Wednesday 19th October was unlike most days. Apart from my excitement in anticipation of my long-awaited trip to Paris the next day, I was woken up in the morning by a phone call and an email simultaneously from two firms in Birmingham, namely Primus UK and S5 Marketing, inviting me for a job interview the next day. I got a job by Friday 21st with Primus UK Ltd and by Monday 24th, I had quit the job because it turned out I fell victim to an elaborate recruitment scam in the UK, otherwise known as Cobra Pyramid Scam or Marketing Pyramid Scheme.
Such scams have apparently been going on for a number of years, especially in the wake of the global recession. They post deceptive jobs on recruitment websites with misleading job specifications, to lure and exploit their victims before the victims wise up and quit.
When I applied for the two jobs on Tuesday 18th October through a recruitment website, the job specifications were for the roles of a “Customer Service Representative” and “Customer Service Advisor” respectively and there was absolutely no mention of sales or door-to-door marketing. Both sounded pretty much like standard customer care roles with a bit of office administration and secretarial duties.
When I got the call for an interview the next day, I was so excited, being an international student, and knowing how difficult it is to land a job anywhere in these hard times. I should have known something was up because it typically takes a couple of days to a few weeks between submitting one’s CV for any job and being actually called for an interview. Ironically, I did not even bother to look up the two firms on Google, when I typically spend most of time on the Internet daily.
When I got to the venue of the interview, I started becoming uneasy by the office and its location. It was dirty and didn’t look very professional. There was no plaque, no sign or anything to indicate the name of the firm in the building. It was located on the second floor of a building sandwiched between two tacky fast-food joints. Everything about the environment looked very dodgy. The so-called HR staff were ladies who wore tight and tacky clothes: mostly leggings with tight and short t-shirts/tops and very high, unprofessional, cheap, colourful, summer-type high heels in autumn! Some of these ladies actually looked like they had been picked-up from a dark alley!
Another thing that set-off the alarm bells in my head was that the office was used by 8 other similar marketing firms including Praetorian Marketing, S5 Marketing (the second firm that sent me an email that morning inviting me for an interview), Oracle Advertising and others whose names I cannot recall.
The office was like a market place! There were hordes of applicants dressed in formal attire like myself, sitting, waiting for interviews for the numerous firms. I found it very strange that several firms were operating from the same office, using the same “HR” staff. Though warning bells were going-off in my head, the fact that I saw many applicants like myself, formally dressed, looking very educated, many with at least one degree, convinced me that: “surely, this couldn’t and wouldn’t be bogus, right?” Wrong!
The interview essentially entailed the manager vaguely explaining a four-tier process of progression to becoming a manager within 9 to 12 months instead of the normal 5 years plus in other firms. Of course that sounded incredibly ridiculous and unbelievable and I knew there had to be a catch somewhere. But I didn’t care much. I was looking for part time work before my graduation and some UK work experience which will be very valuable when I go back home eventually. I definitely did not envision myself working in that environment for more than 3 months.
I also found it strange that what was meant to be an interview (that is, the potential employer asking questions and myself, the applicant responding) turned out to be me sitting in front of the manager, in his untidy office, listening to him talk about progression to managerial position in 9 months, in such a fast manner, as though he had memorized those lines. I suspect he repeated the same line to the 20 or so people that were interviewed in an assembly line fashion.
After the “interview” I was told that I would be contacted that same day, between 5.30 pm to 7.00 pm, to be notified if I had made it through to the second stage and that if I did, I would be expected to attend an assessment which would last an entire day, from 12.30 pm to 8.30 pm. I eventually received the call around 6.30 pm that I was “successful” and was expected to attend the assessment day the very next day. I was scheduled to travel to Paris for a vacation the very next day, a trip I had saved for and planned for months! However, the prospects of having a good job made me cancel my trip at the last minute, thereby losing a substantial amount of money.
At the assessment day, I kept feeling very uneasy as it became more evident that the only thing to be done in that job role is intensive door-to-door sales. All of a sudden, the initial fancy-pansy “Customer Service Representative” role dissolved and transformed into “Independent Sales Advisor”. It became increasingly apparent that they expected us to spend the whole day outside, essentially harassing and pestering people not just for a one-off donation to “charity” like British Red Cross and Care 2 Give or the other big name charities and blue-chip companies they kept mentioning, but for people to actually commit themselves to a minimum of £6 (about N1500) per month by signing up for a direct debit agreement which would debit this amount of money from their accounts continuously for about 12 months or so in these hard times!
What was even more worrying and unbelievable was that we, the applicants, were made to sign some disclaimers stating that we were not employees of Primus and that we are not entitled to any pay or benefits or claims. So if I get hit by a car for instance while running around from house to house pestering and extorting money from people, there’s nothing the firm can or will do.
The employee is also made to dress in formal attireand work from around 10.00 am till 8.30 pm (you actually report back to the office by 8.30 pm and fully close for the day between 9.00 to 10.00pm) Mondays to Saturdays! In addition, the pay is entirely based on commission if you meet a minimum target for the day/week (about £13 per day I think) otherwise, you get nothing.
The office is the dirtiest and most unkempt I have seen in the UK by far. In fact, in one corner of the Manager’s office, coffee or some other beverage had been spilled on the carpet. The so-called managers of the various firms operating from that office are the shadiest looking bunch of men (and two women) in black, in suits, I have ever come across. We were told several times that Primus UK was founded in Canada, then it expanded to the US, then UK and other parts of Europe with presently over 100 offices in the UK. The information on the website, after I checked did not seem to tally with what I was told and the whole site itself looks pretty dodgy!
Needless to say, I quit on Monday 24th October 2011, my “first day at work”. I did a lot of thinking and came to the conclusion that my dignity is worth more than going around houses, begging and extorting money from people in these hard economic times, getting cold stares, disapproving looks and possibly insults for nothing! With the disclaimer I was made to sign and all, it means I couldn’t even use the experience in my CV or get a reference from the firm in the future, that is, if I had for any crazy reason decided to take up the job. So what was the point!? This is pure deception and exploitation. It is absolutely astonishing that such a Ponzi scheme of sorts is going on in the UK!
I only realized that it was a scam after I had quit, on Tuesday 25th October. After silently licking my wounds and feeling like crap at home all day, I decided to look up the company online and lo and behold did I make a discovery! I came across different websites, blogs and Facebook pages where people like myself had fallen victim to these Cobra scams. A blog by Lecari from Essex details the author’s experience (in 2009!) and over 160 comments follow suit with different people from all over the UK sharing similar experiences. A Facebook group titled “Name and Shame Recruitment & Job Scams” has over 1,200 members who recount their experiences with such Pyramid-Cobra scams, pretty much similar to what I had gone through or much worse.
The scam here is that the job titles and job specification posted on various internet job sites as “Customer Service Representative”, “Customer Service Advisor”, “Executive Assistant”, “Sales Executive”, “Events Assistant” and so on are worlds apart from the actual job role of an Independent Sales Advisor or simply put door-to-door sales person. Because of the disclaimer stating you are not an employee of the firm, and that the firm is not your employer, one is essentially self-employed and as a non-permanent resident, it is actually illegal because you cannot be self employed with a student visa. Consequently, as I got to know from a friend’s friend in Plymouth who was also a victim, you might not get your commission after a while because the firm could easily say, they just realized you have the inappropriate visa to take up that kind of self-employment (as an Independent Sales Advisor) and therefore they cannot break the law by remitting your earned commission. You end up getting fired after a couple of weeks of being over-worked for nothing! The fact that you are misled into thinking it is an office role with pay at the end of the month when it is actually a performance and commission based role is deceptive.
Furthermore, working from 11 am (actually it is from about 10am because over the weekend, I was told to report before 10.30 am to meet with the Director who “luckily” for everyone, happened to be in town) till 8.30 pm or so based on commission is highly exploitative and bordering on illegal because you end up receiving less than minimum wage and being overworked as it is virtually impossible to meet those difficult targets.
In addition, it seems these firms which are spread across major cities in the UK – from London, Birmingham and Manchester, to Glasgow, New Castle and Essex amongst others – as I found out from the testimonies of fellow victims like myself, pretty much do the same thing as I described above. Also, these companies get access to one’s CV, your personal information and data and could end up using it for God-knows-what, given that being deceptive and dishonest is their trademark. Generally speaking, it is pretty obvious that these firms are taking advantage of the recession, the growing unemployment rates and people’s desperation for jobs to perpetrate their nefarious activities.
What Have the Authorities Done?
If this recruitment Ponzi scheme of sorts has been going on for as long as I have suspected, since 2008 or thereabout, then it behoves that people must have been filing complaints with the authorities and in this case the British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). So far it seems only one complaint has been officially documented and addressed against one of such firms called: AC Generations Limited. And this was the action taken by the ASA:
“The ads must not appear again in their current form. We told AC Generations to ensure that their ads stated when positions were door to door or field sales and when earnings were based on commission only”.
Clearly, this warning or recommendation is certainly not being adhered to by such firms. I also found out that there are numerous such shady firms, or they could possibly be the same ones using different names as they seem to change their names every year or so, probably after people have filed enough complaints, they fold-up and open under a new name. In one of the Facebook groups titled Marketing Jobs Scams, someone who worked for the BBC said they were doing some research for a BBC Scotland investigation looking at these marketing companies and how they operate. I am not sure yet if the research has led to a programme or an exposé on the situation.
I feel this is absolutely unbelievable, the fact that it is happening in the UK is utterly incredible and mind-boggling. I never thought I would witness something like this here. I guess scams afterall, especially with the recession and so many people increasingly thrown into the labour market are not the exclusive preserve of certain countries like Nigeria.
Below is a list compiled of such companies and firms by several people on blogs, message boards and some of the Facebook groups, notably the “Marketing Job Scams” group I came across on this issue. I hope it will spare others the agony of wasting their time, energy and resources:
3 Galaxy Marketing
4ward promotions
A1 Marketing Company
AMM Direct
Approach direct
Arcedia
Aspire marketing
B.A.M.C.O Global Direct
B1 Client Services Ltd
Bandeira Marketing Ltd
Blackcode Advertising
Bohemiam Marketing Ltd
Bradford marketing manchester
Castle road
CCL
Celica Marketing Ltd
Centurion Marketing
Chilli Corporation Ltd
Co & Co Marketing
Cobra
Code Marketing Ltd
Cooper Advertising Ltd
Corsica Marketing
Coulson Corporation Ltd
Creation Marketing Ltd
CSC Marketing Ltd
Cydcor
D Commerce Organisation Ltd
EA Worldwide Acquisitions Ltd
Eclectic Marketing Ltd
Endeva Advertising Ltd
Entice marketing
ETM Marketing Ltd
Excelsior Marketing Solutions Ltd
Extreme Marketing
Fast track
Fastlane Enterprises Ltd
Financial Training Academy
FM Solutions
Fosters Marketing Ltd
Fourways Marketing Ltd
G Force Marketing Ltd
Granton Marketing
Harlequin marketing
HCL
HCS LTD
Heaton Marketing Ltd
HelpMeGo.To Ltd
Heyes Client Services Ltd
Horizon marketing
Innovage
Innovation Marketing Ltd
IPG Imports
JACC Marketing Ltd
JK Marketing
JMS Marketing
JPK Advertising
JTM
Kalstar
Karma Marketing Solutions Ltd
Keys Worldwide
KMH Organisation Ltd
KMS Promotions Ltd
KPJ Enterpries
Krishna Worldwide Ltd
Kudos Promotions Ltd
Life Style Advertising
Live Marketing Direct
London Green Marketing
London Marketing Services Ltd
Magnum Marketing Ltd
Manchester Interactive Marketing
Maximum Dynamic Ltd
Maximus marketing
Monster Marketing Direct
Montana Marketing Ltd
Mosco Marketing Ltd
Motion Marketing
MRD Corporation Ltd
MSG Elite Marketing Ltd
Navitas Organisation Ltd
OMS ltd
One Way Marketing
Oracle Advertising Ltd
Oratory Commerce
Outsource Ten
Oval Innovation
P&D Marketing Ltd
Paragon Events Direct Ltd
Paramount Force Promotions Ltd
Parker Worldwide
PerDM
Pinnacle Promotions Ltd
Platinum Force
PME Marketing (Prospects Marketing Enterprise)
Powerhouse Ltd
Powerhouse Worldwide
Praestantia Promotions
Primus UK Ltd
Pro Sales Direct
Progressive Global Training Ltd
R2R Promotions
Red Five Soloutions (Southampton, Plymouth and London)
Red Planet Ltd
Red Square Direct Ltd
RS Advertising
S5 Marketing
Scottishmktgconceptsltd.com
SeDa marketing
Select Marketing Solutions
SMG solutions
Smiths Marketing Associates
SOGO Marketing Ltd
Source Marketing direct
SRJ Marketing Ltd
SRM Marketing
Stride Marketing Ltd
TA solutions
TC World Ltd
TH Nationwide
The Fresh Organisation Ltd
The Klub Advertising Services Ltd
The Marketing Machine UK Ltd
The Premier Organisation Ltd
The Saturn Organisation Ltd
TML Promotions Ltd
Touch One Advertising Ltd
Tuscan Marketing Ltd
UK Acquisitions
Unik Corporation Ltd
Unique Organisation Ltd
XS Worldwide Marketing Ltd
Zee solutions
Zenith Force Promotions Ltd
In my own case, they scheduled an observation day after I was told that I passed the Interview. I covered my transport expenses to and fro wolverhampton where I was expected to observe and be trained by their supposed clients who I later discovered were pple that were recruited days earlier. After few moments of observatn, I and the Lady who was in the same predicament whispered to ourselves about how misleading the Job description was! We followed and watched the supposed clients get insulted in some instances, while few people were nice to them and invited them in. We planned to follow them till the end of the day even tho were disappointed at what was goin on. I consoled myself that I’d never been to the city befre so it was a sought of day out for me. By 8:00pm, these folks were still knocking on pple’s doors bcos they wantd to meet targets, otherwise they are not getting paid! I wuld not appreciate anyone knocking on my door at that time of the nite to lure me into giving my bank details to debit my mnthly for british heart foundatn, so I wldnt imagine doin that to anyone. It is unbelievable that after toiling all day, those guys wld nt get paid cos they did nt get pple to sign up for their nonsense! Hw many pple wld agree to such arrangement anyways? We rtrnd to birmingham at abt 10:00pm and were expected to reprt back to the office to fill some questionaire. I and the Lady tld them as soon as we got to the train station that we wer not goin any furthr with their job, while commending them for their hardwork. How deceptive!
Hi iv applied for a job with Auctus Outcourse the same address and postcode… i am thinking is this a scam as i only applied a day ago and straight after i receieved an email saying iv got an interview!! im having second thoughts now
hello i have just been to first round interview they are right next to smg solutions and share the office…couincidence???? sounds like a scam
Scam.
Its totally performance based.
they reply so quick because for the 100th time, they recruit all the time because everyone is self employed, it dosent cost them.. more recruitment just means there business can grow. commision isnt a scam lmao! nore are any of these jobs there just not the jobs you lot want to do so you decide to call it a scam:)
READ THIS IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE FULL INSIDE INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMPANY YOU MAY BE APPLYING TO!
The APPCO group, Cobra Group or whatever they want to call it has been now for many years tricking people into believing they could become a success. There are many individual marketing companies in the UK who are contracting self employed, commission based sales reps. Initially you will receive a phone call from an administrator who is hired by the company. They deliver a kind of sales pitch on the phone aiming to get high numbers for the current week of interviews. The Director of the Company or the “Owner” has high expectations and needs high interview numbers to keep office numbers high because of the extreme drop off rate. The initial interview will be a group interview where the interviewer will 95% of the time ask questions to try and avoid an applicant asking “Is it commission”, “Is it door to door”. You will walk out of the office and receive a call later that day saying you have passed. Apart from a few everybody passes. The reason for this is for the final round of interviews, which would probably be the day after, they pair you up with a team leader showing you the “business”. A lengthy walk in an area of the UK showing you door to door sales. You then return to the office where you will receive a definite congratulations. You then start on the following week or day after and complete a vetting procedure. It is all rubbish really they don’t check anything all it is is data entry and your all clear. You then receive an ID Badge and hey presto you are then assigned the role of a field representative (FR).
These FR’s are paid a commission for every sale they make. So lets say the commission is £100 per sale. So if you make 5 sales in a week your total is £500. HOWEVER HERE IS THE CATCH. Out of that £500 you will get paid only 60%. This is called bonding where the remaining 40% goes into a separate space somewhere to account for client cancellations. So if you sign one customer you have to wait 100-150 days later for that to be paid to you. So using £500 as an example £300 will be paid to you that week and if your lucky and i mean really lucky the you will get the £200 from that week 150 days later.
This is all a huge con because even if you ask the administrator initially when you receive the phone call “What is the salary” they return an answer like “It is commission based where our sales reps on average earn 300-500 pounds per week”. RUBBISH!!!!!!!! On average the earnings truly range between £80-£200. All this money for a 70-90 Hour Week. WOW!! Is it borderline slavery and deception. That is why over 80% of the starting applicants leave in the 1st-2nd week. And if they do the company will 100% Bond their earnings for the last week. Meaning you will not get paid anything until 100-150 days later. This is so the company saves money from paying the FR’s. WHAT A JOKE!!!! They have a real sarcastic and laughing attitude towards this as well..The government should definitely clamp down on these companies for recruiting self employed reps and pay them well below minimum wage for all the work they do. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE AVOID THEM AT ALL COSTS!!!!
Very true…… I left after 2nd day
Goverment should punished them.
I worked for for a company within the Appco Group over in Australia travelling. I have my MBA and, I applied for a role for the add title ” SALES AND MARKETING”. The manager explained to me everything about the company and about direct sales. Also what should I expect for my day observing and to make sure I felt it was a good fit as well to make sure Im a good fit for them. I understand the progression bu that was explained to me in my 3rd or 4th week but I was just having fun making sales before I started up my own buisness back home in the States. Luckily enough I picked up on sales skills to aid me in that. The training I received was done in a very profressional and vibrant manner. The truth is Appco is many different countries and for such a big organiazition how can the micro manage people so closley. When I read ths blog I called my old manager and asked him questions. Appco have strict polcies regarding advertising, and those managers will be dealt wtih accordingly. The truth is it sounds like a lot of bitter people who chose not to do there research or, have some sort of pre judgments about the direct sales and marketing industry. I hope you all find a job, because its never nice to be unemployed and complaing about an industry thats not for you. Appco has done alot and developed many people with in the company, that dosnt mean you can call everyone in the company a “SCAMMER”. Look at any major company in the world, and look at there issues, in fact they look very small compared to the ones at Appco.
Please do not try and justify the actions of APPCO as a whole. I know for a fact that the many different marketing companies withing the APPCO network is trying to recruit self employed individuals who get practically abuse peoples good will and force them to work 11-12 hour days for well below the minimum wage. Performance or Commission Earnings is another way of saying, “Lets save money by not paying the FR’s and wage at all instead lets pay them for every sale they make”. For example in diamond and gold hunting countries they pay the workers only if they find something which is slavery. See the similarities between slavery and APPCO. The development scheme from FR to Owner and VP is flawed in so many ways. At the top of the pyramid millionaires are relaxing living the high life and giving so called motivational speeches on how to be successful. While the FR’s at the bottom of the pyramid are being treated like slaves on a day to day basis, earning £80 – £200 for 70 Hours working door to door. So don’t come to me about pre judgement of direct sales and professionalism within the networking companies of APPCO. You have to look at how the interview stages are conducted to know all type of professionalism has gone out the water. 1st Stage : Telephone Call – You are called by an administrator who gives you a type of sales pitch to get you in through the door. 2nd Stage : Interview – Providing you go after reading this you are having a group interview with the Owner (Managing Director) of the company. Where if you try to ask any question about door to door or commission they twist the atmosphere to avoid any more objective question being thrown at them. 3rd Stage – Observation – Going with a so called team leader or a door to door campaign trying to convince you to do this 4th Stage – Closing Interview – Going back to the office and getting a definite “yes you’ve passed”. Trust me you have already passed the whole interview process since you get that first phone call
So let me ask you this do you think there is any justice in letting someone through this whole process to start with the company they applied for and drop within the first week and 100% Bond their earnings. NO ITS NOT!!! Working 70-90 Hours and not getting paid for it. Come on don’t even dare giving me the rubbish about having opportunities to develop and grow.
What a joker you are, “Mr. Smith”. Your command of English, even for a fifth grader, never mind an alleged degree holder, is more than a tad lacking.
HOW can ANYONE take you seriously in trying to defend these scam artists?
Think again before pontificating a lot of eye wash.
Judging by your grammar, if i took you out on an observation day I’d send you home with a dictionary.
First off, sorry for the fact that you had to cancel your trip to Paris. That’s really unfortunate. After one year of studying, spending some time far away from Birmingham would no doubt have been worthwhile. You mean there’s no way for you to reschedule the trip?
Those adverts litter virtually every jobs website. I’ve been seeing them for as long as I can remember and I never bothered applying for any of them because I somehow sensed they would all boil down to outdoor sales roles. They never appeared serious to me, many of them don’t even have websites. But some weeks ago my flatmate fell victim to one of them called ‘Praetorian Marketing’ in the same ‘SBQ1′ building in the city centre, right? After hearing his experience, I later applied to one of them ‘Premier Outsource Ltd’, got an interview two days later and went just for the fun of it, to practise my interviewing skills and to see things for myself because my friend is the naughty type and his description of the place was just crazy. I laughed when I read your description of the office- the ladies and the generally rowdy atmosphere- because I saw it too. Looking back at the whole thing, its just funny. In the case of my flatmate he actually went for the second ‘interview’ and ended up spending the whole day going from house to house with a ‘team leader’, meeting a couple of strange characters and selling internet contracts in far away Dudley. So when I got a call from the ‘executive director’ who interviewed me later in the evening of same day (just like you were told..lol) that I had been selected to proceed to the next stage, I just laughed. The next morning I sent him an email telling him ‘thanks, but no thanks’…hehe. According to my flatmate, there were three other ‘candidates’ and they all pulled early in the process when they saw the handwriting on the wall. But he decided to stay on, partly because he was confused and lost in the middle of no where. One of them insulted and cursed the team leader with expletives before leaving because he felt, and rightly so, that he had been deceived.
After exams in the summer I almost feel victim to a different job scam. I applied for a part time job and got an offer without an interview and it just seemed to good to be true. I was told to send some code that will be used to do a CRB check and this would cost about 40 pounds if I can remember. After calling the phone number in the email i received and no one answering, I decided to trace the address on the same email and discovered it was a vacant building that looked like a mechanics garage and no one i asked around there seemed to know the company when I mentioned the name to them. That was it for me. I googled them when i first got the offer. Apart from the fact they did not have a website, there was nothing else to spark any serious suspicion- there were no complaints and all that. But when I googled them again a few days after my private investigations, I saw a lot of complaints by people who had actually bought the code and sent to them for the CRB check to work in a non-existent company. How sad to lose that amount of money just like that in these hard times!
This is definitely not the best of times to be a graduate with little experience. Competition is ‘madt’ for graduate schemes and even for internships. So far I’ve interviewed for internships with four international development organisations in London but none worked out. These days it seems you even need experience to get the experience..lol. It’s frustrating, but one has to just keep pushing and stay positive and something will surely click someday.
Well, I guess these experiences are part of our sojourn in the UK. One day we’ll look back at them and just laugh and laugh. Sadly you lost money and a trip to what I hear is a wonderful city. Other opportunities would surely come.
I’m on a long thing.
I’ve just been invited to an interview tomorrow with… Pratorian Outsource Marketing in the SBQ1 building in Brum. I was so happy to finally get a positive response after sending out what feels like millions (ok, slight over-exaggeration!) of job applications.
I feel so gutted now (after doing some company research) that what looked like might finally be a job is actually a door-to-door sales ‘job’ in which you wind up getting verbally abused and paid less than minimum wage on a self-employed basis with NO insurance cover if anything happens to you. Most companies have a policy in which if you have an accident on your way or from work you are covered and they will help pay expenses etc.
Thank you to all the posters here, at least now I know what it is and can stay away from future jobs advertised in the same way.
I feel in two minds whether to go tomorrow or not… probably will go just to see for myself and confirm it’s as much of a scam job as everyone says it it.
I’ve jus quite n the manager wont pay me my commission back
Zainab, that’s such a shame you missed out on the trip to Paris. What a good idea to write about to help others not fall prey to this scam
Zainab, more care next time. Crooks are always on the prowl for unsuspecting people. Hard luck, but it shall be better. Hope you have rescheduled your trip to Paris “See Paris and die” lol. Mhmmn, proof read for TYPOS next time.
So sad reading this and the fact you missed your scheduled Paris trip is disheartening. I’ve heard people complain about such ‘Unholy Scams’ with bitterness. Well, its all part of a story and encounters one meets on the journey to the land of success. Hopefully, someday, one will look back, laugh it off and ask “How could I have done this?” It is well.
This information is coming at a time when I’ve been thinking to begin a hunt for part-time job. Some of my friends have actually secured one form of job or another. However, these are lowly placed jobs that I wont dare do. First, the work load is something I have never seen before, to be honest. Combining my studies with a lowly job will impair on my performance at school and affect my ambition to finish my masters with a distinction. Second, having worked in Nigeria and risen to a managerial level, taking a factory job or anything similar is not on my agenda. I told a friend I was not desperate to get a job, when he was pestering me on the good a job will do.
Most jobs that are available are demeaning and very low to the level of qualifications we all possess. Some of the guys that finished last year, work in factories where they stand all day, make to carry loads of bags and many more undignifying jobs. I had to tell one off! I bought some used textbooks from him and it seems he was desperate for money, he offered some of his shirts (used) for sale! I became furious and told him that even back home in Nigeria, I did not wear ‘bend-down’.
So sorry about the missed trip! I’m sure its been rescheduled.
It is sadonic that fellow composmentis homo-sapiens could take such gigantic advantage of job-seekers!
Pingback: World News
hmmm… i applaud your bravery in telling this story in such a detailed manner. Only because something similar happened to me, and i was so embarrassed and disappointed with myself for falling for such a scheme. But since you’ve encouraged me, for the benefit of others:
Iv’e been living in Dubai for almost 2yrs. In my first yr, after the 1st semester of my Msc., i had quite a long break, and i decided to try to find a job at that time. Some newspaper adverts led me to some “recruitment” companies, which as i look back had all the warning signs for me to see. Examples: It was too easy to get an interview, shady locations, unprofessionalism and the like.
All of such companies are situated in the smaller, more flexible states (in terms of how far you can bend the law) though they claim all their operations are in Dubai and AbuDhabi (the limelight states) and of course, i didn’t Google to find any information.
So how they get you is: on the day you arrive, they give you a makeshift interview (of course everyone passes), then they tell you that you’ve got the job but only on probation basis (the probation bit is actually clever). But here it is, since you’ve got the job, they want you to pay them for their services before you start (the next day). On the receipt it says “not refundable” which covers their backside with the law. I should have realized the problem here, all i had to go on was their word and here i was paying them for their “services”(again, not refundable). Well I turn up the next day, and lo and behold there were many of us, we were herded around basically, as far as i could tell without any plan or course of action. At our first stop, most of us gave the benefit of the doubt and let our chauffeur enter the building and supposedly work the magic, with no success. After the next stop we realized what was happening, we were just stopping by at random locations and he would go in and ask if they wanted to hire anyone of us. How is that different from what we could do on our own, after telling us the previous day that we were accepted and hired albeit on probation?
The final straw was the next stop.. a cyber cafe (i suppose cos we were all with IT backgrounds, they figured hey, get them a job at a cyber cafe). After that, a couple of us decided to go to a police station and report this. At the station, it turned out the police were well aware of the companies and their dealings from many such reports (even their names and locations), but because they technically didn’t do anything wrong, it was a civil case for the courts… And that was that.
That all seems so long ago now, but i have come to realize that there are always people and organizations out there willing and ready to take advantage of desperate and well, lets face it, Naive people. Some of the stories i have heard from living in this country are so sad that they can only be termed modern day slavery.
I mean its one thing to con a millionaire or a corporation out of a fraction of their wealth, but to usurp a desperate person out of their last hope and what is probably an already debt ridden financial situation is just despicable. But hey, they’re the ones who don’t have anyone fighting for them right? which always makes them the easy target… Imagine if it were some rich mogul (say an expat from the west) who reported the issue of an organization ripping him off some money… the authorities would not rest until justice is done, so they can be portrayed in a good light where it matters, in the Western world.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Went to the “preliminary” interview yesterday for Praetorian Marketing. Over 15 people waiting in reception when I got there, a good quarter of an hour before the interview time. Some local radio station blaring whilst I waited…for over an hour.
When I got into the interview, it was with another person waiting to be interviewed. Only had a chance to say a few words whilst he said could take about 6 months to progress to a management position. All whilst telling me very little about the job role. Got a phone call back before I got home saying I had a second interview for the next day, today.
When i got the email, the hours are from half 12 to 8 and bring a notepad, pen and coat…
Must say I was suspicious from the off but having been made redundant 6 months ago, you’ll take people up on their offer for an interview for a vacant position even with little detail as to what that entails.
Having read about them and similar companies online, I now have no intention of wasting another whole day, so thanks all.
You’re welcome. And thank you for sharing your experience here as well.
Wow!!! Thank you so much for the post. I was having the same feeling. Your story is super similar to what I experienced today…From the office environment, to the background music playing, to the shift time (11:30am to 9:30pm).. Just an hour ago (at around 4pm), I received a call saying that I have successfully passed the initial interview..Below is the email:
Congratulations
You have passed the initial interview and you are now invited for the final interview Thursday 22/03/2012 at 12:30am
This is where we will explain to you how you will fit within the company and the amazing progressive opportunities that Maximus Global has in store for you.
You will also have the chance to take a look in person how the company operates on a day to day basis. It will be held at the same office you had your initial interview
We hope you have a fantastic time!
……………………………………………………………………………………….
Anyway, thank you so much for sharing.
Pingback: cheap link building services
Zee, i fell for Monster Marketing!!! the advert said ‘Customer Service Assistance’ with good pay. during the interview, i was told that if i succeed, i’ll get paid £170 for training. during the interview which was conducted by the Manager; an Asian dude called Sandip where i was told that they are marketing representatives for Sky. i passed the interview and was called to come in the next day which i did. that was were the lady i met played another CD for me saying if i make a sale in my first week, the company doubles it!!! as usual, i was told how to become an executive through network marketing & make up to £4,500 monthly.
i think these companies capitalize on the unemployment rate in the UK to carry out their acts. during the cause of conversation with the secretary, i discovered that the CEO of Cobra Marketing by the name Marc, groomed Sandip the CEO of Monster Marketing. the craziest part of the contract was that i shall transport myself to anywhere we are going to sell Sky & i asked ‘ why do we have to transport ourselves to where we are going to work? and Sandip said it’s just like you leaving your house to work daily. i said well, i’d done that already this morning! you can imagine how expensive commuting in London can be. i wish the government can look into this issue.
Thank you so much for this!!
I applied to “Manchester Interactive Media” – thinking the job looked pretty good. I also found similar job, but worded differently by “Educe Worldwide. I awoke this morning to find emails off both of them – worded exactly the same! I found this a bit odd, and then I looked at the address – same address! I knew something fishy was going on.
Thank you again for sharing your info, and helping others out of a situation that is unjust and unfair.
You can add ‘Maximus Global Direct Ltd’, 32-37 Cowper St London EC2A, tel 0207 3360060′ to that list – I’ve been invited for a ‘Sales and Marketing’ interview with them tomorrow and the fact I don’t have any memory or record of applying to them and their website gives virtually no idea of what the company does got the alarm bells ringing straight away. Thanks to you guys I know what their game is and I’m not going!
The address and the telephone number you have provided as it turns out that this company also operates under the different name: Innovation Marketing Direct Ltd – I am supposed to have an interview with them tomorrow at 2pm, however, as I am reading on – I think I may not even bother to waste my energy, time and travel expenses to go there. Thanks!
They ‘tried’ to con me but luckily I found out soon enough – sorry to hear your story, I have blogged mine also:
http://mazshortstories.blogspot.com/2012/02/scam-job-jk-marketing-gateway-hampshire.html
I worked for MSG elite marketing for a short period of time and can honestly say its a fully built pyramid scheme. They wouldn’t answer any of my calls and wouldn’t pay me after working there for 7 weeks.
very interesting. i have one 2moro ( i mean interview) obviously i wouldnt be going,. thanks guys for sharing ur experiences.. life in uk, dat i will never forget.so many stories to tell.
These companies are 100% legal and not piramid scheme!
Do you think British Red Cross and Care to give would allow to use their names if they were scam?
You are all wrong, sorry. This type of direct marketing will keep growing and expanding all over the world making some people totally succesful. Good luck for you staying at home and doing nothing but complaining on how bad the economy is and how some people are so evil to take advantage of that.
Economy is changing and the clients they represent are really excited, but you are just too close minded to see or understand it.
#Origen, if you truly believe your own statement I truly pity you. These companies walk a thin tightrope of legality, many have been investigated by government bodies, notablely the ASA and AC Generations. They prey on the desperate and operate in a very unscrupulous manner. I don’t know for sure, but I’d guess there staff turn over is ridiculous.
The clients such as Red Cross, etc outsource their marketing activities to marketing/sales organisations. so a large amount of the companies will be oblivious to what actually goes on and simply witness successful results. I’ve recently managed to slip out of a scam by G10 Global/Glasgow Interactive/Manchester Interactive Marketing (Yes, all one organisation) where Talktalk was the client. I would not have been employed by Talktalk but wouldve been promoting their services through an intermediary, i.e G10.
auctus ousource said exactly the same thing, they said they promoted business for talktalk however there were no adverts or sponsors in the ad, i bet if you contacted talktalk they would never have heard of any of these companies.
I have been working at a glasgow marketing company. for 4 months now and am clearing over £1200 every week and I’m only 21. It’s all commission so the people who deserve success get there – you must just be scared of hard work. I too started at the bottom and worked my way up the programme. If your not driven then you won’t do anything with your life. I’m living breathing proof the system works. That’s why I’m successful and you probably flip burgers now. All you are is another negative with the ATTITUDE of a wet mop…..which is probably what you spend most of the day doing….mopping floors. But good luck anyway.
James, you are either a pawn, a shill or a liar.
To origen and the rest contributing here.
You are right the world is changing and progressively works towards E-marketing and sales. Direct marketing is old fashion and slowly disappearing technique. Yes, there are still some jobs like this and they would be great for some people, but those eventually has to get paid…in most cases they do not get their targets and get paid to make up the minimum wage because the marketing/sales nature moves towards online, tablet and mobile e-marketing and people more and more purchase online or high street retailers!!!
Guys you can add this company here and address.
(several marketing companies located there, so no surprise…!!!)
Source Marketing Direct ( also found within the list of companies on Zainab’s post)
Conference House
152 Morrison Street
The Exchange
Edinburgh
EH3 8EB
here is part of my reply to their invitation for an interview as a consequences of my findings and personal experience from a previous day interview with another company that I found out they share the same location address/job specification/actual job specifics…
”…I was also at an interview yesterday at the same building where your company is located but it was held by a different marketing/sales company. My first impression yesterday was disappointment from the ambiance of the waiting room and the attitude of the girl called Steph who acted as a secretary rather than a ‘’Manager’’ of the recruiting as she introduced herself on the phone. Although she might not be part of your company, I would not go a second time to the same reception area to wait for an similar interview where the contact personnel listen to laud music on her mobile, gives wrong number of the building 215 instead of 152 in front of me to an applicant over the phone, and to me (because of which I almost arrived late while searching for the building); keeps her legs on the top of her desk. I regret to say but I find it insulting, irritating and frustrating and this does say nothing but only negative about the recruiting businesses in marketing/ sales personnel part of which is your company. I have observed the waiting for an interview people some of which found the situation at that particular waiting room rather unpleasant and insulting; and lacking dignity and respect.
I understand that both company recruit people for door to door sales rather than as part of a sales/marketing/administrative role, which I find to be not the right job opportunity for me as I feel very qualified; and I do not believe that I am the right person for the job. The job description on your behalf on the job
sites such as reed.co.uk and jobrapido mislead and do not correspond toowhat you actually look for.
PLEASE AVOID APPLYING FOR JOB WITH PRAETORIAN OUTSORCE MARKETING THEY ARE USING THE SAME SCAM AVOID AT ALL COSTS
These companies are 100% legal and not piramid scheme!
Do you think British Red Cross and Care to give would allow to use their names if they were scam?
You are all wrong, sorry. This type of direct marketing will keep growing and expanding all over the world making some people totally succesful. Good luck for you staying at home and doing nothing but complaining on how bad the economy is and how some people are so evil to take advantage of that.
Economy is changing and the clients they represent are really excited, but you are just too close minded to see or understand it.
They take your money, make you work all day for weeks, make you pay for travel costs to get to the areas they tell you to go to, and don’t pay you. They tell you you will become a manager in a few months and you will not. They only have one manager. They tell you they have loads of offices all over the world and they do not. Its pure lies.
Stay at Home and dont occur more costs and make you guys Rich Fuck Off
Yeah- I fell for the Praetorian Marketing scam as well. Disgusting.
Shine your eyes well well , a truth lesson to others
i have actually just applied for helpmego.to ltd on tuesday there they phoed on wednesday and i went for the interveiw today – and they told me to come back tommorow to shadow the manager, if i find out that it is door to door sales and is commision based only im going to refuse. Your detailed story has truley helped me, being unemployed and just out of school i was ready to take anything but now that i realise it might not be national minimum wage i know i can do better. Thanks again for your story and im sorry you missed paris – thank god i have found this out sooner as im due to go to turkey next week and i do not want to put that into jepardy.
Praetorian Marketing…. same deal- I fell for that one.
AC Generations, Colchester. Same thing. #Origen, if you truly believe your own statement I truly pity you. These companies walk a thin tightrope of legality, many have been investigated by government bodies, notablely the ASA and the company I mentioned above. They prey on the desperate and operate in a very unscrupulous manner. I don’t know for sure, but I’d guess there staff turn over is ridiculous.
I attended an interview with Paramount Force (a company on the list) yesterday. I can say I was less than impressed by the office. It was small and dirty. A line of chairs were placed for candidates (of which there seemed to be a constant influx!) with the reception desk facing us. The receptionists were all very unprofessional sounding and definitely not dressed appropriately with their tight clothing and other revealing dress.
The interview was conducted in a room right next to the seating place, by a man named Jon Johnson (a name which may seem all too familiar to many). He sat there, and asked me only one or two questions, and spent the remaining time speaking in rapid pace (almost tape recorder-like) explaining what the company does, which I found extremely strange considering it was an interview and not a sales pitch to me. In it he stated 4 in 10 customers for Sky are due to their advertising (not sure if the claim is substantiated in any way) and that they operate in 26 countries worldwide (with a firm which is situated in the top floor of a building, in a tiny office, I seriously doubt this claim) and that they are a “big company”.
I would recommend potential applicants to steer well clear from this company, who’s name changes so frequently that it’s almost far too obvious that it’s a sham job.
As the saying goes, and made famous by The Real Hustle, “if it’s too good to be true, then it probably is”.
I got work with them recently, I wasn’t out doing door to door sales though thank god. I was in the office writing up “press releases” for other shady marketing firms throughout the uk and beyond. These press releases consisted of copying and pasting news stories from bbc news and the like, then rearranging and paraphrasing them including fictitious quotes from managing directors and mentioning the name of chosen sales firm in the document as much as possible.
As each of these marketing firms have blogs created about them by people alerting others of their activities and are usually the first search results you receive – the purpose of releasing these news stories is to push those results further down the list and moving these pointless ones up. Essentially spamming search engines.
I was put on a placement with MSG Marketing by the local jobcentre. I refused to participate anymore in this activities as it would hardly look to good on your cv… and I was punished by the termination of my benefits!!
Are these companies legally allowed to do so? I understand being paid on OTE basis as its a sales job and they would not want to pay someone who does not sell anything. But working for weeks without pay, can you not sue them? Ive got a interview 2moro and im not even going to bother going and wait for them to ring me so i can give them a piece of mind. Bunch of heartless cunts. Ac generations & Maximus Global
I applied for Praetorian Outsource Marketing!! They’re a bunch of liars!! I have been there for 3 weeks and got paid £0, disgusting. It is a door or door sales job. Please do not apply. Everyday my leg were hurting, we had to go to diff areas to sale and that means using my OWN money for the bus/train. Why I stayed there for 3 weeks? I MUST OF BEEN ON DRUGS. The managers are all heartless. The lastest I got home was half 11PM. Again DO NOT APPLY.
worked there for a month and I got paid £0. The whole company is a joke, the managers walks around thinking they’re millionaires, I can’t believe these companies still exist. I’ve been working for a month and got no pay? I really want to sue them. I can’t believe I fell for this. I regret it badly now. The company mentioned nothing about doing door to door sales. The company location is filthy, there are no chairs so we all had to stand up to practice our ”pictch” even though we will be walking for like 9 hours. They are located here…
Birmingham
Floor 2
SBQ1 Building
Smallbrook Queensway
Birmingham
B5 4HE
If anyone reading this do not apply for company. They brainwash you into thinking that you will become a manager and you will have your own office in a matter of months. Full of bullshit. I feel sorry for the people who have been there for 7-9 months and they STILL think they will become a manager and they can open their office in diff countries HAHA! I only worked there for a month because I was desperate. However I have woken up and I can see what they really are. Thanks for your story I’m glad I am not the only one who fell for these stupid companies.
I worked in the glasgow office of educe worldwide june to early september last year. Have since went on to secure a good graduate job. To be honest I gained a lot of confidence from doing face to face sales but in the main the place is full of bullshiters. I bumped into my old leader coming home from work one day – the first question he asked me was how much do you earn haha. Why would anyone want to end up like these people. If you are invited to this interview only go if have cash to burn, don’t want a life and put yourself at risk of becomming brainwashed
SBQ1 building in birmingham. The workers are like dogs lickin da managers ass and the manager soo called PETE stoops sooo low to get every penny from everybodys pocket! I HATE HIM. WORKED THEIR FOR A MONTH N NEVER GOT PAID!!!
Spot on! I experienced the same thing from that ass company! Pete is a noob, money grabing scumbag.
MSG Elite Advertising has changed name to Stream Advertising if you want to add that name to your list. Bunch of scammers.
I was scheduled in for an interview with Praetorian, I’m SO glad I read this first! Obviously I’ve now cancelled and given them a good ticking off for wasting my time and deceiving me. I will be making others aware of such scams!
Add Global Platinum Marketing to that list. What you described is exactly what my ‘i
nterview’ entailed, and I really have to thank you for making me aware of this before I got exploited any further. I just hope that I’ve also helped by raising awareness about a company in Bournemouth described exactly like this
I can’t believe I went for an interview for Praetorian marketing! Full of bullshit. The place is a mess, fake people walking around. Loud music, it is like a bloody nightclub. Glad I didn’t go back for a SECOND interview. Soo happy that I read this first, don’t want to be out in the streets knocking on doors till 8:00pm. DO NOT APPLY GUYS. Total joke.
Woah this weblog is wonderful i like studying your posts. Keep up the great paintings! You understand, a lot of people are looking around for this info, you could help them greatly.
Went for an interview for Praetorian. What a shock! The people there all seem SOOO fake. As soon as I walked into the scammy building, music was blasting, young guys in fake suits thinking they are millionaires. They invited me back for a second interview I told them to piss off. Glad I found this site.
Well said. I had an interview with that company “Praetorian”, but I had a feeling that something was wrong with the vagueness of the Company. I declined the interview. What additionally happened in the first interview?
I almost found myself in a similar predicament. I applied for a Job with the SMG Solutions. I was quite surprised, in fact curious that I was able to apply for a Job late in the night and receive an email at approximately 9:30am the next morning telling me I have an interview the following day.
I was further surprised by:
1. The Website was quite vague. It is difficult to quantify what they “really do”. It seemed extraordinary that a Company expanding “rapidly” has only two paragraphs stating what they do.
2. The Job Description is likewise ambiguous as to the roles that a successful candidate would perform.
The email they sent me was as follows:
“Hi __________”
We have reserved a meeting with one of the managers on ___________________. Please be sure you are dressed smart for the appointment as it will be taking place in an office environment, please have a printed copy of your CV with you.
We anticipate the day being busy, due to the high number of people currently looking for work in the West Midlands area so please keep us informed if you are running late or have any problems.
One of our managers will want to learn more about your background and your aspirations, so please be prepared to discuss these. We will also break down a more detailed description, tell you more about the services we provide for our clients, and outline where you could fit in to our plans for 2012. Any specific questions you have about the opportunity can be addressed at this stage.
We have included directions and a link to a map below. If you have any difficulties locating us, please do not hesitate to ring the office directly on 02476 220 522 and we can direct you to the office.
Congratulations on being selected and we look forward to seeing you soon!”
What do you guys think?
Thank you Pete.Another brilliant idea to post their automatic email. Here is what I have got, so job seekers in Edinburgh be aware!!!
”…Here are all the details that you will need for your interview Friday October 26th at 2:00pm. If there is anything else I can help you with prior to your appointment please don’t hesitate to contact us. Our directions are below.
The appointment will be quite brief (around half an hour or so). The key things that will be discussed are below to give you a better idea of what to expect so you feel organized!
The manager will be running through:
The Company: Our history as well as our current clients and the services we provide for them. http://www.sourcemarketingdirect.com
The Role: Specific responsibilities, skills required, and where we see this role heading towards.
You have to be prepared to talk about your studies, your skills and strengths gained from previous experience or what other things you reckon will be making you stand out from the crowd.
If you could please bring with you a copy of your resume so I can go through this in the meeting would be great!
Directions: Source Marketing Direct is located in the West end of Edinburgh City. Morrison Street runs between Haymarket Station and Lothian Road. From Lothian Road you will walk down Morrison Street where you will pass Edinburgh International Conference Center. On the right hand side of the street you will see a building called the Regus Conference House. Walk in and please ask for Source Marketing Direct..
From Haymarket you will walk down Morrison Street. You will pass the Premier Inn. Keep walking straight down until you reach the building on your left called the Regus Conference House.
There is a map attached below, remember to ask for Caleb at Source Marketing as there are multiple businesses in the building.
Source Direct
Conference House
152 Morrison Street
The Exchange
Edinburgh
Praetorian are a bunch of scammers, do not go.
Thanks very much. I have decided not to go to this interview. After all it would be tragic if I were to go there and waste a considerable amount of time and money only for a scam. I find it disgusting that people would put up a Job like that knowing that it is not as it is described. Has anyone else dealt with a similar company? Do they still try and contact you?
Pete the so called manager for praetorian is a twat. What a freak. He walks around like his is somthing. I think everyone hates him. Stupid bullshitter.
I am so happy I looked up this job and found this website before I applied to this job. I feel sorry for the person that has went through this but thank them for the detail of information they have provided of this scam!
Have an appointment tomorrow with Maximus Global Direct Ltd .. Thank you so much for publicizing this!I won’t go.
A friend of mine got sucked into the APPCO Group; and to be honest, I nearly did as well.
I was having a few drinks with my friend on Thursday night, and met up with a few of her ‘workmates’. They seemed like quite a nice bunch of people – friendly, confident; although, I think that’s part of the ‘sales patter’. One drink turned to another, and chat turned to their sales job. They then asked if I would like to pop down to the office to see what they do…
This morning, I put on my smart clothes and headed to the offices of TPR Enterprise in Colchester. Now, I thought I was there for a bit of a tour of the office, just to see what the job is like. The next thing I knew, I was filling out an application form for a job. The form was quite basic, personal details, qualifications, work experience etc. I then waited in line for my ‘interview’ – there were 2 other applicants before me.
As for the interview itself, I wasn’t asked that many questions; it was more of a motivational speech from the manager, which said a lot, but didn’t actually EXPLAIN anything about the company.
A few hours later, I got a phone call from TPR, saying that I’ve been invited for the 2nd interview; tomorrow morning. That raised my suspicions; usually, when you apply for a job, you wait a few days for an interview, and you wait another few days (if successful) to confirm that you’ve got the job.
I decided to do a bit of research into the company I was working for. Alarm bells were starting to ring in the office, where the sign outside and the print on the door said ‘TPR Enterprise’, but the posters on the walls were testimonials from APPCO Group. So I Googled APPCO – found very similar stories from former “employees”; with low pay and no holiday entitlements. Words like ‘scam’, and ‘brainwashing’ came to mind.
So, I’m going to have a lie-in tomorrow; and turn my mobile phone off… Thanks guys, but I’ll stick to my steady day-job, at least I know where my next pay-packet will be coming from!
[A little footnote for you: My brother actually worked for a similar company about 8 years ago, selling NPower contracts in Luton, citing similar issues to the ones others have mentioned. He never got paid.]
I feel so sorry for all of you guys who can’t understand the concept of been rewarded for your hard work !
That’s what performance based pay is all about , the thing is most of you people probably apply for a position and talk loads of crap about running your own business one day blah blah blah ! In reality non of you obviously could ever have the balls or work ethic to do so ! Everyone wants the damn lifestyle of a wealthy business man but no body wants to put in the time and effort first !
For all of you guys who got “scammed ” as you say , ask yourself this …. Who is actually the scam artist ? Aren’t you guys the one that say you want progression , money , high earnings blah blah blah
Then when you get the chance you find some shitty excuse not to do it because its hard !
Seems to me like you guys are the ones doing all the scamming !
If there was no money or progression why the hell are these managers still doing it ?
What you really should be posting on here is
” I had my chance to begin to fight for every thing I thought I wanted in life , but I just wasn’t that motivated ! ”
Don’t worry though I’m sure asda or tesco needs more till staff , that’s probably the best job suited for people who want thier career paths and income controlled by someone else …..
Sad !
Someone who is controlling his career path should be proud of what he does and be happy to reveal his name. Why then do you have to hide your identity? Probably you are ashamed of what you do and just putting up some bravado here. Back to the context of what is being discussed, how do you respond to people working and their salaries are not paid and other unethical employment practices?
How patronizing of you. There is always someone on these forums who writes some ridiculous comments. Why do you decide to post these things? These companies job descriptions are very vague, and they seem desperate to employ you. Does that not start to ring alarm bells in your head? I would rather work for Tesco than work with some stupid marketing Job that is a scam.
Mmmm, me thinks someone who works for the aforementioned companies is getting a bit annoyed that people are warning about the scam going on.
The bottom line is that any marketing company should provide you with a detailed contract of employment and if you only have one company you work for as your sole employer then you are not self-employed but an employee as far as the tax man is concerned.
The comment as to “If there was no money or progression why the hell are these managers still doing it ?” the answer is simple they need you to earn the money for them and if you are not doing that then they aren’t earning money or they are so deep in the mess that they lie to themselves that it will all work out otherwise they will look the fool.
Haha well said mate !
I bet 90% of you guys who post an opinion on here are jobless ! 5 % are unhappy with their current jobs but have no balls to do something about it ! And the other 5% need advice from small Internet forums like this on how and when to take every step of his/her life !
Get a grip !
It’s so easy to act powerful behind the comfort of your laptop screen! Take some chances In life!
How can someone “scam” you into a job ?
That doesn’t even sound right
Just sounds like another excuse for Britain has a high rate of unemployment !
Forums like this create regret and mis use over one of man’s best invention !
The Internet !
Guess you are intimidated by the credentials of the people here and you want them to end up on the streets like you, working their sods off for some crappy firms.
Wish you all the best in your sales job!
Anonymous – I bet you are involved in this scam and are only on here trying to give false information to people who are actually genuinely looking for a job.
You are a disgusting person and if you really believe that most people would rather just sit in their house unemployed you are deluded. I know a lot of people who are desperate to find work and hate being unemployed and it is extremely prejudice and unfair to label every single unemployed person as a lowlife scrounger. You are probably the manager of one of these outrageous, corrupt and unethical companies that prey on people who are desperate to work. How can you be so selfish and immoral to think that this kind of work is O.k?
If you weren’t involved in this scam then I am sure you wouldn’t bother wasting your time insulting people who are only trying to help others be wary of the same things that they have gone through.
Britain’s high rate of unemployment is down to many factors not just that some people don’t think that it would be worth while to stand outside all day being abused for absolutely no reward. You are a very single minded person and frankly you should keep your opinions to yourself if you cant say anything constructive.Your comments are unhelpful and missing all of the facts.
Yeah, just today I went there for an interview at Pratoerian in Birmingham City Centre. It was a really dingy office. SSBQ1, or something like that. Suprise suprise they’ve invited me back tommorrow and I must wear ‘comfortable foot wear’(I wonder why). Thanks to the guy who started this page off and thanks to everyone on saving me all the hassle. Cheers!
I cant belive it i went there for a interview today and to be honest i thought it looked dodgy and when i got a call from a woman at the job centre she said the site looked dodgy and it might only be commission based. They invited me back for a second interview told them to stick there job. They should be reported for misleading people on…. i thought was to good to be true you can be a manager within 5-6 months that what he said to me today.
CBA to explain. Comments above me already said it. All I’m gonna say now is that I have got a well paid job and I am happy
Be careful of Josh Cote, he brainwashes Everybody. They were from America and came to the UK to Brainwash more People. Be careful don’t waste your life away
Pete from Praetorian Marketing is a selfish mutt. The whole office is a mess. The people who work there are all dumb and stupid. They actually think they can become a manager within a few months and open their own office in their CHOSEN country hahaa.
I’m so glad I saw this. I have an interview set up with Krishna Worldwide on Thursday. I will slowly back away now. The search continues. Thanks for the warning.
Hi Ali, I work for Krishna Worldwide and have been working for nearly two months and there is no scam involved in this office. If there was a mass scam then authorities would have taken action and the the LTD would have been stripped from the company. I assure you if you took a look at the office and spoke to some of the new recruits as well as the employees who have been working there for a long time, you will see there is no scam.
Zainab, I feel the victim of the exact same scam as you and I am a former graduate taking up OU study in Physics now, I came back from travelling across the USA and was eager to look for a job. I got lured in the same way to want to work in an office in sales and marketing and all I got was hell with a door-to-door job selling scope a form of charity to help children with dyslexia etc. This company was called Be Right on Outsource International aka ‘Brighton Outsource’ as they are in Brighton! The trainer was really horrible and pushing me around intensive giving no crap about how I felt nor showing any enthusiasm with me at all just a miserable stroppy black chavvy looking bitch called ‘Zavier’ who would get offended when I asked her, her name. What was also weird is how they successfully recruited me but this is no success just deception and at the end of the day they said I got the job, I decided then I wasn’t going to take the role as door-to-door sales rep, extorting money and harrassing people – I have learnt that is so not me! They still advertise this role, everywhere here http://www.careerbuilder.co.uk/UK/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobDetails.aspx?job_did=JHQ1K16XPKB08G8N3BH&siteid=Int_ukindeed In the end I reported them as a scam to scamwatch.
They are now called MyStyle Marketing, based at the same address.
A new similar company
Auctus Outsource
SBQ 1 Business Centre – Second Floor
29 Smallbrook Queensway – Birmingham
B5 4HE
This is the company that i applied for thanks for this!! its a scam i will not be going to the interview on friday!! bullshit
Glad I researched TC World Ltd before going to one of their presentation/interview days later this week.
Door to door commission ONLY based selling NO THANKS!
In actual fact I am against this type of selling and should be illegal ‘employing’ people without a min wage and having random people pestering you at your home!
I think there is something to do with job preferences here. People are upset that they weren’t told it was commission based door to door selling and didn’t like that it was. I’ll tell you why that part of the program is not revealed straight away: if it was, how many people do you think would apply? As for the commission: it drives people to work, doesn’t it? Not to mention it’s cost effective for charities/companies. There’s method in the madness.
The person who took you guys out for interview SHOULD have made it clear that it was NOT a ‘forever’ role and would indeed lead to management. Who on this thread has made it that far? How do you know the opportunity doesn’t exist if you haven’t? How long did you guys stay in the business before leaving?
I’ve had high rolling weeks and I’ve had low rolling weeks and the money HAS appeared in my account every week. Whether you decide to believe me or not is up to you, but I have a question for those who claim they worked for a month and didn’t get a penny – how many sales did you make in that month?
I made 5 sales whilst working there for a month! Got paid NOTHING.
Anne,
the law strictly says that if you are employed you have to get contract with terms and conditions and one of which should be your pay (minimum wage guaranteed). If you are self employed in such marketing companies you should get contacted with their customers (producers, service providers etc.) and receive your fee for your marketing (this is what at the end of the day you do – marketing them to random people). If it is a commission based you still need to get paid the minimum and on the top of that some moneyyyyyyyyy for your performance (N of customers you managed to attract).
These employment schemes are alive and well in the US, too. I had a close call with a few of them a couple of years ago. Thank you for writing this blog, it was very interesting to read experiences that were dead-on track with mine.
you can add RTR Uk ltd/RTR group to the list. They are another cobra group. ive had exactly the same experience with them and i am horrified! i am still uncovering the other firms that they use at them moment one of which is taylor made aquisitions. be careful people and whatever you do, do not hand over your banks details!
Hi, I applied for a job with RTR Group a couple of days ago. Is it the one based in Bradford with the following site http://www.rtrgroupuk.com/ I’m slightly suspicious and concerned as they invited me to an interview immediately at an office above some Restaurant. I’ve tried searching them but can only find their official site and loads of job ads they’ve placed. Would appreciate if you could let me know more about this RTR group.
you’ve just spared me from wasting £50 travelling expenses to an “observation day” which was due tomorrow. lol ur description was a mirror image of what I experienced a couple of days ago. thank you!
I was invited for an interview by Maximus Global Direct Ltd’, 32-37 Cowper St London EC2A, tel – 0207 3360060. – I’ve been invited for a ‘Sales and Marketing’ interview with them tomorrow and the fact I don’t have any memory or record of applying to te company. I was happy that I got an interview, but after reading and doing a little bit of research, I came across this website. I am definitely not going. Thanks guys
Similar to the persons above I applied for a job with SMG solutions in Coventry and was contacted the following day for an interview. I attended the interview and was immediately put off because of the dinge setting and the general ambiance. At first I could not find the building and rang SMG, unbeknown to me I was outside SMG but when I quoted the building a few doors down the woman told me she had no idea where I was. How could they have been based in that office for years and not know about their surrounding buildings and businesses?
As I waited to be called for my interview I spoke to the “receptionist” who was very stand offish and did not want to answer my questions. The office was shabby however the managers room was fully equipped with a flat screen tv and a play station. He didn’t ask much about my experience but told me about how quickly you could progress in this job. I was under the impression this was a paid job which it clearly wasn’t-false advertisement. When I began asking the manager about how he planned on expanding his company amongst various other questions he became very rude and defensive. It became clear he was threatened by my questions and my presence. I explained to him I enjoyed a challenge and hated idle workers to which me replied “I’m lazy, you would hate me”. Are those really the sentiments of a “director”???
I was told I would be contacted later that day or the following day, unsurprisingly I was not contacted. I put this down to the fact that he did not like my questions and the fact I had fully researched this company.
This company is a joke, the manager is a con artist. This role is advertised as a sales / marketing role but it most definately is not.
Name and shame these companies!!!!!!!!!
SMG SOLUTIONS Coventry is somewhere I would avoid if I was you!! I wasted half a day and travelled 30 miles for no reason. AVOID such jobs and scams
Thankyou for this information.
You have saved my girlfriend and I a wasted day for an interview at
Auctus Outsource – Birmingham
I’m going to put my experience in here for the help of others and so those who ‘got the job’ previously can relate to it.
This one was with Be-Right-On-Outsource International, who I found on http://www.reed.co.uk
And was in Brighton (branch was Hove).
I currently live in Horsham which is around 30 minutes from Brighton but considering what I thought I was applying for I thought the petrol wouldn’t really be any sort of problem for me. I applied for what was advertised as Trainee Marketing Assistant, sounded good to me…
blah blah blah phone call interview and stuff seemed ligit! So i got there and was a little bit surprised with the fact this ‘Business’ was sandwiched between ‘Toms Sandwich Shop’ and a Hairdressers was a lil odd. So went inside and even the hall way wasn’t very appealing to me, ugly, boring, on the right was a door to the stockroom of ‘Toms Sandwich Shop’ too. So went through this door and down the ugliest, narrowest, and filthy carpeted stairwell I’ve only ever expect from a highrise council complex. Went into the ‘Waiting Room’ where the receptionist who had called me before was there, wasn’t much of an office, tucked in the corner. She wasn’t the greatest dressed either considering her position and her manner was rather different to what I was expecting. She asked me to fill out this form and to take a seat down the end.
There was 3 other guys waiting, all smartly dressed like I was and all filling out these forms. The chairs were ugly, like the kinda ones you’d pick up from a charity shop maybe. The one I sat on had a black rug over the top of it so I lifted it up out of curiosity and saw the biggest gashes in the arm and seating, like Wolverines been having a good fight with it! Whilst I and the other guys filled out this interview there was a TV above us playing a DVD of what seemed to be an Award Ceremony of those in the company. But it wasn’t this company? Which I found out a little bit later. There was also what sounded like a mass rave going on in the other room, which was rather strange considering it was 10-11 in the afternoon! :/
So I was second in line I think for my ‘Interview’ and when my time was up a very chatty talkative chap came along, smartly dressed and his name was Andy, he was also Canadian (please bare that in mind if you end up sitting down with him, you will know its the same person!). So he started by asking me about what I did and my ambitions and what not then he started explaining the job. He spoke very quickly, and with a lot of enthusiasm. He then brought out a piece of paper and drew out this ‘Promotion Scheme’, There was 4 different Levels, all achievable within 6 months in being with the company, and to the wage salary of what he writ next to each one I found rather incredible that you could earn such amounts at such an age (I’m only 20), with such little real experience in Marketing and in such little time. So obviously I was fascinated by this and jumped at the opportunity to hopefully get a second interview. He said he would contact the successful applicants later that day, which he did and it took him only an hour.
So I was told I got a second interview and that it would be 12:00- 8:00pm going around with who would be your ‘Mentor’. I was told to bring something warm, come smartly dressed, bring a notepad and pen and some comfortable but smart shoes. At the time I was a bit ‘wtf’ about the 8 hour shift ratio but I still had the ’25k after 6 months’ thought in my mind so I took the second interview.
Got there at around 12 and when I walked into the waiting room I noticed the same people from my first interview were back for their second one, again all smartly dressed and what not. Which was bizarre! Spoke to the receptionist again who was looking like a state again… She gave me a form to fill in but whilst I was doing this the award ceremony thing was on again, the same one! Chattin’ a load of bollocks. We had to listen to this bollocks for about an hour before we was all eventually taken into a room and greeted by our ‘Mentors’ (Mine was called Tasha by the way, very good looking girl too!)
So anyway I went out with her, but also with 4 other people who had recently started? I thought I was meant to be the one being shown what to do, although at this point I had no idea it was door to door sales, it was never mentioned at all! So we arrived down a avenue in Brighton and she told me what we was going to be doing, door-to-door sales… I was skeptical with what this actually had to do with what I initially applied for. So during the 8 hours outside freezing my fucking tits off I had to write down certain things that Tasha wanted me to do. Which I did, So we finished the ’round’ at about 8:10pm and was then told by her that she has decided to take me back to the office to have a final talk/interview with the manager (Andy, Canadian chap). And that I also had to revise the answers to a questionnaire that I would need to complete once we was back at the office and present it to Andy. I had roughly 30 minutes to revise Slogans and Anagrams, most were anyway, and it was twisting my brain trying to do it.
So got back to the Office and got told to do the questionnaire, there was only me and 1 other guy still here this time (perhaps they walked because door-to-door wasn’t what they was expecting!). But anyway whilst me and this other guy were completing these questionnaires there was another mass rave going on in the room next door and then Tash turned on a high-fi on the table which blared out trance/ dance music! Like wtf I’m trying to complete this damn questionnaire thing you just gave me!
So anyway I finished it as best as I could, the other guy finished before me and Andy invited him into his office for his final interview, I never heard or saw him leave however. Tash came along and took my questionnaire and had Andy mark it. Then I was called in for my interview, we sat down and blah blah blah “I’ve seen what you’ve done today and am very impressed and you scored very highly on your questionnaire”… (I was buzzing), then Tash came in blah blah blah and it ended up with Andy giving me the job! I was excited by this point.
Its only till today, and with a lot of my parents telling me not to do it that I noticed it was all a massive scam!
How; Firstly, read the above experience
Secondly, type into google ‘Be Right On Outsource’, all it comes up with is job advertisement sites all advertising the job I went for with the same company.
Thirdly, the actual website ‘www.brightonoutsource.co.uk’ looks very basic to me, considering what they say they do its very plain, very boring, not very bright, doesn’t really tell you much about what you will be doing.
And Fourthly; it must be impossible to learn 2 years of Uni standard Marketing experience in 6 months? I don’t think its possible anyway.
But yeah the point is, don’t rush into things that seem “too clear through steamed up windows” (my own personal quotation haha)
If you find what I’ve written really quite similar to your experience then please stay clear of these people, they will take you for a mug! But I would love to hear what your ideal was like
Hope this helps all those out there.
This happened to me today, exactly how you described it. They are now called MyStyle Marketing with exactly the same people (and furniture). One of their “awards” was for a Mr William Wales. Seemed very dubious. One person in the room waiting for an interview left claiming that they were “no longer interested” and another seemed to leave after their interview in a rush.
Smacked of dodgyness as soon as i walked in.
I had a pretty much exactly the same experience and after doing some research and reading this article i have declined the second interview. The organisation i applied for was called Auctus Outsource, it is in coventry and they share a building with SMG which has exactly the same job description. Alarm bells went off for me when i saw the building, i had a huge to let sign on the front and inside was disgusting. There was barely anyone in the building and the “manager” was saying how he wanted to hire people to become project managers within 8 months, i didnt think about door to door work until a friend pointed out to me that they may have worded it differently, in this case it was business to business, business to consumer and business to events work. The description was very misleading and reading this article has saved me a lot of time and stress, i hope this saves others from falling into the same trap
you can add platinum & co, future employment ltd, avant garde ldeals all based in southampton – Red five tried to get me but luckily im physically unable to do jobs like it because of my back so i escaped!
I came across this blog by a complete fluke and I am so glad that I did! I had an “interview” in Southampton today which echoed this experience word for word- the “4 stage management training talk”, the cattle market environement…even down to the hours and the supposed “call back” time. Naively I thought that the HR team’s attire and the fact that the waiting room had a kings of leon cd blasting loudly on repeat was an attempt by the “company” to appear modern and edgy. I too was invited for a second interview tomorrow-and I now understand why they told me to wear sensible shoes! Its unbelievable, they haven’t even altered the script one bit. Looking back many alarm bells should have rung in my head- the fact that the number always came up as “blocked” on my phone for a start. The office itself I had terrible trouble finding- I was told it was by the bargate “next to lush cosmetics”. It was actually on the very top floor of a small office block virtually tucked into an alley way. After trailing up the seemingly endless flights of stairs it had stuck me as a bit odd that there was not even so much as a lift, seeing as though most established businesses these days pride themselves on equal opportunites and “access for all”.
I have a law degree, so I like to think that I am by no means stupid or easily fooled, but they took me in completely! I posted a link to this blog on my Facebook page and straight away many of my friends began telling me similar stories. In the worst case one had been made to relocate to Cardiff for a week, (on that note, I now realise why they said I may have to move around- although they did not dwell on this point!) working inhumanly long hours at a loss and being forced to sell a product which she later sampled herself and found was completely unuseable.
The place I went to was called “8 Global Solutions”…there is a reputible company called global solutions, and looking at the list above it is now painfully obvious that they are making tiny alterations to the spelling of REAL companies in the hope that gullible people researching them will be fooled into thinking that these are the places where they will be working.
Definitely going to be more cautious in future! Thanks for saving me a wasted day.
I went to an interview with the same company in southampton which own a rather unusual office in september. I didn’t realise it was a con until I’d been asked to get into a car during the training day. I asked after about 10 minutes where we were going and the young guy driving refused to answer. It turned out we headed for a rather rough are of porstmouth. I got out of the car to then follow the guy in charge while he lied to people in order to minipulate them into charity giving. One ploye was to pretend that he had a child with a physical disability (barring in mind this guy was only 19 and had told us earlier he hadn’t had an kids). Within 20 minutes 2 out of the 3 of us in the group had left for portsmouth train station in order to get home. Felt stupid!
As a further note- I did not even apply for this job. I signed up to a few sites such as monster/fish4jobs etc and uploaded my CV, but having heard nothing I also signed up to a reputible agency (brook street) last week. When I got the initial call I was told that my CV had been forwarded to the “company” and immediately said “Oh by Brook Street?” they hastily said yes and changed the subject so I now realise it was a lie. Again talk talk was the big name mentioned…
Pingback: http://zainabusman.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/how-i-fell-victim-to-a-recruitment-scam-in-the-uk/ « The Labour Legacy
Was invited to an interview with them at Be right on uoutsourcing. Thanks for saving my time and energy with this guys.
i am supposed to start training with them in Manchester next week and i am m not going.thanks for your advice
all the info on their website is very misleading.
Stream advertising and GRI Global in Belfast!!!
what can you tell me about gri global in belfast
Yes GRI Global
http://griglobal.co.uk/
Are running the same scam in Belfast
http://www.nijobs.com/GRI-Global-Jobs-4104.aspx
My girlfriend responded to one of these ads and went through the same interview process described here. Total scam.
Recruitment websites should blacklist these companies!
MORTON SOLUTIONS IN NORWICH IS PART OF THE PERDM ORGANISATION, ITS A COMPLETE SCAM, LEWIS MORTON THE MANAGING DIRECTOR IS A COMPLETE C**T HE CARES ONLY ABOUT HIMSELF STAY WELL CLEAR!!!
Hey guys… I’m currently working for one of these companies, and I find it funny how everyone who doesn’t have the work ethic and self belief just pass it off as a scam and complain, because it’s not. I have already been promoted twice, and yes it’s commission based, but I actually earn nearly 500 pounds a week going door-to-door. I also see people being promoted out of the offices they have started in and open up their own on a daily basis. The fact is this is an outsourcing business model, where you are given the opportunity to run a business and make something of yourself as long as you are willing to work hard. Hard work is what it is – and that is why you are not employed – you are self employed. You have to take responsibility of your own business and performance from day one. I have three friends who have recently opened their own offices through these companies and are now earning 75-125 thousand pounds a year. So you all can sit there and complain all you want… at the end of the day the people who run these companies started where you did – by going to those interviews/opportunity meetings. Then again threads like this shows exactly why there’s only a few who makes it! At the end of the day, they chose to work hard instead of whining and are as a result now part of the 5% of the UKs top paid people…. and look where you are.
I’ve taken a job at one of these companies too, and I have nothing but respect for everyone who works there. Yes, it is hard work, but the clients we represent currently are very good causes (Asthma UK and DBA), so not only am I helping children less fortunate than myself lead easier lives, I’m also building my own confidence and interpersonal skills, and earning great commission.
Yes, in my first week, I did had rubbish days. My first day, I made 6 sales, the second about 4, and so on, but with some practice and determination, I’m now hitting my third incentives and making a name for myself in the office, constantly pushing myself to do better. Had I quit at the first sign of adversity, I’d still be unemployed, sitting at home because no-one gives an inexperienced graduate a second glance.
The key to doing well at this kind of job is perseverance and self-management. No-one tells me what I should be aiming for, or what I need to work on, I decide that myself. I am in charge of how well I do, and that pushes me to become better at my work.
In the words of Jim Rohn, ‘If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you must settle for the ordinary.’
fuck you
your username shows how full of shit you are
£500 per week at 70 hours AND self-employed is crap. I’ll bet you’re so skint now that you no longer have an internet connection. The so called managers who earn 75k+ per year: that’s what they tell you – how come they all live together? To use your ever repeated phrase (and a sign of low intelligence) ‘at the end of the day’, when you get home and are so tired that you can’t be bothered cooking and go straight to bed, only to be up again in 6 hours or less for atmosphere or impact, think about how money has blinded you, made you friendless, and how the only ones that are really making money are right at the top. A business that only makes money is a poor business my friend. And the biggest problem in the world today is people like you, ruled by greed and selfishness, willing to sacrifice friends and family for the sake of money.
Add Marketstorm Global to that list and the creep manager Gavin Walsh
Encore Interactive, Liverpool. Same deal.
Yep same happened to me. I didn’t go tho because I found a similar blog
warning, another new company called “Unique Marketing Direct” is recruiting people in London. According to some info it may be “Unique Organisation Limited” that has changed its name
MG Ltd Norwich – same deal
Morton Solutions also Norwich – same deal
It’s remarkable in support of me to have a site, which is good in favor of my experience. thanks admin
Someone should visit these guys and give them what for !
I worked for a firm in Glasgow and received much of the same treatment. I had to work the same long hours (10.30am-10pm in most cases) and was bewildered by the old fashioned, highly sexist and inappropriate atmosphere of the office. Secretaries were all high heeled and big breasted, the ‘managers’ made racist jokes about black employees, the men at the top clearly had all the money while the rest of us were forced to meet impossible quotas. We were told it was possible for us all to make 3 sales out of 100 doors knocked due to the Law of Averages. I did see many agents hit these quotas but these were often attractive female employees exploiting lonely men who simply wanted someone to talk to. In addition to this, the managers expected us all to be full of energy every morning when we’d come into the office despite working until 11pm, going to sleep, waking up, and starting all over again. It was exhausting and the people who bought into the ‘dream’ of owning their own company within a year went at it with obsession, helped along by cult-like morning meetings with pep talks and group motivational rallies. I am now in a better job with a steady pay and no creepy marketing executives spouting hollow motivational lines at me all day long as I am forced to harass the general public. Charity work shouldn’t be treated like this by these pyramid scheme scammers.
You all truely are dumb asses. I actually went ahead and started with the client 8 months ago worked through the phases and completed the program opening my own office. There is a reason 93% of the world works for 7%.
Enjoy your small lives living in the small apartments, still looking for work.
What fools you all really are. Do you really think huge clients like the red cross would work with agencies without doing there homework. What idiots you all are
Charity fundraisers don’t get a cut of the money they raise.
Well its better to live in a small apartment than to be a slave to the APPCO Group and the many worthless, brain dead and money grabbing individuals who work with and for them. How can you sit there and let FR’s work and “train” from 11am-11pm. Even if they earn £300-£400 a week its still below minimum wage. Plus £300-£400 is whats told to each applicant if they ask what the earnings are on average. However why isn’t the bonding of their earnings explained to them before they start. Oh yeah just to clarify to everyone on this forum that you will be paid 60% of your weekly earnings whilst the company you are contracted to will keep 40% to account for client “rejects” that may come through. These rejects can come anytime during your 150 claw back period So you sign a customer and if they cancel anytime in 150 days from the date of signup you loose that 40% from the total per one sign up. Leading back to the applicant stage, the so called directors or owners hire their administrators to make recruitment calls to bring in interviews to keep office numbers high. They actually don’t care who comes through the door as long as the numbers are high. If you pass this interview (wait why am i saying if). When you do pass your interview 100% they will invite you for an observation where you spend a day with a Team Leader. Paired up you are invited back to receive your congratulations. So from when you receive your initial phone call you know you have already got the job pretty much. Most people leave within a week of starting anyway where if you have made sales the owners “Kindly” decide to 100% Bond your earnings so you will not get paid for that week of working. Stay well clear of this corrupt environment.
stfu
Being a university student in Brighton, East Sussex work is hard to come by. I started by using the job sites such as total jobs.com and reed.co.uk, applying for nearly every job. MyStyle Marketing, through a woman called Stephanie Green (“administrator”) called up and said that I’d been selected for an interview in Brighton for the next day. Being the 2nd of January and in Blackpool for New Year that was impossible so instead settled for the 4th (yesterday), meeting in their office at 3pm.
— E-Mail I received —
Dear (my name),
After Careful consideration and the review of all applications I can confirm that you have been selected for a preliminary interview with us at My Style Marketing on 04/01/2013 at 3:00 PM
This is an opportunity for you to meet with a member of the management team to discuss your application, run through your CV and the job description, and assess your suitability for the role.
Please reply to this email as confirmation of your attendance.
Below are some points for you to consider as preperation for the interview. However if you have any further questions regarding the role or the company, there will be an opportunity to raise these during the interview.
Why do you feel that you are suitable for this position?
What 3 main attributes do you feel that you can bring to us here at My Style Marketing?
Where do you see yourself progressing to within the next 5 years?
What do you feel that your biggest achievement has been
Please bring a copy of your CV with you.
FOR A MAP TO US : CLICK HERE
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
Our office is based at the Palmeira Square section of Western Rd with Holland Rd being the next main intersection. We are on the Lower Ground Floor of Intergen House, next door to Tom’s sandwich shop. Please press the bottom buzzer marked Marketing Suite upon arrival (Bottom Buzzer). Once our receptionist has buzzed you into the building please pass the lift and come down the stairs to the lower ground floor
We very much look forward to meeting with you.
Yours Sincerely,
Stephanie Green
Administrator
07850595701
Marketing Suite
Lower Ground Floor
Intergen House
65-67 Western Road
Hove
BN3 2JQ
http://www.mystylemarketing.co.uk/index.html
—
Did a bit of research on the company. The website is sketchy and doesn’t give any detail on who they work for and no direct contact details/names.
So I arrived on the 4th dressed for the interview in Hove where the buzzers are dirty and in need of replacing. I press the “Marketing Suite” button (remember that for later) and am greeted by a male voice to which I respond “I’m here for the job interview” at which point I’m let in. I pop into the lift which goes anywhere but -1 (look at the e-mail, “go past the lift…”) so I descend some dilapidated stairs into a windowless set of rooms with a receptionist, a man with long straight brown hair on a ponytail and wearing a red waistcoast from the 60s, at a makeshift desk on the right, and two other interviewees sat down on either a sofa or chair in front of a 40″+ TV linked to a DVD player with a CEO looking type spouting on about profits a company has made for Talk Talk and how it is going to continue growing rapidly.
I walk in and I am asked to fill out an “enquiry form” with no company logo or detail on it except the words “Enquiry Form”. I sit down and start writing my personal details in when the woman who is sitting on a sofa with a weird sheepskin or similar rug next to me who was watching the Tv stood up and approached the receptionist declaring she was “no longer interested” and walked out and up the stairs (keep that in mind). The other guy is called in at 3pm (when my interview is due to take place) to which I can have a proper look around.
It quickly became apparent this was no office. What it seemed like was an old apartment or flat that had been converted. It had three glass stalls which displayed Talk Talk brochures and “Emoloyee of The Month” trophies. Whilst looking closely I notice one of them saying that someone called “William Wales” had received one of these. Surely that couldn’t be the same Prince William who is currently a Royal and is in the Royal Navy? I scan the room noticing years old magazines and extremely worn-out furniture with the occasional cardboard box behind a blue screen shielding the rubbish overflowing from it and sofa stuffing.
My attention is now drawn to the lack of office noise. The job description made it sound like an office job, yet I could hear nothing and had only seen two actual employees since I had arrived 15 minutes ago. Before I had put two-and-two together, the previous interviewee had rushed out pretty wuickly and ‘Andy’ walked in. A Roughly shaven Canadian with a piercing in his right eyebrow, he led me through another empty room and into a bare office.
Now, you’d expect an office you’d work in would be personalised with all sorts of different things, or even a computer. Well not this one, it was the bare bones. A desk, an oversized digital clock showing the time 15:10:24, a dusty filing cabinet next to the door and two chairs with a window to Andy’s back. on the desk was an on-charge iPhone 4S, the only phone in the room that was being used it seemed, and on he desk a solitary Canada-branded pen that he kept flicking and letting the lid fly.
Now it was straight down to business, I thought. Remember those questions I had prepared for? They were asked, but the answers were not exactly followed up on as you would expect. Right from the off it seemed like a very informal interview and not anything like I feared (too good to be true). He started talking about how they represented LoveFilm and how they had asked the company to expand and help them expand. Seems a bit strange though as Amazon employ their own staff and not through Outsourcing agencies, I didn’t challenge him and just let him carry on.
Onto the four tier system he went, saying how I could become a manager in 9 months instead of 3 years. For each of the four tiers he asked whether that would put me off, to which I went along with it and said no. He asked me about my previous experience of selling (this was the only question he asked about me in this part of the interview).
Concluding the interview, he mentioned that he had been overloaded with applicants, reed said they had more than 100 applicants to this job alone, and that he had narrowed it down to 40 who he was interviewing today, to which I though ‘actually, only 39′. He said that he wanted to narrow it down to 8 by tomorrow and give me a call then (tomorrow being Saturday).
I leave the interview and get the bus to the train station to get the train home at roughly 15:25. In total a 15 minute interview, bit short I thought at the time. This was when I had time to take in what I had seen in that 40 minutes in the building. With all these things buzzing in my head, I get a phone call saying I have been successful and Andy wanted me to go to Orientation the following Wednesday for 12pm until 20:30. Fantastic, I thought. Until he told me what I needed to bring. “You need to be smartly dressed, with a notebook, pen, and dress for the weather”. ‘Dress for the weather’? Why would I need to do that?
Suddenly it dawned on me. Everything started to add up, what I actually was going to do was so very different to what I had been told I would do. Dread began to fill my mind.
The “Marketing Suite” button, the cheap and barely furnished offices, only 2 members of staff, the woman and man leaving hastily, William Wales’ “award”, the lack of landline office phone, LoveFilm. Why I didn’t notice these things before I don’t know, maybe I was just overwhelmed at the prospect of getting a job to help pay for uni.
Remember the name: MyStyle Marketing. In the same office operates a very similar company with the same contact details called Be-Right-on Outsource Marketing registered at the same address. Co-incidence? I think not.
I’m £10.70 worse off due to the travel costs of getting to the office, and I’m back to the drawing board…
Every single thing you typed happened to me, you described it perfectly . I was so unenthusiastiic in the interview the candaian man didn’t ask me one question in this interview. He called me up 2hours later to tell me I had been “successful” I turned it down because I don’t want to be self employed and be on performance related pay.
I knew the guy was lying to my face I must might admit though he did entertain me with his bullshit that a door to door salesman can earn 5,000 a week
Stay away from Oracle Advertising, Iconic Promotions and Ark Promotions. They are scam and conning bastards. I was just about to go for an interview with them but the night before I found out their truth and I decided to get my revenge by wasting their time and not showing up for the interviews making their recruitment process inconvenient. They advertise with stuff like “no experience required” to lure you and scam. And they all ask the same questions and their job descriptions are the same too. In fact I got rung by one of the companies within 30 minutes of applying :S Look at their facebook and twitter accounts, hardly and likes and followers and the things they post are such b***s*** trying to look good but in reality they are FAKE!!!!
They can go f*** themselves, these companies need to get bankrupt and be burnt down.
People should just apply for their jobs, arrange interviews, BUT DON’T SHOW UP TO THE INTERVIEWS AT ALL!!!
Oh and the ones who are clearly praising these companies and saying they are actually good are sooooo fake they are obviously people from those companies just trying to hide the truth. Do not fall for their traps.
AND THEY WILL SAY YOUR CV REALLY STOOD OUT, HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL FROM A HIGH VOLUME OF APPLICANTS
Cascade Plymouth and Motion Marketing Plymouth are also scams. Advertising false information, sales assistants and even for bar staff?! I applied for Cascade through thisisplymouth jobsite, I, after all am desperate for work and boy, do these people pray on that, I got an email saying my cv looked good and that I need to ring for an appointment, I left it as I was researching them and they rang me all eagerly. So confused I got roped into an afternoon appointment the next day, said yes and then got a confirmation email with a map. I am from the area and the area they were in is known locally as Prositute Alley, classy.
After that I googled them, third result was how much of a scam it is. Needless to say I didn’t bother wasting petrol money on going to town to see them and later that evening I got a phone call from Motion Marketing saying my CV had been sent to them from a jobsite, which a lie as I had applied for no other job. I cannot believe they are allowed to get away with this.
I don’t particularly like door to door salesman, the idea of giving out card details on the doorstep to someone does not sit right with me, charity or not and as I was googling I found this article:
http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/Woman-collecting-charity-altered-direct-debit/story-16751003-detail/story.html
Motion Marketing, clearly not making enough money and being forced to resort to that. People like this need to be stopped!
Somehow it’s not such a big surprise for me finding so many similar stories to my accident with Edinburgh based damn recruitment companies especially Direct Source Marketing, Empire Initiatives and Direct Liaisons. It is so disappointing.
LDM – Live and Direct Marketing: http://www.liveanddirect.ca/
RJ Vibe Luton same deal
Hi, please add Taylor Made Acquisitions to this list. Located in Leeds, 3rd floor of South Parade.
Thanks.
hi… iv got a 2nd stage interview on monday 09 feb. is this company dodgy as i have been told it is?
Also add Green Global Acquisitions to this for companies based in this office in Leeds.
I applied for a Trainee Marketing Rep (a graduate position), advertised on Reed at 11:30pm last night, with a basic salary of between £18-25k dependant upon experience. I am not actually unemployed but a recent ‘mature’ graduate from a Russell Group university alongside working in third world areas in Africa. Before this I was employed in the civil service and at 30 I decided that I would have a bit of a career change and apply speculatively for a few marketing positions aimed at graduates.
At 8:30am this morning I had an email from a girl called Rebecca at Green Global Acquisitions:
“Dear [applicant],
Thank you for your interest in our openings within our Leeds office. My management team has reviewed your CV and I shall be contacting you shortly to discuss your availability and arrange an appointment with one of our managers. Alternatively please feel free to call myself, Rebecca.
Kind Regards,
Rebecca [surname hidden for legal reasons]
Administrator
Green Global Acquisitions”
I was staggered at the swift response to my application but as someone who has worked hard for years and has lots of experience and qualifications I thought perhaps they had seen my CV and were just keen.
Then at around 9am I had a phone call from Rebecca telling me that they had actually interviewed already but due to the high volume of applicants over the weekend they wanted to get me in. What set off my first alarm was that Rebecca kept on calling me by a shortened version of my name (which is unprofessional and something which I actually dislike) and spoke at a million miles an hour. But she seemed genuinely quite nice and due to her patter and outgoing nature I let her continue with her sales pitch to get me into the office for interview. She informed me that the role would be office based for a few weeks (which startled me as the role I applied for was a permanent office role) and invited me to interview tomorrow. Again, alarm bells were ringing as this seemed such a rush and all the while Rebecca chatted away until she said something that planted a bomb under her sales patter. Here she was, talking to someone who has worked all over the world, a graduate from a good university who in their 30′s was looking at a potential career change and she obviously never looked at my CV. She told me that as it was so early (9am isn’t early, I’ve been up and at work for a while by this point) she would send me the details by email so that I wouldn’t have to get out of bed to look for a pen and paper (I’m sat at my desk with a whole stack of both). She signed off with a laugh and a comment about not wanting to interrogate me so early and it felt more like I had pulled than won an interview (which is not a nice feeling as I am a happily settled family man). Anyway here is the confirmation email:
“Hey [candidate],
It was lovely speaking with you earlier and as discussed here are the details for your meeting on 27/02/2013 at [details retracted for privacy]. Directions to our office are below!
We will need you for around half an hour or so, this stage will be very straight forward, you will be meeting directly with the Manager Huw to discuss the opening and your suitability.
Dress code: Smart/Business
Documentation: Printed CV (and any references you may have printed and available)
In terms of preparation, please be ready to discuss the following:
Your reasons for looking for work
Your interests in events and or marketing/sales in general
Your education
Previous roles and responsibilities
Key skills / strengths
If successful, you would be responsible for the following;
Presenting product and pricing information to customers
Consistent and meticulous customer service – answering sales enquiries and completing sales orders
Demonstrations (where necessary) for customers so that they can try before they buy
Sales support – Customer verification calls
Ensuring that client(s) brands are best represented with a professional attitude and approach
Relaying customer and sales related feedback to the Manager
If you are a recent graduate or one of our more ambitious applicants then we will cover our management development programme in your appointment and explain the progression that our business can offer if our compatibility suits.
If there is anything else I can help you with please feel free to give me a call or drop me an email. If you have trouble finding us please call me on the number below so that I can help!
Look forward to meeting you,
Rebecca [surname removed for legal reasons]
Green Global Acquisitions
3rd Floor
22 East Parade
Leeds
LS1 5BY
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&q=ls1%205by&rlz=1R2ADSA_enGB373&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl
From Leeds Train station:
Turn left out of the station and walk through city square (Having the queens hotel behind you) Turn left onto East Parade walk, passing the Park Plaza Leeds and walking through a very small bus station, at the end turn right onto East Parade and follow the road until you reach 22. We are located in the offices above Sams Chop House and are directly opposite the Luxury Nails Salon.
From the Leeds Bus Station:
Leave the bus station to the right and turn left down George Street passing Kirkgate market on your left. At the end of George street turn right onto Vicar Lane, then turn left onto the Headrow and follow this all the way to the Town Hall (This will be on your Right hand side but stay to the left of the road) Turn Left onto East Parade we are located in the offices above Mr Foleys.
Finally, on arrival at our premises please use the buzzer entitled “Third Floor” to enter the building.”
Now, who starts an email to a prospective new employee with the word “hey!” Naturally at this point I saw it was all a bit farsical and I decided to look up Green Global which was fruitless until it led me here. I obviously wouldn’t put my mortgage, family, livelihood and children at risk by joining a company that was too new or had a bad history so I would encourage anyone to do research on potential employers the same way that a good company will do discreet checks on you. As I read this forum I saw what had been said and decided to give Green Global the benefit of the doubt by contacting Rebecca asking the following:
“• Will the role be door to door sales?
• Is the role commission only or is there a basic wage, as advertised?
• Is the role employed by Green Global or self employed?”
I have waited until this afternoon for a reply, none has come so I am now reporting my findings here. Naturally, I won’t be attending my interview.
To any of the people who attack people on this forum for not having ambition, being lazy and so forth I can guarantee that to be a fallacy, in my case I have worked in countries and environments in war zones that would challenge anyone and I was looking for a fresh challenge and willing to start at the bottom and work my way up, but I would be crazy to work with no basic salary as it is illegal and not likely to make my children and family happy. I would actually be fine working long hours, after all I’ve previously done 24hour emergency watch when bombings have happened and worked 6am to 8pm in the middle of nowhere in Africa so a day hard work in my home country doing a bit of door to door is hardly a challenge. My gripe is that I never applied for that job, I wanted to train in marketing and earn a wage that reflects my experience, qualifications and passion. The job I applied for is apparently non existent and as such the job advert is misleading and breaking the law. If I wanted to apply for a door to door canvassing job for a charity I would go straight to source, after all, it is only 3 or 4 years since I VOLUNTEERED my time to help set up a new branch of a national charity shop in my local community and I have worked for free abroad in Africa in the past for international organisations providing aid and medical expertise! If I wanted to apply for a job going door to door selling company products I would go to the company in question, earn a decent basic wage and the commission would be a bonus incentive to earn more, not the actual wage itself. Something there is wrong, if you are wanting to do sales call up your local call centres and call local businesses and so on, use the opportunity to sell yourself over the call and display your communication skills and rapport building ability directly, even if there are no jobs immediately get them to take your details, trust me the would remember you as a proactive, positive, ambitious person. Please don’t fall for scams like this.
In the meantime, if I get a response to confirm the position advertised and basic wage were real then I will report back and clarify, don’t be paranoid, not all companies in sales and marketing are out to get you. If this one turns out to be genuine I will let you all know immediately and apologise, but I wouldn’t hold your breath. Until then, I’m off back to do some more work after my nice paid lunch break.
Take care and good luck in your job hunting.
wow.. I actually cant believe what im hearing..
A bunch of people trying to claim so many companys are a scam? are you lot really that thick to think so many of those companys are a scam?
Yes, all these company’s deal with marketing like door to door, event based or business to business and they dont clearly advertise it because why would they? when half the people in britain are to fucking lazy to get of there ass and work hard.
Its commision because its sales, if someone got paid when they made no sales all it would do would loose the company money so how is that good business ethic? you get paid for the work you manage to do.
Yes its hard hours and if your not good at it you wont get rewarded no, but for people that actually are good at it and can do the sales, they do get the quick promotions. Its not like other business’ were you get promoted for the amount of time you have worked there, its because they have tick boxes of criteria they have to meet before they get promoted.
Once they have completed the program, they take over a branch under whatever business name they use. Thats why there are so many different names. Because whoever has actually MADE it through the program gets to open there own business, even though the original business will always have a stake in it.
So look at how many companys there are out there and ask yourself how exactly it could be a scam when the people that put in so much time and effort and are good, get rewarded?
Granted its not everyones faviroute job but coming on an internet site just to bad mouth it and through false accusations about how there all ‘scams’ is the biggest load of bullshit iv ever read.
You guys have either been smoking way to much weed and your paranoia has got out of control, or your lazy fuckers who cant tell people that work hard.
Half the poeple who work for commision work 10 times harder then most people, because of people like you who are always having ago.
Also, most work to raise money for charities.. whats wrong with that?
They can recruit so much because everyone earns commision.. it doesnt effect them how mahy employee’s they have it just means the business can expand.
do your research before coming on here moaning and bitching like litttle children.
Good effort 10/10
Yeah, and unless any of you can come up with facts to show how its a ‘scam’ or how anything I have said is wrong there, please keep your bitching and pathetic insults about genuinelly hard workers and fair companys a rest.
Sure everybody who fights for a descent income, who wants to make a descent living is lazy blah blah blah… anymore excuses? Just because you have no skills and the only thing you can do is harassing people to buy the stuff you sell doesn’t allow you to use your foul mouth that way.
Try stop me in the street to sell me your meaningless stuff and you will receive a nice punch in your face. Idiot.
No skills? I can garuntee you that if half the people tried the job and put 100% in they still couldn’t do it.. Having to face countless hurdles wile learning all the sales skill’s and still keeping upbeat isn’t easy. They have to have sales skills to be able to sell/sighn people up, my foul mouth yet your saying you would punch someone.. Makes sense. I’m not saying its not for most people yet all the people on here claiming its a scam, have no evience of it being so, saying there con artists and filth yet they work harder then most people to get were they are. Sick of small minded people having to put a negative on everything they wouldn’t want to do.
Double punch for you
I completely understand where you coming from but what bothers me is that why are they not being clear on who is it they are looking for.
We are all different and some of us do not mind coming to other houses – however there are those that do. Then be clear at your job description. Clearly state who you are and what you do.
And please – do not change the company’s name for different when you operate in the same building. And if there are two operating companies under the same roof – have it mentioned somewhere on the site.
I used to work at a Cobra group company and although nothing on this earth would ever induce me to work for them again I have to echo Carly’s sentiments. A scam it is not.
The work, by its very nature is tough and unappealing, it can also be unrewarding. Naturally the attrition rate is astronomical, as such these companies are constantly recruiting. However, at no point is anyone coerced into taking this work, people are there from their own free will. To label it ‘a scam’ is simply untrue.
The fact that there are comments here lamenting lost train fares to attend these interviews sadly speaks much more to the maturity of the poster than the admittedly opaque recruiting processes of the Cobra group/Appco subsidiaries.
In summary, I’d like to reiterate that I don’t work for Cobra, nor would ever wish to again, I was lucky that I was good, I shudder to think what it must have been like for the people who couldn’t sell, but comments regarding it being ‘a scam’ smacks more of people who thought they were onto a good thing and then were disappointed rather than an objective comment on the companies themselves. Plus, in my experience most of the girls who work there are fit. So Carly gets my support for that reason alone.
Ontario Consumers Home Services – http://www.ontarioconsumers.com/ for the title “Customer Service Representative” in Toronto, Canada.
I felt pressured into an interview with this company, almost immediately after I applied on the website kijiji *red flag.* I had tried calling them several times prior to the interview to ask some basic questions since that’s what normal companies are supposed to do and could NOT for the life of me get through to the company.
Upon finally deciding to go to the interview after MUCH consideration, the location of it in downtown Toronto seemed to be non-existent. I had to ask some people from across the street if they knew where this place was and they’d never even seen or heard of the company; when it was SUPPOSED to be located across the street from them. Even Google Maps and Streetview showed no evidence of this place.
I finally discovered it was “hidden.” You had to go up a flight of stairs into a very narrow space and you would finally see the sign “Ontario Consumers Home Services” located in the very back of the sketchy-looking joint.
At the “offices”, there was absolutely no one there except for your typical, flamboyant young girl of a receptionist and several other young grads such as myself waiting to be interviewed.
Interviews were OVER an hour late and the other people I was waiting with were becoming extremely annoyed. There was only one person who interviewed you; the only other living worker of the company present it seemed.
By this point, it was confirmed that I knew what this company was all about and attempted to just walk out, but decided I might as well go through with it since I had wasted so much effort.
The interview to me was a joke, lol I had absolutely no interest or desire in the company at that point and gave very basic answers seeming very unenthusiastic. It was no surprise and a relief for me when I didn’t get a call back.
Lol, so to everyone else, if you don’t wanna bother with this place and what they’re about (which from the interview, I STILL wasn’t 100% sure what a “Customer Service Representative” entitled) then don’t bother with Ontario Consumers Home Services.
Carly works for the company.
They trawl these sites and make comments in an attempt to deflect bad publicity.
However it shows them up for the fools they are as their bad grammar and below average writing ability give them away.
These people have no class at all or scruples.
They are appalling scamsters who attempt to con vulnerable people searching for genuine honest employment.
They use techniques used by cults in the US and Africa to brainwash people. It’s similar to the techniques used in Scientology and pseudo-religious cults in order to strip people of their cash or exploit them.
You can find many articles and sites like this on the web by using buzzwords such as fraud, scam and con artists along with the said company names – of which there are many as they have to set up new ones to avoid detection.
Similar links can be used to search YouTube for stories about scamsters in the US.
Most of these blogs are peppered with comments from the people who work there like Carly who would like you to think that it is they who are being victimised but fortunately they’re easy to spot as they are not the smartest people.
I doubt that they would even understand some of this text.
I’m supposed to be the one who’s un-educated, yet you are saying these company’s are a scam yet again, how an earch would they be able to have company’s like this all over the world if It was a scam:s oh but sorry.. I’m the un-educated one, the goverment have clearly just not realised about all these company’s conning people out of money.. Just because they are commision jobs dosent mean there a scam. How are the company’s ment to make money if people don’t make the sales but are still getting paid.. They won’t have a company if they worked it that way. But please, I do really beg you to actually tell me how these are a scam, with facts? As your so educated you might be able to enlighten me on what they are doing that is so wrong and un ethical blablabla.
Carly stop talking out of your ass. You actually said on this forum for someone to bring you facts to show why its a scam. Guess im the right person for the job. Here are the flaws imprinted across the whole APPCO group network:
1. Commission / Bond: Every sales rep will receive a fee for a sale they make. Accumulated the average earnings for a person will borderline £100-£200 a week. Now HERE IS THE BIG CATCH. This money is not actually full given to you. In fact 60% is given to you whilst 40% is held back by the company to account for client cancellations. This is called a bond. It is almost certain for a customer to cancel within the first three months of signing up so your bond will be taken away for the accumulated sum in your bond balance.
Even if you earn £400 after bond which is very rare working 70-80 Hour weeks. So £400 divide by 80 do the maths and its is always going to be below minimum wage. And to pay the worker below minimum wage is illegal.
2. The Recruitment Process. This is where an Administrator will call you and give you a kind of sales pitch on how the company is high and mighty and so forth. From the initial phone call YOU ALREADY have the job. I say that because unless your are really stupid they pass everyone. It’s because the administrators need to keep office numbers high because of 1. The massive drop off rate that all companies experience and 2. They are at risk of losing their job. So you get the call, you do the group interview where the Director tries to avoid question like is it commission and is it door to door. So you will pass this then you’ll be invited to the observation day. This is where you shadow a leader to see what they do and return to the office to get a definite pass. So the interview process is pretty pointless as everyone who they call will get the job.
3. The Business Development Programme (Which I call the shite APPCO Pyramid). So a the top of the pyramid the Vice Presidents are living a high life earning millions whilst giving so called motivational speeches at several meetings throughout the year. Whilst the Field Reps at the bottom of the pyramid are earning peanuts and struggling to get by. All pyramid schemes are a plan to affect severely the people at the bottom and suit the people at the top. So as long as the APPCO Group continues to grow the more likely it is to shut down completely.
Now time to wipe the floor with you Carly. According to you the companies withing the APPCO group network can recruit so many people because they will be on a commission pay structure . Unfortunately you are completely wrong. They reason they recruit so much is to as i said before keep office numbers high so they can use people and pay them below a minimum wage. it is technically another form of slavery. Ill give you a real time example. In Botswana they pay teams of slave labour workers a commission depending on the amount of diamonds they excavate. While the rich at the top live the high life making millions upon millions of pounds profit on the selling of the diamonds. Hmmmm does that remind you of anything.
Carly think before you speak. People come on this forum to write of their experiences. And don’t dare comment on how lazy they are. You don’t know them so don’t be so condescending towards them. So please reply I would love to hear what you have to say
Well said Just is…
Carly,
Clearly you do work for one of these companies or suck off one of their sleazy managers so I wont waste time trying to open your eyes, however I can enlighten you with some basic spelling and grammar tips.
“I’m supposed to be the one who’s un-educated, yet you are saying these company’s are a scam yet again, how an earch would they be able to have company’s like this all over the world if It was a scam:s oh but sorry.. I’m the un-educated one the goverment have clearly just not realised about all these company’s conning people out of money.. Just because they are commision jobs dosent mean there a scam. How are the company’s ment to make money if people don’t make the sales but are still getting paid”
1.
Company’s is a possessive – referring to something that belongs to the company – (Carly)
Companies is a plural – referring to more than one company
2.
Uneducated has no dash in it
3.
It is spelled earth not earch
4.
There is no colon in scams
5.
There are 2 n’s in government
6.
There are 2 s’s in commission
7
Dosent should be doesn’t
8
Ment should be meant
Not all your mistakes but some, I hope you feel enlightened.
P.S Don’t sarcastically imply others are uneducated then proceed to demonstrate your own lack of education.
I had an interview for Direct Liasons, and Empire Iniatives in Edinburgh. Office is quite well known (conference centre on market street) so that didn’t raise my suspicions. However, there was 6 of us sitting at the group interview for about an hour while a blonde girl (steph) blazed music from her laptop and talked on the phone. She was suppose to be the secretary! Like previously said, all the ‘managers’ were young and in suits. I had one called Nathan who looked at my CV and gave me the pitch ‘£2k a month, manager 9 months, xmas holidays off etc) sounded good and I agreed to the 2nd interview the next day. We trudged around Airdrie near Glasgow from 10-9 and one of the other applicants had to drive because ‘taking the train would mean lots of waiting’ when in reality I knew they didn’t want to pay the expense of the tickets.
There were 3 of us looking for the job with 2 team leaders. I had one called craig who nathan had stated was well on his way to becoming a manager. Looking back though, I actually think I was given Craig because he was friendly and convincing, sort of trying to win me over to join the company. When we were walking door to door, i asked about pay, comission, % of comission from a sale, sales per week etc and he was like ‘well nathan would prefer not to say until you are employed’
That day i watched him make his pitch at doors. He was aggressive (putting his foot in the gap between door and wall when the client opened their door) and quite patronising to clients who refused. One example was ‘I am sorry you don’t want to save money. Really, I am, just trying to help you’
in ten hours ‘work’ we had a half hour break, and then at the end of the night we returned to the office where an assesment form would need to be filled out and craig would talk with nathan on whether i would be suitable,
This gave me and the 2 other applicants to talk about what had happened and we all concured that this was shady.
I was called into the office and talked with Nathan. They wanted to hire me (to start the next day) and I asked what about my p45/60, bank details, contract, shift rota etc etc and he said that we can sort it out after I start. He gave the usual flowery speech about me being ‘intelligent – very intelligent – hard working, outgoing and possessing real potential. I can see you being a manager with craig very, very quickly’
I said I would agree to the job, but would need a week to think it over (adn see out my notice to my current job). He seemed annoyed and asked if I was willing to work inbetween shifts to which I refused saying I already worked 48 hours per week and ti would be illegal.
So i said if the position is still open in a week I will see out my notice and join you to which he grudgingly agreed. I later called my dad asking for advice and he said i should decline which I had already previously thought.
Reading this blog has only confirmed my suspicions and I am so glad that I didnt take up the job.
remember, beware Direct Liasions and Empire Iniative in Edinburgh
Euan
Thank you so much for posting this up. I almost went for an interview and will spend my time on searching for a different job instead. Also thanks for the list of other company’s that will only mess me around.
TCWorld offered me an interview 10 mins after applying through jobsite.com
I have since rang them back and told them I won’t be going to any interview after readed all about the lies they tell.
I’m also getting a call back from a reporter from the yorkshire post to make sure they know about the scamers.
This exact thing happened to me at this company. I was told it was a marketing and design job. Turned out it was a door to door sales person.
@Carly .. With all due respect you either are a worker of one of these aweful scam companies of your very think indeed!
Your silly views on people not willing to work hard will doing this slave labour are laughable!
When these jobs are put on sites like jobsite.com..monster.com..etc there is nothing saying its door to door selling nor does it say the job is self employed.
When called them (TW World) they answered the phones by saying “hello PROMOTIONS” .. Why would this be?? ..
Please get some education and live in the real world these people are slave driving scum bags! Defending makes you seem very stupid ..
I have received numerous phone calls from what I believe to be paragon events based in southampton. i spoke to a woman very very keen to meet me and insisting i could get an interview with huge promotion prospects. they called me ( and keep calling!) on 07415724922. I don’t know if it’s a scam anyone else dealt with them?
No. It is not I scam I have been for an interview with them myself. Basically a lot of people call these commission jobs scams yet they work for big charity names and no one has ever stopped this many company’s who are all ‘scams’ people may not want to work for commission but it’s a good earner if you are good at sales and the manager bit isn’t bullshit either. You just have to be good at sales to progress through, it is a tick box criteria. The amount of people that call these company’s scams is an actual joke. The job wasn’t for me however my cousin works for a similar company and is doing really well!
C J
11 Dec 2012
I too was contacted my MG Ltd after spotting them on Edp Jobs 24 – a reputable site or so you would naturally believe I thought. I had previously seen Morton Solutions and thought that looked suspect and steered clear but had not seen MG before so I went to the interview in hope of a new job perhaps.
On arrival I found myself in a well hidden, small dentist waiting room type office which had just two others waiting to be seen. Although it was indeed a bit small and with no signage and a little in need of a paint job I had been in worse. I was then greeted by a leggy Latvian ‘secretary’ who’s patter was that more of a ‘gentlemens’ club than a professional and clearly there as decoration.
I’d arrived as instructed on the hour but was made to wait thirty minutes as the person ahead of me in smart business dress went in and eventually came out smiling – a good sign perhaps.
Likewise although told it was informal I’d decided to suit up and look smart. I was beginning to wonder why the secretary? As surely just two or maybe there were more before were being seen today.
I was duly called in and greeted by a short, stocky stock-exchange type called Sheridan who I was told was Mr Halls.
He had a cheesy grin I didn’t much like and an air of smugness that belied his stature along with a self assurity that I’ve only come across in Oxbridge types of watching Made In Chelsea – a Spencer type if you will. Nevertheless I’ve been there before with those types and could handle them being a man of 40.
After a while of him motor-mouthing through the product – LoveFilm, he asked me some simple questions and I was glad he’d stopped talking (at me) as it seemed a touch rehearsed and uninteresting, still I smiled politely and asked the usual relevant questions, pay, history of company, etc and he answered them satisfactorily saying that after a few weeks I would be trained and earning around 20000, I’d fully expected this as the ad had said this and I’ve been a Project Manager before, I presumed it was the starting wage (I shall never presume again!) as Stephanie (another secretary) had explained my CV was more ‘Management material’.
Mr Halls proceeded to show me his business model which seemed fine, in fact I’ve been presented with similar ones before. Then the meeting ended suitably and I was told to expect a phone call later.
After receiving a successful call I was invited my email to an ‘Observation Day’ again I’ve been on these before as a Manager at various retail establishment which is what I was led to believe I was observing – promotions and marketing in a retail field!
The day arrived and I was met at the same office by a plethora of people of say around 30, some of whom were in the next door office which at the time of interview was closed and looked unused, not today. For around 15 minutes we were made to wait as around half the group were being seen by what we were told was a separate company and nothing to do with MG….Morton Solutions – a sign had appeared albeit small and another demur lady was manning their desk this time. My first eyebrow raised ever so slightly and a doubt crept into my head.
I was then called in the office with 2 others and Mr Halls and a young chap called Nick who would be training us today, another eyebrow raised when he was dressed identically to Mr Halls – same paisley tie, tight suit and University hair, think Spencer and Proudlock – same accents too! To my amazement another 4 or 5 mini Mr Halls all around 21 yrs old and same outfits came up the stairs and went into Morton’s office – clearly connected then!
Anyhow I went along with it and thought just see what happens, I was there now and I’m a big boy so if I smell a rat…
After being led outside by Nick and his sidekick – a wet behind the ears chap called Steve we went toward the City and it was then we were told we were going on a train to a nearby town and that any questions would be answered whilst we were on the move. Oh I thought.
The other two ladies with me didn’t seem to flinch and were at ease with what they were doing and I said ok let’s see what the day entails.
On the train Nick continued to flex his brain power and quote from business guru books, explain economic theory and other rubbish but avoided all direct questions about the company instead preferring to talk about LoveFilm, seemed normal you might think.
We arrived at the town and proceeded to our mission – it was only on the way that we were then told we were door knocking and I became unhappy to say the least but still I lingered.
After 2 hours of unsuccessful knocking we retired to a nearby pub where I was treated to a can of coke – no expense spared. Some even took the liberty of asking for crisps.
I was then called by Nick to have a chat – he explained to me the business model and proceeded to write it down except this time it wasn’t the same as the one the slimy Sheridan had showed me, I’d seen this type before – a pyramid scam whereby you work on commission virtually for free for a time before moving up but then you get the big money he said – all lies I thought but kept on nodding.
After our stop it was dark and around tea time and having secured no sales in the first part we were to.d this was the best and only time to achieve sales so we walked to the nearby estate once more. Nick became something of an arrogant idiot in this time and although achieved 2 or 3 sales after an hour I’d seen enough and left the group to go home as it clearly was a scam!
A few things I haven’t yet mentioned – the agent (Nick) gives you meaningless tasks to door whilst you walk around and spaces you out so you can’t confere – it’s a tactic so you can’t discuss or see him at work – this is in the first part. The second part involves you more and going into homes if invited – on the doorstep he was so pushy yet polite, even trying to get an old lady to find a pen and paper so he could write it down for her – another trick – no clip board so gets invited in – he’s got a notepad in his jacket – use that.
I smelt a rat at the offices and as soon as I returned home saw this site – I’m glad I’ve experienced it but it’s a scam that will catch many out as they won’t pay you or give a contract – on this site also they are blogging so watch out!
They’re smart though and like religious types they prey on the weak and gullible using mind brainwashing games like giving you compliments or getting you talking about yourself , don’t be fooled they are wealthy con artists who care not a bean about you or what stands in their way.
If this is a scam please just answer one question. How is it so many there are so many companies out there that do this yet the government/police or whoever have never done anything to stop them! This site is ridiculous. Admittedly some commission company’s do not run there business well, but that does not go out to every company and they are certainly not a ‘scam’. People who work these commission jobs work harder then most and that’s why they can get so high up in the short term, weather it be a year 2 or 3, it’s still less then if you were a manger to another company. It’s sad to see today’s people. Small minded and willing to moan about any given thing they can. So what you got a job interview if you didn’t want the job at least it was practice.
I worked with Innovation Marketing Direct and later Revolution Marketing both part of APPCO. In total I spent 18 months knocking on doors!!! I never became an owner or made loads of money as I would have loved to but I will never trade those months for anything else. The skill sets, entrepreneurial mindset and people knowledge I developed could not be bought by money.
The experience I gained during my period is what is still helping me with the job I am doing now. The most important thing is knowing what you want. That APPCO is not for you does not mean it is a scam. APPCO is not for everyone!!!
And just so you are aware, after leaving I got my bond that is 40% of my commission back…
Leah you clearly work for the company – so obvious – scam!
Thank goodness for you people who had the good sense to put down your experiences in print.
I’ve been contacted by a company in Norwich but definitely won’t be going after reading this.
It’s obvious the companies just rip people off.
I deplore such scamsters and hope they get their just desserts – shame on you.
I emplore people reading these pages to quit immediately or better still contact their local paper to inform on these awful fraudsters.
Scam
Leah and Dotun – same person? Lol idiots
Your saying I’m an idiot yet you have no answer to my question.. How is it a scam? No I am not the same person as That dolton that’s you being over paranoid. The whole world are not going to have the same view as you Jesus Christ. Your the idiot for coming on a site to bad mouth a way of work that many people get success out off and making these company’s look bad.
Here are the flaws imprinted across the whole APPCO group network:
1. Commission / Bond: Every sales rep will receive a fee for a sale they make. Accumulated the average earnings for a person will borderline £100-£200 a week. Now HERE IS THE BIG CATCH. This money is not actually full given to you. In fact 60% is given to you whilst 40% is held back by the company to account for client cancellations. This is called a bond. It is almost certain for a customer to cancel within the first three months of signing up so your bond will be taken away for the accumulated sum in your bond balance.
Even if you earn £400 after bond which is very rare working 70-80 Hour weeks. So £400 divide by 80 do the maths and its is always going to be below minimum wage. And to pay the worker below minimum wage is illegal.
2. The Recruitment Process. This is where an Administrator will call you and give you a kind of sales pitch on how the company is high and mighty and so forth. From the initial phone call YOU ALREADY have the job. I say that because unless your are really stupid they pass everyone. It’s because the administrators need to keep office numbers high because of 1. The massive drop off rate that all companies experience and 2. They are at risk of losing their job. So you get the call, you do the group interview where the Director tries to avoid question like is it commission and is it door to door. So you will pass this then you’ll be invited to the observation day. This is where you shadow a leader to see what they do and return to the office to get a definite pass. So the interview process is pretty pointless as everyone who they call will get the job.
3. The Business Development Programme (Which I call the shite APPCO Pyramid). So a the top of the pyramid the Vice Presidents are living a high life earning millions whilst giving so called motivational speeches at several meetings throughout the year. Whilst the Field Reps at the bottom of the pyramid are earning peanuts and struggling to get by. All pyramid schemes are a plan to affect severely the people at the bottom and suit the people at the top. So as long as the APPCO Group continues to grow the more likely it is to shut down completely.
In Botswana they pay teams of slave labour workers a commission depending on the amount of diamonds they excavate. While the rich at the top live the high life making millions upon millions of pounds profit on the selling of the diamonds. Hmmmm does that remind you of anything.
It is a shame you are hiding behind ‘anonymous’ yet you call people ‘idiots’. How cowardly?
Thanks for the heads up guys! I just received an email today saying that I’ve been selected for an interview by this “marketing solution”. I find it odd because firstly, I didn’t applied for any post to their company, secondly they didin’t specify my job role and lastly when I research the company (as I always do before I go into any interview) — well there’s literally nothing! Not until I read this scam in “Marketing Business”
I also found out that they’ve changed the name of the company last 24 Apr 2012 from UNIQUE ORGANISATION LIMITED into UNIQUE MARKETING DIRECT LIMITED. Again I can’t thank you enough for telling your tale and preventing others to be scam by this demonic practices. I too couldn’t believe that “IT” is happening in the UK.
To those of you who are working under these malicious companies — KARMA is a B*TCH
Pingback: Recruitment Scams and Tips to Avoid Them | University of Chester Careers
Hi everyone,
This is too important…
I am an ex ‘PerDM’ Manager. I was in their disgusting business for over three years. Two and a half of those as a ‘manager’. I got to leader, assistant manager….got my office…… promoted a manager…. then started asking myself why the hell I was still earning sweet f*** all?!?!
During the time that I was manipulated and conned, I almost hand a breakdown, lost my partner and our 3 kids, was always skint and truly felt cheated out of over 3 years of my life.
The way these people work is wrong. From day one they manipulate you until they have control over you. It’s all done in such a way that you don’t notice it and before you realize it, you are completely deluded and are now basically a slave. They teach you all the way up the ladder, on the best ways to manipulate and influence people. If you are a “leader” ask yourself if you think it’s right getting taught how to lie, cheat and manipulate??
For the people out there who are as deluded as I was, who cannot see the truth even when everyone is telling them, then look strictly at the facts. My “promoting manager” had 5 managers under him/her like me. He/she had been in the “scam” for 5 years. Always made a point of looking flashy especially when “the guys”were around…..
Then I became a manager and even stranger things started happening…..manager kept asking to borrow money for a drink, lunch etc?!?!How weird. Blagged me into jumping trains when no one was about?! Then I noticed that his/her suits were ripped, holes in his/her shoes, etc. Really the list goes on and on, but I was so bloody deluded that I was blind!
Until finally, when I had nothing left after just over 3 years of degrading and life sapping days, I decided that I needed to know. I needed to know exactly how much money I was going to be earning when I was at his level, another 2 years down the line.
Without saying to much all of this managers accounts (going back the whole5+ years) ended up finding their way to me. I was completely shocked and could not believe what I saw.
This manager of 5 years and 5 manager under him……..was paying himself£200 per week and had been losing money continually for around 2 years!! The manager was in debt to PerDM by £11,000!! And this figure seemed to just be increasing steadily!!
I hate what I did, how I let myself get manipulated by this and I hate the most how it ripped me and my family apart (all together now though ).
If you need help with this PerDM/Cobra/SCAM situation please contact me. I know how much of a bad effect this organisation can have on family and loved ones. Also if you can help me spread this as much as possible that would be great. I want to help as many people as possible to not get mugged off like I did.
I have got a couple of web pages dedicated to getting this SCAM out there, I’ll post the links underneath.
See ya, Truth_Seeker.
Links:
Brighton Outsource Number Blog:
http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/01273447895#p546427544892913319
Powerhouse Number Blog:
http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/01273719870
Student Blog about PerDM:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1801041&page=2&p=40043870&highlight=perdm#post40043870
PerDM Recruitment Scam Article:
http://zainabusman.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/how-i-fell-victim-to-a-recruitment-scam-in-the-uk/
Brighton Outsource Con FB Page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/SCAM-Brighton-Outsource-brightonoutsourcecouk-BEWARE-SCAM/106051689475180?fref=ts
Brighton Outsource FB Page:
http://www.facebook.com/BrightonOutsource
Thank you so much for writing this article
I got called by Krishna Worldwide offering me a job, of course the numbers on the emails they sent me are dead which prompted me to Google Krishna Worldwide and saw ‘Scam’ in the drop down and gave it a look, well this is the first link I clicked and THANK YOU so much…. However I am still going to go to this interview and warn anybody else there to avoid it!
Thank you!
I thought I should write another reply as I am seeing a lady called ‘Carly’ saying these companies are not scams…
Well in 2009 I used to work for Cobra under a offshoot company called Excelsior Marketing based in Sheffield, and again as described above it had women in high heel shoes with stupidly revealing blouses I mean I could see her whole see through bra went she leaned over the desk to check our paper work… the other guys at the interview loved it.
But even then I knew something was ‘dodgy’ again this gent describes what I witnessed above exactly the same. Anyway I later got employed at this company and worked there for nearly two weeks in the freezing cold of January in nothing but a suit promoting the RSPCA during my time there I quickly learned that the “managers” whom were promoted within the company was actually friends with the boss; one of which was friends before he started that “company”
Eventually I asked… and how it works, Carly. Is that ‘Cobra’ set up these Companies once somebody whom has progressed within the company wants to spread to a new area where Cobra currently isn’t operating… so if you wanted to start an offshoot company you would have to re-locate to an area where there currently not operating… then Cobra will set up a new company name with you as the boss and of course your friends who want a job will go straight to management won’t they? what are friends for… when you are promoting a charity through Cobra what happens is, every time you sign somebody up that money goes to Cobra and Cobra pay you the boss a percentage of that lacky’s sales commission and you supposedly then pay your lacky’s out of your cut for the sale… anyway.. long story short after two weeks of working there and making them sales I decided to leave… didn’t receive my pay for the sales however… when I called and asked they hung up on me… when I went there in person a month later because my attempts at legal advice through the CAB Office failed I found out they moved to another location… Some months later I learned when going to the Nelson Rock Bar here in Sheffield that the ‘New Place’ they moved to was an Office right above the bar.. they changed their name too (can’t remember the new name)
Basically… YES, Carly. These companies are scams.
what about a company called ‘Unique Marketing Direct’ Based in East London?
It would be so great, if you could post your list on an extra page and add to it 8global solutions and some of the othe new ones! Has anybody heard of Blueline Global?
Hey Guys, Truth_Seeker here,
Here is a GREAT video by BBC’s Panorama. The first 10 minutes is about PerDM and ‘Smiths Marketing Associates’. They secretly filmed an interview done by Hicham Mouden. Funnily enough he doesn’t even work for ‘Smiths’, he works for another PerDM company. Enjoy and share.
Also please like and follow my 2 Facebook pages that is specifically about one company in Brighton called Brighton Outsource. Run by Paul Mcgaw. Also running under PerDM’s umbrella. His website of deceit and lies is http://www.brightonoutsource.co.uk
Our ‘Stop the Scam’ Facebook pages
https://www.facebook.com/BrightonOutsource?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/pages/SCAM-brighton-outsourcecouk-SCAM/106051689475180?fref=ts
Hi, I have just started a new Blog about the PerDM Job Scam + Updated list of companies involved + List of Managers involved + Some website address
http://perdmscam.blogspot.co.uk/
The Truth Seeker
You might like to add Live Innovations to that list!
what about a so called company called Unique Marketing Direct based in Central/east london. Curious as i have a meeting there tomorrow lol.
funny how everyone thinks this is scam. it’s a fantastic oppertunity where you get the chance and training to build a career for yourself.
If you want 9-5 job, if you want to work without and passion and purpose, if you want someone else in control of your promotions, who can get hired above you, to limit your earnings then yes go elsewhere !
Here’s an email from Unique marketing….beware of Rubix organisation Ltd. All these scammers use the same format for their emails. I didn’t even apply for a job there.
Hi,
I’m really happy to confirm that an appointment has been made for you on Wednsday 1st May at 1.00pm
Our office address is:
47 Paul Street
London
EC2A 4LP
From Old Street:
Walk out of Exit 4 @ ‘Old street’
Walk straight on, until you see a pub called ‘The Angel’ and a shop called ‘Prêt a Mange’, turn Left on to Leonard Street
As soon as you turn onto the street you will see some, street art which is near the end of the road in front of you, it is a big blue circle with a cross in the centre of it, turn right and we are only 5 meters up the road.
Please be aware, that on our front doors it says solutions, that is our office. Our door is directly opposite castle sandwhich bar that is blue and white, the door will be open so just push the door and come on in.
Old Street Maps.png
If you have any problems finding your way to the office, don’t hesitate to contact me.
Please note that this is an formal appointment but come professionally dressed (office wear, shirt, tie, trousers ect).
I very much look forward to meeting you & please bring a copy of your CV, if you are unale to print one just respond to my email and I will print one for you here.
Kind regards,
Nadia Abdel-Hadi
Recruitment Administrator
Unique Marketing Direct
47 Paul Street
London
EC2A 4LP
I had the same experience at 8Global Solutions in Southampton. After taking a day off of work at my cleaning job to attend the interview, I got called that night to say i’d been chosen to return for a 2nd interview. Feeling excited and optimistic, I got there early, not entirely sure what to expect. After sitting in the room with a Foo Fighters concert blaring unnaturally loudly on the TV, I was called through with another interviewee and promptly led outside with a team leader and a man who had recently been hired. We left the building whilst the team leader chatted away about how she’d dropped out of university because she dreamed of making lots of money and was well on her way to opening her own branch. As she chatted she led us to a bus stop, and promptly told us we’d be getting the bus somewhere she wasn’t even sure where it was. After paying the fare with what little money I had left, we sat at the back of the bus while she asked us trivia questions about advertising, much like a parent just trying to keep her kids entertained while on a long journey. When the bus driver kindly informed us that this was the stop we were to get off at, we began our day full of bothering people at home, from mid morning until well into the evening. All the while being given little tasks to write in our notebooks, like “Come up with a new product and explain how you would market it” or “What makes you stand out from the crowd” So as the 2 workers went door to door, myself and this guy stood hunched in the freezing cold while it poured it down, scribbling in our notebooks. After hours of bothering people and not getting further than their front door, we were told we could stop for a quick lunch break, so we found a local co-op, brought a sandwich and sat huddled at a bus stop as it rained, hardly a gourmet meal. More than once we just gave up, muttering about how this was nothing like they’d made it seem in the interview. We were also constantly reminded that we were both against each other, battling for one place at the company, so we weren’t to get too friendly or stand too close to each other. All of this was quickly forgotten when they knocked on an old woman’s door at about 7pm and asked her if she would mind all 4 of us coming in, or just the 2 of them who actually worked there, and she opted for the latter, leaving me and this other guy outside in the cold for about 45 minutes, shivering and asking each other what we were doing here. When the time to return to the office FINALLY came around, we had to wait 20 minutes for a bus to show up. We got back to the office at around 9:15pm, then we were handed a little test where we had to show what we’d learnt, then we were called into the managers office. Here, I was told i’d been chosen to work for them, and how excited they were to have me as the newest member on their team. I said thankyou, shaked a few hands and left the office. Once outside I phoned my mum, who lives in Spain, and told her about the day i’d had, and that I’d got the job. She sounded concerned and told me she was going to look them up online but if I wanted to go for it then to do it. It was all a bit of a blur so I made my way home at 10:30pm, I had to be up at 5am the next morning for my other job, and the next day, after much consideration I went with my gut feeling and emailed them saying I couldn’t accept the job but thanks for the offer. I didn’t hear back so I attempted to phone them to make sure they got the message, but I never got through to them. After reading everyones stories on here, I’m so glad I dodged the bullet. This is a sick way of exploiting people desperate for a decent job, please don’t waste any money or time attending these interviews!
This is the address and number of the company I went to:
8 Global Solutions
2 Bargate House, Top Floor
East Bargate
Southampton
SO14 2DL
02380 659978
I found my self in the same boat right now at the same address….It sounded too good to be true was why I decided to research on the internet.
I attended an interview yesterday the 6th May, received a call from them that I have been successful and invited me to attend the second phase tomorrow the 8th of May.
I have researched the name of the bogus director of the bogus company. I will go in there tomorrow, I hope I see him there (I know his name, his house address et al. infact, we are now friends on facebook). Cant wait to see what it feels like for the hunter to become the hunted.
Hi Zainab,
Thanks for sharing such a comprehensive account of your ordeal. Quite pathetic that people will exploit the desperation attached to getting a good job
I found my self in the same boat right now…. It sounded too good to be true was why I decided to research on the internet.
I attended an interview yesterday the 6th May, received a call from them that I have been successful and invited to attend the second phase tomorrow the 8th of May. I have found the name of the bogus director of the bogus company. I will go in there tomorrow, I hope I see him there (I know his name, his house address et al. infact, we are now friends on facebook). Cant wait to see what it feels like for the hunter to become the hunted.
Would you believe they have come to Australia!!! I fell for this exact same thing oh my goodness it was the worst day of my life!!!
NEWS FLASH – Paul Mcgaw’s dodgy office in Brighton UK, is now running job adverts under the company name MyStyle Marketing LTD. Instead of Brighton Outsource. Probably due to the exposure that he is getting at the moment
This is the new website that they are using to hide behind……BEWARE…….
http://www.mystylemarketing.co.uk/
Hey,
Me and my partner have set up a group page dedicated to taking down this organisation. The affect that webpages like these have on tearing down this SCAM is massive. So please go to our page and just take 5 secs to have a look, post a comment or even just give us a thumbs up. You would be surprised at how much something small like this could help us!! Thanks in advance, we had over 3 years ripped away from us because of this organisations lies and manipulation.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/444882222272420/
Hi,
I attended an interview etc for a company called GRI Global in Belfast (Also an office for for 5 star enterprise) And it followed the exact same structure as the above. I have to say I was suspicious from the off and after seeing the team and offices I knew my suspicions were 100% accurate. My experience was as follows:
Applied to a sales exec job 20-25k per year. On sunday evening.
Got a call back from a lady early Monday morning. (missed it but left a voicemail)
Got an email and call from another lady. Who arranged my interview for the following afternoon with the managing director. (When does a MD do interviews?!?0
Conformation email received almost as soon as she hung up.
On attending the interview I knew something was up, the offices were shabby but ok. A guy was on the desk and asked me to fill in a form (BASIC INFO). Loud music playing from 4music on a small TV in the corner.
Guy on reception never spoke but seemed to be printing something out constantly. After 15-20 mins he got up and I noticed a huge tear on the back of his jacket. He then lead me through a door and it was then I realised he was taking my interview. I only use the word interview because that is what they called it.
It basically was a 5 min ‘chat’ where he drew two graphs and asked how long it would take in a normal company to become a director. Then he drew a 4×4 grid and drew an arrow from bottom to top saying ‘here you can do it in 6 months’ Im an assistant owner of this company and ive been here 4 months.
We have 170 offices worldwide and over 26 clients. The only one he would name is Talk talk.
Here are my concerns at this point:
1. How many owners or assistant cant afford a suit that isn’t ripped??
2. The office’s assistant owner mans the reception?!
3. All calls are from mobiles
4. All the awards on the wall no other employees in the office
5. I cant find them on the internet besides their own website.
I complete the chat and keep trying to ask more questions about the company all of which are dismissed.
A few hours later I get an email inviting me to a trial day the following day.
I turn up along with another 7 people and notice 2 new receptionists. They keep us waiting over 25mins before we are paired up with our mentor.
I am ‘lucky’ enough to be paired with the owner. I later realise this is so that my questioning isn’t overheard by other staff.
I really grill the ‘owner’ and he walks very fast away from the others. We attend one house and almost get a sale. He is on his phone that often I say lets head back.
Basically I’m not sure its a ‘scam’ as such. They aren’t upfront about what they do or who they are and operate from a central office.
These companies earn a commission for your sales and pay you a percentage. As an owner you get a percentage from those below you. The reason their model is to get you to push towards promotion ie hitting bigger targets.
My step daughter is currently working for one of these companies. As soon as she said she could be manager within 4 months with a 800 pound weekly salary I was concerned. She has only been working a few days and has been told she will be working a few weeks in hand. To be honest she thought she was going to an interview for a cinema assistant ( the job advertisement being so vague.) She has just left school and has been easily duped. Her account of her interview is exactly what has been posted. She has been told to go door to door selling LoveFilm for amazon. The company is based in London and I believe were previously located in old street although they have now changed their name and location as her interview was in Southwark . I’m not to sure what the company is now called as she is out all day and I work nights. I thought I would look up this type of company and was led here. I am so pleased I did. If anybody can give me a name for this Southwark company I would be very grateful
Hi Kelly, I worked for a company which was once situated in Southwark, the company she worked for is part of the Perdm group, the manager at that specific company is actually a nice women however i’m not sure it could be a good job for your daughter as it’s all about sales and the fact if she doesn’t meet targets the person who recruited her can let her go without notice.
live innovations are a SCAM! seriously how is it they are getting away with this CRAP!!
Tc world ltd are also in preston at station house, 4 fishergate court preston pr1 8qf tel 01772 823043.
They share an office and also same phone number (how i found out)with inspire organisation ltd who are advertising same posts on job sites, Inspire Organisation ltd another to add to list
Hi all, i sadly worked for a perdm group company for 6 months, as a graduate i was excited about a chance of opening up my own business but few months down the line it became unbearable and the fact at first everyone who joined were nice normal people changed into lying sales monkey, i didn’t get paid for the last 3 months i was there apparently because there were problems with the clients, i continued to work there just because i still believed in the scam. The company i worked for was called ‘Key Consultancy’, they are situated in Canary Wharf. The funny thing after watching that documentary on Youtube about the scam is that the interviewer in the secretly filmed interview was the manager of Key Consultancy, his name is Hicham Mouden, one thing i must say about him is that at first he’s a nice guy but 3 months down the line he is a nasty piece of work who cared more about sales than paying the people who worked in his company, and trust me 3 months without getting paid meant i basically starved everyday whilst working.
Anyone had heard of Elite Direct advertising and marketing LTD, based in Baron street, Angel?
I worked for them and did quite well in terms of earning money.
But i would never go back, i realised i was one of the minority that got anything from it. Most people who start leave within a week.
It is not illegal or a scam though. Just a dishonest business, designed to change people’s mind sets. A very clever sales pitch that lasts weeks/months/years.
It is a self employed , commission only role. They are just not upfront about this, so they have the chance to sell the idea of management.
Many people are vulnerable and fall for it, but don’t judge the people who work there too badly, they believe they are right as they have been convinced so. They don’t know what they are lying about as they have been lied to.
I know all the ins and out of the companies, the good and the bad.
But i still take positives from the role, I learnt a lot of skills that have helped me in my jobs since.
I wouldn’t take the advice on anyone who went for an interview and didn’t start too deeply. Find someone who started and got promoted to the second stage ‘leadership’.
They know the ‘pitch’ and ‘tricks’ designed to make you start the job.
They are specifically trained to ‘close’ you on your interview. Strange system when a company has to sell you the roll, instead of you selling yourself for a position.