Both had a string of anonymous emails followed by direct connection to Linda Ruck (similar to the string above). The telephone conversations she had with both of them (one in UK, the other in Australia) were recorded and contained all the same accusations as in the blogs / emails with added colour. Linda Ruck in her defence first denied she said anything negative or fabricated about XL or Roger Hamilton, and then when the recordings became evidence in the case and the two became witnesses, her defence changed to one of XL being an illegal company, hence she could say whatever she wanted.

That’s my understanding of the case coming up. XL has published large excerpts of the recordings on their legal page on the link above. All the affidavits from both Linda Ruck’s side and XL’s side are also online.

Talk about airing dirty laundry.

Prior to XL I was running my own business and working very hard and feeling very stressed. It was at a Roger Hamilton event with my team that I got things moving, aquired a new mentor, restructured my business and found my real value within my company (making things fun again).

This led me to join as a Life Member and subsequently step up into the role as country manager for XL in the UK.

Being a membership organization that runs events I was not surprised to discover that most revenues come from membership and events. I was also impressed at how many great advertisers were in the magazine too.

Two years into the relationship with Roger Hamilton and XL I can only say good things. Member queries are handled promptly, the initiatives that were outlined to me in the beginning are being carried out and the members themselves are now my closest friends and colleagues.

The Upside: As a result of being part of XL, I have friends in over 10 countries, I have spoken at a major charity delegation in New York, I have been involved in several major fund raising efforts, I have connected with leading entrepreneurs all over the world, I have discovered more effective ways to run my business, I have found new business partners, new opportunities and had a lot of fun too.

XL has helped me to take the lonely game of entrepreneurship into a very fun, very connected place.

The Downside: This year I was invited to speak at momentum events for XL and a tour was organised. No sooner had my tour dates been published online, anonymous nasty blogs started hitting forums. The blogs were clearly from many made up accounts and were designed to look like many people were echoing the same sentiments. I felt very annoyed that I had been brought into it and sent emails to the blog owner saying that I would happily cancel my tour if any of the claims were proven… I had no reply.

Yes there is a court case looming in Singapore. Both sides have arguments about the other side, both sides have affidavits and testimony… that is a court case!

All I can go on for now is what I have personally experienced and that is total transparency and professionalism from Roger and XL and their team… not to mention, the most inspiring group of people I have ever known, the XL members.

After more than two years of litigation, Roger Hamilton of XL Results Foundation Pte Ltd failed in his summary judgment bid against Linda Ruck.

Linda Ruck is represented by lawyer, Mark Goh (Mark Goh & Co, Advocates & Solicitors, Maxwell House, Singapore http://www.lawfirm.com.sg).

On the 7th April, 2007 Linda Ruck’s affidavit was accepted by the judge in its entirety and is now a public document. The affidavit has opened up specific questions regarding the company and its sources of revenue.

Any individual considering investing in XL Results Foundation Pte Ltd are advised to ask ‘good questions’ as part of the due diligence process.
Questions posed include: Where is the company’s principal revenue source coming from?

A) Book Sales
B) Magazine Sales
C) Seminar Sales ;or
D) Life Membership Sales

Can the revenue from book sales, magazine sales and seminar sales, be much when they are given free to life members?

Linda Ruck is in ongoing litigation with the case set for trial in 2008.

To verify this statment Linda Ruck can be contacted on email: linda.ruck@pacific.net.sg or hotmail: linda_ruck@hotmail.com or contact her lawyer Mr Mark Goh.

The infamous anonymous blogger tends to spend a few hours a week tipping off any media source who will listen. The vast majority of them DO look into the claims and DO find they are bogus.

XL isn’t being run out of town anywhere. XL isn’t dealing with the police anywhere. It is bogus.

The public documents mentioned above hardly look like “pyramid” sales, they look like a referral program that any number of companies have in place.

The system seems to be:

Throw some mud… anonymously tip off the media that mud has been thrown … tip off the media that the media has been tipped off… repeat the process.

Anyone who has had any dealings with XL knows that they are a very good company to be associated with and that XL have been transparent the whole way through.

The only ongoing frustration is the anonymous blogger who we all would like to see find better uses for their unique talents.

February 23, 2007

WHEN a man claiming to be “Asia’s leading wealth consultant” kicks off a national tour in Brisbane next week, he will leave behind a simmering controversy over his business practices in Singapore.

Roger Hamilton faces allegations of unfair conduct and misrepresentation from dozens of disgruntled clients of his XL Results Foundation.

It is understood that more than 100 Singaporeans who paid up to $US8000 ($A10,150) for life memberships over the past two years are in the process of receiving refunds – minus a $US500 fee – after promised business networking opportunities allegedly failed to materialise. Sources say about $US500,000 is set to be refunded by April.

Several legal battles are under way and complaints were filed late last year with Singapore’s consumer protection and commercial affairs regulators. Disenchanted clients allege that there is no evidence Mr Hamilton has donated 10 per cent of all revenue to charity as promised.

The head of a women’s business group, Ann Phua, has spearheaded a campaign complaining that “coaching is of poor quality, not certified, accredited or recognised with anyone” and networking “consists mainly of free Linkedin and an ‘ecademy’ (which) only has 8000 paid subscribers worldwide”.

Former client Andrew Tan alleges that “the services provided are intangible and based on a networking pyramid scheme where referrals earn a commission on new sign-ups”.

Mr Hamilton, a 38-year-old British national living in Bali, has attacked the allegations against him as “entirely baseless” and spawned by a single ex-employee.

He described the mass return of life membership money as “absolutely false” but did not elaborate.

His Queensland promoter, Paul Dunn of Gold Coast-based Results Net Australia, said 420 life members had paid up to $US8300 each since 2005 and only four have opted out.

Mr Hamilton is scheduled to appear on Tuesday night at the Mercure Hotel in Brisbane, where he will present his “wealth dynamics” seminar.

He is also slated to visit the Sunshine and Gold coasts next month, as well as Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

Promotional material for his talk stresses that it “takes you through the ancient wisdom of the i-ching through to the Masters of Flow (people like Da Vinci, Newton, Einstein) and shows you precisely how to create what Mr Hamilton calls “Wealth beyond Words”.

XL reported a net profit of $207,612 last year, a fact which has cast doubt over Mr Hamilton’s reported plans to donate $25 million to charity. His website promotes the idea of 25,000 companies generating $1 billion and then donating $100 million to charity by 2020.

Launched six years ago and formerly known as Competitive Edge, XL has an estimated 300 members in Singapore and about 1200 overseas.

Mr Hamilton visited the Gold Coast in July last year for a “wealth dynamics weekend” which reportedly attracted 250 participants.

Roger Hamilton, XL Results Foundation & XL Members

About 30 members of the business network club, XL Results Foundation, met uptoday to discuss plans on getting their money back.They had paid thousands to be life members but said they weren’t getting thevalue for their money. A meeting with the club’s owner, British national Roger Hamilton has beenscheduled for Wednesday. Wu Shang Yuan with this report.

=========================================
Close to 70 local and international members have voiced concerns about the Foundation, after paying between 3,200 and 5,400 US dollars for themembership. They want a total refund of close to half a million US dollars from RogerHamilton, a wealth consultant from the UK.

The life members had wanted out, after realizing that training and mentoringworkshops, organized for them by the Foundation, weren’t useful and they wereunable to get the business contacts they’d expected. However, the members were told they had to find buyers of their memberships, on their own.

One of the life members Adelaide Chong received a call just a few days ago fromthe Foundation.I already informed Roger that I wanted to transfer my membership and leavebecause I think someone else can take advantage of it. So they say well, theoptions is the first one, you find your own. The second one is they have agentsbut they’ll charge some commission – I say I’m not going to pay any commission.

Members like Ray Bigger also had doubts about the Foundation’s promise of donating part of the money they received to charity. In the last two years, there’s been no photographs, no press releases, no announcements of any money made to charity. And I’m saying why?!

Mr Hamilton had said in previous reports that his Foundation is looking intothis matter and that it’ll look into requests for transfer of memberships. With a meeting scheduled with him on Wednesday, life members are hoping thatthe matter will be resolved by mid-December.ends/…

Unhappy with business network club

These members demand their money back
40 out of 69 vexed members gather outside club premises
By Tanya Fong

DISGRUNTLED MEMBERS: More than 40 life members of XL Results Foundation outside its Cecil Street office yesterday, including a 13-year-old Singapore boy (second from left in the foreground) representing his doctor father. — MUGILAN RAJASEGERAN

THEY saw it as a no-risk investment – a way to expand their business contacts and perhaps make some money.

Instead, 40 individuals who bought life membership in an exclusive business networking club gathered outside the office of XL Results Foundation yesterday to demand their money back.
They are part of a group of 69 disgruntled members who claim they were duped by the company’s director, millionaire consultant and author Roger Hamilton, who they said promised them the company would buy back their membership at the same price, or at market value.

Instead, members who had bought into the club in order to sell their membership for a profit claimed they were unable to do so. The company, they said, also did not come through on its promise to help them resell their membership.

Although prices increased from US$3,200 in 2003 to about US$8,000 (S$12,400) today, 36-year-old Mr Lai Kum Loon, managing director of a car parts company, said: ‘When I wanted to transfer my membership, I was told I had to find my own buyer.’

What is more, members also said they did not get access to the large network of business connections the company promised them.

Among the crowd outside the XL Results office yesterday were five Britons, a Malaysian who came all the way from Malacca and a 13-year-old Singapore boy representing his doctor father, who was at work.

They all wanted to withdraw their membership from the four-year-old operation, which was known formerly Competitive Edge.

The total value of these memberships is about $460,000, more than twice XL Results’ reported net profit of $207,612 for the 2005-2006 financial year.

One Singaporean member, Miss Sarah Kong, complained: ‘They simply did not provide the contacts of the other members, or those from other countries.’

The club currently has more than 300 life members in Singapore, and about 900 others in 15 other countries.

Membership includes access to the company’s training and mentoring workshops in South-east Asia, subscription to its monthly XL Magazine, as well as use of its worldwide networking website.

The complaining members may be on sticky ground, however. Copies of the life membership contracts seen by The Straits Times do not state that the company will buy back life memberships or help find buyers.

Nor is there any clause that says life members have to find their own buyers.
Mr Hamilton, 38, a Briton who is a Singapore permanent resident, is currently in New Zealand on a business trip.

The millionaire, wealth consultant and author of local bestseller Wink And Grow Rich, told The Straits Times on the telephone: ‘Today’s visit was a press stunt by a group, many are not our members.

‘We are looking into this matter. Any member who has concerns can come directly to us and we will look into their request for a transfer and facilitate it.’

All XL Members are aware of the case of breach of contract with Linda Ruck for spreading ongoing silliness, which comes to trial in March. The “Public Documents” you refer to are Ms Ruck’s final defence. I think XL has been entirely transparent about their dealings with this person here: http://xlresultsfoundationlegalfile.wordpress.com/
(Including all dates of what has happened and when)

By the way, “Mike”, do you live in Singapore? As Roger Hamilton is again a speaker this year at Singapore’s largest seminar event, the National Achievers Congress, and continues to run his various businesses from Singapore, being ‘treated with contempt’ and ‘run out of town’ appears an exaggeration to us living here.

Given the tiring habit of the comments from the likes of “Bob”, “John” and “Mike” being posted by one-syllable first names, I’d refer Mike Butcher to XL’s media advisory at:
http://xlresultsfoundationlegalfile.wordpress.com/xl-media-advisory/

Your blog is interesting in the fact you are using a legal file that is several years old with the dates removed another deceptive attempt to mislead and lie to the community.

I’d suggest you do your homework and due diligence. Public documents are available in Singapore that were lodged against XL Results foundation in December, 2007. These include evidence provided by both locals and expatriates that provide evidence XL Results Foundation is operating a pyramid scheme duping the community.

Perhaps Mike as an investigative journalist you can source these public documents and do research into Roger Hamilton? Roger Hamilton has gone to extensive measures to lie and cheat the community including using public funds to block legal requests for full disclosure of the XL accounts.

Mr Hamilton has also waged a three year terror campaign against the whistle blower including filing false police reports against this individual. Mr Hamilton is treated with contempt within the Singapore business community.

In Asia we welcome any investigation you wish to do to and will provide any information and public records you request.

It would also be interesting to know Mr Power’s involvement in this and his knowledge of the allegations. Has Mr Power protected the scam for his own financial gain?

Mike Butcher you have my email address and I will source and courier any documents you request. You can also contact the independent community activisit in Singapore and find out details on Mr Hamilton being run out of town by 100 angry locals. These ex life members claimed they were duped, cheated and money promised to charity was stolen.

http://xlresultsfoundationlegalfile.wordpress.com/2007/10/09/xl-results-foudation-pte-ltd-vs-linda-ruck/

This gives a detailed outline the claim involving an ex-employee of XL and her unfounded claims against XL (that just happen to be the exact same claims made anonymously on any blog site that someone can stay anonymous).

The “allegations in court” are counter claims… we shall all watch with interest.

“Our USP: We’re 10 year olds.”

http://www.ecademy.com/module.php?mod=list&lid=79107

Roger Hamilton and XL Results Foundation pte ltd is facing allegations in a court of law in Singapore it is operating an elaborate pyramid scheme duping victims world wide.

Ecademy Blackstar is replicated on the XL Results Foundation life membership program.

http://www.complaintsboard.com/?search=XL+Results+Foundation
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4287069a6442.html
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/articles/2007/05/30/1180205312469.html

So maybe that should be *I* make it work for me.

Well done Mike – you’ve found a subject and a company that has vociferous supporters and haters.

No point in blogging about something that gets no comments eh!

Lifestyle business ??? Hmmm!! I guess there are many definitions of what that is ( see for example http://www.37signals.com/svn/archives2/gag_me_with_a_lifestyle_business.php ) .

There is that rather basic one about lifestyle businesses being about spending all the company profits on Porsches, Houses etc and ” real businesses ” being one’s with an ” exit route ” ie trade sale,float etc.

As to which one is ” right ” – that’s another matter.

From what I can see the Board of Ecademy has worked very hard to build up a business in ( what was ) a completely new area in a very challenging period ( boom to bust ).

Well done to them for achieving what they have. ( If you have never done that yourself then you don’t really know what it is like ).

It is fair to say that ( with conventional wisdom ) achieving a successful exit will require scalability and a succession plan.

Some people say that the technical platform and the dependence on Thomas and Penny are a limiting factor. Another view is that the simplicity of this platform and the ” human element ” are it’s strength.

We members of Ecademy will work to prove that the latter is the case.

We will not concern ourselves with ” negative waves “.

“He does it all the time. If anyone on the front page starts a negative blog about Blackstars, he sends out his plea for support.” – Agreed completely. Big corporates such as Microsoft and KPMG who “don’t get it” are cool enough to let criticism stand – they understand that they can’t control what people say about them, and that they look like dorks if they do try.

He does it all the time. If anyone on the front page starts a negative blog about Blackstars, he sends out his plea for support.

Personally I don’t think Blackstar is worth the money, but then, I got it cheap but would certainly not recommend it to anyone.

I’ve also worked with several other business organisations that have created a similar working model.

Ecademy has still managed to supersede all competitors. The web portal is brilliant; none of the other networking sites come close to this achievement.

I agree with Matthew Anderson, IT is a platform and how you use it is the key.

The potential for all businesses to succeed with Ecademy is so great that if it didn’t work for you, then the fault did lie with you.

In fact you don’t really have any excuse for failure.

Ecademy Management have a well constructed reference guide to help you with using Ecademy and your guide to business networking. This month there are some super new training web conferencing videos free of charge for all to view.

Ecademy Support Team – Ecademy Mentors- Ecademy Buddies, great people, always ready to assist and help.

Since upgrading to Blackstar in September 2007 – which I have to say was a great leap of faith for me too, I have made 700 new contacts. I’ve made more effort to go to local networking events; I’ve gone to the London Ecademy events and a couple of the Blackstar monthly meetings. Its working, I’ve met some very interesting people and had offers of employment and assignments to carry out. I’m making some good connections and building genuine friendships.

I’ve met Thomas and Penny Power, Glenn and Sophia Watkins and I’ve seen a passion for helping people in a genuine way, which I haven’t seen in other business clubs. I hold them all in high regard. I believe that the income and lifestyle that they now enjoy, they deserve to have it, they have worked for it.

Those of you who seem to enjoy posting all these negative detrimental comments, at least have the “balls” to put a link in so we can see who you are!!!

Warm regards
Stella Holman

Why doesn’t it work for you or others? It’s always your fault.

You get back what you give. Give dross, get dross. Give value, get value. Post crud, develop a reputation for posting crud. Post great content, participate fully, contribute and invest in developing good trusted relationships up front, and make it easy for others to understand what you do and the value you bring …. and you get back good relationships from advocates who yell about your value from the rooftops to those who trust them and they keep your kids fed and clothed.

Ecademy offers a platform for great education. Most members don’t have that luxury as self-employed or business owners. They lack the support needed in the lonely, isolated postion most find themselves in. Ecademy can provide that too. That said, a great deal of utter tosh, pish and piffle is on there too. Exercise discernment and use good judgment. If in doubt ask others.

Occassional brilliance from management is peppered with acts of glorious self-sabotage. But don’t we all? If I look at all the good decisions I’ve made versus all the bad ones, I’m pretty sure the bad outweigh the good by a factor of 6 to 1 (or more). So yes, there are definite downsides and the Law of Attraction piffle and kerfuffle referred to above was a slight to even basic intelligence. It did the platform no end of harm, was handled as it was handled and now that is history.

The problem with Ecademy …. people take ownership of something that isn’t theirs!! The addictive nature, the close relationships, the heated debates, the shrill self-importance of a few turns an online business social networking platform into a battlefield of cliques, feuds and factions like you’d not believe as a dispassionate observer.

Ecademy is JUST another on-line networking platform. The people are the network. The relationships you form are where the value is….. for YOU. If your social skills stink offline, they’ll probably stink even more on-line (the voice you write in may not be the one it’s read in and this has caused more than one or two fallings out). Ecademists are a multiplicity of communities – membership levels, clubs, regional groups, interest groups, posters, non-posters, lurkers and dabblers, management and everyone else, new businesses, established businesses, scared people hoping for a helping hand, parasites preying on the few, august contributers with so much value to give and a selfless attitude towards giving it shames the rest of us into awe.

Givers gain is an oft maligned concept where people who gave up giving or were “ungiveable to” got up and left ranting about “selfish” and “useless” and “pointless”. Some left because their ire was rightfully pricked by some incredibly divisive debate and they became the collateral damage instead of the idiotic instigators. But the basic philosophy of Givers Gain as espoused by Ivan Misner and embodied in the likes of Fraser Hay proves the absolute value of a community based on shared values of contribution before compensation, outward directed care instead of inward directed, self-orientated hope of reward; a community based on support and trust. Lofty ideal or pragmatic, profitable truth, decide for yourselves. Givers gain is live and real for me and I can point to tangible value many hundreds of times each year I’ve been a member.

Yes a few of us have funded the Power’s lifestyle I’m sure. But aren’t they just running a business too. If someone complained that my fees went towards paying to feed, clothe and educate my kids or pay my mortgage I’d think them a bit of an ass frankly. If there were financial abuse and impropriety then that is a matter for the regulatory authorities and shareholders but as I understand it from this post and the subsequent threads that is not a moot point, is it? So render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. Let them have their subscriptions. That’s the rent for having your profile spidered by Google every half hour, your ads reaching millions and your right to self-publish assuaged …. and to have a lifetime of your inane rantings archived, stored and recalled on the clunky Drupal platform (what is Drupal for those of us who don’t care about the technology just that the car works and gets us from A-B safely?).

Anyone can make it work at £10+VAT a month. If you want to fork out more for Blackstar, that’s your choice. I did and paid upfront for life. I did the same for my wife when she was ready to take on more networking activities. Because the payback was complete and fast. But realise this. Ecademy is a disaster for those who don’t understand the dynamics and continuously abuse the culture. Ranters and politicoes, people trying to fool everyone all the time invariably come unstuck. The likes of Jim Wade who put the boot in when someone is blatantly lying or misinformed. Or Rory Murray who can’t sit back and see an injustice done even if it’s not his fight, and hundreds like them mean that anyone perpetuating untruths will be found out, faced up to and righted or they’ll leave, tail firmly between their legs.

The likes of Lesley Morrisey (above) who help people fit into the culture have their work cut out ensuring the guidance around best practice is adhered to. That is the crime. Someone working on rates that equate to voluntary service putting up with the attacks and hostility they endure. THOMAS, PENNY GLEN, pay the best practice team what they’re worth!!

Mike, thank for this post. It’s opened the debate up about the stats and the membership but the point needs to be made that WE MAKE OF IT WHAT WE WILL. Some get it, some don’t, there’s always someone waiting in the wings, so what, next!!

Marcus

It’s maybe not astroturfing but it’s certainly not spontaneous.

I think the level of commenting shows a degree of naivety on Powers part, it would have been much better for him to get a few well balanced comments from his users that created a debate. Rather than what has now become a joke.

I can’t imagine any of the comments made will make anyone rush to ecademy and sign up.

For me it shows how evangelism can turn to extremism.

In 10 years and with first mover advantage ecademy hasn’t achieved ownership of online business networking here in the UK and I think this thread is testament as to why.

Some things work for some people and other things for other people…

I belong to many networks and to be successful you have to pick one that works and focus there checking the others from time to time (or by getting email notification). I have made friends, money and business contacts/contracts through BlackStar but, like every single thing on the planet…

There are good and bad things and there are good and bad people every where… I just find less of the bad on Ecademy and the platform works well!

Having owner involvement without delegation does slow the growth, true but it also keeps a much cleaner house… we all pride ourselves more in our own baby!

I wish Ecademy, Penny and Thomas (et al) all of the very best and have no problem throwing money at them for an organization with very good overall integrity!

J William (Bill) Moore
CEO
aSmilingWorld®

How you can even think of comparing Ecademy with online networks like MySpace, Facebook etc. – is really a mystery to me; Ecademy is for business people, and networkers who have realized the true value of networking; giving & sharing (and I am not talking about vampire bites, love tests and other “waste of time gimmicks”).

Or comparing us with LinkedIn for example – where I have been a member longer than in Ecademy – and NEVER gotten any close relationships from !
Maybe they are just too big, more a listing of job offers – or simply do not have the “heart” as Ecademy does !?

No Ecademy is not the biggest – but who says we even want to be ?
As long as we have been started up with the True Heart of Networking, and nourish it along the way – we will continue to be the most profitable network around (not taking money here) – thus might even end up being the biggest, when it become known to the rest of the world, that its not quantity but quality that counts !!