I was contacted by a Steven Marsland, supposedly the director of The British Centre in Sondrio, Italy. He even set up a Skype interview with me which lasted about 55 minutes with professional questions about teaching ESL and how to handle different situations. The interview was handled well with no hint of a scam. Then the next week he contacted me to tell me he was extending an offer and sent me a contract which was very normal and acceptable. After signing the contact, he emailed me to contact an attorney about my visa who in turn asked me to send him US$248 for the visa. I immediately contacted the Embassy of Italy in Washington, DC and spoke to an embassy representative there. I was told by the embassy that a school in Italy should never ask for money from a prospective teacher and that I should consider it a scam. I did as I was instructed and contacted Mr. Marsland to tell him that I was not interested in being a victim of a scam and that according to the contract, he should be paying for a visa.

After that, I saw on facebook some postings about the school and some experiences, plus a post or two from the actual school saying that they had not contacted any of these people and that they had no vacancies in their teaching staff. If you get anything from this school or this person, it is a scam. Never send any money to anyone asking for money. A reputable school should always pay these fees.