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The door-to-door / commission-only jobs thread (super dooper mega merge)

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13567…48

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    #62
    ntlbell
    Registered Users Posts: 16,288 ✭✭✭✭ntlbell


    There wasn't much mentioned.

    boards got a quick mention stating that there is threads on boards and protea asked for them to be removed.


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    #63
    ssaye
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,650 ✭✭✭ssaye


    I remember about 10 years ago I got hoodwinked by a crowd like this. Lets just a major company called ABCD Ltd and they were called ABC-D Ltd. So off I go to the interview for a 10 pound an hour sales position. Got to a building in Dublin City Centre, at least 100 hundred other people there looking lost. Went up to what must have been a rented room in the building. The bloke came out, pony tail and said "ah you are all here because you had excellent telephone voices and will be a great addition to our team" Alarm bells, then they pass around a form for everyone to fill in the personal details. At this stage I got up before writing anything and asked what do they do, he says, we are in direct sales. Appartently they were selling cleaning products by phone or door to door and he was going to hire the 100 people there and there. I got up and said I was leaving and he said "ah youre not cut out for sales in our company so". One person I know took the job, worked 2 weeks, no pay and the company vanished. Not at the address, not listed, no phones nothing. Be warned.


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    #64
    RTÉ Prime Time: David
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16 ✭RTÉ Prime Time: David


    Has anyone worked for any of these companies for any length of time? Anyone with experiences they would like to share?

    PM me please in confidence.

    David


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    #65
    John Mason
    Hosted Moderators Posts: 10,661 ✭✭✭✭John Mason


    damn was stuck on the phone and missed :(

    will get it tonight on the podcast


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    #66
    John Mason
    Hosted Moderators Posts: 10,661 ✭✭✭✭John Mason


    back on now


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    #67
    m5ex9oqjawdg2i
    Closed Accounts Posts: 11,221 ✭✭✭✭m5ex9oqjawdg2i


    Tom Dunne wrote: »
    I've said it before, and I'll say it again - if job advertisements are fake, or misleading, do what I did and get onto the Advertising Standards Association of Ireland. www.asai.ie.

    Moaning about it on Boards.ie will achieve nothing.

    How wrong you are ;)

    Best advertising too is word of mouth, making this thread an excellent weapon against the scum that runs these companies.

    Spire marketing, roar promotions, Protea, all scum of the earth making a quick buck off some poor soul. I had a phone interview and asked the interviewer if it was a door to door sales job, she said it wasn't a door to door sales job but a direct marketing job... Wtf are these people one? Do they think everyone is stupid?
    gandalf wrote: »
    I really cannot believe that the admins on boards are entertaining these people and editing posts. It is obvious that they are misleading people at a time when jobs are scarce. I wonder do Protea Pine realise that there is an organisation using a similar name that could tarnish their brand by their deceptive actions?

    If this is unfair or wrong then I challange someone from Protea Direct to respond to peoples concerns.

    Protea Direct don't have the balls to come on here and defend themselves, if they were in the right they would have done so already. They know they are a fraud company, exploiting the vulnerable. Why do these companies keep their jobs hush hush and then transport their "employees" out to an area which can be difficult to get home from? 8 hour "assessment" without pay.

    I was told to bring comfortable shoes for my "assessment". The cheek of these people. If it's genuine, why are they refusing to defend themselves? Bully scum is all I can see. People should be aware of this type of scum and they should not be allowed to operate in a manner like this.


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    #68
    the_barfly1
    Registered Users Posts: 578 ✭✭✭the_barfly1


    Legend Microscopic Puppetry wrote: »
    Spire marketing, roar promotions, Protea,

    Don't forget Excel Organisation... Had an interview with them last year, same setup as the rest mentioned here


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    #69
    Agent J
    Registered Users Posts: 1,909 ✭✭✭Agent J


    This an another version of very long running scam in the personal opinion of this poster and not boards.ie.

    Make no mistake. Thats what it is. If Protea Direct start threating boards.ie about allegations, Glass houses and stones. They aren't allegations if they are true.

    I would also strongly suggest that anyone who has been aggrieve by them file a complaint with airtricity. Hit them at their supply base. Im sure Airtricity are a very upstanding company and wouldnt want the bad press of being labeled with these guys.

    This is quite a long but detailed report of one of them a few years ago which gives a very good insight of the workings and methods used by these kind of groups.

    http://www.ripoffreport.com/Corrupt-Companies/Cobra-Group/cobra-group-deceptive-liars-a-c85c6.htm

    I went for a 2nd interview years ago with one of these groups. Also based on Capel st( Office above the old Hardware store?).

    I went for the inital interview and it sounded vague enough but i needed a job.
    Within minutes of arriving the next day i realised what was going on. It was some varation on a pyrimad scheme but decided that i had nothing else to do and might as well go through the experience for a few hours.

    I can only describe the chap i was with as a latvian del boy charachter. I asked all the arkward questions such as how much youd earn, what about tax. Holiday time etc etc. I was trying to push him a bit on the spefics and

    Turns out the model they use is that you are an independant subcontractor who is techinically self employed. ie No job security and any tax issues are your own. Read the above link of someone elses experience who unfortunatly stayed a lot longer then a few hours with them.

    Luckily enough the next day i got a return call from another interview i had been at previous and am still relatively happily employed with them today. However i see why in desperate job times like these that more and more people will fall victim to scams such as this.


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    #70
    peterkear
    Registered Users Posts: 16 ✭peterkear


    There are other companies called, Onyx and Majestic marketing which are essentially the same racket, it seems the Protea ads have been pulled from jobs.ie, but these are still there. They could be the same company, but I can't be sure.


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    #71
    MysticalRain
    Registered Users Posts: 1,428 ✭✭✭MysticalRain


    the_barfly1 wrote: »
    Don't forget Excel Organisation... Had an interview with them last year, same setup as the rest mentioned here

    I remember them. Back in 2003 I got a call from one of their people who found my online CV from Monster. They were extremely vague about the exact nature of the job and refused to tell me out straight what it was. They just told me to come along to a seminar they were doing the following week. Being the desperate idiot that I was, I took a day off work to attend their BS presentation. I figured out within about five minutes that they were nothing more than a glorified pyramid marketing company. I skedaddled out of there at the first coffee break. Bastards.


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    #72
    Morlar
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,273 ✭✭✭Morlar


    I also know somone who recieved a vague email from them about an employment opportunity. No mention of door to door anywhere on it. That person was considering returning to Ireland for the interview. Luckily they did not in the end.

    I just noticed on their website that they mis-spelt their own name at the end of it (unless they also have a 'protea cirect' ?).

    Their press releases do not inspire confidence either;

    PR Log (Press Release) – Nov 30, 2009 – Saturday the 28th of Novemeber seen Protea Direct transend on Birmingham for the annual awards.

    http://www.prlog.org/10432290-protea-direct-snatch-awards-at-annual-ceremony-in-birmingham.html


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    #73
    Tucker.Tim
    Registered Users Posts: 300 ✭✭Tucker.Tim


    I see we can expect a Primetime report on this whole debacle in the near future. Good!


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    #74
    noodler
    Registered Users Posts: 26,309 ✭✭✭✭noodler


    And would you believe, a fire on Capel Street this morning. Not sure which buildings were affected.

    http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0212/breaking86.htm


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    #75
    bongi69
    Closed Accounts Posts: 370 ✭✭bongi69


    Received more correspondance from the ASAI. Comlaint upheld and Protea's wrists have been slapped.

    No sign of the ads on jobs.ie


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    #76
    bongi69
    Closed Accounts Posts: 370 ✭✭bongi69


    bongi69 wrote: »
    Received more correspondance from the ASAI. Comlaint upheld and Protea's wrists have been slapped.

    No sign of the ads on jobs.ie

    Sorry I lie. They are now branded D7 Marketing Solutions, but still the same address, and same email details. And guess what, the exact same ad!

    http://www.jobs.ie/ApplyForJob.aspx?Id=1030822


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    #77
    John Mason
    Hosted Moderators Posts: 10,661 ✭✭✭✭John Mason


    i received a letter yesterday as well, confirming they have told them to remove the ad.

    if they have set up again as D7 Marketing Solutions, we should all start reporting them


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    #78
    mehmeh12
    Closed Accounts Posts: 921 ✭✭✭mehmeh12


    irishbird wrote: »
    i received a letter yesterday as well, confirming they have told them to remove the ad.

    if they have set up again as D7 Marketing Solutions, we should all start reporting them

    At this stage i dont think theres much a point in trying to contain this virulent scam company-if people applying for a job cant read between the lines of a dodgy job advert then well we cant really do much can we. In any case i quite like the idea of all the marketing scum being in all one place-it makes it easier to avoid them all at the same time. Seriously though all lot of the people i met at protea direct were absolute scum-one of them even bull****ed saying that 'her goal was to start my own company in bulgaria'.


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    #79
    pickarooney
    Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 35,230 Mod ✭✭✭✭pickarooney


    I can't figure out how this company is making any money out of the scam.


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    #80
    EskimoJack
    Registered Users Posts: 61 ✭✭EskimoJack


    pickarooney wrote: »
    I can't figure out how this company is making any money out of the scam.


    It's very simple really they are part of the cobra group- google for tales of woe in the uk.- they basically run a scheme constantly recruiting people to knock on doors begging for direct debit sign ups for some heart warming charities.

    figures - €15 direct debit per month
    canvessor receives €50
    company receives €50
    charity recieves nothing for about a year but alot of direct debits are cancelled before that.


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    #81
    Niallers87
    Registered Users Posts: 367 ✭✭Niallers87


    Hi all, it appears i am on the right thread from reading the posts above, i just applied for a job with Act Marketing in 39 Northumberland Avenue Dun Laoghaire , Co. Dublin, Ireland, I checked up there website and looks pretty basic and uninformative, I was just wondering if anybody has heard of this place before or am i going on a wild goose chase??:eek:


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    #82
    noodler
    Registered Users Posts: 26,309 ✭✭✭✭noodler


    Niallers87 wrote: »
    Hi all, it appears i am on the right thread from reading the posts above, i just applied for a job with Act Marketing in 39 Northumberland Avenue Dun Laoghaire , Co. Dublin, Ireland, I checked up there website and looks pretty basic and uninformative, I was just wondering if anybody has heard of this place before or am i going on a wild goose chase??:eek:

    I believe (although I am not 100%) I attended an interview in the same place but under a different name over a year ago and it was a similar sort of thing.

    It can be a dead giveaway when you are going in to wait and there are 10 other people all around you filling out forms.


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    #83
    petstore
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5 ✭petstore


    Niallers87 wrote: »
    Hi all, it appears i am on the right thread from reading the posts above, i just applied for a job with Act Marketing in 39 Northumberland Avenue Dun Laoghaire , Co. Dublin, Ireland, I checked up there website and looks pretty basic and uninformative, I was just wondering if anybody has heard of this place before or am i going on a wild goose chase??:eek:

    I applied for an interview with these guys yesterday or today and they phoned me back this afternoon and offered me an interview tomorrow.

    having looked at some of these posts and done a bit of research it sounds like i wont be going to this interview at all! On the jobs.ie website they are advertising similiar jobs under the guise of:

    1) xr markerting
    2) the spartan corporation
    3) clearwater

    all of the aboves address is 39 northumberland avenue, and looking at these posts they seem have been operating under many different names in the past.

    I have a feeling it was too good to be true, the ad is very vague on payment details. one of the ads says average €400-€600 earnings, the other ads dont mention payment whatsoever.

    So: Nialler: how did you get on??


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    #84
    cats.pyjamas
    Closed Accounts Posts: 25 ✭cats.pyjamas


    I wonder if prime time are still going to do a show on protea, would love to see it. Anybody hear anything?


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    #85
    Agent J
    Registered Users Posts: 1,909 ✭✭✭Agent J


    Looks like they operating under D7 Marketing solutions now...

    http://www.jobs.ie/D7-Marketing-Solutions/

    The address matches the address on http://www.proteadirectltd.com/

    Hell even the language looks like cut and paste job from the site.


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    #86
    mehmeh12
    Closed Accounts Posts: 921 ✭✭✭mehmeh12


    cats.pyjamas wrote: »
    I wonder if prime time are still going to do a show on protea, would love to see it. Anybody hear anything?

    I think prime time is over for the summer now...its a shame-i would have loved to see those protea assholes burn!!!! What a waste of time they were and especially now since many people are unemployed-I really feel sorry for anyone duped by this scam-they need to shut down permanently!


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    #87
    Denerick
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 6,488 ✭✭✭Denerick


    So good to discover this. I have an interview with them this week. Am prepared to make a song and dance about it in person.

    What exactly is the scam?


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    #88
    Allie G
    Closed Accounts Posts: 36 ✭Allie G


    If ya dont wanna do door to door , your not been held at gun point are ya??? stop winging n get a job!


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    #89
    Allie G
    Closed Accounts Posts: 36 ✭Allie G


    mehmeh12 wrote: »
    I think prime time is over for the summer now...its a shame-i would have loved to see those protea assholes burn!!!! What a waste of time they were and especially now since many people are unemployed-I really feel sorry for anyone duped by this scam-they need to shut down permanently!


    ok explain how it's a scam!!! .....


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    #90
    Denerick
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 6,488 ✭✭✭Denerick


    Allie G wrote: »
    ok explain how it's a scam!!! .....

    • They advertise on false pretenses
    • When you arrive for the interview you are given a very vague idea of what the job will be about
    • In interview number 2 you are taken out to some estate and told to shadow some snake oil salesman or charlatan as he tries to sell cheap plastic lunchboxes or whatever.
    • You do not receive a minimum wage. You are technically self employed.
    • The high turnover of staff is due to the fact that most people give it their best for one or two 60 hour weeks, earn absolute peanuts and leave. Any money they do make is gratefully received by the scammers at the top of the pyramid, as they only have to give the tiny commission to the misled person who did all the work.
    • Maybe 1/10 people stick it for more than a month. They tend to go on up the ladder, hiring more people as they go on, taking a cut of their earnings. And so on and on until someone else starts a new company under the cobra group, or some other shadowy organisation, and start the pyramid scheme all over again.
    I'm tempted to write a letter to my TD to suggest drawing up legislation against these bastards. They sicken me to my gut.


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    #91
    Allie G
    Closed Accounts Posts: 36 ✭Allie G


    well weirdly enough i know a girl off 2 canada wit dis company in 3 weeks. She is living outta home and has been able to afford to go out every weekend!! money can't be dat bad !!!!


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