Our refutation of online attacks by TEFL business competitors
TEFL Online Pro response to online attacks by TEFL business competitors.
The TEFL/TESOL industry is highly competitive and TEFL business competitor co-ordinated attacks are, unfortunately, a commonplace occurrence.
The purpose of such attacks is to discredit a competitor and try to win business for the company instigating the attacks.
Although this can undeniably affect the business revenue of a TEFL company, the real victims of this behavior are you, the Customers, who may be swayed into purchasing a TEFL course option that isn’t Fully Accredited and isn’t internationally recognized.
When TEFL Online Pro first started offering Online TEFL/TESOL certification courses – courses that are both Fully Accredited and internationally recognized – we did notice a few posts pop up online that were obviously not written by any of our Customers.
As we have grown – winning the prestigious Teachers’ Choice Award now five times in a row – we have witnessed a developing number of online competitor attacks that are, to put it bluntly, defamatory.
Other reputable TEFL/TESOL certification course companies have also been a target of misinformation smear campaigns.
This post is long and detailed, and we do recommend that you read it fully to the end.
We want you to avoid falling for this popular TEFL common competitor scam.
A. False assertions
- TEFL Online Pro is the owner of trustedteflreviews.com.
- TEFL Online Pro only has reviews on trustedteflreviews.com.
- TEFL Online Pro is the owner of acteflc.com.
- TEFL Online Pro’s video reviews have been recorded by paid actors.
In addition to these assertions, a handful of competitors have made false claims that TEFL Online Pro is a fraud/scam and that we are not a legitimate company.
These false claims have typically appeared on websites such as Complaints Board – a Russian-owned and operated website – and on Reddit.
To become a “verified customer” on Complaints Board, all you need to do is verify your email address. Anyone can do this and the website is notorious for publishing false information with absolutely no verification process.
We have written our own (true) review of Complaints Board, and a lot of business owners have written to us to explain that they are in the same situation – their competitors have used the website to spread false information about their products and services.
Regarding Reddit, which can be a useful resource for some types of information, the main community is r/TEFL.
r/TEFL is run by a moderator who lives in China and it is obvious that he is either connected with one of our competitors, or that the r/TEFL community was purchased by one of our business competitors.
None of our Customers have ever posted a comment on Reddit. The vast majority of TEFL teaches don’t – they are too busy teaching English and traveling than to be drawn into mud-slinging on one of many Reddit TEFL communities.
On one specific Reddit community (r/TEFLScams) it is stated (by an anonymous user, of course) that, “Scam Alert! TEFL Online Pro – A fraudulent company backed by a fake tefl review site. They have no business license and SAFEA staff says “they are a scam.”
This was news to us because we regularly help our graduates find teaching work in China.
It is just made-up nonsense.
B. Our response to the false assertions
1. TEFL Online Pro does not own trustedteflreviews.com.
TEFL Online Pro is currently the top-rated TEFL/TESOL program listed on trustedteflreviews.com.
teflonlinepro.com and trustedteflreviews.com are both hosted on WordPress – 455 million websites worldwide are hosted on WordPress.
We won the prestigious Teachers’ Choice Award in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, and we have verified customer reviews published on trustedteflreviews.com.
https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-online-pro-teachers-choice-award-winner-2023/
The similarity between teflonlinepro.com and trustedteflreviews.com ends there.
In addition, the TEFL Online Pro Facebook Page was created an entire year before the creation of the Trusted TEFL Reviews Facebook Page. If we owned Trusted TEFL Reviews, which we don’t, wouldn’t we have created its Facebook Page around the same time as the Facebook Page for TEFL Online Pro? We definitely wouldn’t have waited a whole year before doing so.
2. TEFL Online Pro does not only have Customer reviews on trustedteflreviews.com.
As well as having verified Customer reviews listed on trustedteflreviews.com, TEFL Online Pro has approximately 100 verified Customer reviews on the TEFL Online Pro company’s Facebook Page. We are a 5-Star rated company on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/teflonlinepro/reviews/
We also have verified Customer video reviews on our company’s YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/@teflonlinepro
And, furthermore, we have a few graduate reviews on the TEFL Online Pro Google Business Listing.
You may notice that some TEFL programs receive in excess of ten Customer reviews per day.
This is odd – it is an unusual pattern – and it has been suggested that the questionably high number of reviews brings one to realize that they are fake reviews, or reviews that have been written by a Customer in return for a free bonus course.
TEFL Online Pro does not write fake reviews and we do not incentivize our Customers to write reviews – it is entirely upon the wishes of our Customers as to whether they wish to write a review of their TEFL Online Pro experience.
3. TEFL Online Pro does not own acteflc.com.
TEFL Online Pro is Fully Accredited by the Accreditation Council for Teaching English as a Foreign Language Courses (ACTEFLC).
ACTEFLC accredits online distance learning and in-class international TEFL/TESL/TESOL certification course programs and is recognized internationally as a reliable authority on educational quality.
As a Fully Accredited course provider, we have the authorization to display the ACTEFLC logo on our school website and our international TEFL/TESOL certificates.
The claim that TEFL Online Pro owns acteflc.com is just as intentionally misleading and far-fetched as the claim that TEFL Online Pro owns trustedteflreviews.com.
4. TEFL Online Pro’s video reviews have not been recorded by paid actors.
TEFL Online Pro currently has eleven Customer video reviews uploaded online, with three graduates having recorded a post-course and follow-up employment video – describing their course experience and how their TEFL Online Pro certificate has enabled them to secure online and overseas teaching English employment.
https://www.youtube.com/@teflonlinepro
All eleven videos have been recorded by graduates of a TEFL Online Pro Online TEFL/TESOL certification course.
None of the reviews were recorded by a person who has not taken a TEFL Online Pro Online TEFL/TESOL certification course.
The majority of our customers that have recorded a video testimonial for us have also left a customer review on the TEFL Online Pro company Facebook page.
TEFL Online Pro is not a fraud/scam. TEFL Online Pro is a legitimate company.
TEFL Online Pro has been a verified business member with Paypal since 2019.
All three TEFL Online Pro certification courses are Fully Accredited and lead to the awarding of the international TEFL/TESOL certificate.
TEFL Online Pro certificates each contain a unique international accreditation number and are authenticated worldwide – they can be apostilled, legalized, and notarized for all online and overseas teaching jobs and visa applications.
If TEFL Online Pro were not legitimate, there would be multiple (verified) complaints made online by our Customers, and Paypal and our international education partners would not continue to partner with us.
Our graduates teach online and on-site in every country in the world where there is a teaching English job market. Our verified customer reviews back up these facts.
C. The intention of the assertions
The intention of the assertions is simply to try and reduce the credibility of TEFL Online Pro in the eyes of potential TEFL student Customers and try and convince potential TEFL student Customers to purchase an alternative TEFL course option.
None of the assertions come from a reputable source.
All four assertions, along with the claims that TEFL Online Pro is a scam and is not a legitimate company, have been published by our business competitors.
TEFL Online Pro has sought legal advice and is acting accordingly.
D. Which competitors have made the assertions?
A rogue handful of our business competitors are responsible for trying to trash our reputation online.
The most prolific of these is Ian Patrick Leahy, who runs the ESLinsider TEFL program.
The ESLinsider (unaccredited) TEFL program is run exclusively by Ian Patrick Leahy.
ESLinsider has been banned from Facebook (since 2017) for spamming and publishing misinformation, and it has had a number of its videos deleted by YouTube for the same reasons.
ESLinsider is notorious in the TEFL world for writing fictitious, malicious content about its business competitors – on anonymous complaint websites, discussion forums, Reddit, on the blogs it runs, etc.
Pick any TEFL accreditation body, TEFL program, or TEFL reviews website – ESLinsider (and his many online aliases) will have written some trash about it.
Ian, btw, began the ESLinsider TEFL program after a short time teaching English in Asia, and he has no formal education in TEFL/TESOL.
Ian has also been accused of providing terrible advice to his TEFL students – such as working in China with fake diplomas – and this could be one of the reasons why Ian now runs ESLinsider part-time, while spending the majority of his time driving across the USA in a used postal van and finding seasonal jobs on ski resorts.
If you read anything negative online about TEFL Online Pro, it was very likely written by one of our business competitors.
However, we do, of course, understand that not everyone can be satisfied with our products and services.
If and when a customer writes a complaint, we always aim to respond to that customer with complete understanding and right a wrong.
Currently, though, not one of our customers has written a negative review of TEFL Online Pro.
The only negative content written online about TEFL Online Pro has been written by our business competitors.
E. Why has TEFL Online Pro published this rebuttal?
First and foremost, we have issued this rebuttal to protect you, the Customer.
Not everyone is aware that the TEFL marketplace is highly competitive and that some TEFL programs do not follow better business practices.
We don’t want our potential Customers to be swayed by false information into taking a TEFL course from a TEFL provider that is not fully accredited or internationally recognized.
TEFL Online Pro is a transparent, award-winning, fully accredited, reputable program with an excellent reputation.
Our customer feedback is overwhelmingly positive, and we work incredibly hard to maintain our high standards of tuition and post-course services.
We have an extensive worldwide network of education partners. These partners know our brand and routinely employ our teachers.
With a TEFL Online Pro TEFL/TESOL certificate, you are guaranteed a teaching English job online and in any country overseas where there is a teaching English job market.
It is, therefore, imperative that we defend ourselves against false and misleading accusations.
We also chose to issue this rebuttal in support of all the TEFL Online Pro Customers that have written or recorded a review of their TEFL Online Pro course and post-course experience.
F. TEFL Online Pro verified customer feedback
Verified TEFL Online Pro Customer feedback can be viewed on the TEFL Online Pro school website, on the TEFL Online Pro Google Business Listing, on the TEFL Online Pro company Facebook Page, on the TEFL Online Pro YouTube channel, and on the independent TEFL reviews website Trusted TEFL Reviews:
https://teflonlinepro.com/tefl-online-pro-reviews/
https://www.facebook.com/teflonlinepro/reviews/
https://www.youtube.com/@teflonlinepro
https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-online-pro-teachers-choice-award-winner-2023/
Three of our Customers, who recently graduated from a TEFL Online Pro international TEFL/TESOL course, recorded a post-course and TEFL employment follow-up video testimonial:
1a. Clara Vinthagen’s post-course video reviews her 120-Hour Professional certification course experience.
1b. Clara Vinthagen’s TEFL employment follow-up video reviews how her TEFL Online Pro TEFL/TESOL certificate was instrumental in finding teaching work online and how it has been an essential document for successfully securing a teaching English position abroad at an international language school in Spain.
2a. Astrid Mendieta’s post-course video reviews her 120-Hour Professional certification course experience.
2b. Astrid Mendieta’s TEFL employment follow-up video describes how her TEFL Online Pro TEFL/TESOL certificate was instrumental in landing teaching English job interviews in Japan, South Korea, and Spain. This certification has also been an essential document for the purpose of teaching English online for a reputable training company. Astrid also describes how her TEFL Online Pro certification has been an essential document for successfully securing a TEFL position abroad at a high school in Valencia, Spain.
3a. Noor Yafaie’s post-course video reviews her 140-Hour Hybrid certification course experience.
3b. Noor Yafaie’s TEFL employment follow-up video reviews how her TEFL Online Pro TEFL/TESOL certificate was instrumental in finding teaching work online with PalFish and Preply and how it has been an essential document for successfully securing a teaching English position abroad at a government school in South Korea.
The experiences of Astrid, Clara, and Noors are representative of all of our Customers who take a TEFL Online Pro Online TEFL/TESOL certification course.
TEFL Online Pro accepts students from all native English-speaking countries, as well as students from non-native English-speaking countries.
G. Conclusion
After winning the Teachers’ Choice Award for the first time, in 2019, TEFL Online Pro veered onto the radar of the larger TEFL course providers and it was soon after that we noticed some online attacks by business competitors.
When we won the prestigious award for the second and then the third time, TEFL Online Pro increasingly became a target for online attacks.
We have now won the Teachers’ Choice Award for the fifth year in a row.
None of the attacks were instigated by a TEFL Online Pro Customer or a TEFL Online Pro education partner. Any such attacks were instigated by a TEFL program business competitor.
The most important thing for us is that the vast majority of our Customers provide overwhelmingly positive feedback on our courses and services and that they recommend us after taking one of our fully accredited and internationally recognized TEFL/TESOL certification courses.
We just thought that you should be made aware that there are an awful lot of people trying to make money from TEFL, and that some of them will go to extraordinary lengths in order to do so.
A large number of TEFL programs comply with strict codes of business practice and focus on developing their products and services.
A few TEFL programs, on the other hand, operate with limited reliance on codes of business practice and tend to focus solely on extracting as much money as they possibly can from their Customers – by whichever means is possible.
TEFL Online Pro belongs to the former.
If there are any questions regarding this rebuttal statement, please feel free to contact the TEFL Online Pro school office: https://teflonlinepro.com/contact-us/
Thank you for reading this rebuttal statement.
Kind regards,
Paul Murphy | Operations Manager | TEFL Online Pro
https://teflonlinepro.com/enroll/
https://www.youtube.com/@teflonlinepro
https://www.facebook.com/teflonlinepro/reviews/
https://trustedteflreviews.com/category/tefl-online-pro-teachers-choice-award-winner-2023/
The Teachers’ Choice Award winner in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.
https://www.acteflc.com/ Fully Accredited TEFL Course Provider
Related content: https://teflonlinepro.com/scams/
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