*** OFFICIAL *** list of shady industries

[Dan Druff]

Every industry has a few shady businesses associated with it, but I have found that certain industries are almost entirely shady.

By "shady industry", I mean that most or all companies involved engage in some of the following:

- Highly misleading advertising
- High pressure sales tactics for products the customer does not need
- Bait and switch tactics
- Employment of a surprisingly high percentage of ex-cons
- Hidden fees
- Collusion
- Predatory business practices
- Misrepresentation or fraud
- Bribery or kickbacks to public officials

Off the top of my head, here are ones I can think of:

Towing
Moving
Toner sales
Credit card "protection" insurance
Pest extermination
Toxic cleanup
Water/fire damage repair
Air conditioning duct cleaning
Timeshare sales
Travel clubs
Credit counseling (where the consumer pays)
Job searching (where the consumer pays instead of the employer)

Any other ideas?

I will be glad to expand upon my description of any of the above if you are curious.

[limitles]

Gasoline station industry

collusion.....gotta be
kick backs.....gotta be
communist bastards......you'd think

[handicapme]

Used car salesmen/lots

[RegGaymer]

If you can class poker as an industry, then put that at the top of your list.

Another one that's quite bad in the UK, from my experience, is recruitment agencies; they screw you over with wages (always wrong pay), and won't even pay you if they can get away with it. I worked for an agency last year, and after digging up some dirt via google I found that they'd been running all sorts of shady insurance scams too.

[SrslySirius]

I'm curious why exterminators made the list.

The bail bonds industry in general has always smelled shady to me. It's absolutely corrupt in Houston. Bondsmen there owe millions of dollars to the county and just get away with not paying. It's regulated by a small board of like 10 people, and they never revoke licenses. Must be a pretty sweet gig to skim 10% off the courts with zero risk.

[Pooh]

I'm curious why exterminators made the list.

The bail bonds industry in general has always smelled shady to me. It's absolutely corrupt in Houston. Bondsmen there owe millions of dollars to the county and just get away with not paying. It's regulated by a small board of like 10 people, and they never revoke licenses. Must be a pretty sweet gig to skim 10% off the courts with zero risk.

Because Druff had one bad experience with them.

[Dan Druff]

I'm curious why exterminators made the list.

The bail bonds industry in general has always smelled shady to me. It's absolutely corrupt in Houston. Bondsmen there owe millions of dollars to the county and just get away with not paying. It's regulated by a small board of like 10 people, and they never revoke licenses. Must be a pretty sweet gig to skim 10% off the courts with zero risk.

Bail bonds is a good one to add to the list, yes.

Exterminators made the list because the industry has moved to a "contract" model in most markets, rather than one time exterminations.

I ran into this when my house had a terrible ant problem in the summer a few years ago (due to dryness/heat, not leaving food out), and I tried to find an exterminator to hire.

EVERY SINGLE ONE in the area had a really gimmicky/obnoxious looking website, trying to convince the customer that they NEED a 6-month or 12-month pest control contract. Like, these websites were the absolute worst, including several where the exterminator himself shows up in a green-screened video that autoplays, and he speaks to you about how badly you need his services. Crap like that.

Thinking that perhaps these websites were just directed at chumps but that I might be able to get a one-time visit, I called several exterminators, and all of them basically laughed at me when I asked for a one-time visit. The best I got was a guy telling me, "Well, okay, I'll come one time, but I'm pretty sure it's going to require follow up visits, but if you only want to pay for one time and take that risk, I guess I can do it..."

So of course I figured he would not do a good job on purpose so I would have to call him back, so I didn't hire him -- or any of them.

I thought that perhaps it was just my area where this shit was happening, but then I asked friends from other areas what there experience was, and they all complained about the exact same crap.

I ended up buying some stuff myself and sprayed, and it actually worked.

Another friend told me that he has one of the few honest exterminators, who confided in him that these 6-month plans are bullshit, and that guy comes as necessary and gets the job done in 1 or 2 visits. Too bad he doesn't live around me.

[Pooh]

I'd say used car and timeshare would be right at the top.

[unchainedghost]

Judaism

[Belly Buster]

If you can class poker as an industry, then put that at the top of your list.

Another one that's quite bad in the UK, from my experience, is recruitment agencies; they screw you over with wages (always wrong pay), and won't even pay you if they can get away with it. I worked for an agency last year, and after digging up some dirt via google I found that they'd been running all sorts of shady insurance scams too.

The minute I saw this thread I thought recruitment agencies. Total lowlife industry where only the scummiest seem to thrive.

[Jayjami]

Every industry has a few shady businesses associated with it, but I have found that certain industries are almost entirely shady.

By "shady industry", I mean that most or all companies involved engage in some of the following:

- Highly misleading advertising
- High pressure sales tactics for products the customer does not need
- Bait and switch tactics
- Employment of a surprisingly high percentage of ex-cons
- Hidden fees
- Collusion
- Predatory business practices
- Misrepresentation or fraud
- Bribery or kickbacks to public officials

This is pretty much describes the investment banking industry to me.

[SrslySirius]

Come to think of it, it pretty well describes the stereotypical auto mechanic.

Several months ago my gf went to the dealership to get her oil changed. I suggested she just go to Jiffy Lube or whatever down the street, but she has some deal for free maintenance. Of course, the scumbag there scared her into replacing her breaks and a bunch of other shit. Got her for $700. Wish I had been there to stop it.

[Sloppy Joe]

Churches.

In many cases, members have to give 10% of annual income in exchange for salvation, which doesn't exist.

This was taught to me at the age of 13-14 during confirmation.

Ultimate racket.

[Dan Druff]

Another shady industry is the matchmaking one. I'm not talking so much about online sites, where you basically match yourself, but rather the ones where you pay 4 figures (sometimes more) to have a "professional matchmaker" find you the perfect mate.

In reality, there is a huge shortage of decent women using these services, because any halfway attractive woman under 40 has lots of guys showing interest in them, and doesn't need to go as far as joining a professional matchmaker service (even if highly discounted or free).

These services are aimed at guys who are either too busy or too unappealing to meet women on their own, so they are the ones who sign up for these services.

Rather than simply admit to some of these guys that no "match" actually exists for them, and refunding their money, they basically match them with any available woman in their database, and claim that they did tireless research to find the man the perfect match. Usually these women are old and/or unattractive, and the few decent looking ones are super-neurotic or have some other kind of showstopping emotional issue.

And in the case where the man is demanding better than that, they sometimes send out female employees of the service on a few dates to masquerade as a "match", only to have them feign a quick loss of interest so as to give it a speedy and gracious end (yet give the appearance that work is being done).

I have never been a member of any of these services, but I knew a woman who worked for three different ones, and she basically told me all of the inside dirt and conveyed that it's all a big fraud.

[SrslySirius]

Churches.

In many cases, members have to give 10% of annual income in exchange for salvation, which doesn't exist.

This was taught to me at the age of 13-14 during confirmation.

Ultimate racket.

Well... you don't have to, right? You're just socially pressured to do so, aren't you?

It is a great racket though. Tax exempt and extremely rare to be audited. Pay yourself a miniscule salary and count your house/car/whatever as church expenses.

Charity too, extremely sleazy industry with a similar MO. Sadly.

[big dick]

Churches.

In many cases, members have to give 10% of annual income in exchange for salvation, which doesn't exist.

This was taught to me at the age of 13-14 during confirmation.

Ultimate racket.

Yep, Im gonna have to go with churches. lol @ them wanting 10% of peoples income. Fucked up thing is that they preyed on catholic immigrants with large families for years. Then some of the scumbag priests messed with these peoples children. Fuck them

[Sloppy Joe]

Churches.

In many cases, members have to give 10% of annual income in exchange for salvation, which doesn't exist.

This was taught to me at the age of 13-14 during confirmation.

Ultimate racket.

Well... you don't have to, right? You're just socially pressured to do so, aren't you?

It is a great racket though. Tax exempt and extremely rare to be audited. Pay yourself a miniscule salary and count your house/car/whatever as church expenses.

Charity too, extremely sleazy industry with a similar MO. Sadly.

I think some actually have to, like Mormons and Scientologists.

The Presbyterian church I was confirmed in when I was 13-14 strongly encouraged it, and I was specifically taught that it made the entrance into heaven easier, the implication being no money = hell.

[SrslySirius]

I think some actually have to, like Mormons and Scientologists.

The Presbyterian church I was confirmed in when I was 13-14 strongly encouraged it, and I was specifically taught that it made the entrance into heaven easier, the implication being no money = hell.

Damn, I didn't know that about Mormons.

That Presbyterian teaching sounds awfully similar to Catholic indulgence. You know, when you could just give the church money to reduce your punishment for sinning.

I don't know much about Presbyterians, but I had to attend one of their services last Easter. Awful experience. The pastor spent most of his time passive-aggressively guilt tripping everyone for what he called "doing the minimum". Not coming to church enough, not tithing enough, etc. The Methodists I've met seem like much nicer people.

[IAmProfessionalTalk]

Another shady industry is the matchmaking one.

There are a couple really good documentaries on Netflix about the foreign matchmaking business. Surprisingly it's not 100% fraud but damned close.

[Baron Von Strucker]

Used car salesmen/lots

this and Realestate agents, throw in a shady garage mechanec and you got a pretty scummy bunch of bottom feeders

special shout out to shitty landscapers that over plant your property with twice the plants they need for double the cost and half the soil so you have to redo the whole thing. three years later.