Complaint Review: TPL Global Logistics Services - Internet

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!