Bath & North East Somerset Council is warning people to be aware of bogus college and university websites after reports of students falling victim to a bogus Prior Park College website.
Trading Standards received complaints from a number of students who have fallen victim to the bogus website purporting to be linked to Prior Park College Educational Trust based at Ralph Allen Drive, which is a legitimate college.
The website uses a name identical to the local college and has requested payments in the region of £5,500 from students to secure a placement.
Following making the payment, students have attended Prior Park College to look around, only to find that they have not secured a placement there.
Unfortunately, some of these students have already paid the bogus website thousands of pounds.
The bogus website displays a Bath address and telephone number but is not based at the address.
Bath & North East Somerset Council are advising all students looking to attend a college or university to visit the establishment prior to making any payments so that they can be sure that the college or university actually exists and that they have in fact secured a placement at the college or university.
If anyone believes they have been affected by this scam, you should contact Prior Park College Educational Trust on 01225 835353 in order to establish whether you are registered as a student at the college.
Should this not be the case, you should contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service helpline on 03454 040506. If you are concerned that you may have compromised the safety of your bank details, you should contact your bank immediately.
Cllr Tim Warren, (Conservative, Mendip), Leader of Council, said: “The Council is at the forefront of tackling these so-called bogus colleges/universities and is working really hard to crack down on places which offer fake courses and which do not deliver what they promise.
“Students have lost money in good faith and we will not stand for it here.”
Julie Barr, Deputy Bursar, The Prior Park Schools, said: “Prior Park College deplores the fraudulent use of its formal company name, Prior Park Educational Trust, by a group who have set up a webpage offering adult education courses and the promise of UK visas.
“Prior Park College has been contacted by a number of unfortunate individuals who have apparently parted with large sums of money and personal information including copies of their passports, in the false expectation of receiving a top class education at the College in Bath.”