I was hired as a telemarketer with another 6 or so people off of an ad on craigslist. It was supposed to be 2 weeks on $8/hr plus $50 commission on each sale.
After two days in a seedy little office in Rancho Cucamonga (that was supposed to be under some corporate office in San Diego), Rick (Richard Shwartz) announced that he was not going to pay us the hourly anymore, but commission only.
Most people quit the next day or the day after. Then came the surprise! He did not want to pay us! He paid one girl on 3 hours of "talk time" for the 30 hours she worked! Then he tried to pay $10/deal.
This man is the biggest con man out there. If you have been scammed by him, report it to the employment authorities and BBB. His phone number is 909-486-0007.
Annonymus
Los Angeles,#2Author of original report
Fri, March 12, 2010
Even though University Prep Center denied any affiliations with Rick Swartz, they know about him and still supply him the leads, the promotion material and the product, which makes them equally responsible. These guys hide behind having a "pending nonprofit" status when calling people from the Do Not Call list and they do not abide by any laws of the state. Repulsive scammers! Their ads are still all over Craigslist!
Annonymus
Los Angeles,#3Author of original report
Thu, January 21, 2010
I see his ads on Craigslist every week, multiple times. He changed it around, but you can recognize it by the blatant lies ("our reps make $18/hr, etc.). He always enters Victoria Gardens as his location.
If you are scammed by a telemarketing company, do the following:
-get the phone numbers / addresses off of everything you see around you! Try to get your scammers' names. (They will try to only use first name, but I found out Rick's full name when I overheard a phone call.) You will need all information you can gather!
-write up a report of what happened, and post it here
-send your report to the Better Business Bureau
-report it to the Labor Board
-get other employees' phone numbers too, so they can testify to what happened!
Don't let these people get away with it!!!
Gerald
anytow,#4General Comment
Thu, January 21, 2010
I find it interesting that UPC of san diego is quick to say that they have no knowledge or affiliation with College Career Foundation. They remind me of military special forces in that we train you, equip you and send you out but if you get caught you're on your own. I know for a fact that they have affiliation, hell they even provide the ability to monitor their reps on the phone as a training tool. So to say that I have nothing to do with College Career Foundation is a blatant lie. You provide the product and you help train the new reps, how are you not affiliated? You also ship the product to the customer for College Career Foundation. Sounds like plenty of involvement to me. This is like the guy in my neighborhood who sold grenades out of his trunk...when he got busted he said "I just sale grenades man I'm not responsible if they are used to blow up a church." WTF???!! then stop selling grenades and you won't have to worry about being responsible. Get the message UPC.
Anumberone
Riverside,#5UPDATE EX-employee responds
Wed, December 16, 2009
What a little thief.
As long as Rick Schwartz is able to do business using the name "University Prep Center", and continues to ripoff customers and employees, the real "university Prep Center" will be looked at as liable in the eyes of those ripped off.
He hired me on an hrly basis (just as he has many others, some posted here) and required me to spend 10hrs daily in his office answering calls & soliciting sales for him. When payday rolls around, he paid me for what he calls "talk time". I was paid $160 for 7 10hr days. I want to take him to court, have him fined or something. It's not fair that he can do that to people. I want his address to report him to the labor board or BBB.
UPC
San Diego,#6REBUTTAL Owner of company
Tue, October 27, 2009
The College Career Foundation is NOT an affiliate, partner, or subdivision of The University Prep Center. They simply purchase our products wholesale, and sell them to their own students. The College Career Foundation is owned and operated under their own policies, and operate as a private corporation. The daily operations of their office is executed at their own discretion.
The University Prep Center has nothing to do with this company other than they purchase some of our test prep materials on a wholesale level.