Complaint Review: Bernard Haldane Associates - Plantation Florida

I responded to a newspaper ad back in April for BHA. I was an owner/partner in a company, and the partnership went sour. I was embroiled in legal maneuverings and negotiations with my former partner, and had not worked in over a year. The ad said that they were looking for executives and people who had earned over $50,000 per year at their last job. I received a call back from them and an appointment was sceduled.

I must say that unlike other reports I have read here, their Plantation office was very impressive. Lots of wood paneling and glass, it was apparent that they had spent a large sum of money on this place. The service was courteous and prompt, and after filling in a questionaire, I was shown to the office of Robert Patterson, a vice-president. Mr. Patterson gave me essentially the same sales pitch that I have read about here. After reviewing my resume he said that they would definitely be interested in working with me and that my lack of a college education would not be a hindrance to placing me in a job that would pay $75,000 to $100,000 per year. I got the same spiel about the hidden job market, their connections, etc. When I told him that I would eventually like to start a business again, he even told me that they could put me in touch with venture capitalists to help finance me. I was definitely under the impression that they would find jobs and set me up with interviews. I was even told that they could essentially create jobs for me where none had existed before.

I had a second meeting with them, and I honestly can't remember at which meeting the money was discussed, or if they wanted my wife to attend. I was very concerned about shelling out $5000 as my financial situation at the time was very precarious, but I was pretty much convinced that BHA was the way to go. They even suggested in a round-about way that I could take out a second mortgage on my house to pay the fee. After soul-searching overnight, I called the next day and told them that I could not afford their services, but I was heartbroken about it.

Now, seven months later my situation had changed and I had money to pay them. I had a long discussion with my wife during which she let me know that she wanted more information before parting with that much money. I sat down at the computer this morning and went to the BBB website, where I could find nothing bad about BHA. Then on a hunch I did a search for BHA and looked for websites other than the company ones and came across the Rip Off Reports. Needless to say, my eyes were opened. As I read the stories of other people who had been scammed, I saw all the tactics that had been used on me. I was ashamed and chagrined to think that I had almost been taken advantage of this way. More so because the night before I had e-mailed them and asked for an appointment for myself and my wife. I went upstairs and told my wife what I had found and that I was no longer interested in BHA. She told me that she had been thinking about it ever since we talked, and had made up her mind to tell me to go ahead and go for it. I feel like I just dodged a bullet; hell, a bomb! Thanks Rip Off Reports for saving my money and pride!