They almost got me but I saw two posts. One from 2008 and one from a few days ago... https://eslwatch.info/en/eslwatch-forum ... chers.html. And as you can see here, they have been deceiving people for 10 fricking years! https://teflblacklist.blogspot.com/2008 ... ricks.html
They tell some really good whoppers and impersonate Chinese officials to get your attention and in a hurry to buy their TEFL course. http://www.esl-jobs-forum.com/viewtopic.php?t=7418
Even more about them at reddit at r/chinascamcentral on page 2. Both companies are own by the same Brit. Warn your friends,
TEFLOnline.com & i-to-i TEFL scam in progress - Beware!
Moderator: Joe
Re: TEFLOnline.com & i-to-i TEFL scam in progress - Beware!
Apparently you ain't the only one bud. I cut this below from fraudwatch scam reporting website;
"This (OnlineTEFL.com) is a dual scam in progress that specifically targets new English teachers that want to teach TEFL or ESL abroad. Here is the background and how they cost me over $2,000 to go to China after tricking me into buying their boring online training course with some very clever and believable lies followed by a fake call from "Disney English" offering me a non-existent $60,000 job IF i got myself "qualified with a TEFL certificate".
China job recruiters recruit a lot of fake, unqualified foreign English teachers and want them to look real so they refer them to these two companies owned by Max Kurasinski in the UK. They collect a $300 referral fee for sending the teacher to these to OnlineTEFL.com and i-to-i. From there high-pressure sales people take over and take advantage of the ignorance of a new TEFL or ESL teacher. They start by quoting high pricing over $1,000. If teachers do not take the bait, they will back off and call back in a few days with a "great promotion" which is a 50% price reduction or a guaranteed "teaching internship in China" See here for details: https://eslwatch.info/en/eslwatch-forum ... chers.html
In my case, I recognized the sudden price drop as a sales gimmick but showed some interest in the guaranteed teaching internship in China with free airfare. That was a mistake. Two days later I get a call from someone claiming to be Nancy Wu who said she was the HR director for Disney English. I believed her.
Nancy said she got my resume from a local recruiter (who said she could not name because of privacy law - total BS). Anyway she said she would "hire you tomorrow, if only you had a TEFL certificate." Then she told me that i could quickly take an online course and within 30 days I would have a TEFL certificate and working for Disney in China for $5,000 a month. This definitely motivated me.
I called back to the UK and took advantage of that 50% deal especially since they told me the cost was tax-deductible (that tax law is also BS and only applies to tuitions paid to accreditted universities, and institutes). OnlineTEFL and i-to-i is not accredited by anyone!
So they got me for $499 and I took the online automated course which often put me to sleep (BORING!). When I finished they seemed in a hurry to send me to China for my "guaranteed internship" which was even going to pay me $800 a month for expenses plus my airfare. I rejected it because of my conversation with Nancy Wu, and I flew to Beijing to go find her at Disney English.
I was excited to go teach in China where I thought I would get a $60,000 salary because I had a degree in Education from Iowa State and my new TEFL certificate. But when I went to Disney's main office in Beijing I was shocked when I was told that there was no "Nancy Wu" employed with Disney anywhere in China!!!!! But Disney still offered me a teaching position for $2,000 a month. I took the job only long enough to recover my costs and see some tourist sites in China. After 90 days, (my third paycheck) I flew home to Kansas City."
"This (OnlineTEFL.com) is a dual scam in progress that specifically targets new English teachers that want to teach TEFL or ESL abroad. Here is the background and how they cost me over $2,000 to go to China after tricking me into buying their boring online training course with some very clever and believable lies followed by a fake call from "Disney English" offering me a non-existent $60,000 job IF i got myself "qualified with a TEFL certificate".
China job recruiters recruit a lot of fake, unqualified foreign English teachers and want them to look real so they refer them to these two companies owned by Max Kurasinski in the UK. They collect a $300 referral fee for sending the teacher to these to OnlineTEFL.com and i-to-i. From there high-pressure sales people take over and take advantage of the ignorance of a new TEFL or ESL teacher. They start by quoting high pricing over $1,000. If teachers do not take the bait, they will back off and call back in a few days with a "great promotion" which is a 50% price reduction or a guaranteed "teaching internship in China" See here for details: https://eslwatch.info/en/eslwatch-forum ... chers.html
In my case, I recognized the sudden price drop as a sales gimmick but showed some interest in the guaranteed teaching internship in China with free airfare. That was a mistake. Two days later I get a call from someone claiming to be Nancy Wu who said she was the HR director for Disney English. I believed her.
Nancy said she got my resume from a local recruiter (who said she could not name because of privacy law - total BS). Anyway she said she would "hire you tomorrow, if only you had a TEFL certificate." Then she told me that i could quickly take an online course and within 30 days I would have a TEFL certificate and working for Disney in China for $5,000 a month. This definitely motivated me.
I called back to the UK and took advantage of that 50% deal especially since they told me the cost was tax-deductible (that tax law is also BS and only applies to tuitions paid to accreditted universities, and institutes). OnlineTEFL and i-to-i is not accredited by anyone!
So they got me for $499 and I took the online automated course which often put me to sleep (BORING!). When I finished they seemed in a hurry to send me to China for my "guaranteed internship" which was even going to pay me $800 a month for expenses plus my airfare. I rejected it because of my conversation with Nancy Wu, and I flew to Beijing to go find her at Disney English.
I was excited to go teach in China where I thought I would get a $60,000 salary because I had a degree in Education from Iowa State and my new TEFL certificate. But when I went to Disney's main office in Beijing I was shocked when I was told that there was no "Nancy Wu" employed with Disney anywhere in China!!!!! But Disney still offered me a teaching position for $2,000 a month. I took the job only long enough to recover my costs and see some tourist sites in China. After 90 days, (my third paycheck) I flew home to Kansas City."