A TEAM from the Office of Consumer Protection Board (OCPB) raided the office of The iCon Group to check the products after some people filed complaints with police that they had lost hundreds of thousands and upto millions of baht after investing in this company, Amarin TV said today (Oct. 11).
While reporters waited for the team to complete their inspection they got to interview Mr. Wisit Phanrak who had come there to collect some products to sell to his customers.
He related that he first invested 2,500 baht but as orders increased he shifted to the medium-level of 25,000 baht and is now a supervisor-level representative after being a sales representative for over a year.
As he has already got his return on investment, he returned today to get more of two best-selling items – coffee and collagen – and is confident that the products are of high quality.
Some products have won awards overseas with the Consumer Protection Board too having given an award for being an outstanding entrepreneur, he said, adding they work as a team and consult the team leader when needed.
Some people who came to the company for training did not know how to use the Internet or Facebook and were given the knowhow by those experienced in sales, he mentioned.
Earlier a TV programme, “Inside Thailand”, hosted by Mr. Danai Ekmahasawat, or Old Dog, and Ms. Amornrat Mahittiruk, or Young Cat, revealed that the head of OCPB’s direct sales and marketing division had sent a letter to the agency’s secretary-general in 2018 to investigate The iCon Group and determine whether its business is really direct sales or a pyramid scheme after getting complaints from the public.
This company was established on June 1, 2018 with there being one director and a letter requesting a discussion on its direct sales business was sent on June 13, 2018.
After receiving the internal letter, the OCPB’s secretary-general agreed that there were irregularities in the nature of this company’s business and in turn sent letters to the Finance Ministry’s Fiscal Policy Office, National Police Chief and the Secretary-General of the Food and Drug Administration.
Despite the letters being sent in 2018, this issue has been kept quiet since then, the programme hosts said, then asking why this company was allowed to generate another 4-5 billion baht before running into current problems after many people filed complaints.
CAPTIONS:
Top: Officials from the Office of the Consumer Protection Board inspecting The iCon Group office today, Oct. 11, 2024.
Insert and Front Page: Mr. Wisit Phanrak talking to reporters. Photos: Amarin TV
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