5LINX Enterprises Brad (didn't give me his last name), Malika (didn't give me her last name). This is worse than Vector, at least Vector reps had business cards to give out. Los Angeles, California
So I was job hunting and I found this job ad on CraigsList stating on the description that it can make you $2,000 - $3,000 a month, I wanted to learn more about what they had to offer so I inquired about it and I got a call the same day from this woman named "Malika", she told me she liked my personality and the qualities that I provided in my resume so she would like to meet with me. What the most unusual thing was that, I thought she and I would meet at their corporate office or something and schedule the interview; typically that's where interviews are anyway. But instead, she told me to meet her at her local Starbucks (yeah, I know right?..)
So I do, and the actual representative comes in half hour late because he didn't know LA well and he's from Corona; I asked her what his name was and she told me his name was Brad. So this guy shows up, gives me the entire she-bang about the company through a presentation; tells me I have to pay $499 for me to get started; and that's where I just lost it. Eventually he said the company is having a promotion so the actual price for ME to get started was $249 and not $499, asks me if I'm interested in a way that he's thinking that I better say yes.
This is the interesting part, he pulls out the job application and asks for my license and he filled it out FOR me; asks me for my debit card number and actually wrote it down onto the application to pay for the $249 training kit. Now, isn't that some sort of fraud? So I eventually called my bank and canceled my debit card and now they're going to send me a new one!
I read through another ripoff report through somebody else's account, that person said the BMW and Bentley the company "buys" you is really a lease; I thought: HAHA WHAT?!?!?! when I saw it, because "Brad" never told me that; all he told me that "the company will buy a car for you when you get to the top-tier level". What a f***ing d****e, I may have given him my debit card number but I wasn't stupid enough to not cancel it and think this wasn't a scam.
Worse case scenario is that my friend told me, they're going to send me the training kit and say that I owe them money and if I don't pay they're going to send my s**t to collections.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
fdavis75
San Jose,California,
USA
5LINX Brad and Malika
#3UPDATE Employee
Wed, November 16, 2011
Thank you Author: Disgusted for your rebuttal posted on Wednesday, June 22, 2011
I too am quite upset that Rip-Off publishes any and all comments from any Tom, d**k and Harry who want to complain, yet I respect their right to do so. This forum is for people who have had some type of complaint and want to post their concerns. I however believe that anyone that has objections to the posts when they know them to be correct should stand up and vehemently defend their company as I too am attempting to do today.
Independent Representatives acquire customers and business partners. The fact that these two reps might have gone about customer acquisition by way of advertising isn't dishonest, it's just another form of exposing their business. This in no way shape or form reflects on the validity of the 5LINX Ent. Each representative is governed by strict policies and procedures and by reading the post, no rules were broken.
I am however, completely mystified as to why a person would leave debit card information if there was no interest in the company and furthermore they felt as though they were being deceived?? Sounds more like he decided that the opportunity wasn't for him, which is ok. But to blame the company for how he got to the presentation was completely his choice and his decision to stay or leave was also completely up to him. I think this website should be reserved for REAL LEGITIMATE concerns of companies taking people's money out of their account without written or expressed permission or not delivering goods, products or services promised especially after repeated requests. Not some job seeker who didn't like how he responded to a request and then blames the corporate company for his decision to respond to that request. How in the world is that a reflection on 5LINX???
Disgusted
California,United States of America
5Linx Brad and Malika
#3General Comment
Wed, June 22, 2011
I am quite upset that Rip-Off publishes any and all comments from any Tom, d**k and Harry who want to complain.
Regarding the Brad/Malika complaint- I agree that the ad put out in Craigslist might have been misleading especially if it sounded like it was a job offer. But when the presentation was going on, the respondent should have just stopped it and said it was not what he was looking for. And why would he give his debit card number when he was not interested in the business opportunity? He was dumb enough to fall for the ultimate closing technique and he bit.
And now he blames 5linx ??
FYI, 5Linx is an INC 500 company and has been in that top 500 list for 4 consecutive years. Some of the big companies that are now publicly traded made that list when they were private only once.
And 5Linx does give away BMWs and Bentleys... No , they are not leased. They are in the names of the recepients and the company gives them $800/mo for the BMW payment and $4000/mo for the Bentley payment. A friend of mine in the business who was a sushi chef 3 years ago was awarded his Bentley in March 2011. Check out this video for proof : http://youtu.be/fZaqtf1oWGw