Writing for Academic Knowledge

Apr 21, 10, 01:31AM | #122

Poppy

NEVER work for a company that threatens fines; always try and work for UK Limite companies because they are always legit - and look at how much companies charge; if they charge crap then you'll be paid crap. OK?

Try the legit non-fining companies in the list below **** *****(only the UK ones - many from the US are scams).

IGNORE WritersBeware - she has connections to some essay sites in the US so disparages all UK companies. She also seems mad - as as nuts. BEWARE!

Company Representative

Apr 21, 10, 03:04AM | #123

Kevin:

Try the legit non-fining companies in the list below E-writer; WritemyE (only the UK ones

Recommending your sites again? You must be terribly desperate ...

Kevin:

NEVER work for a company that threatens fines; always try and work for UK Limite companies because they are always legit

Poofster - AA is precisely that - a limited company, owned and operated by Brits. The only reason why you hate them is because they dominate the UK market. Envious little poof of a prat :)

Are you going out of business yet?

Apr 21, 10, 03:09AM | #124

Thanks for your advice guys. Thought it sounded too good to be true. So to clarify, the only money they will take from me (if i was to be fined) is money in their kitty - i.e. money i have earnt with them? I am planning to give it a go, write one essay with them and if i feel that they are acting dishonourably then i will quit straight away. I was just worried that they may be able to access external funds in my bank, not made through them. Not getting paid for essays you've written is bad enough, but to be charged for the pleasure is just a step too far!

Apr 21, 10, 04:40AM | #126

WRT - yet again you prove yourself a bigoted racist sexist homophobic loser. The hosts here do not remove your posts because they are probably as bigoted and backward as you are. You are the way you are because you have no culture or education. Every attempted insult from you shows what you are and says nothing about your intended victims who, actually, pity you; to be insulted by a scummy racist sexist bigot is indeed a compliment. Thank you. Saddo.

But wait - you state yourself that I am not Petey the Poof or Melissa, so why do you attempt to insult me as though I were them or sn essay site owner (that is another delusion of yours). Why? Because you are deranged and deluded and paranoid and psychotic. Saddo.

I do not hate any legit essay site (AA or others) - but I do HATEW the way companies EXPLOIT writers by imposing 300% fines and then promote the LIE that they have a refund guarantee, when that will be paid for by the writer - and NOT AA. Some of us are experts in knowing about the UK essay market YOU TWAT!

And I own no business myself so how can it be failing, RETARD?! No evidence for your lies as per usual. Why? Because it only exists in your paranoid addled psychotic brain, PSYCHO!

POPPY - many writers write for several sites, so why do you not try out a few? But I would advise you never to write for any company that threatens fines. Why? Well, you can spend days writing an essay for them and then, just because th client is not happy, or if you are ill you have sent it late, you will then be billed for THREE TIMES the fee you would have got for the work you have done!!!! So the only way you'll be able to pay that off it to do 2 or 3 essays for AA for free! WHAT AN UTTERLY SHAMEFUL SCAM!

Try the companies I mentioned - which I have nothing whatsoever to do with by the way (NEVER believe the lies of fantasist WRT or WB - they are well known liars with connections to E-Town a cheap shabby US site). Try out several UK essay companies. That is my advice.

Company Representative

Apr 21, 10, 04:48AM | #127

Petey ... Petey ... are you in the throes of a psychotic breakdown? Your communication and comprehension skills are getting worse by the minute. You pose as a serious threat to all that is logical and sane. Please seek help before civilisation, as we know it, ends simply because you walk the face of the planet.

Again - seeing that all therapeutic treatment plans have failed, I recommend electrocution as a cure :)

Apr 21, 10, 07:34AM | #128

Thanks again guys.

One more question. Two actually. Firstly, is there a minimum amount of work you need to do for AK? For example if they keep sending me briefs and i ignore them can i get fined for that too?

And if i chose to withdraw from AK is there an official way you need to go about this? I've emailed the company too but responses seem quicker here. I'm gutted really as i thought this would be a really great experience and chance to earn some money. But the feedback i've read makes me think it's going to be way too much hassle. I want to enjoy writing not be worrying that every bit of work i sumbit is somehow going to end up costing me money :(

Apr 21, 10, 08:05AM | #129

Poppy - you are under no obligation to work for anyone at all. They keep sending you briefs because they need to allocate writers like all essay companies: you do not have to accept anything at all. If you don't want to write for them then just don't reply.

WRT - you are unfunny and desperate. I know who you are and what scam site you own, you moron! Stop accusing people of being people they are not or owning websites they do not or commiting fraud: That is libel/slander/defamation and against the rules here. READ THE RULES turnip-brained PSYCHO! LMAO! You saddo.

Poppy77Threads: 1 Posts: 5 Joined: Apr 20, 2010	Apr 21, 10, 08:28AM \| #130
Thanks Kevin. They mention on their site that if you are fined you are then 'legally obliged' to continue writing for free until the fine is paid off. So i thought maybe ignoring their emails would be out of the question? I'm guessing it may be best to stay away, they seem to slap fines on for anything as a way of getting free work out of people. Really dissappointed with this.

Apr 21, 10, 09:08AM | #131

Poppy - AA is famous for making such 'threats' of legal action. Why? Because it started as a law essay company and is run by law graduates - though they only realised recently that their policy was, in fact, illegal (ie they say that students should not submit essays as their own but then they punish writers when students do that and get a low mark!)

You are NOT legally obliged to do anything. If you want to work for a company, fine; if not, then don't. Ignore their emails if you wish - and ignore their wild threats. Yes, I agree that slapping fines on writers is a way for them to make more profit. It is immoral - which is why I suggest writers never work for companies that threaten to fine them. Any risk is to you and not them - THAT is why they guarantee a refund to the client; but the mad and unethical thing is, that you will be fined IF the student hands the essay in as their own and does not get a high enough mark: so they encourage cheating! You cannnot appeal this or have the work independently marked and ALL marking is ALWAYS subjective and can vary by as much as 15%. That is the problem.

I know of people who have worked for them and left them after being fined hundreds of pounds for being ill and delivering essays late! They left and hate AA. Others I know do not mind this system because have never been fined.

As I said, there are several UK limited companies (click 'the following websites' in red below) that are NOT scams and that do not fine writers.

And again, please ignore WRT and WB - they are well known liars and are connected with essay sites. Good luck!

Apr 22, 10, 03:20PM | #134

Hi everyone
After taking my personal details, including my essay. I received an email from someone called Ami at AK. Telling me that I was not a suitable candidate for the writing job. I emailed back asking her to give me the exact reason for their decision. She said that they could not verify my qualification, because it was in another language. That I also have failed to provide them with an essay. BUT both my degree certificates in BScN and MNursSci in Anesthetics. Are written in both Swedish AND English. I supplied AK with the contact details to the unis I got my qualification from. I also have proof that I in fact did supply AK with my 500 word essay. I did not know how abnormal the company was until I googled them. Now I am glad, they refused my application. Charlotte

WritersBeware

Apr 22, 10, 03:38PM | #135

medicalwriter:

I'm sorry, but your English language writing is absolutely terrible. This is the real world, and you need a reality check.

WRTThreads: 17 Posts: 2,029 Joined: Sep 29, 2009 Company Representative	Apr 23, 10, 02:06AM \| #138
For starters, full-stops should be placed at the end of a sentence, never in the middle. medicalwriter: After taking my personal details, including my essay. How is this a sentence? medicalwriter: Telling me that I was not a suitable candidate for the writing job. Or this? Now - to the issue itself. 1) AA made its decision, and as with any company, is at full liberty to accept or reject an application WITHOUT explanations 2) Since AA could not verify your credentials, they acted responsibly when they rejected you 3) As with other companies, they asked you for a test essay and you submitted it. It is part of your application package and does not mean `they took it' are going to `resell it' or that any proof of your ownership of it is required. Obviously, they did not find it acceptable 4) How is AA `abnormal'? Now - seeing that you are happy that they rejected you, what is the problem? Does your rejection constitute proof of AA's dishonesty? To the contrary ...
Steer clear of members who claim to be busy yet spend most of their time prostituting their services on EssayChat and EssayScam.

Jul 2, 10, 07:49AM | #139

hello all,

I applied for a position today with Academic Knowledge; they were advertising through Reed recruitment. Anyway, I got an immediate response to say I had been initially accepted.

This made me suspicious. I'd hardly given them anything except my name.

Then I read through their bumf and they were stating that they were a legitimate company and registered etc.

This made me suspicious. Anyone can register as a limited company. And what legitimate company feels the need to say they are so, during initial recruitment?

So I googled and found this exchange. Now I'm not going anywhere near it. They sound unethical and amateurish at very best -and borderline fraudulent.

Company Representative

Jul 7, 10, 03:31AM | #141

Hello,

I'm really sorry you feel fooled by our company - this is not our intention!

Let me explain a bit more about the process:

At present, the application form is in two different stages.

A stage that is automatically processed by our database (which explains the instant response) and stage that is hand processed by our in-house team.

The first stage will only accept applicants based on our company's criteria: for example, qualifications, nationality and of course, the screening questions. Our database will automatically accept you and put you through to round two - BUT our in-house team DOES still check through round 1 applicants, just to make sure everything looks as it should do!

Next, you'll be asked to upload proof of identity, qualifications and a sample of your work. These are manually checked by our lovely team. They've even had training on how to spot photoshopped fakes! If they're happy with everything, you're fully accepted and able to work on certain briefs.

I know our delegations team are currently working on reviewing over 5,000 applicants that we had during April, May & June. Most of these people haven't managed to upload their ID or qualification certificates yet, so are team are chasing those via email and phone. You may expect a call any time soon!

I have passed your concerns onto our marketing team, who are currently working through the application process with our delegations team. They've put a lot of work into redeveloping the back end of the AK system and they're now redoing the application process too. I hope they'll take your feedback on board and make it clearer to new applicants. As always, we're open to any feedback :) Changes the application system and back-end system should be rolled out over the next 3 months. We'd be happy if you'd like to test our new application system before it's rolled out and give us your feedback? We just want to make sure it's clear to new applicants - sometimes when you're immersed in it every day, you just think it makes sense!

Finally, if you need any more help, you can call the delegations team - they're based in Nottingham so it should be a local rate number. The number is on the website.

Company Representative

Jul 8, 10, 04:18AM | #143

Hi Lapeno,

If you read the post that I've written above, you'll see that our team are currently working hard accepting new researchers as we've got over 5,000 to get through. If you like, I could have a word and see if they can accept you today, seeing as you've been waiting a while?

Alternatively, as I've pointed out above, our delegations team are on hand to help you. If you'd like to withdraw your application, the number is on the website.

Dec 12, 10, 08:56AM | #146

You are never legally obliged to work for anyone for free, unless a judge imposes this on you. Any contract you sign that says otherwise will lack legal enforceability. Just signing a contract doesn't make a contract legally binding. The contract itself has to conform to the law. It would be utterly illegal to force someone to work for free, and anyone who has any record that they are claiming this should submit it to the relevant authorities wherever they live.

The practice of withdrawing payment for work is probably illegal too. If you do the work, it is your money. That the payments are going through the company is of no relevance. They have no more right to withhold the money than they have to dip into your bank account; the only difference is that they actually have the ability to hold your money if they already have it. As this will probably be against the law, if they do so, initiate a small claims procedure against them. They are gambling that you won't do so. So do so.

Agencies offering to provide essays to students for the purposes of plagiarism may very well be breaking the law. They think they are getting around it by claiming they discourage plagiarism, but this isn't enough if they are not doing so in practice (which could be easily shown). There hasn't been any case brought against them, but should there be, it is only then that the legality of such activities will be determined, both in respect to the writer and the agency. By working for them you are taking a risk that you may regret later in life.

Dec 12, 10, 12:04PM | #147

Lord of Galloway: I think that we are aware of potential legal and academic risks. That having been said, barring a few jurisdictions like Massachusetts, to the best of my knowledge it is neither illegal to turn in a plagiarized paper nor to write a paper with the understanding that it will be plagiarizes.

Other than that, I agree 100%. If they don't like your work, they can fire you. I suppose pay docks and demotions are used by legit companies, but NEVER to the degree they do in this business. And it doesn't matter because you're a contractor: You did the agreed work, you get the agreed money. Period.

Dec 12, 10, 06:38PM | #149

AmonsEssays:

to the best of my knowledge it is neither illegal to turn in a plagiarized paper nor to write a paper with the understanding that it will be plagiarizes

It's one of those many things where it is not blatantly illegal, but there may be so upon a serious court case. Though in the US there have been some cases, the legality doesn't look very strong. In the Boston U case mentioned above, the case faltered on a technicality and there was subsequent behind the scenes dealings; the companies involved caved into Boston U outside of court ... they knew what would happen otherwise. And ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R2C2
I wouldn't be very optimistic about it, even in the US.

Dec 12, 10, 09:34PM | #150

Lord of Galloway:

So... every court case ever, then.

How can the legality not LOOK very strong? Writing papers is a form of speech. We are protected by the First Amendment in America barring specific legislation OTHERWISE. I wouldn't be surprised if that Massachusetts law is actually unconstitutional now. In any respect, you can't just sue or prosecute someone over a law that doesn't exist and hope to win. That's legislation through the courtroom and is pretty heavily frowned upon. The only reason the Boston U case even worked at ALL is because there was some claim that they had violated STATE LAW.

Reviewing the Wikipedia article, the case was even worse than I thought. This was a private action. NOT legal action, but a civil suit. This means that the DA didn't even want to TOUCH the idea of prosecuting, even when the law is clear! The plaintiff attorney would like to stop this sort of behavior but it seems transparently clear he knows that the law is NOT on his side. Finally, they also managed to get some traction because they were dealing with real research, which could have fraud implications. But that's NOT the same as writing someone's Hamlet paper for an undergraduate English class.

Jan 16, 11, 03:21AM | #151

Hi everyone, just seen this site and thread and thought I should put a few things straight. I think there may have been some misrepresentation of reality above bywriters that just weren't able to provide the grades requested.

I've been working for AK for about 4 months now and have not had any problems yet. I am allowed to 'bid,' which basically means "I can do this to that level," on any orders within my capabilities. I do so and get work assigned and then treat it as I would have when I was studying a few years ago. I research and write the papers as if I was still an undergraduate myself. To be honest, on calls and messages from AK staff, the impression I get is that some of the other writers don't take this as a serious job which may be the problem (but then again thats just speculation).

I have had a few minor requests for changes with which I have complied and there have been no fines.

I think what some of the people that post on here have failed to realise is that as a writer, you are engaged to produce a piece of work at a certain grade, and I must admit, if I didn't reach that grade, I wouldn't expect to be paid. I mean, if you pay a builder to build a conservatory and he delivers a load of bricks you wouldn't consider that fulfilment of his duties would you?

Apr 20, 11, 04:42AM | #153

Hi

I've been with AK on and off for several years and it does vary from month to month what they are like to deal with. I will try and offer a balanced view... you can tell they're very busy and as such they need a lot of automation, this at times causes substantial problems as no 'human' seems to read the messages from clients to the researchers and back again. When you can break through and speak to someone you normally get quite a lot of sense and support.

Many of the clients have no real idea what they want and only know that they haven't got what they want when they get it (if you see what I mean). This creates frustration from an amendment point of view and certainly there is a tendency of AK to fall down on the side of the client rather than the writer which again is frustrating but not personal. If you can have a thick skin and are prepared to draw the line yourself (AK will never tell a client that an amendment is unjustified but if you push it or point out plaigiarism then they will on the whole back you up).

There are pros and cons, on the whole they're fine to work with but you need to accept that there is a definite bias towards the client and try and push through the automated system stuff if you want to stay sane!!

Apr 23, 11, 02:33AM | #155

I have just started writing for AK and have yet to receive my first payment. In my first month I have completed two briefs on time and am working on two more. Reading these posts has only exasperated my suspicion that I am being taken advantage. Are they trying to extract as much work out of me as they can before my payday? Will I get paid what I am due?

I will have to report back on that one.

I understand that as a business they require timely and quality briefs, and paying people for late and substandard work is not a good business model. I agreed to the terms, but I think it would be better practise simple not pay for late submissions and/or take that writer of the books. I will not continue writing for them if I receive a fine that is greater than what I would have been paid for said piece. My only worry is that I might be fined for work that is not judged by the company to be worth the specified grade, even though it clearly is.

550 for two days work is a pretty good deal in my opinion, especially as I enjoy writing essays. I just don't want to end up doing it for free!

I really could not give a crap what students do with the model answers they buy. However, if their intention was to improve their own ability to get better grades then outlines and writer commentary would better serve them. Likewise, having someone grade the clients own work and providing feedback on how to improve it would more honestly be helping students.

Speaking to AK on the phone they seemed personable enough. I think they could better serve the client and the writer by facilitating more timely communication between the two. If my last piece is not what the client wants it is because I had to take an educated guess, rather than use the clarification that I requested and never received.

Company Representative

May 3, 11, 02:30AM | #156

I thought it best to reply to this to set minds at rest.

Here at AK we pay our writers monthly and we had a problem with writer invoicing during April. The problem was not serious and has now been resolved, but it did mean we had to manually raise all the invoices in April which has meant a delay in some payments. We have tried to contact any writer affected by this problem. Please feel free to contact us direct via the messaging system in your researcher control panel and we can let you know when you will be paid.

To address the other concerns, we never seek to rip-off our writers with fines. Our writers are the life blood of our company and we want to look after them. For this reason we have a team of people dedicated to looking after our writer's needs. Unfortunately there are occasions when we have to apply fines to writer's work for many reasons. We are always careful to ensure any fine applied is fair and justified, we also allow any fine to be disputed by the writer. We have a duty to our client's to provide the level of work they order and to deliver it on time.

To address the communication issues between the client and the writer, this is always a difficult one to manage and, unfortunately, sometimes the clients are not very forthcoming with the information our writers would like. We always try to get the information, but if the client chooses not to communicate it to us then we hit a bit of a brick wall :(

DrDaviesThreads: 5 Posts: 34 Joined: Apr 20, 2011	May 29, 11, 02:19PM \| #157
My experience with Academic Knowledge has been great. The fines are not an issue. If you do the job you have been paid to do, there is no need to worry about fines. Furthermore, if you do a good job and have return customers, you get a bonus. Granted, some companies do take advantage of the fine system. However, good companies don't want to fine their writers; they need them.

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Article writers	A list of Writing Companies to do freelance writing for?

WritersBeware	Apr 20, 10, 11:55PM \| #121
Was it really necessary to make your username so long that it screws up the home page?

WRTThreads: 17 Posts: 2,029 Joined: Sep 29, 2009 Company Representative	Apr 21, 10, 03:42AM \| #125
No, Poppy, they won't take money from your bank account. Neither AA nor any entity has the right to withdraw money from your bank account.

BEWAREOFAKThreads: 1 Posts: 6 Joined: Nov 25, 2009	Apr 21, 10, 11:05AM \| #132
Dont even give it a go poppy. You'll regret it.

WritersBeware	Apr 21, 10, 05:57PM \| #133
Long usernames suck!

medicalwriterPosts: 2 Joined: Apr 22, 2010	Apr 23, 10, 12:43AM \| #136
Do you have a problem with emotional insecurity? Low self esteem? You are constantly insulting and ridiculing other people with your comments. Are you feeling bad about yourself? You thrive on your own unpleasant rudeness. That is so pathetic. Your empty words have little meaning.

WritersBeware	Apr 23, 10, 01:22AM \| #137
"You can't handle the truth!"

NataliePosts: 1 Joined: Jul 6, 2010	Jul 6, 10, 02:52PM \| #140
I too was fooled my the advert on reed...it was the immediate success with the application and then a request for ID...really needing some "people skills" there.

lapenoPosts: 1 Joined: Jul 7, 2010	Jul 7, 10, 11:28AM \| #142
If you've just uploaded the documents onto the administration area, and haven't been accepted yet, how do you go about withdrawing the application altogether?

th63Threads: 1 Posts: 569 Joined: Jan 19, 2010	Aug 5, 10, 04:12PM \| #144
Avoid them at all costs. This is one of the companies that cheated me. EssayWriters.net was the other. Don't go near either one: that much I can tell you from personal experience.

th63Threads: 1 Posts: 569 Joined: Jan 19, 2010	Aug 5, 10, 04:18PM \| #145
Just ignore their threats and tell them you quit. They can't do anything. This is a company well known for using "fines" to scam its writers in any way possible.


	Advertise here Advertise here

WritersBeware	Dec 12, 10, 12:11PM \| #148
Lord of Galloway: There hasn't been any case brought against them You're wrong. Boston University sued a group of term paper companies in 1997. BU lost.

TruthWillOutPosts: 3 Joined: Apr 14, 2011	Apr 14, 11, 05:59PM \| #152
Dave, In my opinion the problem arises when Academic Knowledge asks unsubstantiated, unecessary and fabricated amendment requests of their researchers such as in the busy period of 2010. TruthWillOut

Kate_posterPosts: 13 Joined: Apr 20, 2011	Apr 20, 11, 06:35AM \| #154
thanks for the thread. It was pretty useful. It's better to stay well away then.

pheelyks	May 29, 11, 02:42PM \| #158
DrDavies, you're a tool.

DrDaviesThreads: 5 Posts: 34 Joined: Apr 20, 2011	May 29, 11, 03:02PM \| #159
Hi Pheelyks, I work primarily from my own business and use AK as a 'side job.' If you would like to visit my website, which includes my company registration number, please feel free to email me.

pheelyks	May 29, 11, 03:13PM \| #160
DrDavies: If you would like to visit my website No, I've read lots of ESL webcopy already, but thanks for the offer.