Report: Britain threatens to ban Amway

LONDON, July 2 (UPI) -- Britain has threatened to ban Amway from the country because it finds some of the company's business practices "objectionable," a published report says.

The United Kingdom Department of Trade and Industry's complaint is sealed, but it alleges two U.S. distributors for the Ada, Mich., multilevel-marketing company focus more on selling their own motivational books, tapes and seminars than Amway merchandise, The Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press reports.

The complaint also alleges recruitment tactics inflate income estimates for new salespeople, the newspaper says.

A British court will hear the case at the end of the year, during which time Amway will seek to persuade the government it made changes to comply with "best practices." If the government wins its case, it could shut Amway's British operations, the newspaper says.

After receiving the complaint, Amway said it placed a 120-day moratorium on recruitment of new British distributors and banned sales of motivational tapes and literature not produced by the company.

The $6.3 billion company -- whose name is an abbreviation of "American Way" -- said it also was reviewing its practices worldwide and had sped up a planned reorganization.