I began looking for work at the end of October and I did part of my job search on Craiglist. I received a response by email that looked hopeful. It was for an assistant manager position where I would train for one month at home and then work from the office. I I thought it was too good to be true but then again I figured "at least I can say I have a job now". I thought I was doing well when I waas able to send the packages through the postal office with no problem and I began on November 12th and then I went on a vacation on November 21,2012 and then came back November 28th and I went to the post office to do as I was instructed, send the package to a supposed client that can't receive products from the United States straight from the merchant so people like me receive it and send it off. Then the post office informed me of a scam where people steal credit cards, order merchandise and then send it to people who naively think they have a job in reality are accomplice to a crime of trafficking stolen merchandise. I feel so dumb. I should of thought it was odd to receive an email from a gmail email address, when it should be a company email address, for me to not have a live,in person interview, no one would answer the phone, I did have one phone interview but after that it was all through emails, every time I emailed him I got an email back immediately. I feel more than dumb to have given them my address. I received this email explaining the process.
I received this job description:
Once again, Thank you for applying for position of Assistant
Logistic manager with our company. It is our firm belief that
training a new employee, who is eager to learn is much more
effective than retraining a person who already has some
experience in logistics with another company. If you are reading
this document, you already passed preliminary selection and now
can advance to the next stage.
Our company offers intelligent warehousing and order fulfillment
for miscellaneous internet companies as well as expeditor
services. Now we are expanding even more, and we are opening a
new location . We would like to make sure that we have enough
trained employees by the time we open the warehouse and office
space, so we can start right away, without wasting any time.
Below you will find detailed description of the employment
process, training program, which will be commenced upon your
successful completion of preliminary employment steps as well as
salary information for each stage.
Pre-Employment stages.
You will be interviewed over the phone or in person by one of
our HR managers;
If considered necessary at this stage, we might require a
background check. In this case, you will have to give your
consent for us to perform one; There are no expenses on your part
Final interview will be conducted;
If background check will be satisfactory and results of the
final interview are positive, you will sign Contract Agreement,
Non-Disclosure Agreement, and will have to fill out tax forms;
Once all the forms are completed and documents are signed you
will start working with our company.
Employment stages.
Stage I. Probation period. Duration: 1 month. Salary $2350\month.
This is your probation period during which you will get
acquainted with our operations. This is a test of all your basic
skills: attention to details, responsibility, ability to
multitask and complete several assignments in a short period of
time without any additional help. You will receive one of our
smaller client companies and will serve as correspondence agent
for this company, receiving and managing parcels, packages and
other shipments to be delivered for them. Your ability to
maintain proper documentation and logs will be tested. You will
work with the Sales department and regional offices of the
company, in order to plan necessary expenses and terms of
delivery to the Clients.
You will get familiarized with all modules of our proprietary
logistics software and will obtain basic skills necessary for
advancement to the next stage.
You will start learning our Warehouse Management System
integrated with clients Supply Chain Systems, and Electronic
Data Interchange (EDI),
You will be familiarized with our warehouse RFID inventory
system.
You will have to learn and pass test of knowledge of OSHA
requirements.
Conditions for passing of this stage are
No misplaced or lost packages. No mistakes in logs or insurance
documents. No delays;
Successful passing of all pertinent tests;
During Stage I you will be working and learning from home, part
time. When we find a suitable warehouse + office space, (it will
take about 1 month) you would have to start working from office
in order to continue training.
Stage II. Training. Duration of this stage will be determined
upon completion of stage I and will vary between 3 to 4 months.
Salary will be paid on monthly basis, calculated from base salary
of $36K\year. You will be working with one of our trainers in
order to learn and gain ability to efficiently and independently
complete the following tasks:
Be responsible for shipments, scheduling, ordering of equipment
and supplies, ensuring on-time performance;
Delegate tasks to ensure successful completion of operating
plans with a strong focus on safety and efficiency;
Assign daily work schedule based on our open order reports
(shipping). Monitor the amount of man power being used for each
department according to the amount of units been received and
shipped on each calendar day;
Manage and coordinate maintenance plans to ensure maximum
facility utilization;
Supervise the floor on a constant basis going true each step
from receiving of goods finishing, picking and packing stations
to assure all customer requirements are been followed , managing
the work flow in order to reach highest efficacy and
productivity;
Supervise maintenance of all company warehouse equipment such
as pallet jacks, forklifts, etc. necessary to run shipping and
receiving departments.
Process all paper work for outbound loads including scheduling
appointments with LTL and FTL carriers, checking in drivers,
checking and signing the BOLs, and Confirming all orders shipped
complete in PKMS.
Develop and implement warehouse design to include traffic
patterns, pedestrian walkways, staging areas, loading and
unloading procedures that would improve productivity in
receiving, warehouse & shipping efficiency.
Order and maintain inventory control for all warehouse raw
materials that include pallets, tapes, machine shrink wrap, hand
wrap etc;
Evaluate manpower needs and control costs for overtime and
plant expenses.
Promote a safe working environment by providing safety training
and enforcing OSHA rules and regulations.
Plan, direct, and coordinate day-to-day operations:
Warehousing, Purchasing, Inventory, Customer Service.
Stage III Final stage. You become part of our company.
Upon successful completion of Stage II you will sign a contract
with us with the following conditions and benefits contingent on
your performance during the preliminary stages:
Starting salary between 46 and 48K\year;
Medical insurance for you, your spouse and up to 2 dependents;
2 weeks paid vacation and paid holidays;
Salary will commensurate with experience;
If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me over the
email. If you would like to continue the employment process,
please reply with an email containing your most recent phone
number, your updated resume pasted in email body (it is
important, please don't send attachments) and preferable time
interval when we can contact you. We will set up an interview and
will continue from there.
Best regards, David
> David Brown
> HR Manager,
> TPL Global
When I asked questions as to why these labels had my name all over them and how does the whole process work, why have people mail things when the company can mail it directly. I got this explaination.
I apologize for my delayed response
About your questions.
1. Stage I is mostly testing of your abilities to work without constant
supervision, how well you manage your time and wether you can maintain
consistency in all reports, avoid mistakes etc. Simple stuff, but very
important and as it turns out to be not everyone can do it.
2. official start date is November 12.
3. Many expeditors would not release package to you unless your name is
on the package. And in order for it to be on the package it has to be
on the invoice.
You should take all invoices from the package.
Now about your understanding of our business. It is mostly correct with
one small exception: you mixed up two separate lines of work :)
First one is order fulfillment, and it is exactly what you described.
We don't work with such big companies as Nordstrom though. Our clients
are small companies that can not afford to have a large warehouse.
We don't sell any products from our own stock. We provide order
fulfillment, but it is a completely different story and we will get to
that during the next month. We only provide logistics services for
companies and individuals. And goods forwarding for private individuals
is the simplest part of our business. This is why we start our Stage
with goods forwarding. Let me explain why there is such a high demand
for it.
In many cases it is impossible to order directly from an e-shop. Many
companies have representatives abroad and agreements of exclusivity
forbid them from selling to any region other than the region they have
a license for. Just like with Iphone, there are many other cases where
some particular product is forbidden for sale or available only on a
much later date than it is in US. For example in some countries of
Eastern Europe Iphone 5 will be available only by late December. And
right now it sells for up to 3000$\unit there, basically 4 times more
than it does in US. Right now it sells on what is called "grey market".
It is legal to buy an Iphone there, but only for individuals. No
company can legally sell an Iphone there before December. So these
individuals use our services to deliver Iphones there.
In many cases there are special agreements and limitations on sales of
some products and in other cases reasons why a certain product is
unavailable in particular region is an enigma. For example in Europe
Chanel (French company) does not sell "stay on lipstick". At all!
Nobody knows why. So we have several customers in France, home of
Chanel, who buy it from Chanel New York through us.
Plus we have special arrangements with Pitney Bowes (major provider of
services related to packaging mailing and shipping) so that our tariffs
for international shipments are much lower than what a private
individual would get.
So if someone in Europe wants to buy a product which is available here
in USA but not it Europe, and there is no way to ship it directly, they
use our services. Right now we are very much interested in Eastern
European market. It is a very risky but very promising market with very
good clientele.
I hope that now you understand how it works.
Best Regards, David
When there was a delay I got this email:
Hello Victoria,
Please dispatch all packages ASAP because the labels expire with time.
Postal office will not accept those after certain date.
Best Regards, David
When I complained that I found this to be a scam:
I got this email:
Hello Victoria,
We've been notified about this scam and it worries us because it
creates problems for legitimate companies like ours. I understand your
concerns. We are aware of this situation on the market and the reasons
such scam companies exist is because they are mimicking absolutely
legitimate companies which are in this business for years.
As it is stated in our contract, you are getting your paycheck on
December 12,but I will do my best to expedite your check. It is very
late today, my assistant will call you tomorrow morning and we are
going to resolve it. Don't worry, this is a temporary problem.
It is quite possible that your postmaster is a typical representative
of old school brought up on concept that Russia is something
dangerous. It is his point of view and he definitely has a right
to have it. If there were any actual reasons to believe that
something is going wrong, postmaster would hold on to all packages.
Right now, he is merely expressing his point of view. Our point of
view is that Russia is a prominent and promising market with
great future. Are you familiar with BRIC abbreviation? It
is the opposite of PIGS. BRIC is Brasil Russia India China-
countries developing very rapidly with great opportunities for
business. PIGS is Portugal Italy Greece and Spain- countries with
greatest risks, most troubled economies. Of course Russia is risky
for multiple reasons. But there is no good business without the risk.
If you are uncomfortable working with Russia, I can switch you to
another region. But we have to resolve problems with delayed packages
ASAP or our clients will be very angry. You can use another postal
office if this one is giving you trouble. As I said, if there was an
actual reason to be worried, they would confiscate the goods.So right
now it is merely his assumption.
Best Regards, David
So, as conniving as they are, I am glad I at least did not do it for months like some people reportedly have. I am sending things back as I send this and going to the police department.
I know some people arent as naive and dumb as I am but I wanted to let people know of this company and even though you are unemployed and desperate, Be ware!
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Sha
United States of AmericaIt happened to me too.
#3UPDATE Employee
Wed, December 19, 2012
I had the exact same experience with this company. Sadly for me, I forwarded all of the products and didn't realize I was being scammed until I started asking them about my check, and it was never received. David Brown then stopped returning all of my emails. This is definitely a scam and I have reported it. I just pray that I don't get caught up in any of their mess. For those of you that are approached, please be mindful that this is a package forwarding scam, and they are getting innocent people involved in something very illegal. I just hope that they are caught. If you think that you have been a victimized by this company, report it immediately, and keep all of your documentation. It might be the thing that saves you. Again, definitely a scam, please do not get involved.
David
Irving,Texas,
United States of America
False information posted by a thief named Victoria Luc, posing as Amy from Atlanta
#3REBUTTAL Individual responds
Tue, December 04, 2012
First of all I would like to confirm several facts from this report
1. Our company, TPL Global logistics indeed offers multiple services and package forwarding is one of the services offered.
2. Indeed we intended to open an office in GA and hired Victoria Luc (it is the real name of person who wrote this rip off report) to work for us.
3. We work in this business for a long time, we have solid reputation and if necessary we can provide references from clients and business partners.
4. Package forwarding is not an illegal business although there are many companies mimicking activities of legitimate companies like ours. The leader is shipito.com there are many others: myus.com bongous.com priceusa.com bundlebox.com . Literally hundreds of reputable companies. Ours is one of them, but we re smaller than the aforementioned companies.
Now the real situation and facts.
1. Victoria\Amy started working for us in November. In her report she stated that she was on vacation for a week. The truth is that although Thanksgiving is a holiday, there was no discussion about any vacation. SHE JUST STOPPED WORKING WITHOUT ANY PERMISSION! She just disappeared just before Thanksgiving, without dispatching packages of our clients. We tried to contact her over the phone and email but she did not respond. Some of our clients were very worried and cancelled their orders. We can present proof upon request.
2. Victoria Luc\Amy states that the postmaster told her about a scam going on. But the truth is that there should be no confusion- IT WAS NOT ABOUT OUR COMPANY. She failed to mentioned in the report that there were no complaints about our company, our clients or our products.
3. Victoria Luc stated that she transferred all products to police, but the truth is that Victoria Luc decided to KEEP SEVERAL ITEMS for herself from the packages belonging to our customers. So SHE IS A THIEF AND THERE IS A POLICE REPORT FILED.
P.S. why would an honest person use a fake name ?
Since it is against Ripoffreport policy to post contact information or other detailed information , we are not doing it in this post. But if anyone is interested, we can provide proof that Victoria\Amy is stating false information as well as