Automotive sales consultant job offer - is it a scam?

Ok here goes! so the other day i receive an email from a staffing agency (The Recruiting Room) with an email asking me to compete some question on what type of work i would like to do would i relocate etc etc all normal stuff, i believe i got this email after applying for an automotive sales job with the recruiting room via the website monster.

next email received is a confirmation that my resume has been sent out to a few car dealerships and that i would hear back about a possible interview in the days to come. A few days pass and hey ho i get a reply confirming that there is a car dealership that would like to interview me over the phone, as the job is located in Vancouver and i m currently living in Calgary. interview day arrives and no call, i have been advised to call if i do not get a call and so i do with the number provided, i get my interviewer who is very apologetic and we agree to reschedule the interview the day later. Fair enough i am a little frustrated but it happens.

tomorrow rolls round and i receive the phone call, we have the phone interview, for about 30 minutes in all honesty, I explain them my story my background which is that i dont really have any experience but they dont see it as a problem as i haven't picked up any bad habits (direct quote) and that full training will be provided, as a conclusion i get the job, wahoo I'm stoked. I'm told that I will receive an email with an offer of employment. Low an behold i get an email which is offering me employment, there is supposedly a base pay of $2,500 per month to help get me settled into Vancouver and also attached is a comprehensive breakdown of my commission structure. i sign it, as far as I'm aware no other personal information needed or asked for and I send it back.

Now, it seems legit to me but it was waaaaaay too easy to get this job especially seen as I only have 1 years sales experience selling mountain bikes. I have been doing a lot of research on the types of scams that are out there and i have gotten quite familiar with the auto tax scam where you supposedly get a job at a car dealership and when you go down you find out that there is training that you have to go through but the catch is that you have to pay with no actual guarantee of a job as the actual dealership only has 1 or 2 jobs available, plus you do not get your money back.

I have done some digging on both my agent and the company and it all seems to check out, no major red flags and the phone numbers that rang me for my interview are from dueck brothers downtown office and both agent and employers name and email address check out as to who they are admittedly a light search but as in depth as i can be on the internet at this moment in time with limited thoughts.

My main concern is not having a job at the moment or much cash. If i go for it and it ends up being a scam, i honestly dont think i can afford to have this fall through, ill be up shit creek without a paddle. Are there any questions i can ask? Research i can do or any tips and hints i can look for to try and workout if this is as it sounds, a walk into a job type deal i.e. how can i be sure that job offer is legit?

Any help much appreciated, I have tried to explain it to the best of my ability but if you have any questions on possible information i may have missed please let me know.

Thanks James

[AlanJones]

If you have verified the phone numbers of the dealership from an independent source (don't rely on any website's they've referred you to) then this is not the type of thing that we can help you with as we deal with fake employers trying to scam victims out of visa fees or recruiting them as money mules.

It appears that you are dealing with a real company and we have no way of verifying if the job you are being offered is real or if you will have to pay for some sort of training. The only thing that you can do is ask questions and wait until you get a contract from them. It would also be very unusual to be offered a job just of the back of a phone interview.

Thanks for the quick reply! Please excuse my naivety but would a reliable source be to verify those numbers? the numbers they phoned me off match the number that the dealership has on their website.

I have asked both agent and employer questions regarding the training program and if there are any costs and how it all works i shall update the thread when i hear back, thanks again!

James

[AlanJones]

WhitePages.ca should return business listings for the phone number and if you do a WhoIs check on the Dueck Brothers website you should be able to verify that it is the legitimate one and if so, you can be confident that you are speaking to the real company.

OK boys and girls here is the reply

Good morning James.

Our dealership provide a lot of training for our staff.
The training will lead to a certification within the company

Recently we have hired an outside trainer to work with brand new sales
people.
Duecks will pay for that training as well. This is a 5 day 4 hours per day
sales process training program.
We will have you do this during the month of June.

The only cost to you for any training is for a 2 day training program that
is s Vancouver Vehicle Sales Authority training and certification.
All automotive sales people in the City of Vancouver must take this
training.
The cost $425.00. The training must be taken within the first 90 days of
your start date.
We will fund the training and will charge you back over the second and
third month of employment.

All of this training begins after your first day on the job.

I will advise hopefully Monday or Tuesday about the potential for a vehicle
to be available for you in Calgary.

Have a great weekend.


I need some answers, because I have no idea what to make of this please help if you can, much appreciated!
James

Hmm, this makes me nervous:

The only cost to you for any training is for a 2 day training program that
is s Vancouver Vehicle Sales Authority training and certification.
All automotive sales people in the City of Vancouver must take this
training.

A google search on this training/certification brings up nothing. If it's a requirement in the city of Vancouver, there would be numerous agencies and sites offering information about it - there's nada. I would say if it smells funny, move on.

http://mvsabc.com This is literally the first link in google that comes up, I even phoned up and spoke to somebody who confirmed that obtaining a certificate to be allowed to sell motor vehicles is legislation and law in British Colombia.

Also looks like they will supply a car for me to drive to Vancouver from a branch here in Calgary.

Me and my girlfriend have decided we're gonna atleast go to Vancouver and see what it's all about, I think it will be interesting and also important for this thread in all honesty.

I have been looking to move to Vancouver so if this falls through it's not the end of the world. I will be officially starting work a week tomorrow so will update this thread in about a week or so.

Thanks for all the replies and support so far.