01612001104

#LONG READ#

I'm going to share with you the information I heard and experienced with this company while I was working there. My interview situation was the same as everyone elses on here but it was my first ever interview so when i was offered the job I was exstatic and agreed to start the next day. The next day I arrived at 10:30 and was geeted by Josh Wilson (a 19 yr old deputy manager) and he took me to his office and extremely briefly read me a 11 page booklet in 5 minutes. I thought to myself it was brief but didn't want to say anything as it was my first day.

I was then taken to a floor they call ATMOSPHERE which is basically a room where they play dance music so load that you cant hear anyone and everyone pretends to be happy by having permanent cheesy grins and high fiving each other. My team leader then came over and began to teach me the pitch. This pitch practice went on till about 12:30 when Brett and Jake Bradford entered the room and began the morning meeting which would consist of listening to a motivational speech and talk of which fancy restaurant the bosses were going for dinner. Then at 1 we were ready to go to our location.

on my first day we did 11 sales the next we did 9 and by the end of the week we were the number 1 team in the country. for each sale the company got £25 commission in which £7.50 would go to the lead generator and £7.50 to the "surveyor" leaving £10 to brett and in that week we did over 40 meaning brett received in excess of £400 for sitting on his [***]. That 40+ sales was between 3 people and brett has around 35 people working for him so you can imagine the money he's making of 35 people working 12 hour days 6 days a week.

I became curious as to what brett actually did during the day so began to dig a bit deeper and what i discovered was that Brett opens up at 9:30 stays till everyone leaves at 1pm then goes out for lunch then either comes back and does an hour of interviews or just goes home until 9:30pm when he comes back and congratulates everyone on a good day.

Things were going very good as we were doing a lot of sales but then we were told to go to a new area which turned out to be a housing association which means no one actually owns there home meaning they cant have the insulation fitted. Instead of realising this and moving on to a nicer area as I suggested. I was told we need to stick to the law of averages which is if you knock at 120 doors, speak to at least 100 people, survey 5 to 6 homes and close 3 to 4 sales. Of course that didnt happen and we ended on zero sales. When we got back to the office Brett asked me how i did and i said zero and he asked why and i told him that it was housing association and no one was eligible and he told me that its impossible and that I must have lost my attitude which was complete [***].

The next day comes and to my astonishment we are sent back to the same area to do the houses round the corner and again we do zero. I was really annoyed and thought everyone else would be so i began complaining on the way back. I was amazed when these 2 other people who'd made no money in 2 days began blaming themselves saying they must have lost attitude or not stuck to the system instead of Brett who'd plonked us in a terrible area. It was at this point it started to seem like a cult to me so the next day I quit before i was to deep and began believing the stories of mega wealth.

The truth is you can make money from this but only if you're at the top but to get to the top you have to leave your morals, social life, family and friends and commitments at the door. I saw people lying to vunerable people, making old widowed women sign something they didn't understand and most of all people lying to themselves with dreams of wealth. If you can do all that then good luck to you but you will lose a lot of friends and respect. Give me a 15k a year 9 to 5 job anyday.

*also long reply*

So I'm guessing I like most people off here fell for this rubbish, I applied via reed for a graduate entry position to a few different companies on reeds with similar job descriptions.

Thank god I did because when the second and third company emailed me back saying they would like for me to come for an interview (at the same place I had gone for an interview that day and received a call back) it pushed my already mounting suspicions over the edge.

I was initially concerned that when I originally heard back and I tried to research the company the website name was merely a host site for emails, first new rule, no website = bad sign.

Secondly when I arrived there was no logo on the door, the receptionist handed me an application form which now that I think about it had no letterhead etc (because they recruit through so many names they don't know which one you are showing up for)

When I got my call back for the second interview the woman didn't even know who which company she was calling back on behalf of and after 2 failed attempts simply resigned to saying "your interview went really well please come back for a 2nd"

Another worry was that there was 20 candidates there when I arrived and the room didn't get emptier, more and more arrived which suggests they have a constant rotation of candidates on a 30minute interval. Also the office though alright, had a very tiny unprofessional lift, the interview was clearly memorized by heart from the guy, I noticed him using several distraction techniques and avoiding certain questions etc being very vague about what I would be doing

Even after all the stuff I've mentioned and loads of other things I was still tempted and being persuaded by a relative to go for it thinking hell even "if it is a scam whats the worst that can happen? my marketing job turns out actually to be a telesales oh well at least I'm working!"

Thank you for posting this stuff especially previous employees, I got some seriously bad vibes from the moment I got the interview invite and they only got worse the more it went on. My "second interview" is at tomorrow at 12, I don't know whether to go in and kick off, & warn all the poor other people in there waiting for their first interview fresh from uni & demand for my file and details to be deleted or just to stand them up and constantly ring saying I'll be there in 15, hopefully leading to them wasting their time.

The sad thing is that there are so many people out there without a job that when they get offered an interview they are ecstatic and when they hear they have made it through to the next select round of candidates they can't believe their look etc, it is easy to see how it can work, thank god I'm a skeptic.

to all whom are considering this read the above and stay the hell away from 20dickenson house and any companies associated with it, including ukaqusitions wowmarketing and selectmarketingsls

This will tell all...

https://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/01612001102

Hi
I have recently graduated and went for an interview at Bradford Marketing, 20 Dickinson House/Street in Manchester unless you want a job doing door to door sales in flea ridden houses for commission do not go!!!! I was told the job was an events marketing role advancing to event manager in a year, this was obviously not true! I only found this out on the second interview when made to do door to door sales somewhere in the out skirts of Manchester! I felt so stupid for letting it go on so long.

I have just been called for a job at 4ward Promotions, got all excited, job role Events Assistant, they sent me through the email confirmation and it stated 20 Dickinson House, Manchester. I knew it was the same and after searching on the internet could not find a website-second clue! I am not going after finding this blog and my previous experience at that address!

20 Dickinson House/Street – STAY AWAY!

Good luck everyone!

Hi
I have recently graduated and went for an interview at Bradford Marketing, 20 Dickinson House/Street in Manchester unless you want a job doing door to door sales in flea ridden houses for commission do not go!!!! I was told the job was an events marketing role advancing to event manager in a year, this was obviously not true! I only found this out on the second interview when made to do door to door sales somewhere in the out skirts of Manchester! I felt so stupid for letting it go on so long.

I have just been called for a job at 4ward Promotions, got all excited, job role Events Assistant, they sent me through the email confirmation and it stated 20 Dickinson House, Manchester. I knew it was the same and after searching on the internet could not find a website-second clue! I am not going after finding this blog and my previous experience at that address!

20 Dickinson House/Street – STAY AWAY!

Good luck everyone!

I to am an ex-employee, I was selling Government energy grants on behalf of the utility companies. Some days there were no sales as the area we had been given given was a mass spralling local authority area which you could clearly tell because of all the new roofs, windows, etc.

I was also excited to be offered the position but in hindsight the experience has made me worse off than being unemployed. It has knocked my confidence and made me very wary of people who are supposed to be team leaders, one of which ripped me off by not signing and destroying my apps sheet!

The atmosphere was a joke as was ringing the bell as all a normal person would want to do after door knocking for 8 hours in the rain would be to go home.

How annoying that direct sales organisations use the term Surveyor for a job role that is essentially commision only sales. A word of advise any surveyors jobs advertised as no experience required isn't a true surveying role. As most true Surveyors of any trade will have had to under go lengthy periods of time in further education.  I find this very frustrating when job searching as I have personally trained for 5 years and everytime I change jobs I have to spend unessesary time filtering out the false adverts like the ones by this company. So be warned if they say Surveyor no experienced required it isnt a Surveyors job it's a commision only sales role.

Same here. Usual [***], except it was from 'Uk Acquisitions.' and quess what... 20 Dickson [***]... blah blah. Not bothering going for my interview tomorrow, and i'm not going to tell them!

Btw avoid 0844 264 1629. Its a scam like all the others on here!

I went along to an interview with 4ward promotions yesterday, thankfully I didn't have to travel far!
I didn't bother googling the company or the address as they told me on the phone they were a knew company and there wasn't anything online about them yet, I can see that was a lie!
I foud the job as I was searching for retail jobs selling make-up, as I'm a qualified MUA but can't find work. The job was advertised as selling Victoria Jackson cosmetics in a retail environment. That was a lie. During the interview (which I was made to have with another candidate at the same time! Very awkward) they told us they sell all kinds of stuff, and the cosmetics was one product among many. They went on about this 4 step plan and said in 8 months you could be a manager, which sounded too good to be true!
I didn't answer the phone when they called me back for the second interview, as I really didn't want the job, especially after reading all the posts on here!
My friend was also taken in as she believed it was a job selling make-up, and she went through the same ordeal,being interviewed at the same time as another candidate who was a 40 year old man.
If you're reading this don't bother going, it was a complete waste of time and left me feeling really low as I thought I'd finally found a job doing what I wanted to do. They basially advertise the same job as being lots of different jobs, to get you through the door. Really wish I hadn't bothered!!!

a *new company sorry that was bugging me!

MD = managing director!

I have been called and interviews set up by Recruitment Line...a recruitment company that seem to specialise in recruiting for all the above businesses.
I have had 5 meetings set up with various so called marketing companies from the scam list and they are all nothing more than 'door to door 'sales jobs.
Don't waste your time if you are an Advertisning or Marketing proffessional, in my opinion they should be prosecuted for failing to give candidates the right information.
Only when absolutely challenged do they reveal the true nature of the job description!
I did wonder when I get a call from Select Marketing and the girl said 'Congratulations , you are going to have an interview with my MD' ...not the usual intro to a new call from a prospective employer...more like a mail order recruitment advertising line!

yesturday i had my first day working for select marketing solutions, based at dickinson house, after success in my first two interviews, the second being a day 'in the field'.
to be honest im really confused on what to believe;

1. that select is a great oppertunity for me to develop a good career and earn a fortune in a few months time as long as i can successfully sell at the door and stay committed.

2. that its a scam.

Ok, dont get me wrong, i really do not enjoy travelling to random areas of manchester to sell door to door for hours and hours dying for a drink and a wee while listening to a mad man that could sell sun glasses to the blind if given the chance.
Im also pretty annoyed that when i agreed to come in on the following day after being offerd the job, which happened to be a saturday,  i was not told it was going to be my first day working as they had asked me to just come in  in the morning, have a coffee and bring things like N.I, letter with adress etc, giving me the impression its to just sign some stuff, give them some details so i can get paid then i could go enjoy my saturday.
Nope did not have a little chat over a coffee, i had a group meeting with a guy called brett, telling us more about the 'steps' and potential earnings, then got sent to the field, finally leaving the office at 7pm.

My initiative is telling me all is not quite right here, and that i do not want to work 6days a wk trolling around manchester becoming a robot selling machine, but the things they offer in return once youve completed a couple of stages like a massive wage seems really tempting especially as they say they want to help you get to this point as quickly as possible and generally seem like nice people.

Ive said to them that im not quite convinced that what they are offering isnt a scam because of all the things i have read on the internet, but they seem very defensive over this, getting me to meet more people that now run there own accounts, saying that everyone on the internet complaining are just ex employees that have left after a couple of days that didnt quite commit or see the potential. there also willing to speak to family members that have concern over what your doing.

so i guess im left asking myself what to do, that this is an oppertunity for me and they are trying to help me out and advise me as much as possible and that peopple complaining are just bitter and dont understand what they do, or should i not turn up on monday after reading everything on this sight?

please could someone be honest and tell me there opinion?

thanks

I am so glad other people felt this way! I went to the manchester office of select marketing solutions for an interview last month and by half past 5 I had a phone call from Francesca inviting me back for an observation day at 9am the next day. I was so excited!

Off I went thinking the day would involve a few assessments and an interview or maybe shadowing someone in the office. Oh my days, I did not get home that night until half past 8 at night!! Id had to pay for petrol, £13 parking (I hadnt expected to be there all day!) and a £5 return bus fare to Rochdale to go work at WHSmiths. I spent the entire day with a girl called Tara watching her blag pensioners into signing up to Littlewoods catalogues. She didnt even let me take a break! I got to eat a sandwich outside WHSmith, that was all. No time for a cigeratte, loo break, sit down, anything. I was basically there for 12 hours being told a load of crap about law of averages, the rule of 5. I had my final interview n was offered the job the next day.

Being desperate for work as a recent graduate, I took the job. I didnt believe there would be a chance of reaching a management position in 6-10 months (how could I possibly have enough experience) but in the short term the money would be handy. On my first official day, another girl came with us for her observation day, which I found dodgy because why do they need to carry out constant interviews? Must be becasue nobody is there long enough! I listened as Tara spouted her crap to this poor girl and noticed things Id been too nervous to take in the day before. It turned out Tara herself had only been at the company a few months yet was acting totally bossy like she knew it all. I realised everyone I'd met had been there only a short time. Why had nobody worked there longer?

In truth, she was cringeworthy as she shouted 'yoohooo' to all the people walking past the store. Her tone and voice talking to people was completely false, and she was almost robotic. I got told off for accepting 'no' for an answer when a woman said she didnt want a catalogue because she had been in a lot of debt in the past from it. I'm sorry but you have to be callous, manipulative and heartless for this job, with no real personality, just an idiotic willingness to swallow bull that you'll earn a fortune. yeah sure!
.
I started work at 7am and by 2pm I had not sat down once, had no break or dinner. I told Tara I was going for a cig, grabbed my bag and walked out of the job. After paying my £10 train fare to work, my £5 bus fare to Trafford Centre (where we worked that day), I paid another £5 for the bus home. It was the best feeling in the world as I walked out of that job and contemplated how awful it was. I ended up paying a fortune in travel costs and all for making a fool of myself asking stupid questions.
I am willing to work hard, I can go without a cigarette but I am sure it is illegal to not have a break all day long. Working those hours 6 days a week would have left me with no life whatsoever, and thats not something I am willing to sacrifice.

Also, the pitching in the morning is just plain embarrasing. I was forced to say 'hey guys!!' I NEVER TALK LIKE THAT! 'Hiya, y'alright' is more like me but that wasn't acceptable. Oh and yelling juice at 8am is also a bit [***]. PLEASE BE CAREFUL. I recognise every name mentioned in this discussion yet the companies are all different names. It is definitely dodgy and takes the mick out of people trying to earn a living. I found myself wishing I was one of the WHSmith staff while doing this job, and that is what made my mind up about walking out because that is definitely not what I went to university for.

Fool me once, honest mistake
Fool me twice, shame on you
Foll me thrice, i call trading standards

If you represent the company why call your self 'Annon'? why not give your name or you company name or a fake name? The company's a con, your a con.

I'm letting all the authorities know about you!!!!

Well said lauren ;) totally agree!

No! they are all con artists that are selling real products yes but the way they do so is unreal! They get people that are just trying to earn some money and flog them to death! They cut you off from all your friends and family by making you work all the hours under the sun and then offer to take you out for a drink etc only to brainwash you more. They give you unrealistic wage ideas and unrealistic bonuses. The amount you can earn and do earn is totally different and the hours you work to get that wage equates to about £2.50 an hour so for that i can go and do an apprenticeship in a real company and get an actual career at the end of it. All these marketing companies may be real and sell real products but the people that run them are all brainwashed freaks! We think cults are strange thats what these companies are. Heres some to avoid! John Johnson Paramount Force, Adam Allen Justice Organisation, 3d Organization, Primus UK. What job interview do you meet the managing director and walk straight into the job earning £500 a week. Trust me ive done it and seen it all it aint nice please dont be fooled it will ruin your life.

This sums up exactly the sort of low level, life sucking, de-moralizing cult this place was.. as i was reading your post, i could tell wat u were about to say before reading it.. EG when u said u complained about the housing association area, you were told you must have lost your attitude! and so on.... it just goes to show no matter  where u are in one of these companies, (im in Ireland, Im guessin your in England doing miller patterson...??/) that they still feed us the same load of crap!! to quote you "
The truth is you can make money from this but only if you're at the top but to get to the top you have to leave your morals, social life, family and friends and commitments at the door. I saw people lying to vunerable people, making old widowed women sign something they didn't understand and most of all people lying to themselves with dreams of wealth. If you can do all that then good luck to you but you will lose a lot of friends and respect. Give me a 15k a year 9 to 5 job anyday." i couldnt have said it any better myself..

i got a call today from a company called paramount force offering an interview sayin they were really impressed with my cv but the website is vague and the lady who called me seemed as if she was reading her speel can sum1 tell me if this is just another old calling company so i dnt wate my time plz

Hey Guys, first let me thank you all for saving me a long drive to Manchester. I have also been contacted from these people who now have a new front under the name "Outsource Ten Ltd" a lady named Denise called to arrange an interview for me, all seemed a little "sus" so i thought to google them & here i am! Many thanks again to you all & happy job hunting!

Ian