ESLinsider Warning.
This is yet another warning about the ESLinsider TEFL program.
ESLinsider is run by Ian Patrick Leahy.
Almost every single TEFL program that I have spoken to has said that Ian Leahy is a public menace.
Why is Ian Leahy from ESLinsider a public menace?
Here are ten reasons why:
- Ian advised TEFL teachers to teach in China without a college degree or with a fake college degree. A direct result of this poor advice was the imprisonment and subsequent deportation of some TEFL teachers in China.
- The authorities in China have placed ESLinsider/Ian Leahy on a blacklist. If Ian were to travel to China, he would be arrested and imprisoned.
- Ian is accused of fraud- stealing the credit card details of some of his customers and using that money for his personal purchases.
- Ian’s ESLinsider TEFL course is not accredited and its certificate is not recognized by any reputable English companies or schools.
- ESLinsider/Ian Leahy was banned from Facebook (2017 onwards) for shilling his program, spamming, and spreading TEFL conspiracy theories.
- Ian’s ESLinsider business model has a zero budget for paid advertising and marketing. Instead, Ian writes trash about the main players in TEFL. He does this to increase his online footprint and net new customers this way.
- Fake reviews. Ian writes fake 5-Star reviews for his TEFL program.
- False identities. Ian has numerous identities online. He uses these to attack the main players in TEFL and uses them to shill his TEFL program.
- Ian Leahy moved back to the USA last year (from Japan) because his ESLinsider TEFL program went bankrupt. He has spent the past winter working on the ski slopes in Idaho/Montana, and this summer Ian is working at a lodge in Oregon.
- We tracked down some of Ian’s alter egos on Reddit (fake accounts) and saw that he was asking about how to find under-the-table paid work in either Chile or New Zealand.
The following is a heart-breaking first-hand account of the real-world effects of being scammed by ESLinsider/Ian Leahy.
In the period of time when this account took place, Ian Leahy was falsely claiming that he was a respectable UK-based recruiter for English teachers in Asia.
ESLinsider scams its TEFL customers and also scams other TEFL programs, accreditation bodies, and TEFL review websites.
Ian writes trash about every single TEFL program, about every single accreditation body, and about every single TEFL review website.
He knows that when he does this, his ESLinsider website shows up in the organic Google search for that particular TEFL program, accreditation body, or TEFL review website.
He then hopes to convince people who are new to TEFL that his TEFL course is worth purchasing.
Trusted TEFL Reviews has always responded to any online attacks from Ian Leahy, by simply using Ian’s words against him.
This Trusted TEFL Reviews ESLinsider article is an excellent example:
https://trustedteflreviews.com/2020/02/03/eslinsider-reviews-scam/
Our ESLinsider warning is something that you should take seriously, so as to avoid being scammed by Ian Leahy.
Many organizations and individuals have issued their own ESLinsider warnings.
ESLinsider/Ian Leahy is a menace to the public.
Buyer beware!
This ‘ESLinsider Warning’ article was written by Mia Williams, Trusted TEFL Reviews co-owner.
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ESLinsider’s application for ACTEFLC accreditation was denied in 2021.
The main reason for this denial of accreditation was due to the inability on the part of ESLinsider to provide documentation that supported a detailed breakdown of its company structure and staff hierarchy.
It was subsequently discovered that the ESLinsider TEFL program is operated by one individual, namely Ian Patrick Leahy; an individual who has no permanent address and who has a well-documented and well-known reputation for applying aggressive astroturfing techniques with which to gain new TEFL students.
ACTEFLC advises people to be extra vigilant when dealing with Mr. Ian Patrick Leahy and his ESLinsider TEFL company.
ESLinsider is unaccredited and its owner is known within the TEFL community for his attacks on credible TEFL bodies/organizations.
Take anything written by ESLinsider with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Anything written by ESLinsider has one motive in mind; to sell more ESLinsider unaccredited TEFL online courses.
—
Christopher Haines
Head of Accreditation Office | https://www.acteflc.com