Dear business partners, we believe that you all encounter these situations while developing NU SKIN business: relatives and friends give you their personal information through instant message tools asking you to handle the signup procedures for them; or in order to provide service of higher quality to consumers and people who are interested in developing NU SKIN business, after getting their authorization, you help them to sign up as independent distributors on behalf of them, including filling in and signing on the Distributor Agreement and other relevant documents. But do you know that some behaviors in the situations mentioned above have already violated the Policies and Procedures of NU SKIN and also relevant laws?
Want to know more about the regulations we need to be aware of? Let’s look at the case below:
Max: What are you doing, Tracy?
Tracy: I am helping my friends to process their application to sign up as a Distributor.
Max: Why are you signing on their Distributor Agreements?
Tracy: I have their authorizations, giving me the permission to handle the signup matters. What’s wrong?
Max: Do you know that your friends authorizing you to handle their signup procedures does not mean that you can sign on the Distributor Agreement and other contractual documents on behalf of them? Distributor Agreement is a contract between every independent distributor and NU SKIN; only the applicant himself/herself can sign on the contract. Even though you have acquired authorization from the applicant to process the signup procedures, it does not represent that the authorized person can sign relevant contractual documents on behalf of them.
Tracy: Then what is the correct way?
Max: You can ask your friend to fill out and sign on the Distributor Agreement first, and then authorize you to handle the signup procedure.
Tracy: If I sign on my friend’s Distributor Agreement, will there be any consequence?
Max: Not only that particular Distributor Agreement may be invalid, the person who signed on behalf of others will receive serious disciplinary punishment because of violating NU SKIN Policy and Procedures. Also, one may violate the Crimes Ordinance* for forging the signature.
Tracy: I see. We should be more careful while helping others to sign up, and ask them to sign on the contracts and documents by themselves.
Max: That’s right! Besides obtaining prior written authorization, we should be cautious – do not violate the regulations by signing contracts on behalf of someone else.
*Notes below signature column of the Distributor Agreement
For application filed by an individual applicant, the applicant himself/herself may sign. For application filed by a business entity, the authorized representative of the business entity may sign. For application to jointly participate in a distributorship, the principal distributor may sign. Please note that forging signature will make this form void and is also a criminal offence.
NU SKIN Policies and Procedures Chapter 1 Your Distributorship
3 Maintaining Your Distributorship Account
3.1 Keeping your Distributor Agreement, Business Entity Form and Joint Participation Form current
(a) As a Distributor, it is your duty to keep the information contained in your Distributor Agreement, Business Entity Form or Joint Participation Form current and accurate. You must immediately inform the Company of any changes affecting the accuracy of information contained in these documents. The Company may terminate a Distributorship or declare a Distributor Agreement void from its inception if the Company determines false or inaccurate information was provided. If you fail to update your Distributor Agreement, Business Entity Form or Joint Participation Form, holds may be placed on your account or other disciplinary action may be taken, including termination.
*Crimes Ordinance, Chapter 200, Section 71
A person who makes a false instrument, with the intention that he or another shall use it to induce somebody to accept it as genuine, and by reason of so accepting it to do or not to do some act to his own or any other person's prejudice, commits the offence of forgery and is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for 14 years.