My name is Beth Tyler and I am a Ph.D. with the Mayo Clinic of Jacksonville. Our horror story began when my husband signed up to make use of Bernard Haldane Associates' services. We payed Haldane $3,420 in advance because they promised to provide "inside job leads and unpublished information" not available to the general public. Of course, such information never materialized. Also, Haldane uses a particular device to discourage you from suing. They have you sign forms stating you are satisfied with particular phases of the process. When you sign a "so far, so good declaration", it makes it difficult to get your money back when you still do not receive the promised "Inside job leads and unpublished information." Battered by a Haldane Employee at the Jacksonville, Florida Office In fact, when I attempted to obtain a refund, (they refused to see my husband)I was battered by a Haldane employee. The employee eventually pleaded "no contest" to the charges, but we have not,as of yet, received a refund. Haldane has continuously tried to sign us to a confidentiality agreement so that they may keep our story from the light of day, but thus far a settlement has not been reached. It is my understanding, however, that they have signed many individuals to confidentiality agreements to keep the ball rolling. Also, we have actually talked to well over 100 individuals who have had the same type of problems we experienced with Haldane. And presently, in the State of Florida, I have been told that the Attorney General is going to recommend to the State's Licensing Bureau that Haldane have their business license revoked. What Others Are Saying About Bernard Haldane Associates: "I spent ($4,000 charged) because I thought they had contacts no one else did. I feel mislead and totally DECEIVED." - Kathi Partridge of Jacksonville, Florida "Haldane sent me a refund contract for half of the money back ($2025.00).. I refused to sign it because 1) I want a full refund because they are a fraud and 2) there is a blip in the contract that states once I would sign that, I couldn't speak to anyone about Haldane again or they would come after me!" - Heidi Rauenzahn of Pennsylvania (Currently in the midst of litigation against Haldane) "In Small Claims Court, here in Dayton, the Haldane Rep. falsified a document and it still makes me livid." - Rick Servatius of Ohio Excerpts of Steve Belken's Report to the State Attorney General and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation Regarding Jim Caldwell (President and owner of the Dallas Franchise) "Due to the fact that I would not sign a non-disclosure agreement in their office without first having an attorney look at it, he chased me out of their office. He then made the statement that he was going to bury me and a few other select words not worth repeating, as I was going out the door. I made a formal complaint and report to the Dallas Police Department (incident #716959F)" *75 Haldane offices exist throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. You may visit their web site by going to: http://www.jobhunting.com. To contact individuals who can help you if you have problems with Haldane write to TYLESAJ@AOL.COM (Put the word "Haldane" in the Subject Line) ......UPDATE: 8-15-00 ..................Rebuttal From: gordon67@look.ca To: info@ripoffreport.com Cc: Subject: Rebuttal to Report Sent: 8/15/00 6:50 AM I am a Senior Advisor in one of the larger Haldane offices, have been for three years, and I was also a client, prior to working here. I notice that much of the "bad press" on this site stems from people thinking that we provide job leads. We don't, and don't promise to do so. Sometimes it happens, but it is by chance or coincidence. We promise to teach people how to market themselves and improve their networking abilities, which will lead them to hidden job opportunities and the unpublished market. We do this, and much more. Everything from career focus, self-confidence, interviewing, salary negotiation, professional communications, appearance, etc. While I have no doubt that there are isolated incidents of people being promised more than we can deliver, in order to entice them to come aboard, our sales consultants are acutely aware that nobody appreciates this type of behaviour. It almost guarantees that the client will be dissatisfied, and no company is out to generate that kind of reaction. The main reason we ask clients to fill out forms, right from the very first meeting, that indicate their feelings about the program is to ensure that we are meeting or exceeding the expectations of our clients. It is not to make it difficult for people to sue us. We have about 500 new clients/year in this office. We probably have about 20000 new clients/year in the entire organization. The number of complaints of all types is extremely low, as it should be. When you have a good product, you don't need to exaggerate it. Beth Tyler should have attended more spelling classes, on her way to her Ph.D. She could have learned how to spell "paid". test40