I suspect someone is trying to scam me, but it's weird.

[davidm]

@Corner_Case

You’ve all been terribly fooled by davidm.

He mentioned that the company was at this new location for a few weeks. He must have staked out the company because they have inroads to the Republicans. He gets them to think it’s advantageous to move to these new digs. Then he kills off other developers who apply for jobs so that only he gets hired. Then he gets them to invest their own money in new computer equipment just for him! He then uses his Linux skills to setup monitoring software and backdoor access. Then he points out the bosses recorder so that it looks like a perfectly normal occurrence. So if any of the other recorders that he planted are found, they’ll just think it was management.

He hasn’t been worried about being scammed. He’s been setting up an alibi because he’s been setting up that company to gather evidence to blackmail the Republican Party! It’s the only thing that makes sense! :eek:

As totally and completely plausible as Corner Case’s explanation sounds, it’s not true.

[Sunny_Daze]

The biggest problem with Corner Case’s story is the notion that Republicans can be blackmailed… :dubious:

[nearwildheaven]

I have a feeling that the company davidm worked for will be in the news eventually, and not in a good way, even if it’s just local coverage.

[Nawth_Chucka]

@Sunny_Daze

The biggest problem with Corner Case’s story is the notion that Republicans can be blackmailed… :dubious:

He found incontrovertible proof the entire GOP leadership and POTUS are actually flat broke and even worse, have part-time jobs delivering pizzas.
#SHAME

[Irishman]

Late to the party…

@davidm

The good thing is that I’d be working for the contracting company, who presumably would pay me and then fight with their delinquent customer for their payment. That assumes that it’s a real job.

And I have no intention of buying anything.

Okay, it took me a while to sort the players out. (1)You, (2) a contracting company that finds you work and pays your paycheck, (3) the client companies that the contracting company gets jobs from. I was trying to figure out who was asking for what. So the contracting company wanted your Tax info. The Client company requested you to start early and offered to pay substantially more for an extra day? The contracting company was asking you to buy your own equipment? Is that something normal?

Even if they weren’t an outright scam, they are shady and on their way to failure.

@Jackmannii

If another reason for hiring you is because you have a full head of naturally red hair and your first task will be to code the Encylopedia Britannica, then watch out.

Snerk.

@davidm

It’s the contracting agency that’s asking me to do this, supposedly at the request of the employer.

@aruvqan

So I just did things like wraps where the meat was disguised … though I admit the last day I worked there before I started a permanent job I brought a quarter chicken left over from the previous nights dinner … and got this huge lecture about how inhumane chicken battery farms were, and how inhumane slaughterhouses were … then I pointed out that I had raised and slaughtered and cooked the chicken myself, on my farm, and it had been raised in a very comfortable henhouse, free ranged and slaughtered humanely. They got really quiet, because I guess they didn’t feel that a ‘normal’ person would actually raise their own meat …:rolleyes:

MURDERER!

@davidm

And…

They let me go today. He mumbled something about resources.

Not surprising really. Cash flow definitely seemed to be a problem.

Who woulda thunk it?

@Nawth_Chucka

They hired through a contract; they didn’t expand their payroll, as I understand it, they contracted w/ a vendor they will pay (if they pay) out of a whole other pot of money. They get a few weeks of work they can wait to pay for w/o having to fight a labor board and maybe that’s enough to get them a bit of cash flow. These are wild guesses on my part, of course. I’m cynical when it comes to the actions of businesses who don’t directly hire people.

I will state there are a couple incidents this makes me think of from local news stories. One is a company hiring drivers - IIRC a taxi company - they hire people for about 6 weeks, then move on to hire new employees when the old ones leave for non-payment. Apparently they still manage to stay in business and haven’t been prosecuted by authorities or lost their state licenses.

The other, a hair salon that hires staff, but don’t pay their workers, and when the workers quit they get called into the office and accused of breaking policies and have their pay docked for equipment and things.

@davidm

Thank you. I know that’s true but even so I’ve been torn between feelings of inadequacy and the realization that their expectations were completely unrealistic, especially given the lack of any workable development environment.

As someone who struggles with anxiety and irrational feelings of inadequacy, even I say to brush it off. It’s clearly not you.

[davidm]

For the record, I have been paid for the first week. I’ll know Friday whether I’ve been paid for the second, although I have little doubt that I will be.

Whether the contracting company will be paid, I can’t say.

[nearwildheaven]

@Irishman

I will state there are a couple incidents this makes me think of from local news stories. One is a company hiring drivers - IIRC a taxi company - they hire people for about 6 weeks, then move on to hire new employees when the old ones leave for non-payment. Apparently they still manage to stay in business and haven’t been prosecuted by authorities or lost their state licenses.

The other, a hair salon that hires staff, but don’t pay their workers, and when the workers quit they get called into the office and accused of breaking policies and have their pay docked for equipment and things.

In the summer of 2011, I was a contracted employee of a start-up that among other things was being quite dodgy when it came to paying employeees. :mad: I only worked there for about 2 months, and I jumped out of the frying pan (and unfortunately, into the fire) at the first opportunity.

To my surprise, the company still exists, although the website looks like it was cut-and-pasted from stock photos and buzzwords.

[watchwolf49]

One last question … did your former employer get one kidney or did they take both?

Great thread … I’ve enjoyed reading each post … what’s the url for watching the tracking implant on-line?

[Melbourne]

@davidm

I learned quite a bit about the shortcomings of Windows 10’s Linux subsystem and why it’s no replacement for a Mac or a real Linux OS (which I would have guessed).

Which, as you note, is no surprise, but if you post details in the Pit or IMHO, I’ll read it with interest.

[nearwildheaven]

@nearwildheaven

In the summer of 2011, I was a contracted employee of a start-up that among other things was being quite dodgy when it came to paying employeees. :mad: I only worked there for about 2 months, and I jumped out of the frying pan (and unfortunately, into the fire) at the first opportunity.

To my surprise, the company still exists, although the website looks like it was cut-and-pasted from stock photos and buzzwords.

p.s. The company has moved to another location in the same city; the space was taken over by a hospice, a totally unrelated company, whose director was arrested shortly afterwards and will be spending a VERY long time in prison for embezzling funds. :eek:

[Atamasama]

@davidm

And…
They let me go today. He mumbled something about resources.

Not surprising really. Cash flow definitely seemed to be a problem.

Hi David, I was in a very similar situation a few years ago. I was unemployed and was searching everywhere for a job (I’m an IT support guy; desktops, servers, networks, etc.). I applied for many positions and ended up at a temp-to-hire position with a temp agency. In my case it was working for a municipal government so it wasn’t that dodgy (no more than any small city government) but they strung me along for about 7 months before I was let go due to lack of funds. At least I was there long enough to get some good done; I designed an image to upgrade all of their XP machines to Windows 8 (the latest Windows OS at that time) as well as smaller support tasks. I learned a lot but it was uncomfortable, with no sick or vacation benefits, no trust (I had to call each morning to get someone to unlock the front door so I could start work) and it ended with me unemployed yet again. So I sympathize.

Just a few months after that I got a job working for my state government and I’ve been there for 2 1/2 years, and get good pay and fantastic benefits (and even a pension when I retire). Best job I ever had. So hang in there, something better is coming along I’m sure, that’s how this works.

[davidm]

Just to wrap this up if anyone still cares.

I promised that I’d post whether or not I got my last pay. The money was in my checking account this morning.

[IvoryTowerDenizen]

@davidm

Just to wrap this up if anyone still cares.

I promised that I’d post whether or not I got my last pay. The money was in my checking account this morning.

Well, foolish company maybe, but not scammy. At least that’s good.

[Sunny_Daze]

Definitely care. Thank you for the update. Hope the job hunt goes better.

Have you considered Atamasama’s post, above. Would state or local government be an option? I have relatives who have gone that route and been very happy with it.

[TokyoBayer]

That’s good to hear. Better luck next time. I hope it’s uneventful.

[digs]

But, if it is eventful, we’re here for you ('scuse me, I have to lay in a stock of locally-grown popcorn kernels in case davym gets another interesting job…).