John (not his real name), a healthcare student, called me in a panic on Friday.
He explained that, like many of his course mates, he had paid a third party to write his 3,000-word essay.
After a quick search on Google, he had found an essay-writing company and paid £300. A few days later, John received the work, along with reassuring Turnitin and AI reports.
Shortly after receiving the essay, the essay company e-mailed John. There was a problem. The Department for Education had contacted them about the essay’s copyright and initiated a formal investigation, which involved notification of John’s course tutors.
The company forwarded the Department for Education’s e-mail. It was from an @education.gov.uk address and referred to John’s tutors by name.
Alarmed, John asked the company for assistance. It suggested ‘registering the copyright’ and offered to do so on his behalf. This would entail enrolling the copyright, registering it under the Department for Education, and attending a meeting to represent him.
If done promptly and correctly, this would close the matter and John’s name would be cleared of any academic misconduct or wrongdoing.
John asked how much it would cost. £1,200. He replied that he could not afford this.
It was then that he called me for advice. He had not yet submitted the essay but was extremely nervous and ready to pay to make the problem disappear. I warned him that, once paid, the company may simply ask for more. I have seen this before.
The company pretends that it did not receive the full amount or conjures up some bogus reason to claim more.
Another popular option for students is to call their bluff and do nothing. This can lead the company to tip off the university anonymously, with severe consequences for the student. I have written on Wonkhe about such a case.
As we discussed next steps, the company e-mailed John suggesting that he obtain a loan or borrow the money. They reduced the fee to £1,000 and asked if they should send bank details. I advised him to agree. Those bank details might help our plan.
The next day, the company provided bank details, asking for payment “as soon as possible.”
This was my cue. I sent a formal letter, written in my capacity as John’s legal counsel. I referred to their bank details, and cited fraud-related offences, breaches of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, and breach of the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022. I gave them 24 hours to confirm that they will cease contact with John immediately, failing which I would escalate the matter to the relevant law enforcement agencies without further notice.
Three hours later, the company responded with unconvincing defences and agreed to drop the case.
Not the enemy, but a friend
John’s case contained similar features to others, such as targeting students on Friday and over the weekend (when help is harder to obtain) and causing fear with threats of academic misconduct.
What was different here was the creation of a fictitious scenario – a copyright scenario involving the Department for Education – in which the company pretended to be on the student’s side, seeking to resolve the problem.
They were not the enemy, but a friend. It was a change from the usual, more aggressive tactics of essay-writing companies, although it still caused significant distress to John. It also almost worked, as John came close to paying.
At one point, he considered “coming clean” to his university. As his lawyer, I dissuaded him from this, as it would probably have resulted in an investigation, a finding of academic misconduct (attempting to cheat) and a sanction.
As a barrister, it is not for me to judge John’s conduct. What troubles me, however, is John’s candid admission that many students on his healthcare course, which is patient-facing, used essay-writing companies.
Other clients have also told me of the widespread, and mostly undetected, use of AI. The epidemic of cheating is, in my opinion, one of the most serious, yet neglected, threats facing higher education.
I hope this article will add to the literature on the devious and evolving tactics of essay-writing companies, assist future students in John’s predicament, and prompt universities to do more to tackle the growing problem of academic misconduct.
Thank you to ‘John’ for allowing me to write about his story so that others may learn from it.
