Home Employment Opportunities
“Work at Home - Earn $$ Fast!”
Each year, many consumers are taken in by advertisements promising easy-money, spare-time work-at-home opportunities. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services advises citizens to be cautious of such offers because, unfortunately, there is little that can be done to help recover money spent on them. The following information can help you recognize work-at-home claims which might cost you money.
Don't Believe Everything You Read
|
|---|
Typically, work-at-home advertisements are found in the classified advertising section of newspapers. An ad may say something like: "Make up to $200 per week in your spare time! Write or call today for more details."
Stuffing envelopes or assembling items like aprons, dolls, Christmas decorations and electronic gadgets are typical of the work offered.
Another popular strategy is advertisements for manuals or seminars that teach you how to sell services on the telephone. The manuals and seminars teach you how to sell information about solving credit problems or obtaining credit cards or loans. You are promised a commission on each sale you make and are told you can use the information to resolve your own credit problems as well. It doesn't always work that way. Often the information you receive isn't really helpful in solving credit problems. In some cases, when a consumer tries to contact the company to receive his commission, he/she finds it has moved or gone out of business.
Envelope Stuffing |
|---|
Most people responding to envelope-stuffing advertisements expect to receive a box of flyers and a box of envelopes. This is NEVER the case.
Instead, you will receive a letter from the company praising their "plan" for making easy money. You may receive testimonial letters from other "employees" or see copies of checks to them for work done. But there is one thing you can count on - you will be asked to spend money for more information about the plan. The fee is typically $25, although amounts may differ from company to company.
What Happens if You Pay the Fee? |
|---|
One of two things will typically happen after you pay the fee:
-
You will never hear from the company again;
-
You will receive instructions from the company telling you how to set up the same kind of advertising plan to which you responded.
-
The promoter will promise you a certain amount of money for each envelope you receive. Be warned, however - you are not likely to make much money. A hearing examiner in a postal fraud case found the average amount of money earned at home through work-at-home schemes is 45 cents - not 45 cents per envelope, just 45 cents, period.
This is a classic pyramid scheme that encourages you to make money by taking advantage of other people.
The Assembly Scheme |
|---|
If you respond to an ad to do assembly work, you will probably be required to purchase the unassembled parts from the company running the ad with the promise of selling the assembled units at a profit. Several things can happen when you've done the work.
-
You are told by the company that you must sell the items yourself in order to earn a profit, or;
-
The company has you mail them the assembled work, then you're told the work doesn't meet the company's "high standards of quality" and will not be bought;
-
The company will have closed or moved and left no forwarding address.
Postal authorities cite one case in which an ad appeared nationwide offering women an opportunity to sew baby shoes at home as a way to make extra money. The women were required to send a small payment fee before the company would hire them. Some 60,000 women responded, paid the fee and sent a sample of sewing. Not one of the 60,000 measured up to the company's "high standards of quality" - but all paid the fee which the company kept. Even if the fee was $1 - a relatively small amount - the company made $60,000 from those who responded.
Questions to Ask... |
|---|
Legitimate work-at-home programs should tell you - in writing - what's involved in the program they are selling. Here are some questions you might ask when investigating a home employment opportunity:
- What tasks will I have to perform (ask them to list every step of the job)?
- Will I be paid a salary or will my pay be based on commission?
- Who will pay me and where are they located?
- When will I get my first paycheck?
- What is the total cost of the program, including supplies, equipment and membership fees?
- What will I get for my money?
The answers to these questions may help you determine whether a work-at-home opportunity is appropriate for your circumstances, and whether it is legitimate.
You also might want to check out the company with your local consumer protection agency, state Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau, not only where the company is located, but also where you live. These organizations can tell you whether they have received complaints about the work-at-home program that interests you. But be wary: the absence of complaints doesn't necessarily mean the company is legitimate. Unscrupulous companies may settle complaints, change their names or move to avoid detection.
If it Sounds Too Good to be True, Probably is.... |
|---|
If you are considering working at home, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services urges you to be skeptical of claims that sound too good to be true. There are few ways to earn easy money and the advertising claims made by work-at-home peddlers are almost always false or highly exaggerated.
