Posts by Torchwood

Torchwood

Jan 31, 2007

Writing Careers / Writing for ukessays.com and oxbridgegraduates.com [20]

I was just reading this forum and decided that I should post a note of caution about ukessays.com / oxbridgegraduates.com

I'm a student who also writes for ukessays.com and as far as I know the work they provide is a reasonable standard (at least what I write is!). They don't require that their writers are graduates, just that they are on track to achieve a 2:1 which for most students is okay as the writer is probably around the same standard that they are.

UK Graduates

A friend of mine recently asked for advice on getting a top notch essay so I recommended oxbridgegraduates.com as this site was set up by ukessays.com and the site says that they provide "2:1 and 1st class essays by qualified graduates from Oxford and Cambridge universities". I thought that this was a better deal for him than uk essays as he would get a graduate to write his essay, rather than student like me, and he's also be guaranteed to get someone who had graduated from Oxbridge rather than a student or graduate of any old university or college.

I was very surprised when I saw my friend's order circulated to ukessays writers and checked with him that he did order from oxbridgegraduates - which he did. The order circulated to ukessays writers did not give any clue that it had been placed with oxbridge graduates and didn't stipulate that the writer must be a graduate or have been to Oxford or Cambridge - so, from the details circulated, any writer who had completed a few pieces of work with ukessays.com could request to take on the order even if, like me, they were not a graduate and had never stepped foot inside either Oxford or Cambridge universities.

It is of course possible that ukessays.com do make additional checks on the writers who 'bid' for the work to ensure that they fulfill the criteria promised on the oxbridgegraduates website (i.e. that the writers are Oxbridge graduates) - even though they don't ask the writers for this information in the circulated 'brief'. I am, however, peturbed that they are offering out this work to people who plainly are not graduates and have no connection to Oxbridge.

As ukessays offer work to their writers by subject specific mailing lists, it would not seem difficult for them to set up a mailing list of Oxbridge graduates so that orders made on the Oxbridgegraduates website were only offered to appropriately qualified writers. As an essay ordered from oxbridgegraduates is significantly more expensive than one ordered from ukessays, I think that consumers should seek additional assurances that they are getting what they are paying a premium for.

Torchwood

Feb 08, 2007

Essay Services / UK ACADEMIC ESSAY WRITING COMPANIES [17]

Not all the sites you have listed are in fact UK based. Whether any of them are legitimate depends very much on what you mean by legitimate ... some are UK registered companies, others claim to be but aren't.

I'm not in the habit of posting recommendations for any essay websites and you should be extremely leary of anyone who does.

Torchwood

Mar 04, 2007

Essay Services / Oxbridge Graduates from UK seem legit, but how can I tell? [59]

I've personally verified as true everything they state on their home page.

Okay, but who exactly are you? You've previously said in your posts that you are not a student, you don't own or write for any essay company, and you don't work for essayfraud or essayscam. I'm baffled as to what your interest is - and with 224 posts you do seem very interested! - and why your personal verification should mean squat to anyone at all.

Please enlighten us.

Torchwood

Mar 04, 2007

Essay Services / Oxbridge Graduates from UK seem legit, but how can I tell? [59]

I did, but I was looking for something more substantial than 'my friend Elizabeth at Essayfraud told me'. Still, if that's the best you can come up with.

I can comprehend students visiting this site to warn others that they've been defrauded or to seek information on where to find good essay companies (should any exist), writers visiting to expose students or companies who fail to pay, and essay company representatives visiting to check up on what is being posted about them. I find it hard to believe that someone with no vested interest in the essay industry would visit this site over a period of 9 months and post over 224 times simply to pass on what their friend had told them. Incredible.

Torchwood

Apr 19, 2007

Essay Services / About Essay Relief [25]

Essayrelief.com are notorious scammers who pay Google and Yahoo a fortune to promote themselves and their other essay writing ventures and bogus degree companies on the net. They also set up a fake plagiarism detection service online.

The reason that Essay Relief appear as a link on the CNN website is that the search facility is powered by Yahoo Search. CNN state clearly on their website that they do not endorse any of these links.

The CNN story was, as I recall, primarily focused on the Essay Relief ventures that sell bogus degrees and the potential problems in society of having people in professional positions who are not really qualified for their work. The newspaper article concentrated exclusively on the criminals behind the Essay Relief essay writing business.

Dylan, I don't know why you spend do much time trying to help people who have no concept of due diligence. Let them learn the hard way; it's all part of growing up.

Torchwood

Apr 28, 2007

Writing Careers / Are there credible companies to write for ? [114]

this site might prove a darn sight more beneficial to its users.

My own opinion is that most of the users of this website are actually connected with essay companies and have no interest in helping others to find "legitimate essay writers" but rather are here to promote their own interests or to disparage their competition.

The companies you ask about have already been posted about on this website; there's a nifty search facility available to help you locate previous posts. Whether the posts are really by students, writers, company representatives, or competitors is something you'll have to try and figure out for yourself.

I don't think there are any legitimate essay companies. If essay companies were genuinely interested in helping students to learn (and not to cheat) then they wouldn't be offering complete custom written essays but be offering essay guides and frameworks from which the students could write their own essays.

Perhaps if "you spent the same amount of time and energy" writing your own essays rather than trawling the internet for 'legit' essay companies, you might find your education and bank balance better off.

Toodle pip!

Torchwood

May 03, 2007

Essay Services / Kathryn McKay and Kenneth Newman fraud [38]

Matt,

The client's personal information (name, hone number etc) are all protected under the UK Data Protection Act regardless of whether you think she scammed you.

If she makes a complaint to the Information Commissioner you will lose a lot more than the £840 you've already lost on the essay. She can also claim compensation through the courts from you and from Powerful Words Limited for data protection breaches.

If you want to devalue the essay then by all means post it all over the internet. It's not good business sense though to expose yourself and the company you write for to investigation by the Information Commissioner and possible prosecution / litigation.

There is also another side to this in that prospective clients will see that Paypal backed your client in this dispute and initiated the chargeback; it's unlikely that they did this without her making a strong claim against you / your company. I suspect that seeking to expose / humiliate your client in this way will hurt you and your company far more than it hurts her.

Torchwood

May 03, 2007

Essay Services / Kathryn McKay and Kenneth Newman fraud [38]

If what she did was illegal then file a police report and pursue her through the small claims court. Breaching her privacy in this way puts you firmly in the wrong.

It is not necessary for this person to make a complaint about your behaviour to the Information Commissioner, anyone (even if they are not directly affected) can make a complaint if they know that a company is breaching the data protection act.

I don't accept that she got a chargeback simply on the basis that the cardholder was not present; if this was the case, every mail order or internet company would be awash with such claims and quickly put out of business. She may have disputed making the transaction or authorising the transaction but that is a different matter altogether.

I'm sorry that you have lost money on this but your behaviour in these posts demonstrates your lack of business acumen. Perhaps this is an opportunity for you to wise-up and check out your clients more thoroughly before accepting orders. Many of the established UK essay companies won't accept orders that cannot be verified with a residential address and landline and many use companies such as Experian to check their clients identity before accepting orders.

Torchwood

May 03, 2007

Essay Services / Kathryn McKay and Kenneth Newman fraud [38]

Major, the data protection act is very strict in the UK and is weighted towards the protection of personal information. If Matt had simply posted the essay or the email address then he'd be okay but he didn't - he was stupid and posted her full name and she can be identified by this.

I agree with Matt that it is doubtful that she will file a complaint. I might on the other hand as his antics annoy me.

Some information is public and accessible by all. For example, company information is public. So I can post that the Director of Powerful Words Limited is Edward Longhurst of 6 Ashbourne Close, Dawley, Shropshire TF4 2QR and the company secretary is Matthew Pledger of Flat 32, Meadow Drive, Shifnal, Shropshire TF11 9AD. This information is part of the company's public registration information, together with these people's dates of birth and the company director's own anonymous e-mail address (milkytip1981 yahoo .co.uk).

I'm sure essay companies don't like dealing with fraudsters - even though they themselves are enabling academic fraud - but that doesn't give them the freedom to break the law to get back at them. There are legitimate channels available.

If Matt's company had been a registered company for more than six months they may have sussed out before now that the essay business is prone to fraud and it is important to be vigilant before accepting the order. I'm sure this has been a salutary lesson for him.

Torchwood

May 03, 2007

Essay Services / Kathryn McKay and Kenneth Newman fraud [38]

The problem is the merchant protection act doesn't exist or is too weak, so the merchant should have the right to find their own ways to deal with fraudulent clients.

Legal ways, Major.

I'm glad my message helped. Are you the same Matt Pledger who went to Thames Valley Uni?

It would be interesting to know if any of the multitude of 'Oxbridge' essay companies that have sprung up are run by anyone with a direct connection with either Oxford or Cambridge. I've not come across one yet!

Torchwood

May 03, 2007

Essay Services / Kathryn McKay and Kenneth Newman fraud [38]

In the UK we have the small claims court in which you can make a claim for up to £100k (almost $200k at today's exchange rates). The cost of making a claim for £840 would be £80 and you can add this cost to your claim. The claim system is very straightforward and the claim can be filed online with no expert knowledge, but if you do engage legal assistance you can also add this cost to your claim together with any other costs associated with making the claim. If you win your claim you can ask the court to enforce the judgment.

Torchwood

May 03, 2007

Essay Services / Kathryn McKay and Kenneth Newman fraud [38]

I made a claim in the small claims court last year - from making the claim online to receiving payment took 11 weeks.

Admittedly there will always be people who will dodge payment, but at least if you pursue a claim lawfully then both you and your customers will know that you operate your business in a reputable manner. When a company loses its reputation it doesn't have a lot left.

Outing people on the internet may make perfect sense to Matt. Others, like me, would avoid any company that resorted to breaching legislation or underhand tactics to get their own back on a client no matter how justified the company felt.

My own feeling is that much of Matt's anger and frustration is actually about the company's own failures to do sufficient due diligence on this customer.

In a high fraud industry, would you accept a high value order (£840/$1600) from a customer without carefully checking that the customer had a stable address - easily checkable in the UK from electoral records - and a landline telephone (rather than disposable cell phone) at the very least?

I know of one UK essay company that will only take orders from UK, US and Canadian residents and that insists on copies of a customer's driver's license, utility bills, as well as a checkable address and landline before they will even consider taking on the order.

Vigilance pays.

Torchwood

May 03, 2007

Essay Services / Kathryn McKay and Kenneth Newman fraud [38]

So from one hand you oppose the "personal information" to be revealed to the public; on the other you encourage the companies to take all steps possible to check on the prospective client?

I oppose UK registered companies revealing personal information when they are acting in breach of the UK data protection act. I don't believe that individuals or organizations should get to decide which legislation they will comply with and which they won't. That is anarchy.

Torchwood

May 11, 2007

General Talk / Here's a Novel suggestion - students should try writing essays themselves [11]

I'm inclined to agree with Dylan.

I am a writer and have posted here several times before that I am not in the business of supporting plagiarism.

I never accept work where I suspect that from the information given to me that the student is going to submit my work as their own. This means I reject almost 90% of all essays that are offered to me, all take home tests, all dissertations and all research projects.

The work that I do accept is where it is clear that the student is asking for concepts to be explained or elaborated, or is requesting a study guide or test preparation material.

If writers were a little more ethical about the work they accepted, then there would be fewer problems with plagiarism. However, I know from the three essay companies that I work for, there is no shortage of writers willing to complete take home tests, research essays, and full dissertations.

Torchwood

May 11, 2007

Essay Services / Honest essay writing sites request...HELP [228]

People buying masters and dissertations seem cheeky but I suppose fair play, for the money you spend you're probably very likely to make it back in whatever job you get as a result of the qualification.

Why is it fair play for people to buy Masters and PhD dissertations?

People buying full dissertations worries me more than students buying the occasional essay.

If your tutor had bought his or her Master's or PhD degree dissertation from an essay company and submitted it as their own, would you feel it was fair play to them (and you) that they got their position and salary on the basis of a bought piece of work?

Plagiarism is not cheeky. It is fraud.

Torchwood

May 12, 2007

Essay Services / Honest essay writing sites request...HELP [228]

The point I was making in my earlier post is that buying the occasional essay, while still cheating if the essay is submitted as ones own, is unlikely to affect the overall degree result as all 'credible' universities require undergraduate students to pass rigorous examinations which will determine the degree award and classification.

I feel that there is a particular problem if students are buying full dissertations as students may have enough knowledge to pass their viva voce, but are gaining a qualification based almost entirely on the written (purchased) product. These students may then go on to take up positions in universities where they are responsible for guiding the research efforts of others, which I find repugnant.

I was contacted through this site by someone who needed help with her PhD thesis and who erroneously thought I might help her. Through subequent e-mail contact she told me that she was under pressure to submit, was currently lecturing and tutoring undergraduate students which she said left her little time to write, and had plans to take up a postdoctoral fellowship after graduating. I suggested that she took some leave or a sabbatical to focus on her thesis but later heard from her that she had found a writer. I truly hope that this was an isolated case.

Funny you should say that. I've long had the suspicion that some forum members make posts recommending particular essay sites over their competition without declaring what their interest is.

By the way, to save you looking, I've never recommended any essay company and only recommend that people do their own work.

Torchwood

Jun 01, 2007

Essay Services / DEGREE ESSAYS UK - WONT BACK UP THEIR ADVERTISED GUARANTEE [42]

I'm sure you'll get your money back mollies_mum; either your post or writersbeware's threats have made the company pay attention.

Did anyone look at that link? He's done alright for someone who started a family so young. Born in 1978 and with a 13 year old daughter - I noted that he did say "our" children and "my 3 little girls" - so that would make him a dad at 16.

There's obviously not much else for entertainment in the north of England.

Torchwood

Jun 14, 2007

General Talk / Essay Scams - New blog to be launched [21]

How do you intend to determine which sites are legitimate and which are fraudulent?

I'm sorry that you got scammed (not very sorry as you are a plagiarist) but you should be careful in identifying 'fraudulent' companies based on testimonials unless you are absolutely certain that you know and trust their source. It is not beyond the wit of company represenatives to post or send you false recommendations about their own company or false complaints about their rivals.

I do hope that you know what you are doing and are fully aware of the legal responsibilities that you will have as the website owner. Getting into strife with your university is one thing but getting hit by lawsuits from commercial companies interested only in protecting their profits is something else.

Torchwood

Apr 28, 2007

Essay Services / About a company that was seemingly recomended by Amy [31]

After a week of research, I finally decided to order a research paper

Did you consider spending that week on researching and writing your own paper?

If you don't like the look of the company's website, their product, or the way that they handle payment, then ordering from them doesn't seem like a terrifically good idea.

Unless you know the true identities behind the people posting on this website, you should take what they say with a pinch of salt. As has been posted before, the best advice you can get on essay companies is from trusted friends who have first hand experience. I could post and say that I'm a student and had a great essay from company X, or that I had a terrible essay and was scammed by company Y; how would you know that any of this was true and that I didn't work for company X or be trying to get rid of company Y, my competitor?

Be smart: do the work yourself or at least talk to real people and not online identities.

Torchwood

Jul 04, 2007

Essay Services / Oxbridge Graduates / Oxbridge Essays / Oxbridge Writers [89]

I write for a couple of essay and dissertation assistance companies, one of which is UKEssays / OxbridgeGraduates (both part of the Academic Answers group).

As you rightly say with ukessays/oxbridgegraduates there is an a guarantee that if you find that the essay you bought has been plagiarised then you will get £1,000. I don't know whether anyone has successfully claimed against the company - we writers are not privy to such information - but I do know from my contract that the company says that if the writer does not pay this penalty for the company to pass to the customer then the company will pass the writer's name and contact information to the customer so that the customer can pursue the writer directly for the money.

I'm not sure how satisfactory this is from the customer's point of view as I'm not sure how many students would really pursue a writer through the small claims court to recover the money.

As for OxbridgeEssays, if you use the search facility on this site you will see that one customer has complained that they were struggling to get the refund of "20% of the full sale-price of their written work for every 12 hours that this work is late" that is advertised in this company's terms and conditions in spite of their essay being late.

The guarantees that companies provide are there to draw in new business and regardless of their obligations I would still expect that if you run into problems with any essay company they will do what they can to hang on to your money.

If you do order from an essay company, use a credit card as you have greater consumer protection with a credit card than a debit card. If the company fails to deliver according to your contract with them (your order) you can always contact your card company and request a chargeback (refund) on the transaction.

My recommendation is that you write your literature review for yourself; it really is the best way to get to grips with the subject matter.