Warning - stay away from scam essay websites

There are many custom essay websites on the web. Some are genuine. Some will rip you off.

It is hard to spot which are the genuine websites but with our help, you'll be an expert in hunting them down.

On this page you will find:

Whether or not you choose to use our service, we urge you to protect yourself by learning how to tell the difference between a genuine website and a scam.

1. Use a genuine UK Company.

• UK companies are subject to UK law
• UK companies can be sued in the UK courts
• You have more 'comeback' against UK companies if anything goes wrong

Be careful - many companies claim to be UK-based but aren't really -- so you need to run a few checks to make sure you're really dealing with a UK company - and don't be fooled by easy tricks such as the use of 'co.uk' domains which anyone can buy (see 'Top 7 'tricks' used by scam essay companies' below).

2. Make sure they have a genuine UK landline telephone number answered by UK staff.

• Now, anyone can get a UK landline number
• These numbers can be diverted to anywhere in the World
• Listen to the ringtone - does it sound odd?
• Listen to their accent (if they answer). Does it sound foreign?
• Ask them where they're based - ask them questions about their 'local area'.

3. Ask them to promise in writing to deliver 2:1 standard the first time, on time, and with a plagiarism scan -- then watch the excuses fly!

A genuine UK company won't mind that you insist on:

• 2.1 standard work the first time, or a full refund
• A comprehensive, accurate plagiarism scan
• A solid plagiarism guarantee

After all, you're paying for custom work, and under UK consumer protection law, you are entitled to get what you pay for! But don't be surprised if they say no, or mumble something that sounds like an excuse. There are not many foreign companies who are willing to give these guarantees - and put their money where their mouth is.

4. Check their credentials at Companies House.

• Deal with a registered company - they have to comply with certain legal requirements
• Check they are listed at Companies House
• Make sure their Company Number matches the name registered at Companies House
• Make sure the Company is not listed as 'Dissolved' and does not have 'pending applications' (e.g. to be struck off/removed from the register)
• Check their website complies with UK legal requirements (see 'Legal Requirements for UK Websites' below)
• Run a 'WHOIS' check against the domain name (.co.uk domains | com and other domains)

TIP! If the website name is listed at Companies House but you run in to difficulties with the Company at a later stage, you can download a lot of useful information about them from the Companies House website, including the names and addresses of the directors and company secretaries, for a small fee of approximately ?1.00 per document.

5. Make sure they have a UK bank account.

• It is very difficult for foreign companies to get UK bank accounts
• Ask for their details : account name, sort code, account number and the name of the bank
• Don't accept any excuses for them not giving you this information
• Check the details are authentic - make a small deposit into their bank account of a few pence and ask them to confirm what the amount was.

Remember, don't accept any excuses for them not giving you this information - it would be extremely difficult for you to misuse it, so they have no reason to refuse to hand it over.

6. Consider their prices - are they realistic?

• Companies exist to make a profit
• UK companies must pay many expenses: staff, advertising, premises, utilities, business rates, tax, VAT and much more
• It is unlikely a company could be profitable if it paid its writers more than 30% of the total price.

Now, ask yourself, would you complete the work for 30% of the price the website is charging? Would a professional writer? If the answer is no, be on your guard!

If prices look too good to be true, they probably are (unfortunately).

7. Look for genuine favourable UK press coverage.

• Check the press coverage on the newspaper's or TV channel's website - make sure it's genuine
• If reporters have visited the Company's offices, you'll know (at least) that it exists
• If reporters have ordered from the website and received good work, this is an indication that you'll also receive good work.

Press coverage isn't a guarantee that a website is UK based and genuine - just as lack of press coverage doesn't mean the website will scam you. Positive press coverage is a sign that the Company is likely to be genuine, and likely to deliver on their promises.

8. Read the website carefully. Check for typos and odd expressions!

• Foreign websites are often full of sloppy mistakes - spelling/grammar errors
• Read the website carefully or (if English isn't your first language) get someone to check it for you
• If the website is full of mistakes, it's likely that the work they send out will be too!

And that's it!

We can't guarantee that if you follow these 7 steps, the website you use will give you what they promise. There are a small number of dishonest companies operating in the UK and these are much harder to spot.

What we can guarantee is that if you follow these 7 steps, you'll be able to identify 99.5% of foreign, dishonest, scam companies, saving you time, money and upset.

Still wondering whether to use us?

That's okay - we understand how important this decision is!

The very best way to reassure yourself that we're genuine is to give us a call and speak to our team. We have a few accents in the office -- but they are all distinctively English! Olivia, our friendly Yorkshire Customer Service team member, and Karina, our outgoing Cornish HR Manager, are just two of the many friendly voices you'll hear on the end of our phone lines.

We're looking forward to speaking to you, and putting your mind at rest.

1. Foreign companies often use co.uk domain names

Remember that anyone, anywhere in the world, can buy a co.uk domain name.

Do you really think this means you're dealing with a UK company? Think again. It takes 5 minutes to register a domain name, from anywhere in the world!

2. Foreign companies often use 'British' images

Some of the websites that appear in Google's listings for custom essays have UK flags and images of UK universities.

Anyone can put these images on their website. It doesn't mean they're based in the UK! There are hundreds of royalty free image sites where you can download them for free!

3. Scam companies often displaying convincing 'testimonials'

Anyone can write a good fake 'testimonial' and make it sound genuine. It happens a lot, as you might have guessed, and the Office of Fair Trading are often involved with companies making wild claims through fake customer testimonials.

Did you know that under UK law, companies are obliged to provide evidence that testimonials are genuine, if requested?

4. Scam companies often write shining 'reviews' about themselves on other websites and forums

These are really easy to do - the Company just registers for a new account, and creates a few fake messages, pretending to be a student, saying how they got a great essay from the Company's website. The same companies often slate other, genuine websites to gain an advantage.

Don't trust reviews unless you're certain who wrote them.

5. Scam companies often claim the Press has investigated them, favourably

Anyone can write press quotations on their website, but are they genuine?

You need to check out how genuine they are on the newspaper's website. You can do this by going to any of the search engines, entering the newspaper name and the essay website name, for example - "bbc news ukessays.com".

6. Just because they use paid listings on Google Adwords, doesn't mean they're genuine

You might think because Google allows a company to advertise its website on their paid listings, the website must be genuine.

Unfortunately, this isn't the case. We complain almost every week to Google about scam companies posting adverts on the highlighted search results, but Google take no action. Don't trust a site just because Google allow them to advertise.

7. Scam companies often display fake endorsements

You might see some attractive badges on the Company's website that suggest they are part of 'consumer protection' groups. These are very easy to forge (and if you do a little research, you'll often find that the groups don't exist). You should also be wary of them name dropping, saying they work with companies you know to be reputable. Check out their claims as we've found many are just shameless lies!

Another trick we've noticed is that some sites use a newspaper's logo next to a quote. Don't be fooled. Just because the Company is using the newspaper's logo, doesn't mean the story is authentic. In fact, we know from experience that newspapers generally don't allow the use of their logos on commercial websites. Check out the story on the newspaper's website - make sure it exists, and if it does, that the quote hasn't been taken out of context.

We employ an in-house lawyer (F.Inst.L.Ex) and all of our websites comply with all of these legal requirements.

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