Complaint Review: Bernard Haldane Associates

I am a former career advisor with Bernard Haldane and Associates. Many people do not know that Haldane offices are independently owned with a royalty being sent to a management group in New York City. Sad as it might be, the real Bernard Haldane (now in his 90's) does not even own the business rights to his name. He sold it to the management group. Although Bernard Haldane was considered a pioneer in the career consulting industry, he was not a very good businessman, and cared more for the success of his clients than his bottom line. As you can tell from reading the stories on this site, the new owners of his good name care much more about the fortunes they can make than the services they may provide their clients.

I am not a disgruntled ex-employee, although I left the organization last year due to the selling practices of the company and the lack of company respect for the advisory staff. I have been emotionally moved by the horror stories found on this site. This has prompted me to try to assist those who have been misled get some money back and to protect those who are considering contracting services with Haldane.

After speaking with current and former salespersons (Vice-Presidents of Client Services), and long-time career advisors, I am uniquely qualified to speak about both sides of the company. Much of the information we taught at Haldane was valuable to our clients, but was clearly NOT worth the high prices. Most of the information you would learn with Haldane you can get at your local bookstore or library. Some companies sell the same exact techniques by offering manuals for sale on the Internet for very little so you can learn the same trade secrets which will help you. If you have been saved from a Haldane purchase due to the information on this site, but still feel you need some help, perhaps these other companies can help you.

Bernard Haldane Associates operates their business life in the shadows. They only thing that could destroy them is the cold light of day. If people learned what they were really getting for their $5,000+ investment, most would never hand over their credit cards in the numbers that they do. Haldane would cease to exist. The salespersons are never taught by the company to lie, they just learn over a period of time from other successful salespeople to calculatingly infer things to people, who need to believe in something, in such a way so that most clients will believe that promises and guarantees were given. I'm sure some lie directly to clients in order to get the sale, but the most experienced find ways to skirt the issues. Haldane salespeople hate direct questionsit destroys their sale.

Haldane salespeople throw around numbers like a 90+% success rate. They calculate this by deducting the clients who request a refund from 100%. They assume that if a client does not formally complain they are satisfied. This is not true.

The spouses of would-be clients are required for the second meeting because that forces them to make a decision right then and there, just like timeshares. They will leave you alone for few minutesopen the door when you are done. If they were to meet you without a spouse, most people will say that they have to talk with their spouse and never buy. They know this. Often, in the second meeting, when the spouses hear how much more money their spouses could earn, they get greedy too and encourage the other to buy.

Although I have never participated in the sales process, current salespersons have spoken repeatedly around the office about their methods and techniques. Most everything that has been written on this site about Haldane's sales methods appears to be true. Haldane salespeople are taught to control their clients by building them up while tearing them down. People begin to believe that they can be successful again in their career but DO NOT have the abilities to find the job themselves.

Some Haldane advisors are very good; others are terrible and are burned-out with the job. But none of us had the tools necessary plus the corporate support we would need to truly help our clients. Nearly every advisor in the organization would agree with this. The advisors are the sorry stepchildren compared to the salespersons who bring in all the cash. Most of the advisors I knew were very frustrated, as was I.

As you can see from reading this site, most clients think they are buying leads and contacts. That is false. Only recently did Haldane get a computer disk that accesses employment websites that you can gain access to without the disk. To my knowledge, no office provides contacts and sets up interviews no matter how much money you paid.

There seemed to me to be a wide variance of fees, without any system or method. The salespeople are taught how to up the fees if they can find the money. They ask you about your credit card balances, 401K plans, and equity in your home or your spouse's income. We had one person who demanded an adult client, who had no money to buy, bring his elderly parents to the second meeting so they can pay the fees. I heard of many salespeople who seemed very good at inferring that in most cases their next employer will reimburse the fees when Haldane helps you negotiate. This rarely happens. But, whatever it takes to get the sale.

I was given clients after just a few days of poor training. I had no career consulting experience or education in the field. I was not given any instructions on how to increase my services for a $10,000+ client from what I did for the $5,000+ client. They both get the same stuff. I had a $10,000+ client who I made write his own resume just like everyone else. For this reason, most advisors eventually leave the job with Haldane when they figure out that their job is really to pacify the client enough to get them out the door and TO PREVENT CHARGEBACKS!

WHAT YOU CAN DO

If you have become a victim of BHA, there are a number of things you can do to help yourself. It is rare that a person gets all their money back. However, some on this site have said that they did not even begin their first session with their advisor, and then requested a refund. I was told when I worked there that is called a no-sale and you should get a 100% refund. I was told you should get a full refund even if you have had the first meeting usually called a start. At this point, nothing has really been done. Our job was to get you through Phase 1 as quickly as possible because that greatly reduces your ability to get much money back, according to their agreement.

If you are beyond Phase 1, they will make it difficult for you to get much money back unless you know how to play the game. Although I do not directly know how the charge back process works, based on clients of mine who requested refunds, here is what I learned. First, bypass your local office as soon as possible. Your advisor and salesperson are taught to say that no refunds are available. Both salespersons AND advisors work strictly on sales commission, so they are not on your side. They lose money when you get money back. They have no power to authorize a refund. This process stops the weaker clients, which are the clients Haldane wants. Once you make enough noise, they will not want you around the local office anymore. They will refer you to the corporate office.

When I was working there, complaining clients would be forwarded to the advisory chief, whose job it was to sloooowww down the process, do an investigation etc. You will be amazed how many people just give up and quit at this stage. Some clients are told that there was a problem with the advisor and the problem is now solved if you give Haldane a chance to make things right. At this point remember, it is simply about not giving you back any money. You must stay firm.

Those clients who are most successful at obtaining a refund learn quickly that they are in a war and prepare to battle. There are things that Haldane owners are fearful of:

1.)Attorney General Complaints in Your State. Most people do not even have a clue how many state investigations Haldane has gone through. You should investigate whether there has been complaints in your state. You will be surprised. The Attorney Generals have shut down Haldane's offices in numerous states throughout the country. Haldane uses their money and lawyers to eventually get back in under some sort of agreement with the state to behave. Complaints to Attorney Generals get their attention fast and may even get all of your money back, instead of a smaller percentage that they will attempt to offer you. Too many complaints will result in a statewide shutdown.

2.)Better Business Bureau (BBB). I was surprised to learn that some cities have very few Haldane complaints filed with the BBB even though their offices have tons of unhappy clients. The salespeople tell me that quite often a new client will call the BBB before making a decision, so Haldane is protective of their BBB rating. If all of you would just report your complaint, you could get some money back plus help your neighbor.

3.)Media Investigations. How 20/20, 60 Minutes, Dateline NBC and the like have avoided reporting a story on this dirty secret this long is beyond me, but they have. There is a real story here; along with a hidden camera in the Haldane office while the salesperson is pitching. Some national news group is going to find this story. If you appear to be a person who is determined to support a media investigation, you can get anything you want.

4.)Persistence. Their job is to delay and discourage you. Your job should be to never give up. Most of these offices and corporate offices have a toll-free numbers if you inquire. Call constantly and often. They will quickly get sick of you and pay you from their next customer's money. Determined people get money back.

5.)Credit Card Companies. I had a client that pursued a charge back through their credit card company claiming fraud. I think our corporate office fought him but I believe he won a substantial amount of money back. I was told most credit card companies have a six-month charge back provision and maybe longer in cases of fraud. The problem you may have is that Haldane will probably throw your written contract in front of them to confuse the issues. Read your contract well.

6.)Private Attorneys. A letter from an attorney demanding funds or else you will pursue legal action still has power. You need to be prepared to continue with litigation if they balkmaybe joining with others on this site in order to reduce your costs. Bad publicity is a killer to Bernard Haldane.

7.)Use Their Names. The most effective letters on this site are ones that give the names of the salespersons and advisors. When these employees, many of whom are good people, see their names exposed on the Internet (and they DO LOOK at this site), they will quit their job with Haldane and hurt corporate sales. Nobody wants to be known as a conman.

If you have paid money to Bernard Haldane and Associates, you most likely have been ripped-off and I feel guilty about having been a part of it. But you must be determined to stand up for what is right, or you will become just another in a long line of Haldane victims.

Click here to all the others who have been victimized by Bernard Haldane Associates