| Topic Name: |
R L Stevens job Placement |
| Message Name: |
Check These Web Sites - From WSJ |
| Date Posted: |
04/14/2004 |
| In Reply To: |
How to Protect Yourself From Unscrupulous Firms
Many dissatisfied clients contend they could have done better on their own than with career marketers. "You should never have to pay anybody to help you find a job," says Lisa Bermundo, a Long Beach, Calif., engineering project manager who found her own job after she ceased dealing with Icon Management, a now-defunct career-marketing company in California. "Do a lot of research and work with recruiters."
David B. Opton, founder and chief executive officer of ExecuNet, a Norwalk, Conn., executive-career group, cautions, "When anybody asks you for money up front for any service, bells should go off in your head. If you want career counseling, there are a gazillion people, well-educated, with long, successful track records, who are happy to let you pay by the hour."
If you contact a career marketer, Mr. Opton says, "Check them out six ways to Sunday." Visit your local small-claims court and review the court records to find out if there are any claims against them, Mr. Opton suggests. Use the Internet to check out the companies and individuals associated with the companies. Often, he says, "they keep going until enough complaints are filed, then they close that business and open up under a different name." Consumer-activist Web sites such as the Rip-Off Report post consumer complaints against career marketers.
Mr. Opton advises requesting names of references, "including the names of people who were not happy." Mark Peterson of Radnor, Pa., who signed with the now-defunct career marketer Merrill-Adams Associates of Parsippany, N.J., claims that he asked repeatedly for references and information on how many chief financial officers Merrill-Adams had placed, and received vague answers such as, "We're well-connected across a variety of industries."
"It's a big red flag if you can't get references," he now says. After receiving little service from the firm, he secured an agreement to be repaid half of his $10,800 investment.
Mark Renn, chief executive officer of career marketer Global Career Management, acknowledges that his firm's clients have complained about its services. He urges prospects to read their agreements carefully to avoid misunderstandings and advises them to ask for references. The firm supplies client names on request, he says. He also recommends that prospects talk with the career consultant with whom they'll work as well as with the salesperson.
Too Embarrassed to Complain
Mr. Opton says career marketers take advantage of the fact that "a few people are going to raise enough ruckus to make them give back a little of their money, but 99.5% will be too embarrassed to admit they've been ripped off."
Many do get money back. Several people approached for this article indicated that their settlements with various firms included "nondisparagement" clauses. Others have won judgments in small-claims courts, although they have had trouble executing them.
Sayyed Bashir, a manufacturing executive who won a judgment against now-defunct career marketer Icon Management Group, suggests these five courses of action based on his experience:
Write a demand letter documenting what you were promised and what was delivered, and describing the steps you'll take if your money isn't returned in 10 days, such as the following:
File in small-claims court for the original amount, plus expenses and damages;
File complaints with the local police and district attorney's office if appropriate;
Contact the consumer-affairs editors of local media; and
Search the Web to locate victims' assistance groups to join.
He says he knows many unhappy clients of Careers 20/20 who received refunds after seeing an investigative report in February 2002 on Los Angeles television station KTTV.
You may not get your money back when you file a report with the Better Business Bureau and a state attorney general, but your action may help other job hunters. |
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Check These Web Sites
Before You Sign Up
Before signing on with a career-marketing firm -- or if you've already had a bad experience -- you may want to check these sites:
www.bbb.org: Select "Check out a company" and see local Better Business Bureau reports on specific firms.
www.bbb.org/library/employ.asp: The Better Business Bureau offers an in-depth explanation of the strengths and weaknesses of various types of employment services.
www.bbb.org/library/employscam.asp: Titled "Employment Services Scam," it details specific advice on screening out "fraudulent employment services."
www.ripoffreport.com: This consumer-activist site features postings from people who have been scammed. Search for a specific company or look under "employment services."
www.jobscams.com: A survivor offers his advice on checking out a firm in advance and recovering money if you've been scammed.
www.rileyguide.com/scams.html: This site links to articles and sites on career-marketing firms and practices.
www.execcareer.com: A victim of a scam created this site to warn others about fraudulent career-marketing businesses. It has discussions groups for job seekers and links to useful job-search resources.
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