# Should I let this guy get a referral fee from me? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 12, 2019, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015 "2019-03-12T18:29:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015/21 "2019-03-13T03:57:51Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > In my experience lying will catch up with you. It’s not a good idea to start off a new job like that. I wouldn’t do it.h Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015/22 "2019-03-13T05:15:30Z")
Oh, hell no! Lying to your employer, collaborating with a known asshole, and having said asshole have a hold over you if he ever got in trouble for something else? Bad idea no matter how you slice it. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015/23 "2019-03-13T08:05:56Z")
I wouldn’t, I don’t like cheating. Let alone for someone I don’t like to begin with. On top of it it could conceivably come back to bit you in the ass. ---
**Author:** ![BobBitchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@BobBitchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobBitchin)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015/24 "2019-03-13T08:52:58Z")
New thought. Does this company have a whistle blowers bonus?:eek:🆒 Tell the company so they can set up a sting, get your cash from jerk boy then lower the boom. ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015/25 "2019-03-13T08:59:53Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I wouldn’t want one of the very first things I do at a new job to be defrauding the company out of $500. Voted no on this basis also. Regardless of Bob being a jerk or otherwise, you’re lying to your employer. Will it come up? Probably not, but you never know, and the signed piece of paper is there in the files forevermore. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015/26 "2019-03-13T13:02:19Z")
I’d say no based on him asking you to lie for him. Fuck that. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015/27 "2019-03-13T13:08:22Z")
How much does Bill get from management for turning in a fraud? ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015/28 "2019-03-13T13:59:13Z")
This would be such a stupid thing to do - defrauding the company and in circumstances where it would be easy to find out the truth (I assume the person who hired you actually know where your details came from). You could lose your job before you’ve barely started. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015/29 "2019-03-13T14:19:57Z")
Getting caught would be as easy as having the next person he made the offer to report him, and management questioning the claim you filed because of that. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015/30 "2019-03-13T14:20:18Z")
In similar circumstances I’ve explained that I’d be willing to lie in exchange for money, but my fee would be way higher than the amount being discussed. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015/31 "2019-03-13T18:04:41Z")
Regardless of whether Bill is a jerk or a saint, my personal moral compass would preclude me from participating in his charade. ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015/32 "2019-03-13T19:00:31Z")
This seems like a clear cut case of defrauding your new employer out of $500. Morally I don’t see it as much different than just grabbing $500 in cash out of a register (and just giving it to someone you don’t like, which makes it stupid as well as dishonest). ---
**Author:** ![Swampwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Swampwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swampwolf)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015/33 "2019-03-13T20:27:20Z")
If he _weren’t_ a jerk, I’d tell him no. Since he is, I’d be tempted to rat him out. Yeah, I’m a rat–I’ll own it. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015/34 "2019-03-13T20:41:33Z")
If you sign, then Bill has something to hold over your head. He could ask you to do other shady things or else he’ll report it. He may even lie and say it was you who came up with the scheme. Bill could say that you saw him after you got hired and pressured him to sign the referral form. Just by asking you in the first place, Bill is displaying his lack of ethics. It’s not out of the question for him to be morally flexible on other things. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015/35 "2019-03-13T20:50:05Z")
I voted yes. At my current company , I let a guy refer me even though we barely knew each other and we basically knew each other from a one night stand in our twenties. But, I let him refer me there so he could get an extra $1000. He bought me a few lunches, but also taught me a lot about that office’s culture. That particular office had enough unwritten rules to make an American high school seem like a walk in the park. Had I known more in advance, I never would have taken the job, but at least I learned to avoid a lot of potential land mines. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015/36 "2019-03-13T21:04:10Z")
Just say no. If he didn’t refer you, he didn’t refer you. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015/37 "2019-03-13T21:11:45Z")
Have you actually seen this form? Like most people are saying above, usually naming the referral comes before getting the job. It’s entirely possible Bob doesn’t know he can’t get the referral after you’ve already started. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015/38 "2019-03-13T21:43:44Z")
Say yes, then quit after 5 months and three weeks. That’ll drive him nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015/39 "2019-03-14T11:15:32Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I wouldn’t, I don’t like cheating. Let alone for someone I don’t like to begin with. On top of it it could conceivably come back to bit you in the ass. Another vote for this. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2019, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015/40 "2019-03-14T13:29:10Z")
I wouldn’t do it for the above reasons, and because I’m a very honest person. You are committing fraud if you do so, and that is illegal and could cost you your job and land you in a heap of trouble. If your excuse for not doing something is “It is illegal,” that is valid enough. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-let-this-guy-get-a-referral-fee-from-me/831015.md?page=3)