That's a straight up awful thing to do. Fly out candidates and cancel on them if you decide you are not hiring them, to save on that plane ticket? Better be prepared for the candidate talking about their experience interviewing with your company with their network.

What's the name of the company?

That is truly horrific. I am so sorry that this happened to you, in my 25+ year career to date, I have never heard of anything like this happening :( They should be utterly ashamed of themselves.

@dwjohnston that's not a question to be answered - it can lead to a lot of costly legal issues for the OP, even if everything they have said is entirely factual and correct. We also don't know if there is another side to this story (keeping it neutral, not to doubt the OP in any way).

How big is the company? How long have they been in business? Do they have a good amount of name recognition? Their behavior is absurdly selfish and unprofessional either way but it might help to answer the question of whether there was something particular about you that caused them to behave this way or if they're just too stupid to know any better.

Be sure to post to GlassDoor etc, but be absolutely sure to post only the exact truth, with nothing opinion based. Do that - after you have found a lawyer; most will give a free consultation if they are fairly sure of a win, for which you probably have grounds

Did you have an email or something in writing beforehand, saying that they'd cover the flight? If so, I'd talk to a lawyer to try to sue them.

Sounds like a complete douche but legal thing to do.

When you get come, please start working on your financials. Write down all your income and expenses, and make a budget. It's an easy step to a better future.

@Magisch This would be a textbook case of detrimental reliance.

Did you call the police? I would have called the police. I don't see how this is not a crime, even if there might not be a law for this specific case. Then you could also call some local and/or national newspapers/TV-stations.

If you want to name-and-shame, you could also call local newspapers and TV stations. Most of them would give their left arm to cover a story like this.

@RemcoGerlich I don't even know if you would need email proof directly in this case. There should be a pretty clear paper trail of them booking the flight for him, and cancelling the return after his interview. It seems like this company made an absolutely horrible decision, both morally, and from a covering their own ass perspective.

@JMac even if this was legal, the company made a horrible mistake in the downright atrocious PR this will cause. Word gets out about this, nobody in hell will take a chance interviewing with them knowing they screw candidates they don't want to hire this hard. Imagine what they'd be like as employer.

Just curious - had you had a telephone interview before you flew out? I flat out refuse to travel more than an hour (what I believe is a reasonable commute time) before a phone interview now because you can work out pretty quickly if you're not going to gel in person.

Out of curiosity what is the profile of this company? Start up, established family business, niche market medium sized company, etc?

No offense intended, just trying to clarify a bit. You say it went disastrously bad and that you couldn't answer any of the questions. Is it possible there was any....misrepresentation....on your part prior to the interview?

Please add country and name of firm to the question. They deserve it.

Please name-and-shame. The main reason companies can get away with this behavior is because people don't shame them when it happens.

Were you applying for a job completely out of your league, in terms of relevant skills and experience - were you completely honest?

@RobP & vikingsteve, if this did actually happen, there would be no excuse for any potential employer to pull a stunt like that EVEN IF the candidate grossly misrepresented themselves.

As others have mentioned, SE is not the appropriate place to "name and shame" and you should consult an attorney first. But, once you have done that, please follow up and let us know what happened and provide any links if you can.

Post on Google Maps too, not just on Glassdoor, just the facts and nothing but the facts. A lot more readers read Google Maps than Glassdoor.

@teego1967 If someone has lied on their CV and I as a company have wasted time and money flying them out and interviewing them based on those lies....then I still wouldn't pull such a nasty move but I can understand why some people might.

You should really name the company so no one else has to go through that.

@Michael, why not? If the OP stands by the information relayed in the question and the company really did commit this loathsome action then they deserve to have their shame spread as far and as wide as it can go - imho. This is not simply ethics - this is malicious and spiteful - it shows one's character. May grasshoppers, ants, and fleas eat them alive - and a plague of seven generations be upon their family. (Ok, perhaps that's too much - maybe just a week long bout of stomach flu and getting fired.)

@RobP., being pranked is not a reason for unethical and malicious behavior. Doing that shows nothing about who the interviewer is - but it does show who YOU are.

Send a letter politely but firmly expressing that you expect reimbursement and that their reneging on a promise was unethical. CC clearly at the bottom the attorney general of the states containing their headquarters, the interview location, and your state. A couple of newspapers in those places wouldn’t hurt. Then make enough copies to actually send them to all those places. Chances are when they see the CC, they’ll be strongly motivated to correct their “mistake.” And if not, when they get an inquiry from a newspaper and/or attorney general …

@CramerTV - there is very little difference between a 'prank' and 'fraud'. If I want a free trip to Seattle and I create a fake resume and social engineer a free trip on some other company's dime; I'm not sure they should have any obligation to pay for my return trip once they realize what I've done.

@teego1967 - arguably. If everyone is acting in good faith - yes, I agree with you. If I fraudulently claim to be a heart surgeon because a hospital in Hawaii is willing to pay my airfare; I don't think they have an obligation (legal or otherwise) to pay my return trip when they realize I didn't graduate high school, or college, or attend medical school.

@RobP., I hear you. And if someone committed fraud against me I would seek some sort of recourse other than not letting them get back home. I would also consider that I should perhaps do a phone interview before I spend money to bring them out. And if I got conned on the phone, then perhaps I need to learn to ask better questions. As I said, how one responds to life defines their character. Canceling a return flight, to me, is dishonorable because the company didn't live up to their word - regardless of how the interviewee acted - that's on them.

@RobP.: if that were the case, the company should have said so, instead of the canned "we are going on a different direction".

I would also ask the lawyer if pursuing criminal chargers were possible. This is unbelievably reckless and dangerous.

We'd all probably like a follow up on how you went when this is all over. Good luck!

why hasnt the name of the company been disclosed yet?

Because that's not what this site is for