Offering essay-writing or related services to students in advanced schooling.
Identification of companies
As part of a project that is separate identified approximately 1000 distinct websites offering essay-writing or related services to students in Higher Education. We analysed the websites to recognize people who indicated they are owned by companies listed at Companies House when you look at the UK, and therefore they can run as ‘legitimate’ businesses and that they are at the mercy of regulation by UK law, having been ‘incorporated’ beneath the Companies Act 2006 (UK Government 2016b). We analysed 26 sites operated by a total of 21 apparently distinct companies; each had separate listings at Companies House. We also analysed a number of additional sites from Australia as well as the USA, making a total of 31 sites. We now have not included the identity associated with specific companies in this publication for the next reasons: 1. We usually do not need to advertise that is further services of the companies, either through this paper writing service publication or through any publicity related to it. 2. We have no guarantee that the company number given on these websites is truly that of the business which runs your website. The names are the same but in others this is not the case in some cases. 3. The content of this article is opinion that is academic not the cornerstone for legal proceedings. We now have shared, confidentially, the identities of the companies because of the reviewers with this manuscript and also utilizing the UK Quality Assurance Agency who also identified a number of UK-based companies within their report that is recent on mills (QAA 2016).
In July 2016 we accessed web sites of those companies to address a series of questions (Table 1) which may then allow us to look at the relevant sections of the Fraud Act. Questions were addressed by one author (VI) with cross checking by a second (MD). When it comes to final question “Is the advertising potentially misleading (compared to disclaimer/terms + conditions)?”, the authors considered the advertising to be misleading if it were a student’s own work, without citing the company if it(for example) gave the impression that work purchased from the site could be submitted as.
Shown below are questions that we asked regarding the websites. We then considered the Fraud Act at length, informed by answers towards the questions below.
The Fraud Act
The Act (UK Government 2006) provides for a general offence of fraud, defined through the three methods for committing it, which are (1) by false representation, (2) by failing to disclose information and (3) by abuse of position. Each is dealt with in a separate Section of the Act. Additionally, it is an offence, under the Act, to obtain services dishonestly and/or to possess, make or supply articles for use in fraud(s).
We will consider Section 2 regarding the act (‘fraud by false representation’) later in this paper but at this stage it is appropriate to briefly address Section 3 of this Act that makes it an offence to fail to disclose, to a different, information which is why there clearly was a duty that is legal disclose. As an example failing continually to disclose information in relation to a contract of insurance or a health care provider neglecting to disclose to a hospital that certain patients referred for treatment are private patients, thereby avoiding a charge for the services provided by him or her. A legal duty to disclose information can arise as a result of a contract between two parties or due to the existence of a particular style of professional relationship among them; for instance, a solicitor/client relationship. With its report on Fraud (Report on a reference under section 3(1 e that is)( regarding the Law Commissions Act 1965 No. 276 Cm 5560 2002) what the law states Commission made listed here comments in regards to the circumstances in which a legal duty might arise:
“7.28 … Such a duty may derive from statute (like the provisions company that is governing), through the fact that the transaction at issue is among the utmost good faith (such as a contract of insurance), through the express or implied terms of a contract, from the custom of a specific trade or market, or through the existence of a fiduciary relationship between your parties (such as compared to agent and principal).
7.29 For this purpose there is certainly a duty that is legal disclose information not only in the event that defendant’s failure to disclose it gives the victim a cause of action for damages, but also if the law provides the victim a right to create aside any improvement in his / her legal position to which he or she may consent because of the non- disclosure. For instance, an individual in a fiduciary position has a duty to disclose material information when stepping into a contract with his or her beneficiary, when you look at the sense that a deep failing to produce such disclosure will entitle the beneficiary to rescind the contract and also to reclaim any property transferred under it.”
Thus a question that is key whether essay mills owe a legal duty with their customers to reveal information? For instance, if they submit the purchased essay without proper attribution that they are committing academic fraud whether they are under a legal duty to disclose to customers that.
There’s absolutely no obvious legal fiduciary relationship between the assistor while the customer (a fiduciary is someone who has undertaken to act for or with respect to another in a specific matter in circumstances which bring about a relationship of trust and confidence). Thus the partnership between student essay and customer mills seems to be entirely contractual. In the first instance therefore the legal duty in the part of the company is actually to comply with the conditions and terms associated with contract which when it comes to part that is most are set within the conditions and terms of business drafted by them. These try not to routinely place a duty that is legal the company to reveal information regarding the possible consequences of good use by a student as well as in any event as discussed below they routinely warn up against the submitting associated with the essay without the right attribution.
Section 3b (i) and (ii) regarding the Act carry on to produce that an offence is only committed if by failing woefully to disclose information the defendant “intended in order to make an increase for him or even to cause loss to another or expose another to a chance of loss”. By failing woefully to give information which use for the essay through submission at an educational institution may lead to an academic misconduct claim an organization promises to make a financial gain, i.e. continue in business and there’s possibility of danger of loss because of the student customer. However essay mills are not usually under a duty that is legal the first destination to provide these details and in fact as discussed underneath the terms and conditions of business usually specifically address this point through disclaimers with regards to use of the essay (Similarly an offence under section 4 for the Act – abuse of position – is effectively negated).
We think about the position pertaining to advertising utilized by essay mills later in this paper – there is a legal duty not to mislead established apart from through the Fraud Act 2006.