I don’t like receiving upsetting letters.
Nobody does.
But here’s an envelope I received in the mail yesterday:
Why would I receive a letter from The Compliance Service Department at PCI marked “Important – Open Immediately?”
I didn’t know who PCI was, but I was afraid it may have something to do with our business insurance so I opened the letter posthaste.
Here it is:
“Final Notice?”
Okay, that made me nervous. We pay our bills around here, and we pay them on time. What’s happened?
As I read a little further, the knot at the bottom of my stomach began to loosen. We hadn’t screwed up—this was another deceptive marketing trick.
In fact, it was trick I was informed about in late August, when I was contacted by Janet Attard of Business Know How, a 20-year-old company that sells these posters online.
She contacted me because she was fed up with questionable marketing tactics of some of their competitors and thought it would be an interesting topic for The Responsible Marketing Blog.
An excerpt:
Businesses regularly get mail . . . telling them they need to buy or update posters immediately to avoid being fined.
The mail is usually worded to be confusing, but not quite (by a hairline) be false advertising.
For instance, there were some changes voted into law for the FMLA this year (Family Medical Leave Act).
The US Department of Labor put an informational poster on its site, but that is only a temporary poster, and while it’s recommended, it’s not required to post. That’s because the DOL hasn’t finalized or issued the new FMLA posting.
That didn’t stop the sleazy marketers from telling companies they had to buy a new poster with the new FMLA regulations on it.
Janet never named names, but the letter I received from Personnel Concepts yesterday sure seems to fit the bill.
It would appear Personnel Concepts’ goals with this mailing were to:
- Create enough uneasiness with the envelope to get someone to open the letter
- Create enough uncertainty with the letter to get that person to act
- Make the letter and envelope look official enough that it might fool companies into quickly routing the form to accounts payable for immediate payment
There is information in the copy that explains that this a product for sale, and that the same posters are provided by the government for free. But everything else has been deliberately crafted to create fear, uncertainty and doubt—with a goal of tricking someone into paying without thinking first.
We’ve seen this approach before, from vanity scams to domain name renewals—some companies would rather deceive instead of trying to persuade buyers their product is worth the price they seek.
To be fair, Personnel Concepts approach isn’t that unique. Some direct marketers use this approach frequently—because it works.
So, is Personnel Concepts’ marketing out of compliance, or are they just really effective direct marketers?
Comment below to weigh in.
Tags: AIO Acquisition, AIO Holding, Business Know How, deceptive marketing, labor law posters, marketing ethics, PCI, Personnel Concepts
I hate them they are so yucky
From what I’ve seen and researched, looks like the company offers what you can get for free but in a simple package that meets all government regulations. You pay Personnel Concepts to provide that service for you. Great idea, I wish I thought of it. But the real issue is what the thread title states, Are the marketing tactics out of compliance? I am no compliance expert but I would agree that the tactics are deceptive. How many people have bought “an extended factory warranty” for their vehicle because of an deceptively marketed mailer? I believe mailers like the two mentioned here are unethical and should be stopped. If the companies are so sure of their products or service, marketing material shouldn’t stress on urgency or make the documents resemble official government documents but the overall value of the products that the company offers. Time closing is a great sales/marketing tactic, but the loss of taking action on that “final offer” should be made clear. Not taking advantage of that Personnel Concepts’ offer will not put you in violation of labor laws, failing to post the labor posters will.
I have just come across this site and have so far found it interesting and informative, I have to say there is nothing worse than receiving mail like this especially when you have made that payment.
If you think their mail is sneaky and deceptive, wait till you try their irritating, “we can’t hear you say no” telephone technique.
They are irritating to have to deal with on the phone with an “I can’t hear you say NO” attitude. The latest twist in trying to unsubscribe, after returning a poster they sent after my telling them NO, is to send an unsigned refund check, which of course the bank won’t accept.
This is the rankest kind of boilershop sales operation.
PC often sends us “final notice” mailers with what looks to be an invoice at the bottom.
When I took over my position here at the office, I simply assumed that PC sent you only what was needed for your company. But it got to a point where I was paying for a new updated poster or booklet every month.
I just got off of the phone with the woman who calls a couple times a week to describe how my company is “out of compliance”. I’m over it. I’ll research my own posters and purchase them myself.
Here’s to you, you pushy, prodding Personell Concepts
DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH PERSONNEL CONCEPTS. You order one poster and they send you three and bill you for them. If you say you didn’t order the other two they tell you that yes, you did give them authorization to ship those posters. Then you have to return them at your expense. THEN, after having these posters for about I month I get “the letter” everyone is talking about saying that my All-On-One State and Federal Labor Law poster is out of date and must be replaced. ALWAYS GOOGLE A COMPANY LIKE THIS BEFORE YOU DO BUSINESS WITH THEM. I wish I had.
It’s exactly as Elizabeth says they totally rip you off – sending you posters and books that you did not order and then they charge your credit card. Will never deal with them again.
This company is HORRIBLE they will rip you off point blank end of story they WILL charge you for things you DO NOT order then say that you said yes to said items.
You can add the old “Bait & Switch” scam to Personnel Concepts unscrupulous tactics. I mailed in the ad marking it “Bill Me” figuring if I receive the poster, I’ll pay them. Got a call today from “Patrick” stating the laws in Illinois changed and that he had to update some info – always a red flag. Said we had to upgrade to include OSHA info etc. Yeah, right. How much more, I asked. Another $100. Told him to cancel the order. So if you see AIO Acquisition on your caller ID, hang up LOUDLY.
I HATE these people!! They try and look official and government-like with their mail to scare you in to buying their posters. I received another one today. I finally sent them an email demanding they take me off their mailing list. We’ll see if that works.
As I’m owner and have no employees I wondered why I would have to put any posters up. Then decided that Personnel Concepts was simply a scam.
Received a legitimate looking notice in the mail. Too bad the name of our organization was spelled incorrectly — also why would a company out of Ontario, Canada send mail about our posters & notices complying with state & federal labor law?
Personnel Concepts can be sneaky with the tricky mailings but if you actually ask the right questions and take the time to listen they did help me out a lot with keeping me in compliance when I had an inspection. I continue to do business with them but I never send in any mailings without talking to someone first. And btw I asked if they were located in Ontario, Canada and they are actually located in Ontario, California. Again, just take the time to talk to someone legitimate and you will get accurate information.