Personnel Concepts deceptive, misleading advertising Ontario California

I just received the 2015 "offer". There is no mention on the envelope that these posters can be obtained for free from the state government.  These guys purposely make the envelope look "official" by adding thing in bold like "Open Immediately". I have never bought the posters but am commenting because they clearly are trying to mislead customers.  I live in South Carolina and am being solicited by a company out of California.  I would agree that people should read what they are ordering. However, they picked a price point that makes it more likely that someone would order hastily, then figure out the ruse later. Another tactic printed on order form is where it statesthat their poster service is the least expensive posting solution available or your money back.  It's not less expensive than free. As for the threat of being fined, I would like to see one example of a business being fined $17,000. If you are going to use that tactic, back it up with facts.  These dirt bags must just mass mail these out to any business they can get an address for.  if 10% of folks order, then it pays for them to do it.  Pretty slimy business model.

I have in my possession a brand new mailing received today from Personnel Concepts with big bold letters on the outside of the envelope - Compliance update 2013 Immediate response requested. NO WHERE on the outside of this form does it say anything at all about not being part of a government agency or in partnership with anyone. In fact, the back of the envelope is blank. 

The front however is designed to look exactly like something you would receive from a legitimate government agency. 

As I told Personnel Concepts in writing by registered return receipt mail a year ago, if I received one more piece of this trash I would file a report with the Oregon Consumer Fraud Department, the Oregon Attorney's General Office, the BBB of CA and the Oregon Employment and Labor Department. 

Consider it done. 

Anyone reading this, DO NOT BUY FROM THESE SCAMMERS. You can get every single poster required by your state FREE from your state department of labor. FREE people. 

Free is better. Put these people out of business by refusing to buy their trash. 

The "Free" Notice is there - it's on the back of the envelope - and says as a complete quote:
"AIO Acquisition, Inc. (d/b/a Personnel Concepts) is a non-government compliance firm and a wholly owned subsidiary of Tricor Direct, Inc.  Our All-On-One compliance systems and Space Saver All-On-One posters are copyrighted material.  INDIVIDUAL POSTERS ARE AVAILABLE FOR FREE FROM THE GOVERNMENT (emphasis was added); we do not sell or provide individual government posters.  Our products may not be reproduced without prior written permission 2011 AIO Acquisition, Inc.  All rights reserved"

It's not even in fine print!

Just saying...............

I am in possession of a recently received 2011 Update mailer from Personnel Concepts.  Contrary to the comment posted previously by the "employee" of the company, there is no indication on this paperwork letting me know that the posters are available for free from the government.

I was in fact about to fill out the paperwork, when on a whim I decided to check out the company website.  As I was typing Personnel Concepts into the search engine, the auto-complete also pulled up Personnel Concepts scam as an option.

Thankfully, because of that, I found this filing on Ripoff Report.  I have now gone to both the Federal and State websites and downloaded the posters for free.  We will print and post ourselves.

Again, no where on the Personnel Concepts mailer does it indicate that these posters are actually available for free direct from the Government.

This company actually called me back in 2009 about this and I told them to take me off their mailing and phone list. However I got another letter today.

This mailing and telemarketing scam is a predatory action by the company against other business. Even though we were not duped either time, they have wasted our time twice now. As the document sent is purposely constructed in a way to seem like it comes from an official government agency. Worst they also use scare tactics within the mailing as well.

The owner has disputed his company is doing anything wrong, but he can not deny the intentional feel of the letter to be that of the federal or state government, that it is intended to dupe people and scare them into complying with buying the posters from them.

Personnel Concepts has always informed customers, the posters they sell are available from the government for free. The print is not small and is listed on the back of every mailer, along with the benefits of allowing us to be your "Compliance Partner." Most commonly, business owners choose to not read this kind of mail, rather they choose to react on how it looks. This is not recommended by any means. Every employer should READ closely what is being said.

Posters are available from the government for free however, most employers feel they can go to one website or call one number and get everything they need. This is not true. A simple search for labor law posters will only give you federal required posters from the dol.gov. In addition, you must post state specific information. Some states have one website though some have several where your posters can be obtained. Once you have identified the locations to obtain your posters you have to know what posters are required for your specific business. If by chance you have located all the posters required for your specific business, you are then required to keep them updated with no notice from either the federal government or your state government. This process can be overwhelming and frustrating for most employers but alternatively, it can be avoided by paying for a service with a guarantee.

Mail that is sent out advertising labor law posters cites text as it is published in law for public viewing about the stringent requirements for posting notices and the steep penalties associate for not doing so. In the case of required labor law posters every employer should have posted, combined fines for each poster can amount to $17,000. In 2008, employers were fined over $100MM for failure to adhere to laws and regulations, most of which could have been avoided by a simple updated poster.

Due to the serious nature of labor and OSHA compliance, keeping up to date can become a time consuming process, and one that most employers choose to pay for the services of another company to ensure their compliance with the law. If you choose our service, and are found out of compliance by a state or federal officer due to your poster(s) being out of date, we will reimburse you up to $17,000. While there are doubts about our guarantee there has been no doubt from those that have been reimbursed by this guarantee.

Mail is sent out frequently to remind employers of their obligations in other areas of the law. A simple labor law poster, while it will eliminate several opportunities for fines, it will not absolve you from all other laws. For example, posting a fire escape route in your work place is required however, a written SOP with specific information (locations of fire extinguishers, persons in charge, contact numbers etc) must be kept on hand for all employees to read. Not having a plan specifically written as such can result in a fine of $7,000. Personnel Concepts develops products for the purpose of aiding an employer with the completion of these requirements.

If you wish not to receive mail from us you may contact our customer service team and they will gladly assist you with the removal of your name from our mailing list.