jobcentres are shilling pyramid schemes now?
Posted by Kitchen-Cherry-7334@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 91 comments
my disabled girlfriend went into the jobcentre for her first appointment and 10 minutes into her appointment the lady she is speaking to starts trying to sell Avon, a known MLM pyramid scheme to her?
I thought this was just one lady who's trying to recruit through her work but then she tells me an Avon representative is like sponsored to be there and the lady doing my gfs appointment brought her over and she starts trying to shill it to my girlfriend asking for a new joiners fee.
apparently this is literally sponsored by jobcentre and they are brought in?
surely this can't be? the jobcentre has the most vulnerable of society visit it and is a government run institution and they are letting people be preyed on by these pyramid scams?
sure enough when I went for my appointment yesterday I saw the lady zooming round to any desk with a female and trying to recruit.
does only me think this is messed up? is it legal? what's happening?
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biggles1994@reddit
I had exactly this kind of thing in my journal notes a few months back. Really shocked me.
Particular-Pace-2990@reddit
Mate I was on a job support scheme through jobcentre. (Reed in partnership, I've no drama naming and shaming) I've had emails more than once: "have you considered self employment, if you have a vehicle you can start earning right away with Uber eats, deliveroo etc.. come to our workshop on self employment"
Like yeh, nah fuck that. I've a passport for a start 🤣
Danmoz81@reddit
Ah right, yeah, so some PAYE twonk at the JC can then tell you how you need to generate your own wage of ÂŁ25k a year.
Revolutionary-Mode75@reddit
I was luckily enough to get on a legitimate charity lead project that paired up business people with people with business ideas. Back with training. They investment days with London base investors as well, some pretty big names. EU funded, sadly despite being match to a person, had meetings booked, they to take me off the scheme because it was for London residents only. I live 150m outside of the necessary postcode I could have attended the one for East of England where Essex comes under but I would have to travel up to Ipswitch three times a week for first 6 weeks or 6 months .
Particular-Pace-2990@reddit
That's the one 🤣
BroodLord1962@reddit
This isn't good and needs reporting to your local MP. But please drop the, jobcentres are full of the most vulnerable. There are plenty of people going to jobcentres who have no intention of getting a job
neveadd@reddit
well, they are. everytime i go it’s full of drug addicts or disabled people - so the most vulnerable.
Limbo365@reddit
I thought Avon closed down?
neveadd@reddit
nope, still apparent.
sausage_beans@reddit
The last time I went to a job centre about 15 years ago, they didn't offer anything job wise, I just had to write in a box that I'd applied for 3 jobs (that they didn't check). They did refer me to a local training provider that offered me forklift training if I did a maths and english course which was nice.
Revolutionary-Mode75@reddit
I got offered two jobs by the job center, one was in chelmford, 2hrs travel and was clearly a scam by job center advisor for that week booked it, so I had to go. Another was so far south of london it was virtually in north Kent, when I went to the interview it took me 3hrs to get there, I did go the long way into the estate from the station, the recetionist showed me a short cut, that meant my journey home was like 2.5hrs. we all agree the travel time was impractical, otherwise they would had me on a trial at least, they were desperate for staff as they were scaling up to manage office supplies for the 2012 Olympics.
RoutineCloud5993@reddit
The only thing the job center actually checked for me was how many hours I'd been paid for in part time work. Discrepancies were clamped down on immediately.
This is work that I found myself, mind, with no help from them.
grayscalemamba@reddit
There's a good chance any company mass recruiting through the job centre (or employment support referrals) are the worst kind of vultures filling their massive staff turnover.
I had three complete wastes of time when I was signing on.
1: Event stewarding ("Pick your hours! Up to ÂŁ19p/h! See shows for free!"). A week of unpaid training, followed by a system of the whole month of events being published at the same time that you have to race to sign up for, and you can get maybe 3 shifts before all the spots are filled. Provide your own uniform, then travel across London for a 4 hour shift at just above minimum wage. We were led to believe the shifts were longer. Also had to be there for staff entrance doors closing \~30-45 minutes before your shift (unpaid). So 7-8 hour round trip for 4 hours pay minus travel costs.
2: Stocktaking ("Pick your own hours! Transport provided! Bonus pay over your quota!"). Looked them up on Glassdoor, turns out you head to a designated place, freeze your nads off waiting for them to show up with a minibus and transport you to the job hours away, assuming they don't just cancel your shift last minute. I withdrew my interest on that one.
3: Training course for customer service ("Get a recognised qualification! Guaranteed interview at your local William Hill!") Showed up to the online classes, did the work, trainer was a bellend but the work was mind-numbingly easy. Turned up on the last day to radio silence, and got an email to say they'd cancelled the course. So no certificate, no interview.
It gets so soul-destroying.
CrazyLadyBlues@reddit
I've fallen for the 3rd one. Twice. It wasn't through the jobcentre but on recruitment sites. The ads looked like genuine vacancies but it was only when they rang me back that they revealed the truth. I didn't have the self confidence to say no the second time.
grayscalemamba@reddit
Yeah, it’s very hard to say no when you’re desperate for work and hope it’s not the waste of time you’re 99% sure it is.
anchoredwunderlust@reddit
Scanning through this thread and thinking of all the disabled people being thrown into this after losing PIP…
elisePin@reddit
I worked for a charity fundraising company once (got the job from the job centre). This was in Nottingham maybe 11 years ago now. It was one of those companies that employ people to knock on people's doors and try and guilt trip them into handing over their details on the door to sign up to give monthly to whichever charity we were currently pitching. Part of our job was being told we had to wait outside the job centre on wednesday mornings and recruit other people looking for work. Everyone was fired anyway within a few weeks for 'not getting enough people to sign up'. They're vultures.
sparklychestnut@reddit
I did that job years ago, but for an electricity company, trying to persuade people to swap providers. It was an awful job, commission only, and I was terrible at it - I earned ÂŁ14 over 2 weeks.
The people from the less wealthy areas were far more likely to sign up than the rich areas, as our pitch was all about how much money they could save. Pretty sure it was all nonsense.
Greengrass7772@reddit
An original Nottingham knocker?
Wiggidy-Wiggidy-bike@reddit
no one who works there is smart, if they are they quit fast. this wouldnt suprise me at all to be seen as smart by management
"the purpose of a system is what it does" comes to mind. it gets ppl to stop taking the council/government money, it doesnt care how. if its getting ppl into the avon scam then thats 1 less person taking the gov money
they get ppl to work for charity door to door pyramid schemes all the time.
been anything above room temp iq and watching what happens in them if you end up in one somehow is a living nightmare
Taken_Abroad_Book@reddit
Report this to everyone that will listen
The benefits advice subreddit is banning people for talking about it, but it's happening, along with veiled threats of sanctions for not taking part in it.
It's a shambles.
Tao626@reddit
This is the part I was looking for.
Having this shit on a table at the back of a JC is one thing, but threatening and sanctioning people for not paying into these scams is fucking disgusting.
Taken_Abroad_Book@reddit
It's mad how the benefits advice subs bans any talk of it, I've a feeling the mod is into this shit.
They go mad when someone calls it a pyramid scheme
Tao626@reddit
There's only two people that won't call it a pyramid scheme or MLM: - Those pushing the scam - Those who fell for it
georgiebb@reddit
That's one type of people
Fit_General7058@reddit
Avon isn't a pyramid scheme.
You buy your samples that's it. What people want is ordered. You don't buy loads of stock then have to shift it.
Avon is also a job, a job most can do.. It's a sales job without the targets. I can see why a job centre might have someone in to get you to give the job a go.
Its also indicative if you say no. Job centres want you in work. When you are in work you can spend time getting a job you actually want.
Danmoz81@reddit
Does it pay an hourly wage?
neveadd@reddit
it’s not a job, they don’t pay any wage. it’s solely commission based, but you can’t earn anything unless you recruit other people. they also tried to make me pay a ten pound admission fee. no job is making YOU pay to work for them, it’s a legal scam essentially
sjjskqoneiq9Mk@reddit
You recruit and make money off your recruits.Â
It's a pyramid scheme.Â
Do better.
nathderbyshire@reddit
Did it change at one point? My grandma did Avon but she just had genuine sales that were all the other old ladies in the area who genuinely thought their products were the best thing ever. Their bubble bath was pretty good though NGL
Maybe she was just completely oblivious but it was just a side hustle for her for extra money. Shed post brochures, collect them a week later, order the stuff then drop it off to them. A lot of them were pretty old and house bound so I guess they struggled to get things themselves? Other than that I didn't see the point but nothing shady seemed to be happening. She never seemed to be pushed to recruit unless she just discarded it without saying
This was like, 2002 as well
sjjskqoneiq9Mk@reddit
Nope always been the same just much more recognized as a bad thing now.Â
It's a soft push especially in the UK, I guess not a predatory on the surface as the US side of things?Â
They are now owned by sperate companies with the UK now being more 'social selling' based but can still hold the traditional MLM aspectsÂ
callisstaa@reddit
I think it was always seen as something to do on the side as a social thing rather than an actual job.
sjjskqoneiq9Mk@reddit
For sure, doesn't make it any less of a predatory thing though and for the job center to be pushing it as a legitimate job is concerningÂ
nathderbyshire@reddit
Oh yeah possibly, she never went to any sort of retreat it was just an at home Saturday catalogue job to her and I assumed it was just somewhat overpriced tat and commission on top for my nan.
I got paid for helping! I wasn't complaining at the time haha
ChoosingToBeLosing@reddit
I think it used to be that you as the rep had to order a minimum certain amount each month, whether you had sales or not. That's the bit which always indicated to me a pyramid scheme. Not sure if this has changed now though
nathderbyshire@reddit
The only thing I have a vague memory of is her maybe being asked to get more sign ups? She'd go door to door and write what address she's done and whether they were interested or not. She probably wouldn't have told me with me being white young but nothing seemed forced if anything she enjoyed it, it got her out of the house and talking to similar people which is all she loved to do lol
She gave it up pretty easily as well when my grandad fell ill, the only thing I remember is she couldn't return stock so she'd either have to sell it herself or gift it. She rarely had that though and if someone was short one week she'd just give it to them and collect when they're ready, seemed like a trust circle of old ladies
super_sammie@reddit
As if this shizzle stabber actually suggested Avon was a valid income stream for those that need a job. It’s insanity in 2025 Avon still exists.
It’s just a way to leach money from friends, family and colleagues!
super_sammie@reddit
What value does Avon have over say (I don’t know) just buying shit in a shop or online.
Pack it in…
DiDiPLF@reddit
They do have some decent stuff that's very cheap, as well as loads of overpriced crap. There's a brand awareness/loyalty. Not everyone lives near a range of shops or is happy ordering online. Its not a viable replacement for a full time job though
Alternative_Dot_1026@reddit
Yea, I mean why help a friend/family member out when you can just order it on Amazon with free next day delivery and make one of the richest men on the planet even richer.Â
bucketofardvarks@reddit
They're asking for a joining fee. Legitimate jobs do not charge you to work there.
informalgreeting23@reddit
Ah yeah you're right, it's an inverse funnel scheme
Similar-Factor@reddit
It’s been about 2 decades since I had to sign on but I remember the job list on those stupid fucking terminals being 99% scammy commission based door to door shit. The other 1% was, no joke, head of oncology at Glasgow royal infirmary. Why yes I was threatened with a sanctioning for not applying for it.
blizzardlizard666@reddit
Are you for real
neveadd@reddit
the gf here!! yup, tried to force me to give her a tenner for an admission fee. no thanks lmfao
blizzardlizard666@reddit
I'm sure you should report that.
neveadd@reddit
i’ve thought about it but i’ve read up on it, and it is allowed somehow. it’s disgusting
blizzardlizard666@reddit
That's insane though!
Teembeau@reddit
Avon is MLM but it's not a predatory one. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with an MLM company. It's when the MLM is solely based on recruitment as the way to make money that it's a problem.
The bigger issue is that there isn't a whole lot of money in Avon now.
neveadd@reddit
it is definitely predatory, the gf here and they tried to charge me a £10 admission fee. only reason the avon lady is trying to get me to sign up is bc she’s making no money with selling products so has to assign other people!
JohnRCC@reddit
When I went to sign on 9 or 10 years ago a lot of the "jobs" on the jobcentre site were, like, "Pay for this IT training course and have a chance at being able to apply for a tech support job"
Full of scams then, full of scams now
Darkwave@reddit
Yeah I got suckered into one of those IT schemes about 15 years ago. Paid up the money courtesy of their 'convenient' partnership with Barclays and they went bankrupt months later. Think I was out 5 or 6 grand which I was obligated to pay.
LegoCaltrops@reddit
I went to my jobcentre (nany years ago) & one of the "vacsncies" was to work as an escort...
adialterego@reddit
Was the employee wearing a fur coat and had a feathered hat?
Trishata96@reddit
It annoyingly happens, one course I went on via the jobcentre ended up being a cold call centre for if you got sick on a package holiday. My work coach wasn't exactly happy for me turning the job down despite the fact the guy running it bragged about making a sick claim despite the fact he and his missus never ended up sick, which gave me nope vibes.
The scummy companies know people will be in desperate need of a job, and that the job centres want to get people off the books no matter what.
Virtual-Guitar-9814@reddit
there is a 'knife sharpening' company. based in north london, they were recruting via job centers too.
the management would mistreat the recruits and get them to lie to get sales, which is how i first discovered the company.
XSjacketfiller@reddit
There were always scam type schemes there - I covered a few in a past life as a security guard. Takes 5 days to train for a door licence, yet the security courses I saw advertised around the JobCentres were all multiple weeks long.
Course this was designed to scam the taxpayer more than the attendees.
Virtual-Guitar-9814@reddit
i remember them it was 'this isnt for an SIA licence, its for a certificate.'or some other weird excuse
Shadow_Guide@reddit
Avon had a table at a Job Centre jobs fair i went to when I was on Jobseeker's 9 years ago, along with several other shady operations. I think the only legitimate recruiter was Ladbrokes...
I used to work at a centre where they taught such courses. In my experience, the issue was less stretching them out and more churning them out. Qualifications which should have taken months took weeks so they could line up fresh meat on the conveyor belt.
lady_faust@reddit
My son had to do an ESL course at one centre in Wembley despite being born here, attending school here and having British parents. They said he couldn't get his benefits unless he completed it. How bloody ridiculous.
Salaried_Zebra@reddit
That says a lot about how shit the jobcentre is as a place to find a job.
pineapple_on_a_stick@reddit
Years ago my CSCS health and safety card had ran out, it was a week's course and a waste of my time, all I needed to do was the test. My second day the woman in charge of the course told us to do a mock test on the computer and print the results out, I couldn't remember how to print off the test results so I asked how to do it, she came over belittling me saying this isn't going to go well on my test if I can't remember simple things like printing from a computer, I got it printed then went and put my 100% result on her desk and told her I'd done this for years and I'd forgotten more about site safety than she knew.
Heavy-Locksmith-3767@reddit
Same when I did my CSCS course with the job centre, when I did it years ago we studied on a website and paid 45 quid for the test. This time we all went on a three week course with a guy who thought electricians ladders are made of carbon fibre (they're not). He let slip that the job centre was paying 500 quid for each of us to come and listen to his bollocks for three weeks, for a test that most people pass with a few hours of online study.
VR_SamUK@reddit
My local job centre asked to use my CV for as an example for their CV writing class. Which after 13 weeks I was then told I had to attend otherwise would lose my benefits. To learn how to create a better CV, based off my CV
IsOverParty@reddit
I have a couple of unemployed friends and they’ve both had Avon pushed on them (at different Job Centres and in different council areas). It’s insane, but seemingly common.
CollarComfortable151@reddit
Wouldn't surprise me if they are still using rogue recruitment agencies as well who just ship you off to the local Pork Farms regardless of your qualifications or health issues for a 12 hour shift and call it a day and collect their cheque from the JC/Government.
Valuable_Jelly_4271@reddit
When I did one of those back to work schemes I over heard two of the guys that worked there talking and one saying he had been sent their for 'punishment' for something he did at the recruitment agency. The Back to work scheme company and a recruitment agency were all one entity.
All their so called trainers, you know the ones that come in as supposed experts to teach you how to do a CV, were all from the same recruitment agency.
So I looked at the 'success stories' they all had plastered all over the walls. The vast majority of them were all to places with high turnover that used their recruitment agency.
So the Govt was paying them to get people back into work. They used the recruitment agency that was being paid by companies to find people, so they were getting paid by both sides. Then picking up the govt bonus for getting people into work. Of course if it didn't last they had a conveyor belt of people. Total fucking scam IMO.
Aromatic-Story-6556@reddit
When I last went to the job centre 10 years ago I got sent to see this man from one of the local factories who had a job for me that started the next day.
He asked whether I had steel toe cap shoes, I said no, so he said I could buy some from him right there and then (he had loads of shoe boxes behind him) so I could start the next day. I didn’t have any money so I said I’d borrow some boots from my dad.
The next morning they phoned to say my shift was cancelled and they didn’t need me.
Were they actually just scamming and selling steel toe cap shoes? Who knows.
RoutineCloud5993@reddit
That's exactly what they were doing. 100% that they were overcharging for the cheapest, shittiest boots imaginable.
Valuable_Jelly_4271@reddit
There used to be a recurring advert on my local jobsite that the JC goons would pull up because it was listed as WFH so in theory good for us disabled people.
When you emailed about the role you got sent a link to a site which was like some 90's geocities site extolling a number of brands and how you could make money selling them, from home and other contact details if you were interested. All MLM.
I did some digging and they were the same people who left a catalog at our door for household gadgets. Can't remember the name but you left the catalog at your door with your order on a certain day for them to pick up.
They were basically doing loads of different MLM brands and using the jobsite to get more people into the pyramid under them using the guise of a WFH selling job. I always wonder how many people did the JC goons tell to apply for it and how many fell for the BS.
Spottyjamie@reddit
15 years ago there was adverts for escort agencies in job centres
As someone else said, immoral scams then, immoral scams now
mEmotep@reddit
I thought I was the only one to remember this! I remember them suggesting cam work to me which they assured me was nothing to do with sex work. Okay babe.
mEmotep@reddit
They were doing this about 10 years ago aswell. Sad that it's still happening.
macyyxx@reddit
You're completely right to be upset it's messed up. MLMs such as Avon target vulnerable individuals, and having them sold in a government-controlled area such as the Jobcentre is very unethical. Although it may be technically legal if spun as "self-employment help," it's a massive gray area and immoral. The Jobcentre should be shielding individuals, not turning them over to exploitative scams. You can (and ought to) report this to a manager or bring it up with your MP.
AffectionateJump7896@reddit
Not saying it's good, but job centres pushing the unemployed and desperate to do commission-only type jobs is nothing new.
In the 80s and 90s, signing on would basically result in you being told to go sell double glazing and then door to door energy selling when the market became liberalized. Clearly something where you can actually lose money is even worse than commission only cold calling/selling to whoever you know but it's very much in the same vein.
Agree we should stamp out these sorts of things - the fact it's been going on for half a century+ doesn't make it right.
CastleofWamdue@reddit
I just signed off, but I did have the pleasure of going to a few Job Center arranged Job Fairs (mostly at the Job Center itself), and there was an Avon representative at them. Even if its not an MLM its such a low quality job, the Job Center should be ashamed of itself, no one is going to sign off due to Avon.
Its a very telling statement on the Job Center work these days, no focus on quality of the job.
DrFriedGold@reddit
Avon is MLM but it is not a pyramid scheme.
Avon recruits representatives to sell their products. The reps earn money from selling the products.
https://www.uk-representatives.co.uk
It costs ÂŁ10 to become one but you get all you need to start selling.
A pyramid scheme would prioritise recruitment of other reps over sales, but Avon is a well known established company.
AtLeastOneCat@reddit
I do remember a few years back the jobcentre website being absolutely full of scams. I applied for a "website chat moderator" job and it turned out to really be a cam girl job.
Reported it. Nothing happened.
suihpares@reddit
Contact your local MP about this as it will be the jobs center manager who is responsible for this tripe.
georgiebb@reddit
This. Plus local paper if you happen to have one that isn't owned by Reach.
Not the first time and won't be the last that jobcentre staff are scammy or otherwise gross.
For anyone reading that are unsure how Avon operate, about 3% of people with them make money, if they are high enough tier but if you can con people into thinking you make money you can get people to lose money in place of you. If you sign up you do not have a job - you are a customer and you are where Avon's money comes from. Preying on people at a Jobcentre is just beyond low
AccomplishedUnion315@reddit
Last I heard , Avon where in Bankruptcy talks, so be careful
JocastaH-B@reddit
When I was a work coach at the job centre, this was suggested in a meeting and I strongly objected and gave reasons. The managers weren't aware of the problem with MLMs and luckily for once they listened to me so it didn't happen. Please at minimum ask for a meeting with the job centre manager to make them aware
Dry-Opinion5764@reddit
Avon isn’t a pyramid scheme, though it is a multi-level marketing scheme. That, in itself, doesn’t make it a scam.
If anyone at the job centre was trying to recruit your gf into their own group that’s totally out of order though!
Lopsided-Airport-693@reddit
tiktok at mine
False_Disaster_1254@reddit
im sorry, but what?
are they recording tiktoks, or recommending it as a career choice?
BadgerBadgerer@reddit
Selling watches
bucketofardvarks@reddit
Is that supposed to be targeting old people "oh my grandson loves that ticktock so I got him one for his birthday!
blumpkinator2000@reddit
About a decade ago, my local Jobcentre posted an ad for service engineers. Reading through the description, it soon became apparent that what the role really involved was pressure-selling Kirby vacuum cleaners. Not cool - they're well known for letting people go after their first month, and not paying them a penny because they "don't qualify" due to not meeting some imaginary quota.
That's before we even get into the fact that the local dealer and her son were later jailed for running a scam, and disqualified from acting as company directors. The Jobcentre, a government run organisation, should not be funnelling people into shady jobs working for crooks. Especially people who may already be on their arses.
PainExtension3272@reddit
Naa, that's pretty messed up tbh
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