Retail Undercover Association is run by a guy named Steve out of Downey, CA. He claims to have worked in loss prevention in NY and LA for over 20 years. He claims to have many contacts at a number of companies but it becomes clear later on that he doesn't have a single contact. What they do is advertise Loss Prevention Jobs in the Los Angeles area on craigslist. The ad has their number to call for more information. When you call they will ask you to come in for an interview. When you come into the interview, one of their "experienced agents" will sit you down and begin describing what the job of loss prevention entails and he will ask you if you're ok with working 9-5 or 1-10, why he even bothers to ask that makes no sense. Then he will tell you that they're actually a company that "trains" loss prevention agents and then sends them into the field with a certificate from them and the promise that they will find you a job that pays you between $12 and $18. The only thing you have to do is pay them $300 for the course, you attend twice for 3 hours and you'll be working within a few weeks according to them. I attended the classes and they give you a brief run down of the loss prevention job. Nothing special, all the information an idiot can come up with. During one of the classes, the owner Steve described how he held a class in Chicago and was able to get all 50 attendees a job within a week. I find this statement to be untrue, and if it is true, a gross overstatement. He also claims that his company barely stays afloat and he does it because it's what he enjoys. He also claims that they don't even keep all the money. According to him, about half of it goes into a background check for you, his student. You later learn that this is untrue. You never receive any background check information and as to why his company would do a background check is questionable as they don't even hire you. You learn that it's a complete front and he's only making it seem like he's the one doing you the favor when it's you that's forking over $300 for a bogus class. Before you can "graduate, " you are given a "test." The test is done out loud by the whole class. They claim you cannot graduate without passing the test but as you will see, the test is done together by everyone. Then you "graduate" and they give you a "diploma" which is nothing more than a cheap print out of what looks like some computer program clip art diploma. They also hand you a letter of recommendation that states you attended 4 classes rather than the 2 you were actually made to attend. Not only are they taking you for your money but they are also attempting to lie to potential employers and relying on you to take the fall for it. They also hand you a list companies they claim are hiring in the area. The list has the company, address, phone number and name of the store's supposed LP manager. The list is bogus. I visited more than half of the locations and most of them had never heard of the supposed LP manager listed. Most of them weren't hiring as well. They also ask for a copy of your resume because they claim they will send out your resume to over 20 companies. It becomes apparent when you receive no calls that they did no such thing. What's funny is Steve, admits to the bad information about his company that is posted online. He claims this is from a few disgruntled students but it becomes clear that he only says it to try and clear his name just in case you've seen anything negative. Once you realize you were screwed for your money, you'll see exactly why these stories are posted. There is no way to get your money back. He offered to help me out after I called him on the phone to tell him that after a month I still had no calls from any company. He was extremely rude and talked down on me definitely not giving me the service I deserve after handing him over $300 when he did absolutely nothing for me. The nerve of that man is beyond me and everytime I think of what they did to me at a time when I was most vulnerable and financially unstable, it fills me with anger. What makes it worse is when I went in for the "interview, " and they were asking for the $300, I told them that I wasn't too sure about doing it because $300 was a lot of money for me and I was unemployed. They assured me they would find me a job. I strongly believe they knew they weren't going to find me a job and were only looking for me to fork them over the money. I urge anyone who is thinking about paying this company $300 to not do it. They will not find you employment. They will only take your money and leave you with hope of a job that will never come. They are the worst kind of people. They steal from the unemployed and vulnerable. They need to be shutdown. If anyone has a similar story or info about this company, please message me. I want to get a couple of us former "students" to go after these crooks and take them to court. They deserve to be behind bars.
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