If you don't think that the site looks professional and you don't think that the papers look 'legit', why are you prepared to order from a company on the basis of posts on a public forum where you have no idea who is really posting, who they work for, and what their agenda is?

I can understand that - the money should be in your account and not theirs.

This is my old post about my experience with them:


I didn't complain to them about my essay as it was too late by the time I realised how bad it was - they require you tell them within 7 days.

The essay / paper required the writer to create some data and to analyse it and the paper that I got read very well and looked good (lots of nice graphs etc) so I didn't request a rewrite. I handed the paper in as my own (very bad, I know) and about six weeks later got it back with a grade of 44%. The comments scrawled all over it said that the methodology was inappropriate for the subject matter, the data was incomplete, and the statistical analysis incorrect. Obviously I was annoyed as I paid for a 2:1 paper, and 44% is a third, and they are quite an expensive company to go with.

Anyway, I now use an online tutor to help me with stats work and no longer use any essay company for this sort of paper. I would say that my earlier experience with them was fine - on quality and timeliness- but I don't have the confidence to use them again and risk quite a large amount of money on something that could turn out to be quite shabby.

Read back through your posts. You said that you are waiting for a refund to your bank account. If you paid by credit card, then you'd be asking for a refund to your credit card or how to do a chargeback. You can pay two ways with this company - with a credit card, or if they can't verify your identity, through their bank account. Incidently, I've repeatedly posted on this forum that people should NEVER pay cash into an essay company's bank account as it is a lot harder to get the money back then getting a credit card chargeback.

Read back on my posts on Degree Essays UK - you'll see that I posted last year that I had used them three or four times until I got a crap piece of work from them and have not used them since.

I don't think I would have posted this, or given you info on reporting them to trading standards or pursuing them through the small claims court if I worked for them.

You can't make a chargeback on a cash deposit and it is my understanding that Mollies_Mum paid money directly into their bank account rather than paid by credit card.

I don't think this company can be compared with EssayRelief as Becky has got an essay she is happy with (albeit delivered late) and she has now got them to agree to refund her money in accordance with their "guarantees".

They agreed a refund with Mollies_Mum on Friday so I think in the interests of fairness it would be sensible to allow a week for the money to appear in her bank account. As I posted before, Degree Essays UK can control when they initiate the refund but they have no control over how long Mollies_Mum's bank will take to clear the electronic payment.

Keep us posted Mollies_Mum. You've got Becky so excited about this that she'll probably need sedating until you post that you have your refund ;-)

At least they're talking to you now ;-)

They should know when they will transfer the money electronically but it's unlikely they'll know exactly how long your bank will take to clear the funds. Two or three days is about standard.

Hope it's all sorted for you quickly.

I think it can take two or three days for electronic payments to clear. Uncleared items don't usually show on your account until they have been cleared but you can still telephone your bank and ask them if there are any payments awaiting clearance.

I get that.

I would have thought the exchange rate would be a sufficient deterrent to US customers thinking of using UK essay companies.

Reviews of what? Degree Essays UK? I don't see how you can review a company unless you've either ordered from them or worked for them.

I'm not fond of slanging matches as I think they deter legitimate customers / writers from posting. Usually the only people who want to get involved are those with vested interests to protect.

Just in case anyone isn't aware of the forum rules (which I'm sure Major will point out are in need of some proofreading ;-)):

5. All posters agree to be respectful to each other, moderators, and to owners of essay writing websites. EssayScam.org has the right to ban posters who do not abide legal and social norms and regulations.

It's June all month long, Major :P

It's always good to see companies openly responding to posts and sorting problems out - rather than dissing the complainants as so often happens on here.

Hope it all works out for you Mollies_Mum.

The news article is dated 22 May 2007 and says the ban will start next month, which by my reckoning is June :)

You can make a claim online to the small claims court moneyclaim.gov.uk/

The Citizens Advice Bureau shoud be able to help you if you need help filling out the relevant sections.

PS I think all student sites are garbage: myspace, bebo, facebook... I don't think Barclay's efforts are any better or worse

Aye, it's not known as "The Gruniad" for nothing.

Although they work out of an office in The Ropewalk, Nottingham, their registered address is:

Academic Answers Ltd
Peak House,
Works Road,
Letchworth Garden City,
Hertfordshire
SG6 1GF

They're owned by Barclay and the office manager is Tony. This info is all on their website.

If you want to complain to trading standards, it will cost you nothing: consumerdirect.gov.uk/

A claim in the small claims court will cost you about £50 and you can add this cost to your total claim.

If you want free legal advice about your rights you could always contact the Citizens Advice Bureau.

I'm assuming they don't like giving money back as it impacts their profits. Newspaper reports on state that he makes £1.6 million a year, and drives a Ferrari and a Lamborghini, so I'm guessing he likes to keep the money rolling in.

(education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,1834073,00.html)

Take them to the small claims court or contact trading standards

Maybe you could have just said you prefer to write for essay banks rather than custom essay companies. I don't think it was necessary to promote a particular site, particularly as it is both an essay bank and a custom essay company.There are other sites that are both essay banks and custom essay companies - there's nothing unique or more ethical about this one.

The essays-r-us.co.uk website would make me run a mile ...

- No company registration details - which they have to declare on the website if they are a UK registered company. I personally would not place an order with any UK essay business that wasn't a UK registered company.

- No postal address - just telephone numbers and an e-mail address - again, if they are a UK registered company their registered address has to be displayed on the website. I personally would never do business with any individual or company who did not openly declare their trading address on their website.

- A whois look-up gives the owner as an individual: Dorit, Finchley, London N3 3NJ

- A quick google on the owner gives a BBC online article in which Dorit brags that her service allows lazy students to sit around in bars rather than write essays (news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4445357.stm) and admits that her service "belittles the whole education system". I find this attitude unsettling and unpleasant.

- Dorit brags in the BBC article that she sells 500-1,000 essays a week with prices starting at £50, which does make me think that she should probably be registered as a company and probably also registered for VAT (if she is registered for VAT then I think the VAT registration number is also supposed to be declared on the website).

PS Dorit, if you are reading this: your domain has expired.

Sorry, I didn't reply as I thought your post was both presumptuous and ill-informed.


I buy essays from time to time which I can well afford and use them for various reasons. Sometimes to cover supporting units that my university insists I take but which I have no interest in, sometimes to use as the basis of tutorial discussions, and sometimes to revise from. I have also bought the long-term assistance of two statistics experts online to help me better understand SPSS, Minitab and data interpretation.

As for the endless nights of partying, I am teetotal, have never been to a nightclub and loathe pubs.

If you have such a contempt for students who buy essays, then you are in the wrong business.

I note in a previous post you say that you have written for more than one company and are planning to continue writing in the future. It disgusts me that you are so contemptuous of your clients yet are seeking to continue making money from them.

Why did Ps2 continue writing if s/he wasn't getting paid?

I'm not a writer but I think if I did some work and I didn't get paid for it then I wouldn't keep on working for the same company.

I've no idea if essaywriters.net are scammers or not. I've never used them. I do wonder why people keep writing for them though if they are experiencing such problems in getting paid.

If you're expecting payment for your written English skills, I can see why there might be a problem.

Good grief.

Hey.

I wasn't talking about sites that hire writers but sites where writers can register free of charge as freelance writers and promote their services.

Two that I've heard of are elance.com and kasamba.com; I'm sure that there are plenty of others.

There's risk attached to doing business through sites like these for both the writer and the client. The writers need to have some assurance that they are going to get paid for the work that they do, and the clients need to assure themselves that the writer that they select is qualified to undertake the work to the required standard.

I have used one site with good results but I have been extremely careful in selecting writers with high ratings and in talking to them 'live' online to check that they understand the work that I need doing (which is mainly help with statistics) and can communicate well.

There are plenty of muppets on these sites though so buyers do need to be careful, and sellers too as I'm sure that there are plenty of fraudulent students kicking about.

It might have suggested that if I'd said "cardholder not present transactions" but I didn't. I said "cardholder not present frauds" which is not the same thing at all.

I've no idea what proportion of the total transactions online globally was legitimate and what proportion was fraudulent due to identity theft.

You said:


My point is that there is no proof here. We don't know if the cardholder did scam this company or whether the cardholder was herself scammed.

I don't think that there is any proof of anything in this debate. Just opinions based on partial information.

We've been told that the chargeback was authorized because the cardholder was not present. In the UK, the banks have been reported in the press as saying that the majority of 'cardholder not present' frauds are due to the theft of information (discarded receipts, intercepted mail etc). We are also told that this person was using a mobile phone and a free-mail address. To me, this sounds more like a case of identity theft than someone using their own credit card and scamming an essay company. I could be wrong though.

If the person whose credit card was used did not order the paper and did not authorize someone else to use their card then they have every right to dispute the transaction and are under no obligation to get involved in discussions with the company concerned.

I have some sympathies with the company as they are out of pocket, but I don't think that they are handling themselves very well - although this is understandable if they are new in the market and this is the first time they've been hit. It's a shame because if it is the same Matt Pledger that went to Thames Valley Uni then he's an okay guy. I just think he's ill-advised to take this tack, but I doubt that he cares what I think.

As well as setting up on your own, there are also quite a few reputable websites around where you can advertize yourself as a freelance writer and work directly with the client.

I can understand your frustrations. I hope it works out for you.

I think Torchwood is saying that companies should be upfront and say what information they need to confirm the identity and permanent address of the client before accepting the order. The client then has the choice whether to provide that information or to use another essay company. Personally, I'd find it too much hassle to deal with a company who needed me to provide copies of all my ID; I would prefer that they just credit checked me through my name and address and called me on my home phone as confirmation.

Major, I don't understand what you mean by an "unauthorized chargeback"? Surely the chargeback was authorized by the credit card company? I didn't think that essay companies got the choice whether to authorize a chargeback. I was under the impression that a chargeback was imposed on the essay company by the card company unless the disputed transaction was resolved by other means.

I think we should remember in this thread that we only have one side of the story. It is possible that the customer in this case had a legitimate reason for disputing the transaction.

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

It is nice to have a straightforward post from an essay company. I hope that someone takes you up on your offer; I would do so but I'm all essayed out for this academic year.

Just one point (what Ratty might call a pet peeve): it is worth composing in software that has a typo / spell check facility and then copying and pasting onto the forum. This just makes posts more easily readable.

PS What is it about premium rate phone lines in the UK - they're never out of the news at the moment!

When "however" is used as a conjunctive adverb, and it appears exactly at that point where two independent clauses come together (or are separated, depending on your point of view), it will invariably be accompanied by a semicolon. There are many other occasions, however, (and this is a good case in point) where this is not true, where the word "however" is a parenthetical element in the middle of a clause and does not deserve or want a semicolon.

I agree with WB. The original version is correct.

I said "I wondered if you were one and the same person too". Where is my accusation?

Without wishing to be unduly personal, you do appear more than a little paranoid in this thread.

I wondered if you were one and the same person too. Simply because you arrived as she vanished and you seem awfully keen to defend her - posting 27 times in only two days of being a member.

I hope that you aren't the same person. I was hoping that the forum might become more a more civilized place for discussion :)

Very true.

I think personal recommendations are the best way to go, though unfortunately many people don't want others to know that they use essay companies.

Just out of interest, why did you "take the time to review all of your [rat289] posts" but only say you would "take the time to review her [Amy1978] evidence if I ever feel the need"?

Wouldn't it have been more balanced and open-minded of you to review the posts of both parties before dismissing Rat289's posts as "a personal beef" with Amy1978?

Good advice & a well written post. I hope you manage to get an extension.

I think for buying essays the first move is to check out the website carefully.

Look to see what claims the company is making about its location, and do a whois lookup to check when the domain was registered and who is operating it. If company registration details are provided then check these out (i.e. in the UK with Companies House online register of companies). Also check who is processing the companies payments.

Checking online forums is useful, but you can never be sure who is behind the posts (or the forums!)- whether they are promoting their own company or disparaging their competitors. Plus, as we have seen on this site, a small number of very vocal and abrasive posters can dominate threads and may be deterring legitimate clients and writers from posting.

Contacting the company and seeing what response you get in what timeframe is okay, I think, once you have done other checks. I don't think it is beyond the wit of a scammer to reply quickly and convincingly to e-mail enquiries and thus lull you into a false sense of security.

I haven't used coursework4you.co.uk, or their sister company papers4you.com.

The company address given on the coursework4you.co.uk website is "Mile End Road, London E1 4AQ" - there is no building number or name given - a reverse search on the Royal Mail website gives 8 matching addresses for that postcode:

133-135, Mile End Road, LONDON, E1 4AQ
137, Mile End Road, LONDON, E1 4AQ
169a, Mile End Road, LONDON, E1 4AQ
H S S Hire Group Plc, 139-147, Mile End Road, LONDON, E1 4AQ
H S S Hire Group Plc, 141, Mile End Road, LONDON, E1 4AQ
Islamic Forum Europe, 169, Mile End Road, LONDON, E1 4AQ
London Underground Ltd, Stepney Green Station, Mile End Road, LONDON, E1 4AQ
The Globe Centre, 159, Mile End Road, LONDON, E1 4AQ

I just looked up the domains on whois and they are based in Cyprus:

owner: Caprice Papandopulos
address: 6, Alexander Kanika Village
address: Chlorakas
city: Paphos
postal-code: 8228
country: CY
phone: +020.74503096
fax: +020.74503096

I couldn't see a UK company registration number on their website, which if they were registered in the UK they have to declare on their website by law along with their complete postal address (i.e. including the building name or number).

Being Cypriot-owned doesn't mean that they don't have UK writers on their books but you may want to ask for some reassurances that they can do whatever work you need to the standard that you require.

You should contact CNN and tell them that they are promoting proven criminals - they probably don't even realize the link is there.

I have a copy of the newspaper article that appeared in a national newspaper in August 2006 about Essay Relief - the journalist and cameraman recount being attacked by kalashnikov wielding thugs. It makes very interesting reading. If you private message me with your true e-mail address (i.e. not a free mail or anonymized e-mail address) I will send you a copy of the article.

If you want any more info on Essay Relief - or any of the dozens of their subsidiaries or the fake universities that they set up that you can buy degrees from - there's plenty on Essay fraud.

If you want to carry on supporting criminals, that's fine too. Your choice.

You must be desperate or have very low standards.

These Essay Relief crooks who operate both .com and .co.uk domains have been exposed both in the USA (by CNN) and in the UK (by the Mail on Sunday) and they threatened journalists with kalashnikov rifles at their base in Pakistan when they were being investigated.

Not the sort of people I'd be willing to do business with.

When people sign up and post multiple messages in support of one company that very same day, the inevitable conclusion is that they are linked to that company and touting for business. Your 'recommendation' is worthless.

By the way, all UK dissertations - undergraduate and graduate - can be obtained free of charge through your university's Inter Library Loans service so, if you are a student and not a shill, you wasted £55 in buying a previously submitted UK dissertation online!