The Dark Side of Direct Sales

Seriously...

BBC

Documentary, Society & Culture

4.1 • 885 Ratings

🗓️ 13 September 2022

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Big money, glamorous work trips abroad, and becoming your own boss - the world of door-to-door selling and chugging on the high street has been rebooted for the social media age.

The industry has been around for decades, but revenues have seen a boost over the last few years and it is now worth £2.6bn a year in the UK.

Some direct selling firms in the UK are jumping on the popularity of trends such as hustle culture to recruit young, ambitious people into entry-level jobs in ‘marketing’ or ‘management’ and to work with big, well-known, clients.

But as Lora Jones finds out, the reality is very different. She finds keen young people who have been sold the dream, only to find themselves working 80-hour weeks - for low rates of pay.

So how exactly is that possible - and what's the set-up that can reel in so many hungry young recruits? And what protection do they really have from exploitation?

Reporter: Lora Jones Producers: Jim Booth, Samantha Everett, Nalini Sivathasan Researchers: Star McFarlane, Jade Thompson Executive Producers: Gail Champion and Kim Rowell Production Manager: Jon Briest

Transcript

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0:00.0	This was an impregnable fortress. The only way you get out was in a wooden box.
0:05.0	The controversial maximum security prison impossible to escape from.
0:09.0	And one of the duties of a political prisoner is the escape.
0:12.0	The IRA inmates who found a way. of a political prisoner is the escape.
0:12.5	The IRA inmates who found a way.
0:14.5	I'm Carlo Gableer and I'll be navigating a path
0:19.5	through the disturbing inside story of the biggest jailbreak in British and Irish history.
0:25.0	The narrative that they want is that this is a big achievement by them.
0:28.5	Escape from the maze, listen first on BBC Sounds.
0:35.0	BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts.
0:39.0	Come on in and get comfy.
0:42.0	This is seriously from BBC Radio 4,
0:45.7	and I'm Vanessa Casile.
0:47.7	If you love unique documentaries,
0:49.8	this is the podcast for you.
0:52.0	Each week you'll find two new episodes to discover.
0:55.0	Next up, something captivating, enlightening and seriously good.
1:09.2	Big money, glamorous work trips abroad, a buzzy atmosphere. The world of door-to-door selling and chugging on the high street has been rebooted for a new generation.
1:15.0	They were trying to sell this whole dream of,
1:19.0	look how amazing this is and look how wealthy we are, look how well we present ourselves.
1:25.6	But as I've discovered in this 14 month investigation, for some the reality of
1:30.6	direct sales couldn't be more different.
	...

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