North East

Advertisements for well paid positions are appearing across the country in newspapers, websites and even at Jobcentre Plus.

Applicants are told that new companies are opening in their local area. But the data input jobs don’t exist – they’re merely the bait to get hopefuls to part with money.

New safeguards introduced at Jobcentre Plus

Inside Out also reveals how easy it is to become an "approved employer" with the Government's Jobcentre Plus and post fake jobs online.

As a result Jobcentre Plus has introduced new safeguards, and banned the companies under investigation from advertising.

Attractive pay

Lizzie Creed, aged 20, from Norfolk, was one of those who applied for a job in Peterborough after being made redundant.

Lizzie Creed: believed she'd got a job

"It was attractive pay £8.50 for entry data, which is pretty easy so I sent off my CV."

She was told by Steve Chapman Systems Ltd that she had been selected for the position and interview.

"At that point you think, fantastic. I thought my worries were over, but after that I tried to call the number he gave me to get the information, but I couldn’t get through."

Then she was told all the office positions had gone temporarily, but more would become available in a month.

Lizzie was offered a chance to do the work from home – if she paid a "one-time training fee" of £25.

She wasn’t the only one.

Inside Out spoke to numerous job seekers, who fell for the scam.

Those who sent off the fee were supplied with a list of instructions explaining how to post their own job ads, encouraging others to pay their own "training fee" of £25.

Left on hold

Jo, who lives near Newcastle, said: "I think it is just disgraceful what they are doing because people are out of work looking for new jobs."

Applicants who ring the 0844 numbers for more information are left on hold for long periods.

Ron Clark: one of the men behind the ads

The companies take a cut of those calls. One victim we spoke to had a bill for more than £20 after holding for nearly an hour.

Posing as a successful applicant, Inside Out talked to Ron Clark over the phone.

He told us he was based in London, and that the Peterborough office was opening before the end of the month. 

However, neither the jobs, nor the offices exist.

The men responsible

We’ve discovered a string of companies and aliases, linked to two men living in the North East of England.

The two men, Ron Clark and Ian Johnson, from Washington, Tyne and Wear, also run a charity called North East Talent Enterprises.

We have had no complaints about the activities of this charity, which has made sizeable donations to local causes.

Mr Clark, who says he is a retired police officer, and is listed as company secretary for one of the companies A J Data Services Ltd, wouldn’t give the BBC an interview.

When we approached him outside his home he told us:

"It is not me that is doing it. My name is Ron, but it is being run by Ian Johnson.

"All I am doing is taking telephone calls.

Ian Johnson declined to be interviewed

"That’s the information that’s given to me to give to people."

Mr Johnson declined an interview, but told us in an email:

"All I would like to say is that the £25 fee to work with nethomeworkers is to cover the cost of the training materials and admin fee which is clearly stated on our website.

"This is a legitimate position as it has been checked out by Trading Standards, Police, judges and solicitors and they have all said this is legal."

Premium rate numbers

A spokesman for Jobcentre Plus told us:

The jobs advertised look attractive

"Sadly there will always be con men who try to scam people and that's why we continue to do all we can to spot these quickly and try to prevent them.

"We have now banned the use of all premium rate phone numbers from our vacancies, and ask employers for lots of personal information before we take their details.

"We realised these jobs were a scam and no longer take vacancies from the employers highlighted in this programme. 

"Our advice to jobseekers has always been that they should never pay fees to a potential employer and we give advice on Jobcentre Plus and  Directgov websites about how to avoid common types of scams."

No routine checks

The companies operated by Mr Clarke and Mr Johnson are registered with Companies House, the official government agency.  

Some are clearly entered with false information – such as 31.12.9999 as a date of birth.

They also used fictitious director names and incorrect addresses.

But Inside Out has discovered that no routine checks on companies are carried out by Companies House.

A spokesperson for the Department of Work and Pensions told the programme, "Think of us as a giant filing cabinet”.

They said that documents registered are accepted "in good faith".

But they also added that entering false details is a criminal offence and they will investigate when problems are brought to their attention.

"Companies House’s concern is to reduce the opportunity for anyone to use the companies register to commit fraud.

"Companies House takes fraud very seriously and will pass any alleged fraudulent concerns to the relevant investigatory body."

The Companies House investigation branch are now investigating Mr Clarke’s companies and the matter is being passed to the Police.