I unfortunately have fallen victim to the unethical practices of Bernard Haldane Associates. I first met Howard Hirsch of the Princeton, NJ based Bernard Haldane Associates on June 26. At that time I was a senior level executive who was going to be losing his job in other 2 months. Mr. Hirsh assured my wife and I that they do not select just anyone to become a client. He clearly spelled out that through their network and contacts they can land me a well paying job ($80,000 more than my current salary) through what he called the "Back Door Approach". When I asked very openly what he meant by the back door approach. Mr. Hirsh further elaborated on how wonderful their tools are in finding that perfect job. He many times reiterated that only 3% of the jobs are found through various job seeker web sites and less than 5% are found through the newspaper classifieds. Mr. Hirsh further went onto explain that while most job seekers are going through the conventional methods (newspapers, internet, recruiters etc.) what he referred to as the front door approach, BHA will land me a great job within 14 weeks through the back door approach. He then asked my wife and I to pick 2 companies I would like to work at. I named 2 very prominent Fortune 500 companies near my house. His immediate response was that these are 2 very good companies to work for and that what would I say if through their network, BHA would be able to land a fantastic job at either one of these 2 companies. All I had to do was pay $7000 up front and sign some papers. Of course this is non-refundable. We explicitly asked if we could pay only a percentage now and the rest when I get the job. Of course this was not an option nor was it the way BHA does business. They take your money up front and then have you sign documents that anything verbally promised to you is not part of their obligation. Unfortunately, I did not have a lawyer review the document before I signed. What became very aggravating with this whole process was that when I asked BHA for the network/contacts for these wonderful job leads I was told to talk to my friends, neighbors, family and other acquintances for job leads. This is what I paid $7,000 for!!! They very confidently explained to me that this was what they referred to as the back door approach. To make matters worse they than instructed me to search the classifieds and internet for job leads. The very same approach that they clearly explained that less than 5% of the population find jobs this way. The BHA web tools were absolutely worthless. Their tools are available for free through any of the major job search engines. I have continued to pressure BHA for a full refund, to date have not received any refund. I warn everyone reading this to stay away from BHA and their unethical behavior. The Mercer County Consumer Affairs office is very much aware of the numerous complaints received. Please contact Senior Investigator Joanne C. Frank at 609-989-6671 for more information on the fraudulant practices of BHA. I have taken the necessary steps to file a lawsuit and I am working closely with the Office of Consumer Affairs on this issue. A class action lawsuit is in process. CyrusAnnandale, New Jersey
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