Bernard Haldane - Beware Big Ripoff *Consumer Suggestion
Thanks to this site I narrowly escaped being ripped off by Bernard Haldane and Associates.
I had been lokking for a job in Indianapolis and I saw their add in the Indianapolis Star Jobs section of the paper. Since I live out of state I thought it would be a good idea to have someone in Indianapolis help me out with my search.
I contacted BH and they set me up an appointment with David Caswell one of their Vice Presidents(Sales Rep) Dave said he had access to the "unadvertised job market". He said 90% of people looking for jobs look in Help Wanted/Classified adds or on the Internet and that these job listings are only 10% of what is actually out there. The other 90% of jobs are "unadvertised" and I could be part of the 10% that has access to the unadvertised job market by using BH services.
He also said I was under payed for the skills and education level that I had. He said he would have no problem finding me a job that payed much better. He said BH would set up the interviews, negotiate my salary and vacations and that my fees would be returned to me "via a signing bonus" by the company that hired me. He said he called three different companies and that he had an individual (me) with a certain skill set, and that two of the companies wanted to interview me. Of coarse he couldn't tell me which companies he talked to.
He claimed he could place me in 60 days without a doubt.
All I had to do was pay the minimum fee of $4860.00 and get started in the program. The quicker I got through the program the quicker I could start interviewing. I let BH charge 4860.00 to my charge card and I was to start Phase I the next day. That night I checked out the net and found this sight. Thank you to all of you who posted complaints.
I went in the next day to get a refund. David agreed to refund my money but only because they were letting me out of the contract out of the goodness of their hearts because there were no refunds in the contract and I was making a big mistake. The truth is, no services were rendered and I was due a full refund. Caught them in the nick of time and they weren't happy about it.
Dave wanted to know why I changed my mind and I told him I had read some things on the internet. He said they were all lies and that I could check with the attorney general or the BBB and I was making a big career mistake.
He said there was no way to refute things said on the internet (in some cases I agree) but this sight allows rebuttle.
I was unsure what was the truth so I asked him if BH actually contacted the potential employers and set up the interviews for their clients? He danced around this question and never gave me a straight answer. Still unsure of the truth I asked for some references. Surely if BH had placed so many people and had such a vast network of satisfied clients then they could come up with a few references who wouldn't mind telling me what BH did for them. Dave got angry at this request and said that this would be an invasion of their clients privacy and there was no way he could provide me with any references. This is when I knew for sure it was a scam and I told him I wanted the charges reversed on my credit card. He promptly did so saying they had not processed it yet.
Any good business can provide a few references!!! At that point he turned me over to the office manager because David was helping another client. The office manager talked real quite (so no one else would hear) about how they had an impeccable record with the BBB and the Attorney Generals office, and how all the statements on the interent were lies. I thanked him and left with my money.
In my opinion BH is a way over priced resume writing service/employment counseling service. I was hoping they actually had contacts at various businesses. I was led to believe BH would find job vacanacies, set up the interviews for me, and negotiate salary. From what I can tell this is not the case. They said they have access to the "unadvertised job market". Sure, there are jobs that aren't advertised, but they don't have access to those jobs, you have to find them on your own.
Be your own judge, but I think it's a scam. If there is anybody out there that BH has successfully placed. Write a rebuttle to my complaint because I would love to hear how BH got you the great job your currently at, leave me a phone # and I'll call you and you can tell me about it.
Click here to all the others who have been victimized by Bernard Haldane Associates
1 Updates & Rebuttals
I just wanted to provide a copy of what I recently submitted regarding Dave Caswell and the Bernald Haldane Office located at Keystone Crossing in Indianapolis.
#20
Fri, January 18, 2002
They filed the following rebuttal to the above Rip-Off Report:
Their email: HoosiersMS@msn.com
Their name: Michelle Stewart
Their relationship to the company: Consumer Suggestion
Rebuttal:
I just wanted to provide a copy of what I recently submitted regarding Dave Caswell and the Bernald Haldane Office located at Keystone Crossing in Indianapolis. I had just moved to Indianapolis and, even though it was a tremendous investment for me as a single parent, I value my career very much and thought it was worth it. Unfortunately, I found out too late how
costly BH can be, both monetarily and emotionally. I'm currently pursuing legal action but only time will tell. Considering you were able to escape the scam I think it says a lot that you took the time to write in...thanks--it may at least help my attorney!
I would like to start by saying thank you to all the Bernard Haldane Associate's victims who have wrote in prior to my report, especially to the former BHA advisor. Although it makes me realize how much of a mistake I made in trusting this placement firm, it's also refreshing to hear suggestions/support of how to deal with such a costly mistake, both emotionally and monetarily. I know this is lengthy but it's worth the
reading!! My experience with BHA confirms that just because a business charges unbelievable fees and is still in business doesn't mean they'll do what they say they will.the victim's word just hasn't been spread around enough. I hope my story helps save future job seekers who fall prey to Bernard Haldane! Be sure to notice there is one critical link missing
between BHA's Phase 1: Preparing a profile and interview techniques and Phase 2: Negotiations..THE ACTUAL INTERVIEW AND/OR CONTACTS BEING PROVIDED!!!
I am a single parent who, after obtaining my bachelor's and establishing a successful work history in Atlanta, Georgia over a six year span, decided to relocate back to Indiana in July 2001. Responses to dozens of resumes being sent out daily were slim as 4th quarter was quickly approaching and the events of September 11th resulted in no responses...except from Bernard Haldane Associates! I attended my first meeting with the Vice
President of Client Services and, although I am usually very skeptical of the car salesman lines, I was extremely excited about what I thought was a great opportunity to invest in such an important part of my life and my son's, my career. I proceeded to schedule a second meeting the following day to confirm my decision to hire BHA. The firm had been recommended to me so, short of discussing it with family members, I decided to take the plunge of $4860.00. The BHA VP stated that it was only a short term investment because I was a "piece of cake" placement candidate.I wasn't changing industries, had excellent recommendations/education, an excellent variety of experience in finance, procurement management, operations analysis, etc.. He proceeded to confirm that, although average placement time was (60) days, he thought I could be placed in (30) days. Beware!!!
BHA also states that you don't really have to worry about the money you're spending up front.they will negotiate a sign on bonus or an increase in salary to compensate you for your fees!!! Amazingly enough.if a placement firm never provides interviews, contacts for interviewing or job leads
through their website they can't negotiate anything!!!
After one to two weeks of hiring BHA, I addressed with my advisor the time frame to begin interviewing and placement. He stated the profile exercises, which are simply busy work and extremely time consuming, as well as attending the 4 hour Marketing Campaign Seminar, which is a ridiculous waste of time, must be completed prior to interviewing. He also stated that things were very slow right now with 4th quarter and that
placement may not even take place until 1st quarter of 2002. I explained to him that I would've never hired BHA if they were not going to be able to place me until 1st quarter - I had made that very clear to the VP. I also explained that I felt like I had received the "Sales Pitch" from the VP prior to giving my money and now all of a sudden I seemed to be receiving the "Reality Check" from the person that was actually suppose to
deliver. I was going into to BHA 2-3 times per week.outside searching on my own had ceased to get through all of BHA time consuming/elementary work! Even at this pace, it takes at least one month to be ready to interview. Following my initial verbal complaint to my advisor, I also contacted the VP via phone to explain my concerns and the conflicting placement information I was being given. He again confirmed there was absolutely no reason my placement should take that long and stated that he
would step in to assist with expediting the process. Nothing changed.
On October 12, 2001, I had completed all of the profile exercises and had attended the Marketing Campaign Seminar. My advisor stated that I was to watch for emails from the Career Search website. I receive emails everyday from 5-6+ free career search websites with applicable positions. How many have I received from the BHA's CS2K website to date.ZERO! I also
brought to my advisor's attention how poorly managed the website was (i.e. job postings 6-12 months old, the same position listed 5 times, etc.). I stated that when I ran the search over 500 positions would come back but only 10-20 were actually current! He stated that the site was not cleaned up because it was a business decision.it cost BHA money every time they have Sterling Hightower clean it up!!! Very professional response and
exactly what you want to hear when you sit in the plush office that they' re getting ready to remodel once again?!?!?!
On November 12, 2001, I attended a personally requested meeting with the VP of Client Services, and presented him with a two page contractual agreement, which not only summarized the poor experience I had had with Haldane, but also stated that, in order to maintain the career placement partnership, Upper Management had to intervene and have me in the final stages of placement no later than December 15, 2001. I was allowing them
another month to redeem themselves and our partnership! The VP signed the agreement and agreed to step in to ensure that I would have the opportunity to began interviewing and ultimately be placed close to that date. He also stated he would meet with my advisor and the lead advisor to provide additional assistance/insight and would follow up with me on November 13, 2001, via cell phone.
By November 15, 2001, I had not heard from the VP and sent via email a request for a full refund. I stated this only confirmed my beliefs of BHA being unable to follow up and deliver results. The VP replied that the lead advisor had been out with Bronchitis and that he would not be able to meet with her until the following Wednesday, November 21, 2001, at 4:00p.m. Follow up from the meeting was not received until Monday, November 26, 2001, in which the VP stated that the lead advisor agreed I
should've been provided with more leads by now and that she would provide them if I did the following:
. Send a letter to her asking for a referral interview, using the VP's name as the connection, and include a resume
. Follow up to receive an appointment
Despite my reserves as a customer, regarding why I must take even more additional steps to generate results from Haldane, I conceded with his letter request on November 27, 2001, and followed up with a call to the lead advisor for an appointment on Monday, December 3, 2001. Of course she was completely booked that week despite my account's situation and couldn't schedule an appointment until Tuesday, December 11, 2001, at
which time I was to treat the interview as a network style interview, with her as a possible lead into a company, and following the interview she would switch roles and act as my advisor, providing advice. Yes, acting is a big portion of this placement firms approach!!! Please note: I had already completed the role playing and passed the test with my assigned
advisor!
On December 6, 2001, I sent a formal letter to the VP registered mail and via email summarizing the course of events, or lack thereof, since I had given BHA yet another month to deliver results. I still had not had the opportunity to interview once! I cancelled the rehearsal with the lead advisor and, at the advice of legal council, stated in my second formal
request for a refund, that a response within (10) business days was required. The VP never contacted me. The lead advisor contacted me around December 18th, and wanted to reschedule our meeting from the 11th??? I told her I appreciated her call but I felt too much time had been wasted and ample opportunity had been given to the firm to change the outcome of our artnership. I told her I would converse with my attorney
and follow up. She followed up again and I told her I had to turn the ongoing and never ending situation over to my attorney. She stated that my request would be turned over to a "Corporate Client Services" contact and that he would follow up with me. Of course she had no idea when that would be.he might be out of the country!!
Around December 20, 2001, I followed up with a final phone call to the lead advisor to request the contact information for the "Corporate" contact. I had been waiting long enough for results from Haldane and had no intention of continuing that process. To date I have still not heard from BHA and have turned the matter over to an attorney. No matter how much I have to struggle financially not only because of what this
placement firm did (or didn't do), but also because of what it will cost me to straighten it out I intend to incur it. Job seekers are especially vulnerable right now with the economy the way it is and I plan to do everything I can to make them aware of how ruthless this organization is.no matter where they're located at our stories are all the same!!!