What does the FTC really do?
If you are buying a distributorship, business opportunity, or franchise, then the Federal Trade Commission has useful information which will assist your due diligence.
But before visiting the site, here is what you should not expect. First, although the FTC can sue for violations of deceptive trade practices, they will not tell you if a company is under investigation. Second, the FTC will neither recommend or warn a consumer about a particular business. Third, the FTC cannot provide you with independent legal advice, nor can they recommend a lawyer.
So what should you expect and gain from visiting the site?
The most important part of the site is to be found reviewing the various business opportunities sweeps. For example, here is the 1996 list of business opportunities frauds, Operation Missed Fortune. There a number of different frauds reported here, work at home, vending, and other distributorship frauds.
It is unlikely that by reviewing the FTC's past actions you will find particular information about the business opportunity or distributorship that your are interested in. However, since these frauds regularly repeat themselves, by learning what worked in the past against consumers, you will have a clearer idea about what to expect. Business opportunity criminals simply re-write the scams and frauds that worked in the past - learn about them before you invest.
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