Life Employment Owner Charlie Hoovler Financial Ruin Lafayette Indiana

I was contacted by an employee of Life Employment and told they had a job I would be perfect for. I never asked them to find me a job and I already had a job and wasn't even looking for a new one. I asked about fees and was told that ALL FEES were paid by the employer; that there would be no fee to me. I was told that they couldn't tell me anything over the phone; I would have to come to their office. Since there was no out of pocket money to me and being curious, I met with the company. That day I was told I had to sign a paper before they could tell me any information. I was on my lunch hour and was in a hurry and quickly signed the paper. Once they told me about the job, it was not something I was interested in and said goodbye.

A few weeks later, I received another unsolisitated call from Life Employment and was told again they had a job that I would be perfect for. I met with Charlie Hoovler and because of the job he described; I said I would be interested in meeting with the company. I was currently working for an IT company making $60,000 a year and worked M-F, 8-5. The job I was being offered was for one of our competitors and I was told by Charlie Hoovler the job paid $53,000 and the hours would be the same. I said I didn't want to take a pay cut, but he told me that the new company was offering paid training. Being in IT, training is very important because technology changes so fast.

After meeting with the company, I accepted the position. However, after working there only 2 weeks, I gave the company my notice. Nothing about the job was what I was told it would be. When I asked about the paid training I was handed some old books to read. I was told I would be in a management position as I was in my old job, but I was not. The main problem was the hours. I was working 60 hours a week and told I would also have to also work weekends. I have a brother, with a young wife and 2 small children, that is in Iraq and I help them in my free time. I told the company that I could not work those hours and that the hours were supposed to be from 8-5. I was told that it was just a busy time, but the other employees said that was how many hours they always worked. I was also not given any compensation for extra hours and overnight stays out of town.

I gave them my notice and quit. I had no job for 6 months and ended up having to borrow $15,000 just to keep up on my mortgage. A few months later I received a summons that I was being sued in small claims by Life Employment for not staying at the company 90 days. I see that I signed something saying I would stay 90 days. Whenever fees were discussed, I was always assured that I would pay nothing and the 90 days was never mentioned. All Life Employment did was ask me if I would be interested in the position and then send my resume to the company. If I had been looking for a new job, I could have given my resume to the company myself.

During the small claims trial, Life Employment had a lawyer and I didn't. I thought small claims were for both sides to tell their story but when one side doesn't have a lawyer it is not a very fair process. The judge didn't even speak to my witness and didn't want to take any of my evidence. When I talked about how many hours I was working the judge actually said that there are always things about a new job you won't like and that he worked a lot of hours.
I don't understand how a business can just call people, lie to them about the conditions of a job and when you find out they lied and quit, they sue you. It is a deceptive business practice and should void any contracts. Not only do I not have the money to pay the small claims judgment, but I am working in a temporary construction position, because that is the only job I could find. I am also being told that they will put a lien on my house if I don't pay.

Life Employment didn't lose any money, but I have lost over $30,000 in wages. I owe a credit card $12,000 that I had to borrow to pay my mortgage, I only have a job for a few more months and then I am unemployed, and now somehow I am suppose to pay almost $5,000 to a company that did nothing but lie. I don't have money for an attorney. I did nothing to deserve this and I consider myself fairly intelligent but if they could take advantage to me, then this could happen to anyone.

John
Lafayette, Indiana
U.S.A.