Recruitment rip off

JimCha18

Hi,

I recently got in contact with a recruitment company called Darnell International because they had a job advertisement for a trainee financial advisor at a company called 'Bold Moves' in Bournemouth.

I spoke to an advisor who informed me that she would show the company my CV and discuss with them if i would be suitable to interview. When she got back to me she informed me that they were interested in taking me on but first i had to get my CEFA 1 certificate. They informed me that they provide the course and that i would be able to do it from home. They said it costs £500 and in return i would recieve all documents, videos and Mock exam papers i would need to pass it in 2 weeks. They said that the company would keep it open for me until then.

When i paid the fee i was sent the documentation by email, therefore having to print out 100's of papers. I was also given a workspace on their internet site that provided the videos and mock exam papers. Their was enough revision for 2 years, let alone 2 weeks! After 2 weeks i went to book the exam with the FSA and they told me that their was a 2 week waiting list. I was not informed that i have to book the exam before.

So, when i finally got the exam done and failed i phoned up Darnell International to inform them and see if i could still get an interview. I spoke to a different advisor who informed me that the one i was dealing with no longer works there. She said she would get someone else to contact me.

I recieved no contact so i phoned again and they said the same. Guess what? Still no contact.

By this point i was getting suspicious so i typed in Bold Moves in Google and only the job advertisement came up and not a company. So i rang again and made sure the first person i spoke to knew about my situation.

They informed me that Bold Moves works under their name, therefore no company. They said again that an advisor would ring me back that could help me better.

Guess what? No contact at all.

Does anyone know what rights i have and if i can claim back the money that they mislead me to part with, on the advice that a job would be left open to me?

It may have been a bit naive to do, but when their are not many job offers out there and one comes along you do the best to get it.

Many Thanks

dehaani

JimCha18 wrote: »

It may have been a bit naive to do

If you still think it may have been a bit naive then you're still in denial. They got you hook, line and sinker.

These trainee financial advisor jobs are advertised all over the place. I've never read past the initial details to note the "employer" because they are always far too good to be true.

twisty

Naive or not, surely there must be some redress if someone is duped into handing over money by basically being missold a service? Or perhaps I am being naive. I'm not sure about this myself but see that there is some history to this http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1920719

isplumm

JimCha18 wrote: »

Hi,

I recently got in contact with a recruitment company called Darnell International because they had a job advertisement for a trainee financial advisor at a company called 'Bold Moves' in Bournemouth.

I spoke to an advisor who informed me that she would show the company my CV and discuss with them if i would be suitable to interview. When she got back to me she informed me that they were interested in taking me on but first i had to get my CEFA 1 certificate. They informed me that they provide the course and that i would be able to do it from home. They said it costs £500 and in return i would recieve all documents, videos and Mock exam papers i would need to pass it in 2 weeks. They said that the company would keep it open for me until then.

When i paid the fee i was sent the documentation by email, therefore having to print out 100's of papers. I was also given a workspace on their internet site that provided the videos and mock exam papers. Their was enough revision for 2 years, let alone 2 weeks! After 2 weeks i went to book the exam with the FSA and they told me that their was a 2 week waiting list. I was not informed that i have to book the exam before.

So, when i finally got the exam done and failed i phoned up Darnell International to inform them and see if i could still get an interview. I spoke to a different advisor who informed me that the one i was dealing with no longer works there. She said she would get someone else to contact me.

I recieved no contact so i phoned again and they said the same. Guess what? Still no contact.

By this point i was getting suspicious so i typed in Bold Moves in Google and only the job advertisement came up and not a company. So i rang again and made sure the first person i spoke to knew about my situation.

They informed me that Bold Moves works under their name, therefore no company. They said again that an advisor would ring me back that could help me better.

Guess what? No contact at all.

Does anyone know what rights i have and if i can claim back the money that they mislead me to part with, on the advice that a job would be left open to me?

It may have been a bit naive to do, but when their are not many job offers out there and one comes along you do the best to get it.

Many Thanks

Hi,

Not sure what you asking for .... the CEFA 1 course is the 1st part of training to become a financial advisor .... so you will need that. Look at:

http://www.beaconfinancialtraining.co.uk/cefa-qualification

who do training for the CEFA1 course .... they charge £495 for the 5 day course, which doesn't appear to include the exam ... you paid £500 for the home study course (they charge £295), but also got the exam included.

You didn't pass the course, so they don't have to do anything?

For me this is a common way of learning - I did PRINCE2 in a week on a course, then took the exam at the end. The course was very intensive & involved lots of evening work, but I passed the exam.

I am not sure what you are asking for? They provided you with the course materials, you took the exam (failed), so they could not take it further ...

As to the bit about them advising you that a job would be open for you - they never said that - they stated that if you PASSED the exam, the company would be very interested. NOT the same as offering you a role.

If you want to take your CEFA1 exam, look at the link above .... might give you some useful info.

Mark

isplumm

twisty wrote: »

Naive or not, surely there must be some redress if someone is duped into handing over money by basically being missold a service? Or perhaps I am being naive. I'm not sure about this myself but see that there is some history to this http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1920719

You were never missold a service - they gave all the materials, the exam information - you failed!!

Did you do ANY research on CEFA1 beforehand - I spent 30 secs on the web & discovered that it is a hard course - so doing yourself would be difficult.

Why don't you find out how much it costs to retake, revise more & retake ...

Mark

twisty

isplumm wrote: »

You were never missold a service - they gave all the materials, the exam information - you failed!!

Did you do ANY research on CEFA1 beforehand - I spent 30 secs on the web & discovered that it is a hard course - so doing yourself would be difficult.

Why don't you find out how much it costs to retake, revise more & retake ...

Mark

Hi Mark,

I'm not the OP, was just trying to help and pointing out that there is some history to this. Sometimes people aren't as vigilant as they should be when parting with their cash but they still deserve help and sympathy

isplumm

twisty wrote: »

Hi Mark,

I'm not the OP, was just trying to help and pointing out that there is some history to this. Sometimes people aren't as vigilant as they should be when parting with their cash but they still deserve help and sympathy

Hi,

I have been reading the other thread .... people just seem a bit ... they sign up for something without checking to see whether they get it cheaper elsewhere .... they then get sent the course as promised ... but of course no job appears .... the question is - are the agency leading them on? do they promise 100% that there is a job for them ... I suspect not ... they are being underhanded & not very ethical ... but is what they are doing illegal?? Not sure ... after all, you pay £500, you get the course & the exam ... that is what they tell you are going to get?

Mark

twisty

I suspect you're right in that they are probably very careful not to be illegal. But from what I have read it does seem like they are being very underhand and unethical

JimCha18

isplumm wrote: »

Hi,

I have been reading the other thread .... people just seem a bit ... they sign up for something without checking to see whether they get it cheaper elsewhere .... they then get sent the course as promised ... but of course no job appears .... the question is - are the agency leading them on? do they promise 100% that there is a job for them ... I suspect not ... they are being underhanded & not very ethical ... but is what they are doing illegal?? Not sure ... after all, you pay £500, you get the course & the exam ... that is what they tell you are going to get?

Mark

I didnt get the exam with it, and if your going to be unhelpful dont bother posting anything. Your talking to me like you would an idiot, all i was doing was seeing if i had a case for misleading.

isplumm

JimCha18 wrote: »

I didnt get the exam with it, and if your going to be unhelpful dont bother posting anything. Your talking to me like you would an idiot, all i was doing was seeing if i had a case for misleading.

Jim ...

I am not trying to be rude ... but you say it is a recruitment rip-off, you say that you paid for a course - which you received, you took the exam & failed ... that is not the fault of the company ... as I said in my first response - you take this course in a week in a classroom & do the exam at the end ... similar to what I did for my PRINCE2 exam. Very difficult ... but possible ... they never said that they had a job for you ...

Whether you paid to much is another matter ... morally / ethically they may be in the wrong, because they have used your lack of a job to push you into something you might not have done normally.

But legally I don't think you have a leg to stand on ....

Apologies if I have offended you ... I wasn't trying to honestly, but you asked for advice ... I responded initially, then someone else responded & I responded to them ... wasn't really thinking of you ....

Mark

JimCha18

dehaani wrote: »

If you still think it may have been a bit naive then you're still in denial. They got you hook, line and sinker.

These trainee financial advisor jobs are advertised all over the place. I've never read past the initial details to note the "employer" because they are always far too good to be true.

i dont think that is advice, i think that is being a smart !!!!