01132523070

How this be a scam most of the people on this site have not gone through the system! It's only a scam if you pay and do not have any success, scams by their nature defraud the person of their money without a product or service. I went to their offices 4 years ago and was successful and now looking for a new position and will be using them again. Yes in this world of tech businesses use what is available to the, I have unsubscribed from wowcher 4 times and am still getting emails from them, don't see anyone shouting them down for their actions. Also companies use means to get to their market and if you place your details on job web sites and click the little box which states that you want it to be public then you will get contacted by companies. As I say it's a scam if you do not have success and as most of you have not gone through the process the you can't claim it to be a scam. Unhappy former employees should not be taken as authorities on the company either. If you part with your cash and are unsuccessful then you have been scammed it's your choice to either do nothing and try the matrket or sign up. Just saying.

Received a call yesterday from a withheld number and spoke to a young lady called Victoria. Went today to meet with Richard Wozniak  in an office at Donnington near EMA. As mentioned by others this appears to be a rented office with nothing showing the his or PCS's name anywhere.
Was with him for 45 mins and his pitch is that they have access to un advertised jobs and stated 95% of their 'clients' find a position in 9 - 12 weeks. The cost for this £2500 + VAT = £3000 to be paid in 2 instalments, the first immediately and the second at a unexpalined [even when asked] in the future.
He also stated he is lecturing at Hull University during the meeting, ALSO when l asked he admitted he / they found my CV on Monster.co.uk

No suprise l have checked what l can for Hull Uni and Richard Wozniad dont appear to lecture there

I got the "Martyn Pearce" email the day after I registered at the cv library. Thanks for everyone who has spotted this BS company and to those who have turned up at their "office" to see what's what!

I would add another website related to this lot: www.p-c-s.uk.com and the name Katy Falk....

I agree with all of the above.

I passed my CV to 'CV Library' as part of a Job Application and since then have been inundated with contact from this number.

I have recieved calls (unanswered), voice mails and texts from this number and on each occasion, I have reported it to the ICO (Information Commisioners Office (www.ico.org.uk)) and TPS (Telephone Preference Service (www.tpsonline.org.uk)).

The texts contain the website www.p-c-s.uk.com and have the names of individuals to contact (Adam Dawson, Vicki Preston, etc.).  Yesterdays Voice Mail contained the name of Nathan Macathel stating that his 'Regional Manager' would like to talk to me regarding my CV.

Further Company details can be found via Googling p-c-s or Personal Career Services.

Also related:

If you look at Nick Storey on Linked in his profile is very thin - if he were in the recruitment business he would  most likely have many more contacts\recommendations etc.  

This is the mail  I  received:

My Regional Director Nick Storey has asked me to contact you having reviewed your CV. He is confident that he can assist you with your job search.
Please email or phone me as soon as possible to confirm whether you are looking for a new position, I will then arrange a mutually convenient time and be in touch to confirm an appointment in our Reading office.
I look forward to speaking with you.
Kind Regards

Ben Dockerty

0113 2052856
ben.dockerty@pcsexecutive.com

I got one today. To me it seems they are on the edge of legitimacy, by intimating (through careful wording) that they can help you to get a job (afaik it's not legal to charge someone to help find them work)....., but actually only offering career advice (not illegal to charge for). Any reputable agency (big or small) won't charge for helping find work, even with the unadvertised jobs, and where they do have charges it will be for ancillary services, such as CV writing, and they will be open about them.

-----------------------------------------
My Regional Director Geoff Russell has asked me to contact you having reviewed your CV. He is confident that he can assist you with your job search.

Please email or phone me as soon as possible to confirm whether you are looking for a new position, I will then arrange a mutually convenient time and be in touch to confirm an appointment in our London office.

I look forward to speaking with you.

Kind Regards

Rebecca Ripley

PCS

Rebecca Ripley
Business Partner
Telephone: 0113 205 2856
Email: rebecca.ripley@pcsexecutive.com
Website: www.pcsexecutive.com

I got an unsolicited contact from Lee Bako asking me to meet Richard Wozniak at "their Castle Donnington office"

Wozniak does not have a visible profile on LikedIn, which made me suspicious. Lee's profile picture shows him celebrating his latest commission cheque with a cocktail, unprofessional and more suspicious, then a search online led me here and to a couple of other, similar reports.

Needless to say, have responded with a "thanks, but no thanks" email

I received the same one as everyone else, and thought it genuine.  I responded by email but with no personal telephone number.

After four days of no reply from them re my availability for a meeting I chased them up by email.

This is the reply I got today.  As it seemed vague eg.  due to lack of place and time, as well as from a completely different person, another woman but not Geoff himself. I thought I would google the people mentioned in the emails and found myself brought to this site.   So thanks for saving me from wasting my time.  I would have had to drive from Norwich to meet them in London.

Am tempted to arrange a meeting and not turn up!

Good Afternoon Vivienne,

I have been passed you details from my colleague Rebecca regarding scheduling a meeting with my regional director conveniently Geoff is available tomorrow.

Please can you advise the best number for me to call you.

Kind Regards
Victoria


Victoria Preston
Business Partner
Telephone: 0113 205 2866
Email: victoria.preston@pcsexecutive.com
Website: www.pcsexecutive.com

I GOT THE SAME MESSAGE www.p-c-s.uk.com
They want 3000+vat to get me a job

0113 252 2282  - Wish i had googled this site before my meeting :-). Recently redundant, and having just come off my 1st Interview n 20 years (didnt go well) i gave it no thought when Lee Bako requested a meeting. I have had some similar calls from local agencies so assumed it was another one - What do i have to lose. Met a very nice gentleman, John Biggs, who claims that he can help me understand what my ideal role is, what type of company i should be working for and how i can be best prepared for an interview. He also suggested that he will be putting me forward for roles using his contacts in the unadvertised job market. I shared with him my less than great experience this morning and how i could see where i could have done better. His advice was to forget about the whole experience, not give it another thought and sign-up to his counselling service - Costs were very vague but he suggested in the region of 2 weeks Salary. I do feel sceptical - Thought i was going to see an agency so feel Lee misrepresented himself. No signs for Apollo outside the office where we met nor inside where all of the other companies signs was despite him claiming to have been there for 6 years. I have agreed to a 2nd "Free" 2hr meeting but i think i will cancel. Redundancy is already an emotional minefield - Last thing you need is the feeling that people are looking to rip you off and part you from that precious little money you have to weather the storm!

Looks like Apollo and PCS are the same scam. The people seem to be the same as well. I was supposed to have a meeting with Jo Christodoulou at Apollo, who also used to (or still does) work for PCS. It smelt like a rat so I sent a cancellation back. The informal job market does exist (at least here in London), however no one will charge a job seeker for it. The informal job market refers to jobs going to someone you know or is recommended - agents do not come into it.

*************************
Dear Mr.

I am pleased to confirm your appointment with Jo Christodoulou at our London City office on Tuesday 25/03/2014 at 13.15pm. The office address and directions are at the foot of this email for your reference or can be found at www.apollo.eu.com  Please arrive 5 minutes before your scheduled appointment which will enable us to meet you promptly and allow you to maximise your time with the consultant.

Jo Christodoulou will now carry out some preparatory work prior to the meeting and is looking forward to meeting you.

Please confirm receipt of this email so that I know that you have received your confirmation and directions.

Yours sincerely

Rebecca Ripley  
Business Partner  
Tel: 0113 252 2282

I had a second (free) meeting today (25 March 2014) with Geoff Russell which took 2 hours. After the first meeting two weeks ago I was given some exercises to fill in before today's meeting. If I decide to use them, the cost for the service will be 3,500 + VAT. He said that if I pay by the 31st of March (by next Monday) he can reduce the price to 3,000 + VAT. His office is at 33 Cavendish Square. Apollo is not listed in the building directory. He said if I decide to go ahead, his colleague, Nick (no last name given) will look after me and because I would be in London he would also work with Nick on a part time basis so I would essentially get 2 consultants for the price of 1 working for me. He said Nick use to work at interexec (these guys charge at least 15,000 so why would he now work for Apollo is interesting). He told me that they spend 200,000 a year on a database so they know who the decision makers are in key companies that they would then contact to get me a meeting with them. He said they wouldn't send my cv to them until they have met me so they don't pre-judge me based on my cv. He also said they have an ISO accreditation which I just checked is a quality assessment they would pay to have -  I didn't get very far in checking the legitimacy of their ISO as I can't find a website where I can look up Apollo's performance. ie did they pass the assessment?? I'm simply providing facts, you can make up your own mind but I have decided not to hire them as I didn't feel comfortable with their offices being paid by the hour - the reception on L4 seems to cater for several businesses so if I do pay them, I have no way of tracking them down if things go wrong.

the number they used: 0113 252 2282 and Rebecca Ripley was the one that set up the meeting with Geoff Russell.

I recently applied for a job which was to cover the M62 corridor. (Apollo are located near the M62. Coincidence maybe!) I never got a reply. Could they be advertising jobs in order to receive cv's and information on people that are seeking employment?

Then again! my line of work is Security and Investigations, maybe I should investigate them. I'm not up to much at the minute, as I'm still seeking my next position....(without the help of Apollo.) Have a good day everyone.

I received this in my spam yesterday, more names and numbers to avoid should you choose. (I have)

Dear Mr.******

My Senior Consultant Chris has asked me to contact you. He believes that he can assist you to secure your next position and would like to meet up to explore your current situation.

If you are still seeking your next role, and would be interested in meeting him in our Leeds office, then please reply to this email, or call me, with your diary availability.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best Regards

James Denham

0113 205 2879

cid:image002.jpg@01CF3306.0EECE420

Email: cv@apollo.eu.com
Website: www.apollo.eu.com

Same story as above. As a HR professional I was very surprised I had never heard of the company previously.

When I checked the Reading address it was clear it was rented offices.

The telephone answering system was far too slick to be a search firm or recruitment agency. I therefore googled the name of the senior consultant and this blog emerged.

I  was intrigued but in today's market would expect a skype call or teleconference before a face to face meeting. Things are changing but the law of supply and demand prevails.

My advice is to stick with the mainstream consultants most will meet with you if they have a role and your experience matches the spec

They are still going.  I had my second meeting with Richard Wozniak today near East Midlands Airport.  In the end it just did not add up when trying to work out the cost vs what they got out of it, thus raising my suspicion.  So here I am and those suspicions have been justified.  When I got a listing of what the £2200+VAT they were asking for, it came out as good old outplacement training, which I have already had and which gave little success.  So whilst they may be providing coaching it is still down to me to unearth and exploit the opportunities - just what I have been trying to do for 3 months.  I just do not believe the unadvertised job market pitch.  Not for me this one.

People like this are preying on the vulnerabilities of people like me who are struggling to find a job, lacking confidence and trying everything they can.  Reprehensible!

It looks like Exec2Exec is the same organisation as Apollo and PCS

Got suspicious e.mail today, thought I'd do a bit of Google and came across this site. e.mail received:
-------------
Dear Mr.Begg

Further to our previous communication John has asked me to contact you again. He believes that he can assist you to secure your next position and would like to meet up to explore your current situation.

If you are still seeking your next role, and would be interested in meeting up with John in our Cambridge office then please reply to this email, or call me, with your diary availability.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best Regards

James Denham

0113 205 2879

cid:image002.jpg@01CF3306.0EECE420

Email: cv@apollo.eu.com
Website: www.apollo.eu.com
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Maybe I won't be calling them!