I found this posting on CareerBuilder.com for an online bartending course and a guaranteed position as a bartender at a local bar/club/restaurant. It seemed pretty legit to me, so I went ahead and called the number posted on their ad. Immediately they ask for the ext number given on the ad (probably so they know how to pitch me). I should have saw this as a warning sign but sadly, I didn't.
The person on the phone (Ruben) explains to me that this is an online course that only takes 2 hours to complete. This sounds strange considering most bartending schools take 2-3 months. Then he asked for my credit card information, and I ask him what for? He said that it's just to register me. I ask him if he would charge me and immediately he starts cutting me off and talking really fast as if I have no right to doubt their legitimacy. Eventually I gave them my info, and he tells me that he has sent me an email with my login information and that I should visit their website to complete the registration.
While reading their terms of agreement I noticed that it states I've already been charged a fee. Sure enough, on my bank statement a charge of $149.90 has been made. I call them back and complain about this, they say to take it up with customer service. I call the customer service # they give me and it turns out to be a Police Uniform company... And the lady tells me that they get calls for Bar Careers all the time! At this point I know I've been scammed, so I call them back and demand to speak to the manager and threaten to notify the authorities. The person on the phone is obviously scared and does not know what to do, so she hangs up on me. I call back and tell them that won't work, while she tries to pretend that it was an accident. They finally put me on with the manager (Barry), who keeps trying to assert their legitimacy and repeatedly refers to me as "bro" and "dude". He finally agrees to refund the charge on my credit card, which he says will take a week. I'm very suspicious about that so I'm communicating with my bank to make sure it happens. However, they still have my credit card information as well as my zip code so I'll be forced to change my information.
All in all, definitely not to be trusted. I definitely learned a good lesson here, and I hope that my experience will be able to help someone a bit more prudent than myself.
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