The Surrey outpost of an international insurance sales company is offering what sounds like the perfect job – but if you want it, you may have to pay.
Altig, which sells American Income Life insurance, posted a job ad offering "job security" and benefits. When a CTV News intern applied, he was told that new workers have to pay $312 for services including general administration, payroll, and setting up e-mail.
"Does it really cost that much?" asked our intern Dean, who was recording the session with a hidden camera. "Oh, it costs much more than that," the Altig staff member replied.
Charging a fee to new employees is prohibited in B.C.'s Employment Standards Act, with some exceptions for insurance agents and independent contractors.
UBC economics professor Mark Thompson said it's highly unusual for companies to ask workers for money before they get hired. Thompson wants to make sure the company is not profiting from workers desperate for a job in a slow economy, and called for a government investigation into the practice.
"I think they should undertake an investigation of this company and its hiring practices…"," Thompson told CTV News.
But an Altig representative told CTV News new job applicants are independent contractors, so the company isn't breaking the law. And even then, the representative said Altig is stopping the practice of charging this fee.
"It's kind of old news. We don't do that any more," said Altig's Brett MacCannell over the phone.
Altig is a company with offices all over the United States and Canada. It is the main distributor for insurance offered by American Income Life, an insurance company that provides coverage to 2 million policyholders and sells $130 million in insurance annually.
Altig posted an ad online entitled "Seeking Job Security?" In the ad, Altig said it's looking for "individuals who want to be rewarded for their efforts." It also offered "supplemental benefits to union members."
CTV News intern Dean called the number and went through the hiring process with a hidden camera to see what was offered by Altig. He put no sales experience on the resume, but he was called back right away.
At the first interview – attended by several young people dressed in suits – Dean asked, "I'm looking for something with job security, good benefits, where I'm an employee, full-time work so I can make good money and start to support myself."
The Altig staff member replied, "Then you have the perfect job."
After only four minutes, our applicant was called in to the second interview. He was one of a group of employees given a video presentation about how to sell life insurance.
He was called back again for the third interview, a day later, and presented with a list of costs.
In addition to about $522, in fees related to becoming a licensed insurance agent that would normally be required at any company, there is a $312 "Insurance Professional Services" fee.
The fee includes the following services: "General Administration, Payroll and Accounting," "Resources (Leads)," "Access to PR, Marketing and IT Departments," and "Set up of Database and E-mail."
And "job security" doesn't mean guaranteed income – the company pays commission, the staff member said.
"This is a contract job," she told Dean.
Staff members said they do offer benefits to employees who have been with the company for a longer period of time. And in some circumstances the fee is waived for promising employees, she said.
CTV News didn't pay the company any money and broke off the application process at that point. The company didn't answer questions about how much money it made from new applicants, or what proportion of its revenue came from these fees, but it did assure us that it has stopped the practice of requiring the $312 fee.
In a recent e-mail to CTV News Altig said it contracts with two to three people a week out of the Surrey office – about three per cent of the people who apply in response to its ad.
In the statement, Altig said that its fees are spent on "licensing support, training, marketing materials, and supplies. The $312 offset partially the cost for these additional items." Altig denied that it looked at the fees as a revenue generator and said in the past it has refunded money to individuals who requested it.
Altig also said it was not aware that it had an F rating at the Better Business Bureau and would work with the BBB to improve the rating.
"The independent contractor position is not for everyone, but for those who choose to pursue it, they have plenty of opportunity to succeed in business for themselves," MacCannell said in the statement.
American Income Life also sent a statement to CTV News, saying that it does not own or operate Altig but that it would look into the allegations..
"American Income Life does not condone an independent agent's representations of the agent contract opportunity as employment, nor do we endorse an independent agent's collection of fees other than standard licensing fees," wrote Joel Scarborough, AIL's Vice President and Associate Counsel.
Arden Breitkreuz told CTV News he also tried to get a job with Altig before our hidden camera investigation, and was also asked to pay the $312 fee.
"To have to fork our money initially to get a job doesn't seem right," said Breitkreuz, who decided not to take the job because of the fee. "That's a substantial bill."
He said he turned down interviews with other companies because he was excited about the job with Altig.
"I'll never know if I could have gotten the other jobs. This one I know I will never take," he said.
