The first workshop organised by UOKiK in the project "Pyramid Promotional Schemes" as a part of the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN)

On 26 October 2021, the first of four planned online workshops in the project ICPEN Pyramid Promotional Schemes titled "Themes and trends among the pyramid promotional schemes” was held.

The event attracted a lot of international interest, boasting over 100 participants from consumer protection agencies from all over the world.

The purpose of the first meeting was to introduce the subject of pyramid promotional schemes. These unfair market practices are prohibited under EU and national law. They are also banned on the basis of laws applicable in different countries around the world because they pose a serious risk to the consumer. The latter join a distribution structure (most often as part of multi-level marketing, MLM), which offers no goods or services at a fixed value, and the pay for existing members of the venture consists primarily of payments from newly acquired consumers.

It is worth noting that the pyramid promotional system should be distinguished from the so-called pyramid scheme. The latter is a crime – fraud prohibited in Poland under Art. 286 of the Penal Code.

The workshop aimed to present the topic in a broad, multidisciplinary context. Not only from the legal perspective but also social, economic and psychological one. Apart from a general overview of pyramid promotional schemes, the meeting aimed to review the various legislations in force worldwide on how to define and deal with such schemes, including an attempt to divide them into those which are legal and those which, in all circumstances, may be regarded as unfair market practices.

The keynote speech was delivered by William Keep, Professor of Marketing at the College of New Jersey. His extensive teaching and research career focuses on retail trade, distribution channels, long-term business relationships, marketing strategies and business ethics. His works have been published i.a. in the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. For over twenty years, Professor Keep has been regarded as an expert on illegal pyramid schemes and similar investment projects, due to his assistance for state and federal prosecutors and publications that extensively describe these issues.

The initiator and leader of this project within ICPEN is UOKiK. The project's objectives include the identification of pyramid promotional schemes in various jurisdictions and the exchange of best practices in dealing with pyramid promotional schemes (also taking into account different legal contexts). A series of four online workshops open exclusively to ICPEN member states will be vital to achieving the stated project objectives. The workshop will cover case law, law enforcement, sanctions, consumer education and information. They will allow interactive and good communication between participants in studying the problem and finding solutions to combat pyramid promotional schemes.