as an employee for Vartec/Excel, contact corporate and ask to get a list of JOB postings. The difference between a job offer and a business of your own is huge. Please pay attention to what you hear not what you think you heard.

I have been working with Vartec/Excel for the past 6 months. I think the general misunderstanding here, and thats all it is, would be the difference between a job and a business opportunity. Vartec?Excel, the largest independently held telecom, offers individuals the opportuity to rep the services from the corporation. As with any franchise, it is not an offer of employment, it is an offer to let you start own and operate your own business. My real question before becoming a representative was .. why doesn't this cost more to get a global ID? For less than $1000 (US) I could market and profit from telecommunications services. I can't speak to what Rebecca had for a personal experience, but from my experience thus far, it is clear that no matter how clearly you say Business opportunity.... they still hear "job". Vartec does have employees... they are at corprate HQ in Dallas. The people that make the most money are reps working for themselves as business owners. If you want to work, as an employee for Vartec/Excel, contact corporate and ask to get a list of JOB postings. The difference between a job offer and a business of your own is huge. Please pay attention to what you hear not what you think you heard.

I have been working with Vartec/Excel for the past 6 months. I think the general misunderstanding here, and thats all it is, would be the difference between a job and a business opportunity. Vartec?Excel, the largest independently held telecom, offers individuals the opportuity to rep the services from the corporation. As with any franchise, it is not an offer of employment, it is an offer to let you start own and operate your own business. My real question before becoming a representative was .. why doesn't this cost more to get a global ID? For less than $1000 (US) I could market and profit from telecommunications services. I can't speak to what Rebecca had for a personal experience, but from my experience thus far, it is clear that no matter how clearly you say Business opportunity.... they still hear "job". Vartec does have employees... they are at corprate HQ in Dallas. The people that make the most money are reps working for themselves as business owners. If you want to work, as an employee for Vartec/Excel, contact corporate and ask to get a list of JOB postings. The difference between a job offer and a business of your own is huge. Please pay attention to what you hear not what you think you heard.

And as far as your response to it: maybe if you had a little more "intelligence" (yes, Joe, intelligence, not "inelegance") and actually knew how to spell and use proper grammar, then maybe your title as someone's future boss would actually be a bit more believable. Rebecca did a smart thing by checking out Vartec's reputation before buying into something that sounded like a crock. She also was kind enough to warn others about it too. No legitimate company hiring for that kind of work should charge $398 to "recruit" people. Unless of course they expect them to be as "inelegant" as a circus chimp. If you are representing the kind of personnel that Vartec is "recruiting", then you just proved Rebecca's point. I came here to check out Vartec as well because I used 10-10-811 for my long distance and though I did not get ripped off by them, I had a problem with their lack of customer service. If Joe from Danville is really an employee, then I am not a bit surprised.

You were not downsized; you were fired from your company! Because you lack the inelegance of a circus chimp! The rip-off report is for legitimate complaints not for people that are whining babies that have never had an entrepreneurial bone in there body. Stay in your cubical please and make sure you take your medication.... Your future BOSS!