Complaint Review: Direct Consulting Associates - Solon Ohio

I had an extremely bad experience with this company.  Be extremely cautious about doing any business with this company!  If you decide to pursue employment through them, get EVERYTHING IN WRITING!  A verbal agreement means nothing with these poeple.

I worked with John and Charles at this company at first just by phone.  I explained my experience in the IT industry in detail.  After a number of years talking with them by phone, they called and explained that they had the perfect spot for me.  They setup me up with a phone interview, and the client liked everything they heard.  They wanted to hire me.  I trusted DCA that they had explained my experience to this client completely and honestly.  Since this was my first experience being an IT consultant, I was nervous, however John and Charles assured me that everything would go fine.  They would fully support me.

Since my wife and I were nervous about leaving my permanent full time job and moving to a contract position, they assured us that I would be given 30 days notice in case anything went wrong.  They would be able to place me in another position, however they assured me that this situation was so rare, it was nothing to worry about.  I reviewed the contract/agreement that I was given and was surprised that it contained at-will employment language in it rather than contract termination language for each party in case they wanted to leave the contract early.  When I brought this to the attention of John and Charles, they indicated that I was not to worry as I would receive 30 days notice in case anything went wrong with the deal.  I asked them where this language was in the contract, I could not find it.  They indicated that it was in the contract between them and the client - not the contract that they had with me.  I asked them to provide for me this clause that was in that contract.  They never sent this to me, however they held a conference call with me and my wife on the phone.  They assured us that the 30 day notice provision will kick in in the event something goes wrong.

I agreed to the position.  I went to the client and worked for two weeks.  At the same time I started, an 8 year veteran started at the same time.  I was not told that another consultant was going to start at the same time as me.  After two weeks, the client indicated that they did not want to continue.  I spoke to the client asking for an exit interview.  They indicated that I simply wasn't what they were looking for - no details of any kind.  I have never been released from any position in my life for performance reasons, so I asked them for more detail.  I told them that I fulfilled every duty that they had given me.  They could not give me any more details.  

After the position ended, I did not receive my final pay on payday.  I escalated the situation with DCA and was given the run-around.  After 5 calls to DCA for my money, I had to hire an attorney to write a prelitigation letter requesting the final pay and paystubs.  Then, they finally paid.  However, I was not given 30 days notice nor wages in lieu of notice.  DCA ignored our requests for this money.

Because of the nature of employment law, it not advantageous to pursue this in the courts.  However, I want others to be aware of the facts before pursing a position with DCA.