The Wellington Group - Dallas review: Scam Employment Opportunities 49

After reading these posts, I can see that The Wellington Group (The Wellington Group DFW) is the same as American Search Partners (why the name change? or smokey mirrors or two different names for the SAME company?).
I have already been into their office here in Dallas for the initial "interview" and I have my second "interview" coming up this week. I met with Nick, but I was never given a last name and my email reminders of the set appointment does not have a last name for Nick either. I left the first appointment feeling very odd...Nick did most of the talking...using big words and talking about the market...probably because I have a Finance Degree but I could clearly tell that he really didn't know what the hell he was talking about. Nick did ask me if I needed to work to pay the bills for the rest of the year. I answered no, which is a honest answer, but I thought that it was a very odd question to be asking me in an "interview." He also asked if paying a fee for their service scared me. I also answered no. Those were the main two questions that he asked me and he did all of the talking for about 7 minutes. After, I went to an area to take a personality test.
The reason why I did a search on the company is because I had an uneasy feeling about their "service." Now I'm questioning if a second "interview", which I was told will be an hour and a half, will be worth the risk.
As far as The Wellington Group responding to posts...I find it very odd and I am put off that you are discussing "legal" issues on the complaints board. By you doing that you are losing your credibility as a company. Legal issues are normally kept under wraps and are not discussed until after the lawsuits are finalized so that YOU, as a company, does not compromise your legal situation.
I'm going with my gut on this one...and my gut tells me to stay away. Follow your own instincts, but people's opinions about a company can generally paint you a honest picture.

I am very grateful for the comments. I too had an appointment, but due to my suspect radar and rare info given in the call, I chose to research. I too canceled immediately. This is really just wrong to prey on people who really need jobs out there.

If this fraudlant outfit now goes by the name WorkSaveRetire;

Let me assure all here that this company is, in fact, a SCAM. They are NOT recruiters!

Here is the deal: These folks use their "career services" as a front in order to get a financial product salesperson in their "clients" front door to pitch them various annuity plans. In order to access their "career tools", you must agree to this meeting.

What does a job seeker get in return?: A thirty minute webinar, access to a very limited board of job postings, and some additional tools and "services" that are very generic and generally available elsewhere. One month later, and after my annuity sales meeting, I am still waiting for a phone call and my personalized job referrals. I won't hold my breath.

This outfit is a joke that takes advantage of today's lousy employment environment to sell their products. This is a sales company NOT a career service. Don't waste your time with Heather and her crew.

I will be rolling-over my wife's 401K into an IRA next month, probably into an indexed annuity, and I can assure you that this $140K will not go into one of this company's products.

I will be filing a complaint with the BBB in the morning.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

specknek@gmail.com
[protected]

As a former employee of The Wellington Group, I can confirm that they didn't always operate as an honest business. We were to keep the phone calls as short as possible to trick people into coming in. We were ABSOLUTELY not allowed to use the word interview, but we were supposed to play dumb about what the person was coming in for. We were supposed to say that we were just appointment setters and that all we knew was that it was a meeting about the persons resume. If a person were to start asking questions, we were supposed to "turn it around on them" which pretty much meant being condescending and making them feel like idiots for not jumping on this opportunity.

I cannot comment on how American Search Partners is run, since they changed the name after I left. I can say that I almost didn't get my new job because when my employer called them, they denied that I had worked there. It's a good thing I keep all of my paystubs and other tax info.

This company pulled my resume off of Career builder and contacted me. The lady who called presented the firm to me as a recruiting firm similar to Matrix and KForce, and said she was representing a firm called NRA. When I questioned whether this firm was recruiting for a particular client and if so, whether they could send me the job description and requisition ID number, she refused. She tried to get me to set up an in person interview in their offices where I would be provided all the details. When I point blank asked if they were trying to sell me career services, the women who called me told me to go to hell and hung up on me. I did a reverse look up on the phone number, and found that she was calling from the Wellington Group, which is also owned or a part of a company called NRA. As other posters have mentioned, this firm is a scam. And they have had numerous BBB complaints. Any company who has to troll the resume job boards and then try to represent themselves as a placement firm like Matrix or KForce must be desperate for clients. If they were reputable, they would not need to try and mislead the people they call.

I wish I had read these complaints before agreeing to meet with National Recruiting Affiliates (the Wellington Group). Like others, I received a call stating they wanted to discuss a "specific" job opportunity with me. Knowing it was an external recruiter, I asked the question point-blank. "Are any fees paid by the client (me) or the employer"?. I was assured all fees would be paid by the employer if I was hired. I clarified a second time. I even said, I don't want to get all the way over there and find out you want to charge a fee to "market" me or some such thing. I already have a employment transition firm hired by my past employer. I was assured again that would not be the case. However, as you can guess, I was completely lied to. They did not have a specific job in mind. They just wanted to give me a "free" evaluation and when I challenged them on the lie they said "well... we do have some services that are paid by the hiring company, but we need to know if you meet the requirements first". In other words, it was a complete scam to get me in the door and a waste of my time.

Later that day I sent the company a bill for my time based on my previous hourly rate, my mileage, and toll charges and told them if I did not get paid for my wasted time I would let as many people know as possible. I was called by the owner and threatened with a law suit.

My advice to potential clients is to run as far as you can from the company and any of its subsidiaries. If they were as good as they claim at their job they would not need to use deceptive practices to get people in the door.

Unfortunately, when I checked the BBB they had an A- rating so I did not do any further research. Complete waste of my time and money down the drain. RUN!

Same players, different name - NRA Companies. Paragon Group Texas located at 9950 Cypresswood Drive, Houston Texas 77090.

Patsy Collier and Bruce Clagg will insist that you really do need their help in finding the RIGHT job. But BEWARE of those two!
They will urge you to sign a contact so you can get started with your search - $2500 up front, plus another $2500 once YOU find a job. They are NOT a recruiting agency as they will initially lead you to believe (smoke and mirrors). They DO NOT arrange interviews with potential employers. Those promises of Paragon's long list of employer contacts to match your skills are totally untrue!

So $5000 seems a bit steep for advice on job search engines, resume writing and interviewing techniques?

Please BEWARE of Paragon Group Texas.

Beware of this man, Nick D'Uva, birth name Jack Nicholes D'Uva - Jack is his dad's name, he goes by Nick. If you Google his birthname, you will find quite the criminal record of money laundering and securities fraud in the early-mid nineties. Since then Mr. D'Uva has formed and changed over many companies, all providing some sort of "service" which requires a lot of up-front payment from the client; His newest LinkedIn company: Blackguard, Inc. - which is described as "Anti-Money Laundering Technology"? Hmm, a little coincidental.