Caveat emptor: The Reference Store (the one which supposedly supplies work references) is low-rent and incompetent. Fraudulent? In the sense that you are not getting what is paid for, most definitely. They didn't take the money and run; they simply haven't got their act together enough to make a cup of coffee.
Awhile back, I had the marrow sucked from my bones by an employer—did everything and more asked of me, never missed work, got along with everyone, etc., etc.—and then was let go once they'd gotten every last ounce and decided to spit me out through their revolving managerial door. I threatened lawsuit and was quickly shut down by their high-priced corporate mouthpieces. Now, do you really think I could trust getting the work reference earned and deserved, or that I could fake one my our own suitable to the level of employment for which I was seeking? Let's just say I wasn't applying for fast food, and you can't just have your brother, mom, or best friend cover all the bases that a thorough HR reference check for a upper-income job is going to entail. (If only it were that simple, though...) It seemed that desperate times were going to call for desperate measures, and eventually I came across these fake-reference services on the internet and did some research into their efficiency and authenticity. The Reference Store was the only one which we were not able to find reviews for, good, bad or other... So I kinda figured no news must be good news, as all their competitors were being slammed time and again by their actual consumers. The idea sounded great on paper, although I was hesitant; but after lengthy consideration of the matter, I paid my (quite considerable) money and rolled the dice with them. And crapped out big-time.
As I don't have much time left to share with you just all the ways The Reference Store botched the only job for which they were paid handsomely, I'll just leave it at this rhetorical question and hope those of you reading along will truly take heed before making the same mistake as us: In what way did they not? At this very moment, and in all my frustrations, I'm having a hard time coming up with even one.
In summation, I'd like to add one last thing then go, as I do have better things to do with my time than relive the nightmare of The Reference Store. I'd just like to say, before going, that if you choose not to listen to my advice and that of others who have warned against The Reference Store, please just don't say you weren't told so. (No, I don't work for one of their competitors, or gain anything by this posting than the chance I may help spare fellow job seekers the same letdown.) You may get lucky, true. It may even be possible that the majority of their clients are satisfied, yet from my experience I sincerely doubt it, and just remember that, technically, a majority consist of 51%. At the very least, I would strongly suggest that you look for another service of this kind and research, research, research before committing to one. As for The Reference Store, it's my guess that one day its proprietors may be doing the very same thing—which is to say they'll be in need of a service to fake referrals for theirs, having gradually found themselves unhireable due to a sustained inability to deliver on the work they're employed for.
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