TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI) Opening Statement (Updated 9th December 2011) There are 25 pages in this report of evidence and information here about our personal experience with Michael Cavill and UKEI and it’s a lot to absorb, so we are putting the conclusion at the front! This document is about Chris’s quest for TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI. It covers the Deceit, Problems & Frustrations, as seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight. Please note that these are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI and in no way reflect any other person’s opinions or conclusions. We hope that the document contains enough information to form your own opinion and make the correct decision for yourself. If you have time then you can read the details of the 59 points of deception and the two further appendices of the UKEI salary “Rip-Off” model, the (at least) 16 things that were wrong with the apartment and finally the postscript. Basically, with us, Malcolm Graham of GLM Recruitment and Michael Cavill of UKEI got us to China, at our expense and under false pretences and then dumped us in it. At the time of writing Michael owes us about 2,000 Yuan deposit, plus one month’s salary. The big question is: will we ever see this money? We have been told that Michael Cavill collected 6,000 Yuan from the school and signed for it. As Chris got NOTHING then plainly Michael Cavill of UKEI has STOLEN the money. Malcolm Graham of GLM Recruitment has refused to help Chris and thinks Chris is being childish. He has failed to answer why he thinks a matter of such gravity is childish. He has also failed to answer if he would like working for no salary for one month! Does one therefore assume that they are in this scam together?
CONCLUSION (Updated 9th December 2011) We advise teachers NOT to come to China with Michael Cavill of UKEI and Malcolm Graham of GLM Recruitment. The same would apply to any other agents doing it the same way as UKEI and Michael Cavill and also Malcolm Graham of GLM Recruitment. Instead, look up “TEFL” on the internet and choose a proper centre who will help place you in a properly paid job after proper training in a proper centre. You can do this in a range of countries across the world, including a number of locations in China.
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TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI)
What is UKEI? It is an organisation promising a TEFL certificate by teaching English in China. They advise that it allows you to teach in China on a holiday visa, as UKEI is based in Hong Kong. TEFL = Teaching English as a Foreign Language. You will NEVER see a bonafide certificate from UKEI.
Who are the owners/directors? It was never clear who owned what as nothing was ever TOTALLY spelt out. But, we believe the following are involved: 1. Malcolm Graham. (m.graham@glmrecruitment.com) Based in Clitheroe (Lancashire, UK). As far as we can see, he is the person posting the opportunity on all the UK internet job boards. Chris spotted ours on “My Manchester Jobs”, whereas another teacher found hers on the “My Liverpool Jobs” board. Malcolm has a short chat before advising that someone from China will phone next and arranges a date and time. We subsequently learnt that Michael calls Malcolm Graham and his company GLM Recruitment a “Stakeholder” so they operate as separate companies. Micael Cavill of UKEI pays Malcolm Graham’s company £400 for each person arriving with Michael. 2. Michael Cavill, will then phone to “Interview” all applicants. In our case Chris had an initial interview of 1.5 hours and was told he suitable and was accepted. We both then had a follow up call of a further 1.5 hours to ask Michael all our questions. These questions had been sent through as emails, but Michael prefers to answer over the phone. We assume that this is so nothing is ever committed in writing. 3. Flower. She was Michael's Chinese partner (girl friend) until the middle of September, when they split up. Michael told us that she was still a shareholder / director. We think she was also involved with English International who brought Michael out. This is a supposition as a lady called “Flower” is mentioned on very negative postings on the internet. 4. Coco Wei. Based in Shenzhen China. She helps source the teaching jobs at the various language schools. In John’s case, also for corporate teaching with companies, but nothing has materialised. 5. Lucas. In partnership with Coco. He also sources the schools and arranges interviews for the prospective teachers.
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TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI)
We at first thought that Noble Apex Advisors Ltd (APEX), based in Hong Kong, had invested in UKEI, as Michael wanted us to thing this to make UKEI look a solid, reputable company. Michael kept referring to his Swedish Boss and saying that it was shame he was on holiday, as he would have liked to meet us. We subsequently met his boss, as we were enquiring about investing with the company in Hong Kong, as our salaries were being paid into a new HSBC bank account in Hong Kong. We have since found out that they have NOT funded Michael Cavill or UKEI. It appears that Michael is a finance associate. As none of our policies were actually made live in all these weeks, we asked if we could by-pass Michael and this was their response: “It is also true that I can not bypass Michael and conclude business with any potential client brought to Noble Apex by Michael. This would be in breach with our Business Agreement with him. I am afraid to say that the only way you and Chris can conclude your insurances using Noble Apex is through Michael.“ But Michael won’t meet us to sort the problems out! Michael actually gives his Noble Apex email address for all the initial emails with him, but on pointing this out, Noble Apex have made this statement: “It is true that Michael does have a Noble Apex email address, as he is under contract with us. However, this does not in any way associate any other company that he is involved with, such as UKEI, with Noble Apex.” At one stage Michael advised that Coco & Lucas had 15% shares. We have since discussed this with Coco and she is adamant that herself and Lucas are NOT shareholders. All they do is find the schools for Michael’s students. So, they are what michael would describe as “Stakeholders” and NOT shareholders. So, why tell us Coco and Lucas are shareholders and mention specific figures one wonders! It has never been made clear what was the split for Michael and Flower. It should be emphasised that Michael is so quietly spoken and trails off the sound on all his sentences that it’s difficult to “follow the plot”, so to speak. We think that this may be a deliberate ploy to avoid giving too much away.
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TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI)
What was promised? We shall go through point by point, all the things that were promised in the UK during the three telephone conversations that we had and the literature we were sent by email from Malcolm Graham. This document deals with what was subsequently clarified and how in reality things materialised for the very worse.
Important Note TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI)
This photo was taken in Shenzhen at a lunch in August, with Michael’s Boss from Noble Apex Advisors Ltd (APEX)
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TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI) FALSE INFORMATION STATED ABOUT TRAINING AND WORK PLACEMENTS
1.
UKEI literature states that all intakes will be enrolled on a 5 – 10 days intensive training course in a 'training centre near the hotel'. We actually had less than 1 day. It was actually in THE hotel, not a training centre and was conducted by a young teacher friend of Michael's, who happened to be on holiday from his job at the time, and who agreed to do it at the last minute as a personal favour for Michael.
2.
Initial training course would qualify us in part for the TEFL certificate, then full certificate awarded on completion of the six month work placement. There was no real initial training course provided and nothing whatsoever was ever mentioned about the TEFL qualification, so we asked. Michael showed us one that he had obtained himself, which was a certificate for 20 hours teaching and did not appear to be from any recognised institution.
3.
We were promised a choice of three work placement options, but ultimately were only given one. In one interview we attended, Michael Cavill of UKEI ended up in a row in reception with an Administrator of the Company. We never fully understood why that should take place in full view of everyone. it was in Chinese and we were in a small glass office, so could see but not hear. The lady looked VERY annoyed with Michael.
4.
Work placement options would be 'tailored to suit our personal skills, experience and personality. Chris's work placement did not fit any of these. We also became friends with another mature teacher and his placement bore no resemblance to what he had been promised back in the UK. He subsequently returned home without his PayPal deposit being refunded and having wasted about 2,000 GBP.
5.
When Chris started his job at STL Michael told him he 'would spend the first week in training', this to include observing other teachers in their classes'. This never happened and he was literally thrown in at the deep end with absolutely no training whatsoever.
6.
When Chris started his job at STL Michael told him he 'would never be alone in the classroom and there would always be a Chinese teacher present to assist'. This never happened, as all the teachers were of course too busy with their own jobs.
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TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI)
7.
We were initially told that we would be working in Shenzhen, but were all taken to other places.
8.
There is a major dispute over the monthly salary! Only 3,500 Yuan per month. See separate section below.
FALSE INFORMATION ABOUT INSURANCE POLICIES AND MONEY REFUNDS
9.
Michael collected a Pay Pal deposit of 216.00 GBP before we flew out. We were told that this was a protection for Michael Cavill and UKEI in case we didn’t arrive. We were assured that it would be refunded in full on arrival at Hong Kong airport, as had been promised in the UK prior to travelling to China. It was NOT refunded but then changed to: 'we would get it back when we moved into an apartment’. Weeks later still no refund. Michael finally advised that UKEI pay only on the 15th of each month and the refund would be given 15th October. On being challenged as to why he hadn't kept to previous arrangements/promises we did not get a response. At the meeting 3rd October he said that there was a clause of Terms and Conditions and as we had not met them we would not get the money back. We said that we have his promise documented that we would get it back on Landing. This changed to when Chris started teaching. He agreed eventually to refund half if coco refunded the other half. That seems unlikely as Coco didn’t even know he was collecting PayPal monies to his private account. In fact, I had to explain what PayPal was to her.
10. Hotel fees – We were told that if UKEI did not find a suitable work placement for us in the first two weeks, they would pay for the hotel until a placement was found. We found out that we had to pay and claim the money back. The hotel bills were not acceptable and we had to go back to the hotel and get a tax certificate. Try that when nobody round here speaks any English! This was obtained and we are still waiting for our refund! We have been advised that this too will be paid on 15th October. 11. John's travel and medical insurance – has not happened. It appears that there was 'a small problem with paperwork' but this was not communicated to us. Only when we enquired with Anders Henriksson about what had happened to it, were we told anything more. It’s still not sorted out as Michael refuses to meet us.
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TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI) 12. Chris's BUPA medical insurance – has not happened. On checking with Noble Apex they say there was a problem with the cheque, but we never gave Michael Cavill or UKEI a cheque of any kind. Noble Apex appear unwilling to sort this out, as we are Michael Cavill's customers. 13. Noble Apex Investment - John never received any further information from Noble Apex, about investments, even after being personally introduced to and discussing it with the boss Anders Henriksson. When we challenged the lack of information with Anders of Nobel Apex, he came back and said that Michael had advised him that 'both of us we would be leaving soon'. Strange that we didn't know anything about this! Anders Henriksson of Noble Apex appeared unwilling to directly get us the promised information, as we are Michael Cavill's customers. Michael Cavill refuses to see John. 14. We think that it’s very strange that Noble Apex want to damage their reputation by insisting that we deal with Michael Cavill of UKEI, in whom we have lost all confidence and respect. Also, we wrote our complaints to Noble Apex as we thought they were the majority shareholder and they advised they were unable to help as Michael Cavill was an associate of theirs, but UKEI was nothing to do with them. So, accidentally they know of a lot of these problems yet still have a relationship with Michael Cavill. I think if I knew all this about what’s being happening I would have cut that relationship. 15. We are still owed a total outstanding balance of 3,618 Yuan from Michael Cavill, at the time of writing this dossier on Saturday the 30th September 2011.
FALSE INFORMATION ABOUT THE UKEI COMPANY from Michael Cavill. 16. Were told that UKEI was part of the firm Noble Apex. We believe that this was to give his company (UKEI) more credibility. (Also see above). 17. Our first email contact was at michaelcavill@nobleapex.com 18. At the airport Michael gave us information about UKEI that plainly stated he was backed by Noble Apex. (Whilst handing out their glossy literature).
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TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI) 19. At the airport, Michael Cavill of UKEI stated that it was a shame his boss Anders Henriksson was away on holiday, as he would have liked to meet us. 20. All these acts of deceit were to make us feel more comfortable dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI. TOTAL ABSENCE OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS AND LEGAL CONTRACTS
21. Apart from the scant literature initially provided by one Malcolm Graham in the UK by email, Michael never communicates anything of any importance about UKEI business by email and nothing has ever been put to us in writing, including any kind of professional, written and signed contract with either UKEI, or the work placement with STL. We believe this to be a deliberate ploy for the purpose of eliminating hard evidence in the event of any recourse to litigations. 22. Michael rarely answers emails, phone calls or text messages when any of his actions are under dispute with any of his intakes, as we can personally vouch for, as can other group member of the group that went home in disgust. Again, we believe this is for the same reason as stated above. 23. We DID obtain a breakdown in writing of how the pay structure works, which seemed to us quite plausible at the time. It was even signed and dated and handed to us. On later examination it is in fact, in our opinion, a business model for cheating the teachers and putting large amounts of money in UKEI and Michael Cavill's pockets. See appendix A. FALSE INFORMATION ABOUT ACCOMMODATION PROVIDED BY UKEI 24. Accommodation to be provided by UKEI was quoted as: a '2/3 bedroom, clean and modern apartment' – ours was filthy and took two days to clean up! It is also a one and a half bedroom, as the second bedroom is so tiny the door couldn't be opened because of the bed in the way. 25. We were told some '50% of the apartments are in a compound with communal swimming pool, tennis court etc'. None of them have this facility. 26. Apartments have 'one and sometimes two balconies'. We have none. It appears Michael Cavill of UKEI counts the utility area galleria as a balcony.
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TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI) this galleria looks out across all the backs of the flats which is full of rubbish. 27. Hot/cold air conditioning – it is only cooling, no heating for winter. Michael told us that it DEFINITELY had hot and cold. When we asked how the control worked, as it was in Chinese, he didn't want to explain and said that we only needed to use one button. We were told by many other teachers to ensure that we only took a apartment with Dual Airconditioning, as it gets cold in winter months. 28. Modern apartment – see list of 16 things that needed mending or that were wrong with it - APPENDIX B. 29. No internet connection. It was made clear whilst still in the UK that this was extremely important to us for family and UK business reasons. Michael Cavill of UKEI said that they provided it free and it was usually installed within a few days of moving in. It was not. Michael blatantly lied to us on two occasions stating that he had in fact ordered the connection for us and hadn't. Michael originally told us that it was ordered and would take 4 days. When we chased him up, he then changed that to 10 days. He now says it wasn't ordered. Michael only saved a small amount of money that we would have been prepared to pay ourselves, but weren't given the choice. The lack of internet is causing us considerable problems. I would also make the point that we don't like being lied to by Michael Cavill of UKEI. He has told so many untruths in the last 6 weeks that he has lost all credibility with us. The result of this was that John could not keep in touch with his family; children & grand children. In fact instead of looking out over a lovely river view from the 20th floor apartment, we had to go to sit looking at a brick wall in the computer room in Chris’s school. When the school was closed and after Chris left, we had to spend unnecessary money on WIFI in bars and restaurants. It cost us every day, what Michael Cavill of UKEI saved over TWO months. This man (Michael Cavill) and his organisation (UKEI), in our opinion is never concerned about discussing anything. This matter should clearly have been discussed and we would have paid, even though it was being deducted from Chris’s salary. 30. Michael told us he had the apartment cleaned, but it was filthy - See separate appendix B. We know you can hire a cleaner here quite cheaply. It took TWO days for us to clean the filth up on Chris’s days off.
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TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI) 31. We were told that if we use a public swimming pool UKEI would refund costs. We doubt this would happen too. We would have to get tax receipts no doubt and the money held up for various reasons, as with all the other money that Michael Cavill and UKEI owes us. It costs 25 Yuan each to enter the pool and a small amount to the locker ladies. 32. Michael Cavill also told us that if no swimming pool in any block we could use the next door apartment block pool. This was a blatant untruth as there are no pools, only in the more expensive apartments that are far away from the schools. So, why tell us these blatant lies? 33. Electricity - On 24th September we emailed and asked for an explanation. Michael Cavill of UKEI provided us with a breakdown of what monies Chris should expect and what was being kept back for the flat expenses. This was actually written and signed by Michael Cavill. (See Exhibit A). The amount written next to the "Electricity" line was 400 Yuan. When John went over to accept the flat Michael made a clear statement that he had deliberately requested from the electric company copies of the last two bills. In actual fact, these bills are addressed to the previous tenant and were in individual envelopes, both stamped by the post office with the date at that time. So, they were not deliberately obtained by Michael Cavill or UKEI. Michael just happened to find them in the flat during the mock clean up operation. We have kept those bills, as Michael made it clear that he was allowing an average of the two bills with a bit extra to allow for the fact we are foreigners who use the A/C more than the Chinese do. John forgot the ridiculously low figure that Michael gave, but as Michael had already committed to 400 Yuan in writing, it was an irrelevant and unhelpful conversation. It's also more irrelevant, as it's being taken from Chris anyway! Discrepancy over WHO is actually paying the rent and the actual amount
34. Flat Deposit & Rental: Michael told us he had paid the deposit for the apartment, but I received confirmation from the school that the school had in fact paid it. The other day Michael made a clear statement with the use of his large calculator that Michael had paid out a large amount in Rentals/Deposit for the flat we are in. Chris has checked up with the STL Management and they state that STL have paid this and not UKEI. Michael has insisted this was paid into a separate bank account, but we feel this is untrue, as it doesn’t make any sense. We also remember that with the Hope Rising Language School, during the failed negotiations for Page 10 of 25
TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI) Chris, that Michael was awaiting THEM paying for the flat deposit. At that time Michael mentioned then that the school always sorts this out and NOT UKEI. It would seem to us from this information, that in all cases the SCHOOL pays and not UKEI. So, why the big drama with the calculator? Michael has not explained this to our satisfaction. 35. UKEI model for apartment provided – not paying for most of it, but still deducting a large sum from the salary claiming that the deductions are to pay for it. OTHER COMPLAINTS ABOUT ACCOMMODATION 36. Fridge that doesn't work still not replaced – we have been unable to store any perishable food stuffs and have had to eat out at high cost. There has never been any communication as to why the fridge was not replaced, or any apology for the situation we found ourselves in, in spite of having mentioned it to Michael on several occasions. 37. We were not shown how anything in the apartment operated until we asked, even though Michael and Flower lived in the same block. For example, the washing machine, air conditioning unit and hot water system. It took a week to find out how they all worked. 38. We were promised a key card EACH for the ground floor security entrance to the apartment block and were told we would have up to seven of these provided. We still have only one between the two of us. 39. We were never shown how to access the ground floor security entrance with the key pad in the absence of the card, so one of us has to wait for another tenant in the block to enter or exit for us to get in or out. OTHER LIES AND INCONSISTENCIES 40. Michael specifically phoned Chris, whilst we were having a few days holiday in Shenzhen to tell him that STL were angry over him leaving his job so soon. We wrote an email to place on record the ridiculous telephone conversation that Michael had with Chris whilst we were visiting the Window on the World, in Shenzhen. Chris wrote to Michael, as he had actually been congratulated on being a hard working teacher. The head of foreign teachers phoned to thank him and the overall head of the foreign teachers for all STL schools phoned to offer Chris a job in their new school and fully train him. This is the second time Michael has stated that STL Page 11 of 25
TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI) are unhappy with Chris and with him leaving after a short time. We don't know how Michael has the face to make all this stuff up and waste our time with his ridiculous games. John told him before to stop playing games with us. Contrast that to the UKEI fiasco over training - See below. 41. Michael told us that the company John did the 'big nose' jobs for would NOT sign off such expenses such a 100 Yuan breakfast. They had in fact already done so. 42. Michael told John that 'Coco was fed up with John complaining', but Coco didn't know anything about this. We believe it was in fact Michael himself who was fed up with John complaining, but was using his own business partner as a scapegoat for voicing this to him. 43. The same happened again quoting his partner in the UK, Malcolm Graham, who is the UK arm that initially recruits the unfortunate victims like us. 44. We were talking about ages at one point and Michael told us all that he was 26. We have heard from a number of people that he is 20. A Chinese Teacher we met actually remembers Michael Cavill coming to this area in 2009, aged 19. 45. The initial information sent to us contained a photo of Michael standing in front of the Eiffel tower. Chris asked how long he was in Paris for and the answer was ONE year. We have just visited the “Window of the World” in Shenzhen and there is a fifth scale model of the Eiffel Tower. This looks very much like the Eiffel tower in Michael’ photo. See last page. OTHER CONTRADICTIONS OF UKEI LITERATURE 46. Were told we would be provided with a basic Chinese phrase book. We still don't have this although a big thing was made of it when on the bus travelling over to Huizhou. 47. UKEI literature states that 'UKEI will not tolerate racism'. Michael made the following remark to John and Chris concerning a Filipino teacher at the school: ' ..he seems quite Western, but he's not, he IS Asian and they're worse than the Chinese (meaning in this context - that the Chinese are an unintelligent race and the Filipinos even more so).
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TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI)
POOR ORGANISATION AND INCOMPETENCE 48. There was a Fiasco with our hotel when we first arrived in Donghuan. UKEI were handling everything and we had to pay cash everyday for the room instead of handing over credit cards, as is the norm ... EVERYWHERE! This meant that we had to re-activate the room key at reception every day. 49. UKEI hadn't booked in advance our hotel on arrival in Huizhou, so we had to wait about with our luggage on the street late at night in searing temperatures. Then we were booked into another hotel in Mai Di, quite a long way away with taxi fares every day. Again we were asked for cash by Michael's girl friend Flower, a partner in the company. Have UKEI never heard that these hotels take deposits and room charges on credit cards? The subsequent inconvenience was incredible and when we checked out of the hotel, Michael had to come along and explain about the deposit that had been taken in cash. Had UKEI got us to hand over a credit card none of this would have happened. Because we paid daily, we had to get the electronic key card changed every day or we were locked out. That meant that we had to queue in reception everyday, all because UKEI don’t seem to have a clue how to book a hotel. 50. No information was provided on what to bring with us and what to expect etc. This should be part of UKEI's service to help teachers settle in China, which is a long way from the UK, with extremely different culture, climate, political situation etc. We have as a result left things behind that we should have brought and not brought things that would have been useful. 51. No tourist information was provided for us for recreational activities on our days off work. This should be part of UKEI's service. We used to provide this for our clients in Spain who were visiting, even for a short trip. This would have been especially useful as we never had our internet provided. 52. Chris was not informed by Michael Cavill, or anyone in UKEI, when the replacement teacher for his job had been found, or what the arrangements were to be for vacating the apartment. One evening, Chris found out via a Chinese teacher at the school that he had been replaced. Not a word from Michael Cavill of UKEI.
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TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI)
53. Regarding vacating the apartment, Michael phoned Chris whilst we were on a few days holiday in Shenzhen and said he was going to charge us for the flat for each day since Chris finished his job at the school. This high handed attitude was incredible given that there was ZERO communication from UKEI and Michael Cavill about being replaced. We were astounded at how unprofessional this was and could not help thinking that what an expat had told us; that all Michael was interested in doing here was making money. This, sadly, seems to be at the expense of the teachers he brings all this way. DRAMA ABOUT ANOTHER GROUP MEMBER WHO DIDN'T ARRIVE IN HONG KONG'
54. This person had seen very bad things about UKEI & Michael Cavill on the internet and so had decided that on arrival in Hong Kong, he would NOT meet Michael Cavill, but determined to paddle his own canoe. 55. All the teachers who did arrive were told by Michael Cavill that this person would not be able to get out of China without some paperwork from UKEI. 56. Michael, some time later, after it was clear that this person was teaching in a school in Huizhou told us he would ´visit the school and 'drag him out of the classroom and confront him'. 57. On another occasion Michael Cavill of UKEI said that he will call the Police, as Michael had sponsored him. 58. Needless to say none of these things occurred, as it was our opinion that Michael was playing to the audience of new teachers and it was intended as a kind of warning to us all. 59. That particular apartment that frustrations we without UKEI or
teacher is happily working for a good salary with an works and is happy. This person has had none of the have had to contend with and easily found his own job Michael Cavill.
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TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI) SUMMARY We have spent a considerable amount of money coming out here and living here in China. The lack of a fridge means that we are unable to eat in the flat and so for the weeks here, this has caused us a lot more unnecessary expense. We do not understand why Michael and/or Flower can't get a new fridge. It was obviously being thrown out when we moved in, as it had been removed from the kitchen and placed near the front door. The lack of Internet has caused a big hassle as it’s wasted so much time and money and meant that contact with our families has been cut off. It has also meant having to look at brick walls at the school, or go find internet bars and restaurants with WIFI and waste more money. The keeping of our PayPal deposit is also cause for concern, as any trust we had placed in Michael and UKEI has irretrievably broken down with all the lies surrounding it’s refund. The fact that we had to pay for that 3rd week in the hotel and not knowing when we will get the money back is also a cause for concern, as we never receive a straight answer. We since traded that refund for 10 extra free days in the flat. We are at a loss to understand why nothing gets fixed at the flat and now wish we had not moved in to it. All this has obviously led to our unhappiness with UKEI and in our opinion, their complete lack of any moral and professional standards. Michael Cavill and UKEI do not seem bothered that they bring people half way around the globe at very considerable expense, with promises that are rarely kept. CONCLUSION We advise teachers NOT to come with Michael Cavill and UKEI. Instead, look up “TEFL” on the internet and choose a proper centre who will help place you after a proper training, full training course.
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TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI)
APPENDIX A - The “Rip-Off” model - UKEI Salary Rates The paper that Malcolm Graham of UKEI sent us it states that teachers get between 3,000 and 8,000 Yuan a month. Since talking to a lot of other teachers we have now found out that the norm seems to be that the expat teachers are paid between 8,000 and 9,000 Yuan per month and have to pay for their own flat and expenses. We have been advised that the apartment cost and expenses is usually an average of 1,400 Yuan for a single person, in total. That means that their disposable income is between 6,600 and 7,600 Yuan. It is interesting to compare Michael Cavill’s UKEI salary model with the Schools model. With UKEI they will presumably get 9,000 Yuan from the school, less the cost of the flat. Per a signed paper from Michael Cavill of UKEI, Chris's salary will start at 3,500 Yuan and increase to 6,500 Yuan over a few months, based on performance. So, UKEI/Michael will be pocketing 4,100 Yuan per month, less the flat expenses at the start and after a few months will pocket 1,000 Yuan or perhaps nothing - We haven’t quit figured it out. But that means 60% of a teacher’s salary is being taken at the start, So, the more students coming over the better the return for UKEI and Michael Cavill. A very interesting model. With even 5 students staying for at least three months Michael Cavill can build up to 20,000 Yuan a month from just ONE student intake. If he has three going at any one time then he is making 60,000 Yuan at any one time. That’s 6,000 GBP per month. On top of this is taking Michael Cavill taking UK PayPal deposits and not refunding them. Also promising to pay hotels after the first two weeks, but doesn’t. The teachers end up paying and then having to fight to get the promised refund. Why did Michael commit to putting this, about the only thing, in writing? We think it’s because it ensures he can deduct as much as possible from a teacher’s salary with impunity. This would seem to be Michael Cavill and UKEI taking some 60% of a teacher’s salary every month, for several months.
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TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI)
Why was it on a scrappy piece of paper? We believe it’s because we “nailed him down” with a plethora of questions and he HAD to write something down. A legitimate company would have had a professionally typed up piece of paper that was covered in the training sessions on a overhead projector. The reason this wouldn’t happen is that there would be too much risk of too many questions being asked and too much being exposed. When Chris told Michael that he was wanting to leave the school, as it was NOT the type of job he was looking for in China, Michael threw a wobbly and punched a lot of numbers into a calculator and threw it across to Chris on the sofa saying Chris had now cost him (Michael Cavill and UKEI) 8,500 Yuan, as UKEI had to pay the flat deposit and rental. (See separate point as this is NOT the case, as the school pays!) So, why all the drama with the Calculator? Why the fuss over 120 Yuan a month and not ordering our Internet, thus causing us maximum hassle? Michael Cavill and UKEI are saving 120 Yuan per month, but has cost us this extra PER DAY! That's why we are unhappy that Michael Cavill of UKEI did not discuss not ordering internet with us.
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TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI)
The UKEI “Rip-Off� salary model on a hand written piece of paper
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TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI)
APPENDIX B - Apartment Problems Michael has refused to fix all these things that are a problem and would not answer the question why. We have to say that we are unhappy with the following things. The points below were all addressed to Michael Cavill of UKEI hence the use of the word “your”. They remain unanswered at the time of writing. 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Your information specifically told us that we would be provided with ‘a clean and modern apartment’. It took us two days to clean the place, as it was absolutely filthy. The cupboards that we asked to be cleaned out had not been and there was still two cupboards with old food & drinks left there that seemed to have baby cockroaches crawling around it, as a result. The lower cupboards also had not been cleaned out. On discussing this with Chris, we feel that it is not our place to clean these up to a standard where we can take over the flat. You may remember that I DID specifically ask for this cupboard to be cleared out entirely. It clearly states in your preamble that teachers are given a couple of days to settle in BEFORE taking classes. Chris started HIS classes on Friday 1st September, and so we should have been in this flat on Wednesday 30th August, to go buy bed linen etc. We are now not able to do this until Monday, as Chris is intensively working until Sunday night. With the work Chris is having to do to prepare classes, he requires out of hours internet access and the only way he can currently obtain that is at this hotel. The ONE and ONLY air-conditioning unit in the front bedroom was left on and seemed NOT to be coping with the heat and humidity. It has a rather weak fan it seemed to me. You gave the reason for NOT having a second unit in the lounge being due to the existing unit having so much power that a second unit blew the fuses. With the utmost respect, you are being fed a lot of hogwash. The unit is very small and probably draws 12 amps at the most. The master trip switch we believe is 48 amps. So, it would probably cope with THREE air-conditioning units without any problems whatsoever. We require at least ONE additional unit in the lounge to be able to move in. A friend and I were dripping wet from just looking round the flat last Page 19 of 25
TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI)
8.
9.
night. I do not think it right that Chris and I would have to spend time in a flat that would be like a sauna. The control unit for the one air-conditioning unit is in Chinese and we were not left any notes on what the characters / buttons represented. We need a diagram clearly setting this out please. The gas needs to be connected with a gas bottle and pressure valve. (After the cupboard has been properly cleaned out). Later note: The gas bottle that Michael connected is so huge it will no fit in the cupboard and stands in the middle of the kitchen making it difficult to move around. We asked why it was not placed on the Galleria. Answer: The landlord would need to be contacted and that would need a hole in the wall for the gas pipe. UKEI were clearly intending never to sort this out.
10. The kitchen cupboard under the sink fell apart and needs replacing as promised and soon please. 11. The leak in the bathroom plumbing urgently needs repairing, as the floor is constantly flooded and we keep treading in it when using the bathroom, which creates dirty footprints all through the apartment. Later note: A man did appear and we put him on the phone to Michael and were told he would reappear straight away to ix it. We had stayed in most of the day and of course he never did reappear and Michael Cavill and UKEI have not followed it up, as they follow very little up.
12. The toilet seat is loose and will soon fall off. 13. The shelf above the hand basin is falling off and restricts the use of the tap. Later note: If this fell off there is the danger of glass being spread all over the bathroom floor.
14. The hose pipe for filling and emptying the washing machine has a number of holes in it causing serious leakage which wastes a lot of water and it takes twice as long to fill the machine. 15. We were given only one key for the ground floor entrance and clearly need at least two. You stated that we would be given ‘seven’. 16. The sofa in the living room smells of stale sweat and should have been professionally cleaned, or some sort of cover provided. 17. No internet connection (we were told it would be four days, then this was changed to ten days, then you finally admitted that it had not been ordered at all) Maintainance Charge 250 Yuan seems rather a lot when absolutely no maintenance whatsoever has taken place. Again, I remind you that NOTHING has been fixed from that long list we provided you. We don't see why we should pay this fee at all.
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TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI)
Conclusion So, you gave us a signed piece of paper to say 1,410 Yuan would be deducted from Chris's wages. 500 Yuan seems to be for the excess on the flat over 1,000 Yuan, which is the norm around here for a single person. But, the school is paying for the flat, so Chris will be overcharged and too much deducted from his salary. In this case, UKEI should not be deducting 500 Yuan for the excess. You will also be deducting 120 Yuan for the internet that most annoyingly hasn't been provided. The 250 Yuan maintenance fee should also NOT be collected. That's a total amount of 870 Yuan. (500 + 250 + 120) We will expect to see that 870 Yuan is NOT deducted in the circumstances outlined above. We have spent A LOT OF money coming over here, on flights, hotels, internet cafe's, restaurants and computer equipment, that we would really like to see some benefits flowing back to Chris now, after SIX WEEKS, without any more hassle, prevarication or delay. This is also why I would like the PayPal deposit back and the hotel bills repaid ASAP please. I await to hear from you. Yours sincerely, John R. Knight & Christopher Proctor
Later Note This is in fact what ini,ated our unhappiness here. We never had any help from Michael Cavill and UKEI to deal with this catalogue of problems and now it appears that he is intent on brazenly chea,ng us by deduc,ng the rental fee for the apartment from my salary, as well as the charge for the internet connec,on that was never supplied to us. We subsequently traded the week’s hotel money Michael Cavill of UKEI owed us for 10 free days in the flat, but he will not reimburse all the addi,onal heavy expenses spent on ea,ng breakfasts out and having to use internet bars/restaurants. We wait to see if we get the 120 Yuan back.
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TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI)
Appendix B - UKEI TEFL Placements
This also is an extract from an email to Michael Cavill of UKEI For weeks before we came, I told you I wanted to teach adults/corporate. You obviously don't pay attention, as later you had to ask me again. You in fact asked several times. We now know that you don't have any positions for Adult/Corporate, so why waste a shed load of our money bringing us half way round the world for nothing? You state in your literature and phone calls that Teachers "will be offered a choice of THREE work placements". With me it was only ONE placement and was teaching primary school children. Where were the choices? So, what it all amounts to is the fact that you dragged us BOTH nearly half way round the world with your false promises. In our opinion, you are nothing more than a conman. We have also written to you separately about your business model. We suspect you are making quite a lot of money through cheating your teacher intakes, yet don't provide the accommodation that was promised. Then, you don't fix any of the problems.
No Fridge and no Internet has cost us 4 weeks of unnecessary expenses eating breakfast out and going to internet cafes on the days STL was closed. We should be charging you, as it was your incompetence and/or bloody mindedness that caused it all. Trades Description Act Most of what Michael Cavill and UKEI describe in their literature concerning the training, job placement options and accommodation standards offered by UKEI is FALSE and is in fact a contravention of the Trades Description Act of 1971, i.e. selling a product/service by false or misleading information. We believe the Office Of Fair Trading would be interested to hear about the UKEI scam and luring innocent, unsuspecting people half way around the world, at their great expense, through false or misleading advertising and information in the UK. Note added later (Following a 2 hour recorded meeting with Michael on Monday 3rd October) Michael stated that as he is in Hong Kong he doesn’t come under UK law. We pointed out that whoever is advertising and bringing people out under false pretences IS under UK law. Michael Cavill then stated that this side is nothing to do with him and is run by his “Stakleholder”, Malcolm Graham of GLM Recruitment, so we should take the matter up with him.
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TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI)
Conclusion Will you please stop making these things up. We assume this is your way of a preamble into cheating us out of yet more money in relation to the job and the apartment - Please don't even think about doing that. You are dealing with two people that have been around for quite a long time, and unfortunately have, on many occasions in the past, come across people doing what you are doing. We have now documented about 40 instances of the reality of what you are doing not meeting up with what was actually promised. Each time you phone me the list gets longer. You owe it to us to STOP wasting our time with further stories that bear no reality to the truth. We have copied Malcolm Graham, as you mentioned to John that he was fed up of us complaining. You said the same a week or so before about Coco and yet she wasn't aware of our complaints. We doubt Malcolm Graham is either, which is why we have copied him. He also needs to know all is not well here. Malcolm also ought to talk to Peter Stamford to see how he was treated and cheated as well. In his case you wasted about ÂŁ2,000 of his money and he never had his PayPal deposit returned either. We are at a loss to understand how you can treat people who trusted you in this offhand manner. I look forward to our discussion on Saturday. I suggest this takes place without fail at 12 noon prompt on neutral ground. Please confirm. We will prepare a full agenda so this time everything gets discussed and not what you pick and choose. Please confirm by email and not a phone call. Yours sincerely, Christopher Proctor chris_proctor@me.com (From John R. Knight's laptop)
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TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI)
Later Note: Michael Cavill of UKEI at first refused to meet us! He said he would meet Chris but not John. We refused and said that as he brought us BOTH out here and wasted our joint funds that he had to meet BOTH of us. All this way from the UK and trapped in China by Michael Cavill of UKEI, who refused to see us about all the problems he and his organisation have caused. He finally DID meet us for a two hour recorded conversation on Monday 3rd October.
It should be noted that the 40 negative points had now become 59. At that meeting he also admitted his business model took a huge chunk out of a teacher’s wages. At that meeting he apologised for not discussing and ordering the internet for us. We would have paid 800 Yuan for the year just to be able to have had internet at our flat for the 5 weeks we will have been here. £80 is a drop in the ocean to the inconvenience we have suffered, the trudging round with our laptops and the huge bills for food & drinks in the cafe bars and restaurants that had WIFI. It is our opinion that this man has no interest in discussing anything with a teacher unless he is making or saving money out of that teacher at their very great expense.
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TEFL in China (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) with Michael Cavill of UKEI The Deceit, Problems & Frustrations As seen from the first hand experiences of Christopher Proctor & John R. Knight
(These are our personal opinions based on our first hand experience of dealing with Michael Cavill and UKEI)
Post Script 25th October This blog was posted 25th October and Chris has still not received any money for the monthʼs work at STL in Huizhou during September. That means that Chris worked a whole month for free. Had he been told this was going to happen, he would have NOT worked past the first week. Michael refuses to answer many emails, phone calls and text messages, from both of us. This seems to be the normal way he deals with complaints about “Where is my money”! The policy seems to be one of keep the teachers money and stay silent, what are they going to do about it! We tried to get Coco to lean on Michael but cannot get a straight answer there except to say that she and Lucas made no money out of Chrisʼs posting as Michael organised this through the STL school himself. At the two hour parting meeting, Michael told Chris that he would get at least 3,000 RMB, but in fact this should be 3,500 RMB per Michaelʼs own figures. This against what the school pay of around 8,500 RMB. Teachers have to pay their own apartment and bills, but thatʼ s usually 1,500 RMB. It seems Michael Cavill of UKEI makes 3,500 RMB out of every teacher, whilst at the same time NOT looking after most of them. Michael also told Chris that it would be paid between the 10th and 15th October. He also stated that if Coco refunded half the PayPal deposit, then he would as well. This is referred to in paragraph 9 above. On asking Coco, she is adamant that Michael has not mentioned it to her. Several weeks ago, I told Coco about Michael collecting all these deposits from teachers and she hadnʼt a clue that was what he was doing and she didnʼt even know what PayPal was! Then the penny dropped that Michael was taking deposits into his PERSONAL account, presumably Coco was thinking that this was another way of Michael making money.
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