Buying custom essays and dissertations: what you need to know - a free guide
Buying custom essays: what you need to know
All over the world there are hundreds of websites offering custom essay writing services. So how do you know which to choose from? This ultimate guide is the 101 on custom essay writing services and walks you through choosing a company, from making sure they are genuine through to picking the services you need.
1: Finding a company you can trust
The biggest challenge you face when buying a custom essay is finding a genuine website that won’t rip you off (the writer of this page has been in the industry for over 10 years and only knows of 4 genuine websites worldwide, including this one). As fast as we produce guides to what scam companies look like, scammers find ways around them, and some have very credible looking sites. So what are the signs of a genuine custom essay website?
- Good grammar – if the site is written in broken English, it probably wasn’t written by an academic so don’t trust them.
- A local UK number – not 0845 or 0844 but a genuine local number like 01159. This isn’t enough it itself though, as these are quite easy to get even if you’re based outside of the UK, but it’s helpful for sifting out people who aren’t worth even considering.
- A local address that you can find on Google maps – not a holding address or virtual office.
- Real people on the team page – do a Google image search for the photos to see if they are fake. Also watch out for websites that don’t give the full name e.g. “John B” “Mel A” “Sarah P” – they are probably made up to make the company look bigger.
- Registered with a company number – check this with Companies House as it’s easy to quote any old number that isn’t really yours.
Some websites are genuine (i.e. a company does exist behind them) but aren’t a great choice for your custom essays because they don’t take care with your order. Here are some things you may wish to avoid:
- Teams of thousands of writers – if a website is genuinely working with thousands of writers, there’s no way they will have personal knowledge of each one. Expect them to operate like an essay factory.
- A large in-house team – if a website genuinely has 30, 40 or 50 people working in-house for them, expect a very impersonal service with no one person really knowing what’s going on with your order and a lack of individual attention to detail.
- Inflated guarantees – if a website is offering guarantees that sound fake, they probably are fake. A genuine business doesn’t offer thousands of pounds in guarantees just to deliver their most basic services, because it doesn’t need to.
- Lengthy terms and conditions – if a website’s terms and conditions are long and full of legal jargon, they’ve probably got plenty to hide. These days, as the Plain English Campaign will tell you, terms and conditions can be written in a simple and straightforward way that everyone can understand.
- Empty guarantees – there are plenty of companies offering ‘grade first time or your money back’ but at the same time, if you read the small print, they’ll tell you that if you hand in the work, this guarantee doesn’t apply. THINK: if that’s the case, what does this guarantee mean? Nothing! It’s meaningless!
- Staff that know nothing about academia – if the staff you contact seem confused by the specifics of your essay question or any academic related queries, ask yourself who you’re dealing with here. Would you trust them to hire good writers and assign the right person for your custom essay?
It’s a shame that there are so many companies that are tainting this industry with poor customer service and questionable practices. A custom written essay is really the best tool that a student can have in front of them to learn. Unfortunately, the scam companies put off students from taking advantage of this unique learning opportunity.
2. Ordering a custom essay
When you're happy that you've found a custom essay company that's worthy of your business, make sure that you follow these tips:
- Put everything on the form – don't leave anything to chance or assume they will just know what you need. Remember that this is your best protection if things go wrong, because if you ask for something and they accept your order, they CANNOT later say it was impossible to meet the requirements of the order. They accepted your order according to what was on the order form and this is what they have to deliver.
- Send them marking guides - if you have any extra information like marking guides, lecture notes or tutor feedback on the assignment, send it on. It will help your writer know exactly what angle your tutor is looking for.
- Ask for specifics about your writer, in writing - ask what university they graduated from and with what degree, so you can decide if they are suitable. Don't accept fluffy answers and make sure you get it in writing. If they give you a writer that is unsuitable, this will help you get your money back.
- Give them as much time as you can but leave room for changes - don't order your custom essay for delivery at the last minute. If it's not what you wanted, you'll need to go back and request changes. Leave plenty of time to get these sorted.
- Watch the amendments period - most companies give you a specific time - around a week - to ask for changes. So you can't get the work marked and come back a month later with your complaint - you'll need to get in touch if you're not happy straight away. If you're not confident enough to mark the work yourself, consider extending the amendments period to a month - enough time to get it marked by your tutor and be able to confidently ask for any amendments that are required.
About us
Essay UK is a trading name of Student Academic Services Limited and a leading provider of custom essays in the UK.
You can find us on the web:
At Essay UK, we work with a small team of elite writers who have graduated from top universities and offer consistently good quality work time and time again. We offer good value, no-nonsense guarantees and personal service. Click here to place your order on our order form, or use the chat or email options to get in touch with your questions.