Raging Against the World
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As Sean Connery so memorably said…
I’m looking for a new job and have been applying all over the place. I’ve wanted to move into I.T. for a long time, but I don’t have the qualifications. I’m good with computers, I’ve built ’em and upgraded them and replaced parts, installed wi-fi networks n’ wired networks and everything. I’m an analytically-minded person and will keep at a problem until I’ve solved it.
This week I was contacted by a firm called Careerjobsuk.com. I received a call from a young guy who breezed through questions like an express train and he arranged to call me this morning at 10 for a telephone interview with a view to training in I.T. “which’ll be monitored by a trainer”.
So like that link, I too was phoned 30 minutes late and then asked if I’d be available at 11. 11:10 and the call comes through. He told me he was doing 6 interviews and that there was one vacancy. As though he was priming me for a “if you’re lucky you might win” thing you get from those free scratchcards where you always magically win. He directed me to the careersuk.com website and breathlessly raced through the pages on the website while continually calling me “yourself” over and over (ugh).
Suddenly I became aware that rather than helping me get a career in I.T. he was actually trying to sell me something. So while he talked I googled to see if it was a scam and came across the certforums page for them.
As the call progresses I become more and more certain it’s a scam. I wanted employment, not to start paying money out.
He puts me on hold to talk to his trainer about whether I’m suitable. Surprise surprise, I was!
He mentions a Barry McGregor and Sam Slack (“she’s a great girl”). He asks for my credit card details to guarantee myself the placement and that I’d be getting lots of paperwork and emails, but he’s talking so fast and with such a thick London gangsta-youth accent that I could barely follow him.
All the while my spidey-senses are tingling. This feels like a wrong ‘un. He hears me hesitate about giving my credit card details and asks what’s wrong.
“It feels like a scam.”
“SCAM??” and then he goes into a long prepared speech about how it can’t be a scam and that the call to my mobile “is probably costing them £79 as it is. If we were scamming you we’d ask for £2000!”
Utter nonsense, mobile calls aren’t that expensive. He’s trying hard to convince me. So hard to land me as a customer that I decide it’s not smelling right at all. I follow my instincts and bail out. I blurt out quickly that I don’t like the sound of it and hang up before he can try to talk me round. Phew. I feel much safer now.
And for those of you googling, his name on the email I got and the name he gave on the phone is Adam Conroy.
Make your own mind up, it might be a scam, it might not. It’s fishy though.
As Sean Connery so memorably said in Rising Sun (1993):
When something looks too good to be true, then it’s not true.
Raging Against the World 
I fell for this but I was contacted by a Darren Lee, googled Sam Slack and Barry which led me to this blogsite, I only wish I fell upon this blog a few days ago but now I have cancelled my card and sent my 7 day cancellation following the Customer Protection Selling Regulations 2000 by sending a tracked first class letter. They’ve got it and it’s signed for but they yet have to contact me telling me it’s over. Doubt it is though, I doubt it is.
You have my sympathies. 🙂
Thankyou. Anyhow, I have subscribed to your blog, I like the stuff you put on here so yay. 🙂
Hi Tim
Did you ever get that reply from them?
I ask this as I too stupidily fell for this in hindsight I wish I read the several forums about them before I had my online interview, I just feel so stupid that I fell for this scam.
I got a call from a ‘Junior Nile’ Tuesday in reply to a Database Administrator application, saying was I still looking and as my experience mostly involved the Admin side of things they were going to train me up on an IT course that gains the highest certificate in Microsoft and arranged to have a telephone interview the following day, I thought great! as after being made redundant after 10 years of employment at Christmas with the same company I was eager to get back into employment and after a unsuccessful period of looking for work I was only to pleased to be offered a training course that sounded fab, anyway I digress I had the telephone interview and he took me through a slideshow on the computer and sold it really well, he got me hook, line and sinker, anyway I ended up giving them my card details to secure a place, so he told me, he then emailed me my login details so I could start the online training to which I unfortunately started to do and it seemed really good and I was enjoyed it having to think about things instead of watching brain dead tele.
My brother thank god came round later that day and he does work in the IT industry and studied hard for that MCSE qualification, so he did indeed smell a rat, as I told him about it and the qualification he said I would be working towards, I showed him the emails and we realised the company was American and there was a couple of names that differed, anyway he typed it in google and lo and behold he came across umpteen forums about this company to which he read them and told me that in fact it was a scam to which I felt sick and angry at being dupted.
Since going into panic mode I tried to phone them up but a supervisor said everyone has gone home, I tried to stop the payment with my bank but I couldn’t do it this way as it was a card payment rather then a DD, so I have to cancelled my card now, and I have posted a letter confirming that I want to cancel the contract quoting a clause in their terms and conditions that says, “under Customer Protection Selling Regulations 2000 when a training agreement is not made face to face you have a cooling off period of seven days when you can then cancel the contract”, I checked my bank online and they have yet to take the £79 I gave my card details for, so as my card has been cancelled I doubt they will get anything now.
Yeah, fortunately I cancelled my bank account same as you, I then proceeded to send my resignation and demanded my money back. You’re not stupid nor is anyone who fall for these training scams. We’ve become so desperate for work that we would try anything, even when we know in the back of our minds that it’s too good to true.
We can only share our experience with those who seek it and make them aware of the consequences what arise with using third party training companies.
Thanks for your kind reply, when I canceled my bank card I checked my bank account the next day but it looks as though the £79 I gave my details for wasn’t taken out, yipee!, so I don’t see how they will get it now I have canceled my card, regardless of this though I will be still checking my account to make sure and will be on my guard, I have yet to hear from ‘Junior Nile’ and wonder if that is an end to it as I did leave a message when I realised, anyway they would receive my letter this afternoon, sometimes I wonder should I phone just to check there have canceled this or just leave it?
Just noticed i’m down as lonsam anyway thats me samantha
Ah it’s no problem of mine, I wouldn’t recommend contacting them via telephone. I called them the night when I purchased the training and the person who I dealt with my claim somewhat persuaded me very strongly. We argued for an hour and I was more than ‘pissed’ off, I wanted to rip his throat out in the meantime I also sent my resignation 1st class and tracked so I could track where my letter was being sent to, who signed for it and when it was delivered so that was quite an interesting sight of relief when it was signed for at 10 o’clock in the morning the next day.
It’s better to keep an eye out and maybe contact your bank concerning your concerns about these scroungers. Maybe contacting trading standards or seek advice from Citizens Advice Bureau if they are still bothering you.
I remember when it came to my tutoring being cancelled, my personal tutoring advisor will e-mailed me informing that it was cancelled which I recieved from Samantha Slack 2 days later on a weekend actually, could you believe it huh.
Since then, I have been working as a Temp I.T technician and was recently dismissed, employers and work placements are more concerned of experience than qualifications.
It’s more of ‘It isn’t what you know, it’s who you know’ unfortunately and it’s hard to break into the I.T industry. I’m bored out of my skull trying to find my next work placement after working my balls off for a company and working at weekends for free to install hardware and troubleshoot my ass off to appease a company who ended up dismissing me because all the work was done and they had no need for me anymore.
Best Regards,
Tim.
Sod it, guess what, just checked again and £79 has shown up in my account from DirectJunction, it appears they were quick off the mark and have taken it out, now I am going mad i still could just kick myself, I thought of phoning my bank to say someone must have got hold of my card when it was lost and used it to pay this company as it clearly wasn’t me, but as my bro pointed out this is fraud,oops! and that could get me in serious trouble, so we agreed my best bet would be to see by the royalmail website if they received my letter via their track and trace facilities, which it looks as if it has as someone signed for it and the website even gives you the signature well scribble when it was received, then to wait a couple of days and phone them up monday to say they obviously received my letter and ask them where my refund is, but if they are adamant they won’t refund it, my only hope I can see is to just speak to my bank and explain and see if anything can be done so if not its just a harsh lesson learned as i can’t see what else I can do, or if you or anyone has any suggestions can they please let me know, any suggestions would be apprepriated?
Tim did they take any money off you to ‘secure a place on the scheme, and if they did, did you ever get refund?
They took my money out on a Friday and returned it a week later, I think. The bank can’t do anything because it is a card payment and not a direct debit.
Thanks for replying Tim, that is encouraging to hear as later today I am going to phone them up to request a refund and to get them to acknowledge the recent of my letter, as its within their 7 days cooling off period, but I don’t hold out much hope, but its really encouraging to hear that you got your refund.
Hello Samantha, have you had any luck with getting a refund? Sorry for the delay, I’ve been busy with business stuff. =)