Hello folks, I find myself in a bit of a rut. A representative from this company, Marcus Evan’s Group, which is based somewhere in Eastern Europe or the Middle East, reached out to me last September to sell me on attending one of their professional strategy “thought leader” networking conferences held in Las Vegas around the beginning of October of 2023. This one specifically targeting people involved working within the operations and logistics functionality of organizations. The rep from Marcus Evans who called me was based out of Toronto and said that I would be a perfect candidate for the conference because of my seasoned background and achievements in ops and touted a complete spiel on how this event could boost my brand as a leader by offering a valued networking opportunity as well as hearing other accomplished people in this field talk about topics. I did research online and it looked as though the conference was indeed well organized and professional with lots of speakers from prominent companies (Amazon, UPS, Costco, Microsoft) where I would love to get my foot in the door. However, the registration cost of $2k was just too much and my company at the time would not fit me the bill. When I told the rep this, he said it like be no problem and that Marcus Evan’s could comp me a pass to the event. I then thanked him and expressed excitement about attending and that i still needed to digest a few things before committing. I made it perfectly clear to him that having a complimentary ticket to the conference would be the ONLY way I would attend as I cannot pay for it out of my own pocket. This is the point at which I started to notice a bit of scheister-like behavior from this guy who kept pressing me to hurry up and register. Then I noticed I needed to put down my credit card at which I expressed hesitation to which this scheister fuckwit kept goading me telling me that it’s only there in case attendees cancel at the last minute to cover costs. He even told me that there are cheap flights to Vegas and kept pressing me to register. I was still a bit hesitant but decided it would be worth it. Bad mistake. Smash cut to two weeks later a week before the actual conference date. I get notice from my employer, a company that is probably equally as horrible as Marcus Evan’s which I will pause to name and shame, that my job no longer exists because of a reorg and basically told to get the hell out of dodge. So I tell the sales rep from Marcus Evans about my situation and he tells me that basically I am not allowed to attend the conference coming up in one week because I am no longer employed. (Translation: we don’t want to fit the bill for anyone who doesn’t work for an OEM who can potentially bring business to the sponsors who are paying for this event). I ask them about the fee and they say that I don’t have to pay it if I can find someone else to attend in my place. Yeah, like I’m gonna be able to do that within one week. I looked in the terms a d conditions of the agreement and nowhere in the terms and conditions does it state anything about being gainfully employed with an OEM as being a requirement to be an attendee. I can somewhat understand that canceling at the last minute warrants a fee but seriously - being out of work because of a layoff is a force majeur that is beyond my control. So then the guy from ME comes back to me and says that they can postpone my registration to the next conference to be held in Boston in March of 2024. I thank him for that but then told him I can’t guarantee that I will have secured a new role by then seeing that the job market is complete shit and the average time for a person to be unemployed before getting an offer is almost 12 months these days. To this, the guy says he will just play it by ear and check in with me at the end of the year to see where I am with my job search and i agree because what the hell else can I do? Then in December, I get an email from Marcus Evans asking me whether or not I have finally secured a new full time role with a logistics OEM. I reply to tell them no I have not but that I am still game for attending the conference in Boston in March. Smash I cut to last week - I get a notice on my AMEX account that these bastards from Marcus Evan’s have gone ahead and charged $2k even after I told them that I am still willing to attend what I now conceive their completely bogus conference in March of this year. So wow - a fucking quadruple whammy. Not only was I shitcanned from my job with no severance, I am still unemployed and dwindling down to the last bit of my savings before I find myself homeless on the streets or driving for Uber, I can no longer attend the conference, I am out $400 for flights to Vegas that I purchased back in October, and on top of that, I have the absolutely wonderful privilege of being charged $2k for a conference that I want to attend but am being prohibited from attending. Isn’t America great? The land of opportunity! Granted these bastards from Marcus Allen are located in some shithole elsewhere but it all falls into place. Anyways, I am currently on my second dispute filing with AMEX. With the first one, AMEX said that I am responsible for paying the charge to which I raised a second dispute claiming that tenant Marcus Evan’s is doing to me is essentially fraud in that they are like a restaurant that is prohibiting someone from dining there because he/she doesn’t fit the required dress code or income requirements yet are still charging the prospective diner for a meal that he/she will never eat! Regardless of how American Express will rule this second time, I feel that what is happening to me is just simply wrong and unjust @ all sorts of levals. Do I have a legal case to sue these bastards or not? If so can anyone recommend where I should start? Thanks!
Yeah out of all I think number 3 is the best and most suitable advice. After all, we are in the business world where lying is respected and loved by all and rules the world. Thanks.
I generally consider event management companies a sham. And the "network opportunity" is shit . Try dispute mechanism. If you don't get your money back. Consider it as a lost networking opportunity. Otherwise you will end up in loosing peace of mind.
You: "I cannot pay for it out of my own pocket." Also you: "I was still a bit hesitant but decided it would be worth it" Lesson? If you can't afford it don't buy it.
I didn’t buy anything. They told me my ticket was comp’d!!
You made several mistakes - 1) paid for it with your CC even though they offered to comp 2) told them you were laid off. There was absolutely no upside to you for telling that. 3) actually thought a conference like this would benefit your career Take it as a learning opportunity and move on
No, the CC was necessary as a backup in case someone cancels at the last minute I DID NOT CANCEL ANYTHING. I STILL TOLD THEM THAT I WANTED TO ATTEND. However, they not only told me I cannot come, but on top of that they charge me for a decision that they themselves made!!!!
Why did you tell that you lost your job !! A lot of our identity are tied to our jobs. We are all useless without it .
Alright, thanks for all of you guys comments about how I’m a dumbass for being transparent about my situation or that these conferences are worthless which is all true. However, no one has provided any information regarding the legality of what these fuckers did to me. And maybe I’m posting in the wrong place because on Blind no one gives a shit about whether or not something is legal or morally right/wrong because money and getting rich is the only thing that matters which I agree is 100% true in corporate America but I want to know.. Do or don’t i I have a legal case to sue these motherfuckers?
Short answer : unless there was a written agreement you have no case. Even if you sue , legal fees will dwarf that 2k
This might sound tough but at this point your best option is finding a new job
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Closed now - thank you all
You can cry fraud all you want but this is a learning opportunity. 1) Sales/recruiter people will blatantly lie to you, especially over the phone. I am almost positive there is a high chance your credit card would’ve been charged even if you were still hired. 2) Don’t give out your credit card, use a corporate card, or don’t give one at all. 3) You just had to keep your mouth shut about being fired and/or lie. Lastly, these conferences are almost entirely useless. Only go if your company will sponsor your travel and entry. They are basically mini vacations for employees, that’s all. The networking is vastly overrated because you are networking as an employee; not as some executive or B2B salesman, the best case scenario is you get a new job. You can accomplish that without the conference.