Fountain Group

There is a company called the Fountain Group which is located on Wooldand Center Blvd in Tampa, FL. They have sent me a few emails for different positions they have in the Chicagoland area. I kind of smell a scam here, as why would a company from FL have multiple jobs to offer when we have tons of recruiters right here in a major city. If it was a local recruiter I can see, but why do companies reach out to recruiters so far away, which you cannot come in and do the paperwork and be tested. Has anyone heard of the Fountain Group that is in the Tampa area near zip code 33614?

Never heard of them, but its ironic that I used to work in the exact same office park.

After reading what Smith linked, it mentions them by name and these type of emails/scams are way too common now.

I get so many of those emails from Fountain Group from so many different people but they never respond, none of them, when I send my resume. I decided to look this company up. They are probably taking my address and phone number and selling it. Damn, I was scammed.

Unemployed Forever in Des Plaines, Illinois said: There is a company called the Fountain Group which is located on Wooldand Center Blvd in Tampa, FL. They have sent me a few emails for different positions they have in the Chicagoland area. I kind of smell a scam here, as why would a company from FL have multiple jobs to offer when we have tons of recruiters right here in a major city. If it was a local recruiter I can see, but why do companies reach out to recruiters so far away, which you cannot come in and do the paperwork and be tested. Has anyone heard of the Fountain Group that is in the Tampa area near zip code 33614?

The Fountain Group services large Fortune 500 companies only. With this being said, our clients tend to have multiple locations by division throughout the United States. Our delivery model is created to service all of our geographic locations. All of out clients require a very stringent vetting process of their vendors to include Financial Reviews, Credit Worthiness, Proper Insurance and Licensing. This information is verified quarterly. We have an office in Chicago however our recruiting is centralized in our Tampa HQ. I hope this clarifies a bit but if not, please feel free to contact me at eric@thefountaingroup.com

Sandy said: I get so many of those emails from Fountain Group from so many different people but they never respond, none of them, when I send my resume. I decided to look this company up. They are probably taking my address and phone number and selling it. Damn, I was scammed.

Hello Sandy, Can you please let me know who the last person you sent a resume to was? I will be more than happy to follow up and provide you the feedback you deserve. My email address is: eric@thefountaingroup.com

Meh in Gibsonton, Florida said: Never heard of them, but its ironic that I used to work in the exact same office park.

After reading what Smith linked, it mentions them by name and these type of emails/scams are way too common now.

Meh, We are located right behind the Level 3 Communications facility. We share a stand alone building with Rimkus Consulting. Having worked in that office park you do realize the enormous size and number of buildings??

Smith in Schaumburg, Illinois said: Stay away from them! They are not trying to find you work at all!

lasleym.wordpress.com/2009/11/10/scam/

Your link is to an organization called "The Fountain Group of companies". "The Fountain Group" (a Florida Corporation) has no affiliation with them. Please feel free to research our organization with Dunn & Bradstreet or with the state of Florida's business registration. Please feel free to contact me at eric@thefountaingroup.com for any credentials that you would like. We are very open with information.

I hope that logical individuals will take note that these posts are from anonymous individuals. Please stop and take a minute to think how you would feel if someone anonymously posted negative & untrue information about you on the Internet.

erictfg in Tampa, Florida said: The Fountain Group services large Fortune 500 companies only. With this being said, our clients tend to have multiple locations by division throughout the United States. We have an office in Chicago however our recruiting is centralized in our Tampa HQ. I hope this clarifies a bit but if not, please feel free to contact me at eric@thefountaingroup.com

I tried to look up your Chicago location and I could not find anything on the Fountain Group listed. If a candidate were to fill out the paper work they cannot do that locally? That is strange to me. That is ok, I don't work with long distance recruiters. You are not close enough to meet in person, then you are fake.

Hello John, Please allow me to clarify. The clients to which we provide our services require that each vendor (TFG) provide background, financial and credit information. This is information specific to our company and not of an applicant. TFG does not request any sensitive information from an applicant/candidate. The only time we request any personal information is after a job offer has been extended and accepted. At that point the person would become an employee and certain information is required so that payroll can be processed.

Thank-you for the reply and the follow up phone call. As a researcher of cyber crime, your company name is affiliated with several other companies that are well know for hiring scams.

It would be in your companies best interest to change their name so that this information does not keep coming up. I am sure that you are tired of answering these kind of questions over and over.

erictfg in Tampa, Florida said: The Fountain Group services large Fortune 500 companies only. With this being said, our clients tend to have multiple locations by division throughout the United States. Our delivery model is created to service all of our geographic locations. All of out clients require a very stringent vetting process of their vendors to include Financial Reviews, Credit Worthiness, Proper Insurance and Licensing. This information is verified quarterly. We have an office in Chicago however our recruiting is centralized in our Tampa HQ. I hope this clarifies a bit but if not, please feel free to contact me at eric@thefountaingroup.com

Like others I been getting mails and calls from your organization concerning contracts. I get many calls from companies that service fortune 500 companies or even have the audacity to clam excusive access; therefore, claim of servicing / name dropping Fortune 500 is absolutely meaningless . Here where I live a local pizza joint can make the same can make same claim. What works is companies that invest in a local presence, willing to meet and interview employees face to face not just a guy who working at home or an office thousands or miles away.. Besides long distance relationship often do not work out. Finally it does not help you image as a professional company if I see your ads on cragilist or Ebay classified. Not any of the big temp firms like Volt, Kelly, Express, and Aerotek use cragslist or Ebay and have local offices.

I would like to come to the defence of the fountaing group for just a minute. For a little back ground my name is Rodney McLain, middle name is Allen. You can find my linkedin profile as I keep it unlocked if you choose to look me up. I live in Colorado and I just completed college in June. I have been trying to find work with a big company for long enough and very frustrated about my results. I was contacted by phone from a Tracy; I left my resume on moster open viewing and left contact information on the resume. When Tracy called I was a little leary at first however the only documentation they asked for is the right to represent. I singned it and scanned it to a PDF and sent it back. Tracy also helped me revamp my resume submitted it to her client. I will not reveal the client name here but as I said, I am on linkedin do some more investigation and you will find out who it is. I can say this, thanks to the professionalism of Tracy and the reputation of TFG, even though you may not have heard of them, I now have a great job with a reputable company. Thank you Tracy and TFG.

I was contacted by Mike at The Fountain Group last week via email and he followed up by telephone that same day. He has a client in Houston, TX that is looking for my expertise. I have been in contact with him and the acct. mgr. They said that they sent my resume over to the client to review. This was on 8/15/2011. I am waiting for their call. Nothing yet. Note: when you post your resume on Monster, you can expect calls from folks all over the country. I will update you if there is any activity.

I was contacted by Mike at The Fountain Group last week via email and he followed up by telephone that same day. He has a client in Houston, TX that is looking for my expertise. I have been in contact with him and the acct. mgr. They said that they sent my resume over to the client to review. This was on 8/15/2011. I am waiting for their call. Nothing yet. Note: when you post your resume on Monster, you can expect calls from folks all over the country. I will update you if there is any activity.

Finally got an interview scheduled after 1 month of conversations and phone calls with the Fountain Group. Against my request for an in person local interview, a phone interview was scheduled.

An interview with yet another telemarketing company, that is in Florida, that is staffed with people, that do NOT speak or read English.

His first question was the standard, Tell me about yourself? I asked have you seen, or read, my resume. The reply was NO to both. He didn't even have a copy available.

My next question to him is who do you work for, he would not answer. Are you representing the client (I named the client), no reply.

I ended the phone interview, called the Fountain Group back and asked them why they wasted my time with an interviewer that does NOT work for their client, that was not from my local area (position was local), had no technical communication ability, and could not read technical english, or even communicate in a technical manner.

Remind me again, why does a company that only has 30 employees (local site), and under 30 computers, need a full time on site computer/network tech ? NO reason that I can think of. Tech support for the company was being handled out of another site, so again no reason.

I also contacted a local staffing agency that staffs positions for this company. They were NOT aware that their was a on site network tech or hardware tech position, even after having the discussion with the client.

So who is fooling who ? I have been doing this kind of work for 15-18 years, and can see right through recruiting scams.

An out of state recruiter trying to staff a local position with a National company that has no idea of the requirements, has not spoken with the site, or representatives of the company.

I just completed a long term contract with The Fountain Group and the client has made me a full time offer. I cannot be happier with the service as well as the access to a really good company that TFG facilitated.I think it is important for people to realize that these companies only make revenue if they place someone. The work they do pays them nothing unless it is successful so there is no incentive for them not to do their best. My understanding is that TFG is not that small of a company so I guess in the course of doing business they will not be able to make everyone happy but if things change for me in the future, they will be the first place I call!

I am sure that their luck in placing local candidates is considerably more successful than national ones. Most recruiters tend to do better in local areas as they know the jobs, customer, and recruits better.

I am sorry that you feel this way. Ebay and Craigslist have quickly become an excellent source for posting jobs as well as for job seekers. Those who currently do not use these sites will soon adopt them. Our firm has found some excellent people from these sources just as on LinkedIN, Facebook, and traditional job boards.

Our client list happens to be made entirely of Fortune 500 companies and there are many cases in which the hiring manager does in fact sole source the position to our firm based on past positive performance. It sounds like you have had a bad experience with us and would be happy to discuss with you and/or remove your contact information from our database. In the end, we only make money if we place you into a job that is beneficial to both parties. That in it's plain and simple form is our "agenda". There is nothing else that is gained by contacting individuals.

Feel free to contact via my email: eric@thefountaingroup.com; I would be happy to clear up any issues you might have had.

Best Regards,

Eric Thompson

Eric,
Please list the Fortune 500 clients and their contact information to serve as references. I think we'd all like to see the list.

Doubting Thomas in Chicago, Illinois said: Eric,
Please list the Fortune 500 clients and their contact information to serve as references. I think we'd all like to see the list.

Well no reply, so that is that he doesn't have any REAL clients at that level.

I will try to give the Cliffs Notes version of my story. I was contacted today by representatives of The Fountain Group proclaiming, as most know, to want to submit my resume to a local company in my town for a one-year temp assignment; however, the interviewing process will not even begin until the end of October. I must admit to being suspicious of a company that would recruit so far out for a temp position. Secondly, the person who telephoned me got my resume from careerbuilder.com. This person verified certain information on my resume and asked me for the last four digits of my SSN. This person also began to ask me about the strength of my credit, allegedly, because of the company I was being submitted to wanting someone working there whose creditworthiness would pass their test. Again, red flags hit the dirt. The person ended the conversation by saying that a QA or Quality Assurance person would contact me the same day to reiterate the information that was already given by me. I got that phone call and the information I had already given was reiterated. I got a confirmation e-mail recapping my conversation with the initial speaker and a request to sign and return a Right to Represent form, which I refuse to sign at this point. I am concerned about identity theft, to say the least, along with possible undertones of credit fraud (although the company does not have my SSN). It does not help that the two people who contacted me are not listed on the company's website, although from the sound of things, this company is allegedly represented by many people nationwide. Their BBB rating is a D- and they have had two complaints filed against them that were resolved; however, not to the clients' satisfaction. It does not appear that anyone has had any difficulties with identity theft/credit fraud from this company; however, please feel free to give me any advice about the information that I have provided that you deem helpful or reassuring.

I will try to give the Cliffs Notes version of my story. I was contacted today by representatives of The Fountain Group proclaiming, as most know, to want to submit my resume to a local company in my town for a one-year temp assignment; however, the interviewing process will not even begin until the end of October. I must admit to being suspicious of a company that would recruit so far out for a temp position. Secondly, the person who telephoned me got my resume from careerbuilder.com. This person verified certain information on my resume and asked me for the last four digits of my SSN. This person also began to ask me about the strength of my credit, allegedly, because of the company I was being submitted to wanting someone working there whose creditworthiness would pass their test. Again, red flags hit the dirt. The person ended the conversation by saying that a QA or Quality Assurance person would contact me the same day to reiterate the information that was already given by me. I got that phone call and the information I had already given was reiterated. I got a confirmation e-mail recapping my conversation with the initial speaker and a request to sign and return a Right to Represent form, which I refuse to sign at this point. I am concerned about identity theft, to say the least, along with possible undertones of credit fraud (although the company does not have my SSN). It does not help that the two people who contacted me are not listed on the company's website, although from the sound of things, this company is allegedly represented by many people nationwide. Their BBB rating is a D- and they have had two complaints filed against them that were resolved; however, not to the clients' satisfaction. It does not appear that anyone has had any difficulties with identity theft/credit fraud from this company; however, please feel free to give me any advice about the information that I have provided that you deem helpful or reassuring.

Update: Called the company this morning that The Fountain Group is allegedly going to submit me to, and they have no knowledge of the position or the company....

Update: I contacted the company this morning that The Fountain Group is allegedly going to submit me to and they have never heard of the position or the company....

So, are you suprised ? This is exactly what i went though... Local company was clueless, as the position was a contracted one through a contractor in India... Customer -> sub-contractor -> sub-contrator -> Fountain group. As you expected the customer, knows nothing about the "position" as it is handled via a contractor that is overseas.

Since the customer that I was also going to work with "The Nielson Group", also has an office in Charlottesville, NC. You are likely going to work for the same contractor, I interviewed with in India. You are being hired to be the go between -> the customer, and the contractor. A customer facing position, dealing with a foreign company day in and day out.

Well, I can personally tell you that NO ONE should EVER work for thefountaingroup.I worked for this company out of Florida and it takes them so long to process a paycheck. When I got an offer for a position in a Western suburb of Chicago,one of thier "customer support reps" kept calling me about parperwork that either wasnt legible enough or I sent in the wrong papaerwork. How can this be the wrong papaerwork when they emailed me the same documentation to fil out and fax back to them? I am still waiting for a paycheck from a contract that I did a couple of weeks ago.So if you want my two-cents i would say if you are a contractor or consultant.....DO NOT DRINK FROM THE FOUNTAIN!

Doubting Thomas in Chicago, Illinois said: Eric,
Please list the Fortune 500 clients and their contact information to serve as references. I think we'd all like to see the list.

List the 500 fortune companies? Just out of curiosity, what will that prove? The way you come out and say that it almost sounds like if you know for a fact he's lying. If you want to keep it respectable politely ask him to send it to your email or send you a link. instead you use this forum as ur staging ground to "put someone on the spot" trying to make an audience for yourself. what are you implying? Do you even know how recruiters work? Do you think they just want to contact you cause they have nothing else to do? They make money for placing candidates with jobs. they interview you over the phone and then pass that info onto the final decision maker who compares you to a pool of other much more qualified candidates. they go over all the ones they interviewed and then pick the best ones. I got a job with KBR (*from houston) working overseas in Iraq and from an agency hiring for Dyncorp international. I worked for 1 year with KBR and my recriters was far far away. Same thing with Dyncorp, i got recruited by an agency in wisconsin even though i was in texas over the phone. and that job was in afghanistan for 1 year.

I have been contacted by them also. When a company contacts you via email and tells you about a job that is not even close to you, that tells me right there that they didn't research much. They see the same kind of job, same state, ok a match send out the job to the candidate. Eventually they will want your Social Security number, and you will never know where you are sending it too, some one who wants to use it for identity theft. I can't see that they have a brick building and a legal business, then I don't do business with them. Just like people who call telemarketers and ask me if I want to renew a magazine subscription, I never even subscribe to. If you don't make the call, you don't know who you are giving your info to.....a crime waiting to happen.

I spoke with a representative of the Fountain Group earlier this evening and I found it very suspicious that he requested my DOB and last 4 digits of my SSN. My sister was recently a victim of identity theft so my guard is up and I gave him the last 4 of my zip code. I also found it odd that I was asked to sign the right to represent form. I have been contacted by several recruiters for various positions and I have NEVER been asked for this sort of information. He provided the name of the company as well as their location so I will just use the tip and apply directly through them. The Fountain Group's email communication will be marked as spam and their phone numbers added to the diverted calls list. The economy is rough but do not let anyone take advantage of you or be naive in your job search.

The Fountain group was able to secure me an interview with a BioTech and I now work for that BioTech as a contractor. Asking for the last four# of the SSN is pretty common now in HR departments to act as a PIN within their system. I had to take a drug test / background test which they asked me if I could pass and other companys require a credit check due to the nature of the positions. Bottom line they are a lot of national recruiting companys that have good recruiters and mediocre recruiters; its all about who can secure you an interview.

The Fountain group was able to secure me an interview with a BioTech and I now work for that BioTech as a contractor. Asking for the last four# of the SSN is pretty common now in HR departments to act as a PIN within their system. I had to take a drug test / background test which they asked me if I could pass and other companys require a credit check due to the nature of the positions. Bottom line they are a lot of national recruiting companys that have good recruiters and mediocre recruiters; its all about who can secure you an interview.

You must work for the Fountain Group, what good does the last 4 digits of your SS# do? Why don't you just post that on your resume, so they don't have to call you for it.

Ralph in Skokie, Illinois said: You must work for the Fountain Group, what good does the last 4 digits of your SS# do? Why don't you just post that on your resume, so they don't have to call you for it.

Posting the last four of your social on your resume Is completely ridiculouse and unheard of...what kind of down syndrome retard would even suggest such a thing?

I was just curious about the 5 regions in which you are located? Would that be North Tampa, South Tampa, East Tampa, West Tampa and downtown. I think so considering all of your account managers are in your only office with what you call "bat phones", aka cell phones with area codes from 5 different regions of the country. Say maybe Chicago, San Fran, Dallas, Boston and MiamI. This company is a bunch of cheap hacks, they will take your information and spread false rumors about you to their clients if you don't do exactly what's asked of you. There are plenty of reputable recruiting firms in the country, stay away from this one!!!

I got a job as a help desk technician in Dallas through the fountain group. However, after having worked my current job and talked with some people it appears that that either Volt Staffing, The Computer Merchant, or Robert Half Technologies are better companies to be subcontracting for.

I have worked with The Computer Merchant, great company.

Robert Half like to waste a lot of time testing candidates PRIOR to recommending them to ANY employer.. testing is NOT standard, and does NOT really show ability to do work in field. If you want to use testing rely on Industry standard tests like COMPTIA, Microsoft or Cisco, don't make up your own.

Yoh, I have never worked for, but they tend to be REAL nosy into personal references, friends neighbors and stuff like that... NOT really a good thing in my opinion. I provide references when I have an offer of work on the table, NOT any time before that.. No offer, no poking around, bottom line.

I attended an interview through the fountain group firm. The employers had extended a job offer and later Fountain group sent me the New Hire documentations and have asked me for scan copies of all my certificates. After a week they came back and informed me that the project got cancelled.. This was a lie.. They have informed the Employer that I have rejected the Offer... 3 months later I attended the interview and got placed for the same position.. Why did they do this?? WORST EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH THIS FIRM.. NOT CREDIBLE FIRM

Nesha in New York, New York said: I attended an interview through the fountain group firm. The employers had extended a job offer and later Fountain group sent me the New Hire documentations and have asked me for scan copies of all my certificates. After a week they came back and informed me that the project got cancelled.. This was a lie.. They have informed the Employer that I have rejected the Offer... 3 months later I attended the interview and got placed for the same position.. Why did they do this?? WORST EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH THIS FIRM.. NOT CREDIBLE FIRM

Something similar happened within our family, where after many miscommunications with the fortune 500 company and fountain group, the job ended abruptly after 2 1/2 weeks with NO explanations whatsoever. Did not receive pay for the first week worked. They will not return phone calls or emails. In this job climate, places like this get away with treating people like dirt.

So unprofessional.

Doubting Thomas in Chicago, Illinois said: Eric,
Please list the Fortune 500 clients and their contact information to serve as references. I think we'd all like to see the list.

Why would they do that? To allow competitive recruiting companies to see who they are working with in an attempt to steal their business? I don't blame TFG for not wanting to give you all this information you 'think we'd all like to see". They have nothing to prove to those who only mean do ruin their name and bring harm to their business.

Listen people, this company is legitimate but like any other staffing/recruiting firm, they operate to turn a profit. This company was on the right track in 2006-07; it cared about its internal employees and contract workers. These day's the company is misdirected, understaffed and greed driven. Their future in questionable IMHO.

WITH THAT SAID, LISTEN TO THESE WORDS: The Fountain Group operates just like any other staffing agency, they are hired by companies (yes, some are "Fortune 500") to find workers for vacancies. Simple, agreed? Most of these positions are "contract positions" because the hiring company, DOES NOT want to take on the added expense of insuring you and your family with medical, dental, life insurance, etc. They do not want to include you in their profit sharing or their 401k investment plans. They don't want to pay you for sick days, PTO, etc, etc. This is where the Fountain Group comes in. The hiring company wants an expendable employee, someone they can hire to complete a small project and send you packing. Your TFG recruiter will likely respond with the rebuttal: "It is an X month 'OPEN ENDED' contract", if you question the length the contract is..OPEN ENDED, meaning, that if on your first day you show up, after spending $5K to relocate your family and Company X doesn’t like the way you smell, dress, speak..they can fire you leaving you with little recourse.

MY SUGGESTION: If you are being contacted by TFG about a vacancy, it is a VERY likely they discovered your credentials through Monster, Indeed, Careerbuilder, etc the same search tools 100+ staffing firms source candidates...with simple parameters as zip code, past and current job titles, skills, security clearances, etc. DO NOT..I REPEAT..DO NOT, give the Recruiter your commitment to work SOLELY with TFG until you know the Pay Rate (this is always negotiable). Ask for their Bill Rate, the difference between the two is the TFG profit. Wait 24 hours and take the best Pay Rate offered

I would prefer to work with a local agency where I can meet the recruiter face to face. Since they are based in FL and don't have a local office, how do I know what they are doing with my information, and how do they know my local area? If I was in the recruiting business I would not be calling a company in Fl to place someone over a thousand miles away. There are many agencies between Utah and FL. Why is it a local recruiter cannot place me but a long distance one can.

•The number of temporary workers in the U.S. on any given day jumped to an average of 2.6 million in the third quarter of 2010.
•This jump is 24.9% more staffing employees per day than in Q3 2009 and an increase of 8.1% in average daily staffing employment over Q2 2010.
•Staffing employment in January 2011 was 13% higher than in the same month last year, according to the ASA Staffing Index.
•Staffing sales in the third quarter of 2010 totaled $18.1 billion—a 35.6% increase over the same period the previous year. This surpassed Q2 2010′s previous record high as the largest year-to-year percentage increase since ASA began tracking industry sales in 1992.

Information from TFG website:

"The Fountain Group upholds uniform guidelines for all resources being deployed to an assignment including:

Profile Assessment,
Skills Testing
Personality Testing TFG MATCH Analysis ..... [what?]TFG MATCH Protocol........[que?]
Education/Credit/Reference/Background checks, Drug Testing "

I'm saddened that humans have become so commodified that we are now "resources being deployed." like soldiers being deployed for combat. At first I thought that "TFG MATCH Analysis" was some kind of Gene Testing... lol. Close. Then I figured out what it is. It's just more ways to commodify humans through our emotions and emotional intelligence. Our nation has turned to this type of discrimmination more than ever. If you don't test according to their standards, they automatically assume you will become a liability... a risky investment of their time and thus their money. IQ tests were never invented to test intelligence. They are merely a way to put you into a box, to set you on the loser track in highschool, and for determining the criminally inclined for social control purposes. IQ tests takes very little into consideration as to our educational background, culture, economic status, the adversities overcome in life, or GENDER. Males and Females are different and always will be. Equal, but different and thus different types of intelligence and personalities. Moreover, "Personality Tests" are EQ tests in disguise (emotional intelligence testing) which are merely ways to single out "human resources" (workers) that will conform, comply, be obedient, will manage their emotions as well as others to keep a harmonious working environment which leads to a more productive workplace, and therefore more profits for those who commodify both humans and their emotions (personalities) for bigger bonuses. Check out Erin Boler's work. Soon, we will outsmart them by having all the answers to these tests before we show up.