Thread: A Humble Request (Merged)

ahhh Hawaii ! I don't know what I can contribute in this area except my observations.I came away from Hawaii very nervous and on my flight home the notes I made to myself were quiet haunting as I look back on them now.There was a lot of flash, but beneath that there was tension at the highest levels of the organization. I met BM and GN and was impressed with the person BM.I also met GN and thats when my gut feeling totally changed with this company.I was also at the 3% meeting on the beach and Eric and others that were putting this package together had several meetings with GN where it was stated that the 3% program was not connected with the mothership so to speak.The question and answer session at the meeting was interesting in sofar as the management being defensive on a few subjects, mainly the withdrawls and questions on the communication with members.Other than the rumors flying around it was well orchastrated.

Thank you Dean. Anyone else make any pertinent observations at Hawaii? On a personal note, I have heard many things and opinions on both BM and GN (and others). Some good, some not so good. It is why I also look to actions and statements (communications) from the individuals as a whole to help determine their "standing".

An example would be WW's diatribe when he left Pips. He said what good people Bryan and Sharon were, and then proceeded to rip them to shreds later in his post. What does that tell you of the man (from that?).

We are also looking for any other facts and warnings from Hawaii.

Arcturus

please keep it going arcturusI.....but as u stated in ur thread #282....don't block out the thought of BM and GN not being on the same page....or it being staged.... it could very well have been staged for it to look like a falling out....as i stated b4....its hard for me to understand how Bryan could leave for months and persuade people about his program....but when the ship started tilting,he could never come talk to us....very strange in my mind....IMHO....but please do keep going with this thread.....Pat

Hawaii 2005:

Bryan seemed extremely distracted to me. Looked very tired and there were reports he had suffered food poison before the convention began. That could have been why he looked so tired. I dunno.

We also got a look at the first line from PIPS Fashion.

One instance I will never forget....on the bus returning from the golf outting, I was sitting right next to Bryan. I joked to him that some in the forum had thought he wouldn't show up because of the WD backlog. He said....you knew I'd be here.....I'm not going anywhere......we will get everything fixed eventually. That I heard with my own ears...because it was said directly to me.

Lots of talk about the fashion line, the bistro, the mortgage plan, the 5yr plan, the 3% fund program......not a whole lot of discussion about WD's so much. There was discussion about the bank opening in Cambodia and that it wouldn't be handling WD's at first.

GN was still the general manager at this point and as I have stated in here at some point in the past....I distictly heard him say that exchanges by members to help new members join, if handled correctly, was helpful in easing the pressure on the WD backlog. I heard it and thats all I will say on that.

Most everyone I spoke with was very upbeat and still confident that PIPS would survive. The plan for the future that Bryan laid out seemed to go over pretty well with those I spoke with and those I was around. As for GN, I never had the occasion to speak much with him, so I will withold my personal opinion of him to myself. Bryan, I have met and spoke with several times and have always found him to be a great guy and a very forthcoming individual in person. Thats why it was hard for me to get passed why communication was so difficult through the internet for the company.

PB

Hi,

Today I received an inquiry from a credit card processor, inquiring on my payment to picpay last year. Did anyone receive a similar request? If yes, what kind of questions were asked?

The message I received looked like this:
(anonymized for obvious reasons)
---
Dear ....,

We understand from our records that last year on xx-Apr-05 you received a charge on your credit card for $xxx.00 with one of the following descriptors:

.......................


Can you confirm what product/service you purchased?

Was this purchased made through the following website? www......com?

If not, can you re-call the website URL from which you made the purchase from?

Did you receive the product/service that you purchased?

Were you satisfied with this purchase?

Please be advised that we are a payment processing company who assisted with these transactions. We have been asked to build a case portfolio of the company ..... and verify every transaction made to confirm to the bank that this was indeed a valid transaction. We do not need your credit card numbers or any other details and we would really appreciate your answers to the above questions

Regards

... ...
... ... UK
Tel: +44 (0) ... ... ....
Fax: +44 (0) ... ... ....
www.....com

Thanks Goldeneye, I had forgotten that little episode with this character.
Merchants were offering pre-paid debit cards..I think the top value may have been $20K but I do remember the $10K ones. I was seriously considering, then did it, a $10K card, but ya know what, Picpay stepped in, overhauled all the cards on offer, then they were withdrawn. I think the whole forum groaned when they saw another possible outlet for Picpay dollars, gone.
Regards
paddy

I beleive that this is part of the investigation - it is international now.

I got the same email. I believe that it is just a standard customer service question.

I also got the same email. This must be part of the investigation.

Originally Posted by goldeneye

Keep going Arcturus , Please ..

( 1 ) Did ??? GN ,W W, Keith, and I think at the time ( Elizabeth ? ) and if I can remember there was someone else .Did they all resign or were they polity ask to leave by BM ?
I have the gut feeling the latter is the answer…..

The other person who left was, I believe, PicPay's manager. They may left because Bryan fired them as you are suggesting, or maybe because, as Warren said, they couldn't put up anymore with Bryan's totalitarianism and unwillingness to cooperate in order to save PIPS. At this stage, we don't know what the truth was. Both versions have equal credibility.

Originally Posted by goldeneye

( 2 ) Early 2005 I think - There was also a Man ( loosely said by me ) that was hell bent for leather to bring Bryan down ... sort of got caught with cheating the merchant system and I guess he didn't like getting caught and swore he would GET Bryan and Take him down ....called Bryan everything under the sun in the Old Pips Forums .. Not nice he was. LOL -- Didn’t he have something to do with TG and or an advertising company … advertising company for sure.

Just an off the cuff observation from the old Pips forum and my memory … But there was so much cheating going on to get cash flow from PicPay into their hands and the hands of others that the above mentioned merchant would charge Pips members to get them cash. People had proof of that cheating and posted the copy of emails to the Old Pips Forum .. with headers to prove what was happening .
I can see why Bryan took measures to curb and stop this also.



Now I know I may have got way off the intended subject or maybe not .. BUT just had to throw it out in the open for the newer members who just don’t know the corrupt actions of the members..
Bryan could NOT let this happen.. His company reputation stands with ethics and could not have something that serious to continue …

Bryan shouldn’t start in the first place the merchant program before the withdrawals were fixed. He was giving members a slap in the face by changing the focus from the real problem. As a skilled businessman, he should now that giving the circumstances, the merchant program will be used by many to take money out of Picpay.

Originally Posted by goldeneye

DID Bryan call in the BNM to do an internal audit to clear this mess up and by doing so they found other just or more serious violations going on within his company?

I doubt it, the announcement on BN's site states clearly that the investigation is done because of multiple requests they received. More than that, the way they raided the office and confiscated the servers don’t support the idea that Bryan was the one asking for the investigation.