My story will sound all too familiar to those also bamboozled by these purveyors of empty promises, smoke and mirror practices, and blatantly unethical double-dealings.
I first encountered BHA upon searching the classifieds on the Orlando Sentinel's website.in line with my desire to relocate to Florida i was contacting employment agencies in the Orlando area to find out how i might be assisted in this difficult task considering i currently work and reside in Minnesota. Upon contacting BHA i was referred to the local office in Minneapolis, whom i contacted forthwith and was "fortunate" enough to set up an inverview with... You guessed it, a Vice President! I was assured this meeting would be strictly informational and no fees would be accrued upon this meeting.
I attended this first meeting and was met by a self avowed "Used Car Salesman" type pitchman. He defended this by asserting numerous times, "wouldn't you rather have someone working for you, that's AGGRESIVE?" Unfortunately, i was foolish enough to buy his spiel and set up an appointment for my second interview, which he was very persistant in finding out if i had a girlfriend or wife to bring with me. I did not and so i left and set about doing a brief search on the internet to find out more about BHA. Fees of course were completely taboo at this first meeting, the V.P. Would not approach the subject under any circumstances as i did try to find out several times. Upon my internet search i found several Bernard Haldane Associates website, there were pages of them on my search, i checked some of them out and aesthetically they looked professional enough. Regrettably i did not search deep enough. I was still not quite convinced about BHA so i contacted my V.P. And was very persistant about fees that would be charged for their "services, " again i was repeatedly assured that it wouldn't be fair to me to discuss those matters over the phone, he would not even give me a ballpark estimate.
I digress for a moment, when i first entered BHA's office i was given a lengthy intrusive questionnaire asking all sorts of questions focused on my current financial situation, liquid assets and the like. No doubt this information is used directly to determine how much BHA can bleed out of you in the name of their fee. I was also assured repeatedly that 80 percent of BHA clients who are hired have absolutely no trouble getting their new employer to pay your BHA fee, which according to my V.P. Was far less than employers pay to employment agencies when they find hired candidates. These blood-thirsty troglodytes convince you that you are so underpaid, that you've been a fool for not coming to BHA sooner.
My second interview came and once again i met with my vulture BHA Vice President. I was repeatedly lauded and praised by the sheister for seeking out BHA's "Career Services" because i'm not long out of college and that i would easily be able to pick and choose my ideal position. He was also extrordinarily adament that my current position, which is in actuality a decent position in Information Systems, paid me grossly under market value and that i could easily find a position that paid me 50% more from the start. He boasted repeatedly of BHA having access to the "Hidden Job Market, " in which almost all the ideal jobs remain unadvertised. At this point i was almost completely duped by BHA's raw deal.By the time my V.P. Discussed fees i was convinced i would have a job in no time, get my new employer to foot my BHA bill, and have far more disposable income than i currently enjoyed. I still had a miniscule gut feeling that i shouldn't dump the kind of money into BHA that i was about to, but my vulnerability stemming from my strong desire to relocate and being ill-equiped to do so on my own led me to take the BHA plunge.
In my blind stupidity i cut a check for $5,370 dollars to Bernard Haldane Associates. I was making the smartest move of my life the V.P. Assured me. Upon walking out the BHA door i was on cloud nine confident my new higher paid life was to begin in a matter of months. A day later, the gut feeling that was miniscule in BHA's office surfaced. Then i started to get a very sick feeling knowing i had just handed over half of my life savings. The feeling grew as the next day progressed and towards the early afternoon i began scouring the internet to find out more about BHA. It was then, i finally discovered the rip off report on Bernard Haldane Associates, i read the first post, thinking... Well with such a large firm as BHA supposedly was there was bound to be a handful of disgruntled clients... I read on, there were more and more. What finally convinced me was the striking similarities in almost all the reports to my situation. References to the "Hidden Job Market, " Used Car Salesmen Vice Presidents, evasiveness about fees. I had been conned by the exact same schemes BHA used to filch everybody else. Panicked, i scoured my BHA documents and contract i had signed and through dumb luck there lay a stipulation that i could cancel my contract withing 3 calender days, and through even more dumb luck, the 2nd day was a Friday, had i discovered Rip off Reports, 2 hours later, the BHA office would have been closed and almost certainly they would not be open on Saturday. So i was able to race to the local office, hand the secretary my cancelled contract and asked for my check back. Of course they had already mailed my check to an office in New Jersey, but luckily it had not been cashed yet. I immediately put a stop payment on my check and express mailed a copy of my contract cancellation to the New Jersey office to be sure it was received there as well within the three days. So after a 25 dollar cancelled check fee, a $12.45 fee for express mailing the cancelled contract, i was able to escape BHA's green hungry tentacles with very minor damages, which i was glad to incur faced with losing my full $5,370 dollar fee. I was extremely lucky and wish to thank all those who have posted on the complaint, which saved me from a horrible mistake. I hope my post might serve as a similar warning to those in my situation. I couldn't help feeling very foolish in falling for BHA's scam, so much so i didn't feel like i even deserved to get my money back after doing something blindly. But that's exactly how BHA finds its victims, they prey on those who are without work in a tough job market, those who direly need the wild promises they make, and those who try to better their lot. My heart aches for those who were not so fortunate as myself. I wish you all nothing but the best and offer my most sincere gratitude for taking the time to tell your stories. Thank you and God Bless.
Click here to all the others who have been victimized by Bernard Haldane Associates
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