scam or legit?

[duckduckgooseduckagain]

I filled in my details online through a facebook ad to say I was interested in a 12 week course that is fully funded by the government and run by a college that isn't near me - the course is online. If you drop out there could be a £420 cost. I'm really interested but not sure if it is legit or not. Anyone done anything similar? If so how was it. If I sign up I have to provide ID and a NI number, no card details or other payment.

I’d contact the college directly and speak to a person rather than do anything via Facebook

Facwbook ads are often scams especially when they say they are government funded.

Have you looked them up on google?

I am sceptical about any Facebook ad with the first comment underneath being 'this was great' or similar.

Well, I signed up. It looks good and unscammy so far. I'll update here when I am finished in 12 weeks.

What sort of course is it?

I'd check out the following:

What's the URL and the organisation - can you see a legitimate looking website?
Does their website give their physical address?
Is that company (with the same URL) on linkedin and what's their history there?
Can you look them up on Trust Pilot or elsewhere and what reviews to they have?

Obviously the above still doesn't mean they are fine, but it's more checks.

Unscammy 🤔 Good luck! Definitely sounds like a scam or a made up post

So even though you suspected it of being a scam, rather than pick up the phone and ask someone about it, you signed up and hope it's 'unscammy'.

I despair.

Well Google, find the institution and apply direct. If you cant find it direct it's a scam

Just sticking your details into a Facebook form is unwise

And people like you are why I have a job! People just giving their details over without checking anything!

@duckduckgooseduckagain Is it Free Courses in England with the Learning Curve group? Or something similar worded?
I signed up to one of these a couple of years ago for autism. Quickly learned it was crap, there was course material but it was very outdated. I just stopped after the first couple of weeks. I’m was very worried I’d be charged a fee but they never took one. I do think it’s a bit of a scam though with some rudimentary learning thrown in to make it look legit and I was just lucky they never charged me! Was meant to have a tutor I could email questions but they never replied when I messaged.

@Atina321 After I posted here I did call the college and it is legit. It is not a scam and is free - funded by the Government. If it is any good waits to be seen.

Hopefully you didn't use the number on the advert...

I'm usually the first to say "it's a scam" but these sort of courses are legit, the government is funding courses as part of the whole "skills bootcamp" thing to upskill the population in areas they need. A lot of colleges are running these courses as free online distance courses open to anyone in the UK.
Not every FB ad is a scam.
If you see an advert for something and aren't sure, you can always (instead of clicking on the advert) Google the company name and go through their proper website instead.
Good luck with your course!

Quite a few of us at work have done these courses, they are free as long as you complete them. A couple of my colleagues were overwhelmed with how much work you had to submit and ended up paying the fees. The one I did was very time consuming and I regretted signing up for it.
We were being pushed to sign up for more but everyone was like ‘no way.’

@Atina321 No, I made sure I didn’t. I found the number for the college seperately. It’s so annoying having to check to make sure everything isn’t a con. I really feel for older people or those with dementia.