Pharmacy Offer Scam??

Started by nikei3ball
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nikei3ball

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I'm graduating from pharmacy school later this year. I work in a big chain retail store and i got an email from my DM. He is asking me to sign up for a "scholarship" in which I get an unspecified amount of money for school in return that I commit an unspecified amount of time to the chain. I said no thank you and he said that the only way I can be "guaranteed" a position is if I do it. Am I getting scammed?
 
yep...no doubt, don't commit for unspecified time, if I were you I'll never sign up for that. Don't believe them, they will put you in a bad store, there will be plenty of options available, always go for uncommited and at will jobs. Good luck
 
Think of it this way: would they need to give you a scholarship in order for you to be guaranteed a position?
 
Have a lawyer look at the contract. If there is no penalty except for repayment, what do you have to lose? It's an interest free loan. You leave early, you repay..... It works both ways.....
 
Old Timer said:
Have a lawyer look at the contract. If there is no penalty except for repayment, what do you have to lose?
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Lets not forget about taxes. So if it is $10,000, you are going to get just $6,500 after taxes but when you repay them, you have to pay the full $10,000.
 
BMBiology said:
Lets not forget about taxes. So if it is $10,000, you are going to get just $6,500 after taxes but when you repay them, you have to pay the full $10,000.
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Its not worth it. If a comapny has to give you a bonus something must be wrong.
 
Old Timer said:
So it goes towards your tax bill, if it's an overage, you get a refund.... You don't lose the money....
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Lets be honest here. You don't file your taxes until the first quarter of the year so in the mean time, you still have to fork out the difference. Most students don't have $3,500 lying around. That's how these corps get the students to commit.
 
Old Timer said:
So it goes towards your tax bill, if it's an overage, you get a refund.... You don't lose the money....
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Yes, I am well aware of the tax law. It is called a claim of right. You claim it for the tax year you paid the bonus back. The down side is once you break your contract you owe the full amount of the bonus. Depending on what time of the year it is you could wait over a year before you receive the correction with your tax return. A claim of right is only for federal taxes. You do not get a refund of medicare or social security taxes that were paid. The laws on state taxes depend on the state.

So end the end you lose if you take a bonus and do not complete your contract. Honestly thats the way it should be. If you were dumb enough to sign the contract you should have to pay a penalty.
 
Isn't it rather sad that a veteran of the profession is not being honest with the students? I think that is pretty low.
 
BMBiology said:
Lets be honest here. You don't file your taxes until the first quarter of the year so in the mean time, you still have to fork out the difference. Most students don't have $3,500 lying around. That's how these corps get the students to commit.
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You only take the bonus if you think you want to stay with the company or hospital or whoever pays it. You won't break it until you are already a pharmacist so paying it back will be no biggie.....
 
Programs like this are pretty common with the chains, but they should have a specific contract for you. I think they also break up the checks for tax purposes so you aren't charged taxes on the whole amount, only part of it.
 
every DM I've met seems cool at first and then becomes an A**HOLE. Their true colors come out later
 
It's a scam.

It is not a legal contract if it does not state the amount you are to receive and the length of time required to stay. Depending on how they classify this monetary advance in the contract you probably won't have to pay it back if you are in California. The courts in California have ruled that advance payments are considered wages and wages cannot be recalled once given to the employee. If you are not in California, do some research on this in your state regarding labor code and employment law.

It seems as if you are being asked to sign a form saying you will promise to sign this mysterious contract for a "scholarship" at a later time.

This reminds me a trick car dealerships use to get people to buy cars. The salesperson will say "sign this piece of paper that states you promise to buy a car from us today because we have to know who the serious buyers are." You can sign it but in no way in hell can that dealership make you buy a car. It's not illegal for them to make you think you have to buy the car. But, it is illegal for them to try to enforce it.

I had a DM try a tactic like this on me when I graduated. Here is how you should handle it. Let's say you work for pharmacy A. Tell your DM that pharmacies B,C,D,E are not requiring this and that it's a good thing that all of them are hiring. I promise you that the DM's vibrato will fade away.
 
So in theory they could give you a dollar (unspecified amount) in exchange for 10 years of service (unspecific amount)? Granted, such a contract using unspecified amounts wouldn't even be valid.

Back to reality... If I had time, I'd maybe look into it. You obviously can walk away before pen hits paper if the terms are disagreeable, or if you get a better offer. Doesn't hurt to look.
 
nikei3ball said:
I'm graduating from pharmacy school later this year. I work in a big chain retail store and i got an email from my DM. He is asking me to sign up for a "scholarship" in which I get an unspecified amount of money for school in return that I commit an unspecified amount of time to the chain. I said no thank you and he said that the only way I can be "guaranteed" a position is if I do it. Am I getting scammed?
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is this DM from walgreens? it sounds like what walgreens does to students.
 
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