I feel very sorry for anyone that has had to deal with Bernard Haldane & Associates. The problem is this: they take advantage of individuals when they are most vulnerable. Whether it's a job change, career change, or simply dissatisfaction with your current situation, they say they have the answers. The truth is all they really have is your money! They promise the world and deliver nothing. I was a victim hook, line, and sinker. My wife and I took $5000.00 dollars of our hard earned money and flushed it right down the toilet! I went to them because I was under the impression that they had access to the "hidden" job market. It was hidden alright, so hidden that they couldn't even find it. After working with them for a long period of time all the while remaining hopeful that they would come through, I finally became discouraged and confronted my counselor. I asked him what the hell was going on, and why I hadn't been given any leads or interviews. He became defensive right away. Blaming me for not finding a job for myself! It was almost like he was trained to counter those kind of objections. He said that I most have misunderstood the nature of their services that they actually counsel people on how to find jobs for themselves. Needless to say, I was pissed. Why would I pay $5000.00 dollars to become a professional job searcher? I paid $5000.00 to get a job. I told my counselor that what he was telling me did not mesh with the presentation that the "VP" gave to my wife and I. The "VP" said that they could definitly place someone with my credentials in a resonable amount of time and, they could do it in an industry of my choosing. Basically find me my dream job. That's what I purchased. I didn't purchase the right to do countless hours of homework in their binder while they analyze the information for months and them come up with nothing. I immediatly contacted my attorney to discuss this situation. I knew that I would only recover a small portion of my investment if I went after them myself (another client of theirs recovered around $1000 going that route). My attorney and I began to analyze Bernard Haldanes marketing methods and found that they totally and knowingly misrepresent themselves to the public. If they are truly a counseling service, why are they listed in the yellow pages as an employment agency? Don't employment agencies find people jobs rather than counsel? Why do they week after week, advertise in the employment section saying that they have access to the "hidden" job market when they don't? Bottom line is, they misrepresent themselves to sell their services and those two things alone, would be very interesting to any judge. As far as the contract you sign, you probably answered "no" when it came to the question: Did Haldane ever guarantee you a specific job, with a specific company, within a specific time frame? You answered "no" because you were verbally guaranteed by your "VP" that they would expose you to a wide array of opportunities in a wide range of industries. They will use your "no" to say that they never contractually guaranteed you anything. But lets get real, you weren't guaranteed a specific job within a specific industry. Haldane knows that they could never help someone that was only set on being an astronaut and being included on the next moon trip. It's not a realistic request, thats why they have it in writing that they could not guarantee anything like that. But again, the guarantee is verbal and its that they will expose you to a wide array of opportunities (none specific) that you may not have even thought about. My advice, get a good attorney and go after them. They do not want to go into to court believe me. There is enough written evidence on this scam that they know they will lose everytime. I recovered almost 90% of my money only because we didn't have to go to court (I chalked the rest up as a learning experience). This is a numbers game with them, they realize that a certain percentage will walk away, even more are simply embarassed that they were scammed, others go after them personally, and are bullied into thinking that the documents they signed initially, guarantees that Haldane would win in court. Just think about the thousands they are making for doing little or no work and all the clients that walked away empty handed. It's bull, call their bluff and hit em hard right in the pocket book. They didn't mind stealing from you why should you care about them. They are only taking advantage of good people that are trying to better their lives. MarkMilwaukee, Wisconsin
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