Recruitmentcentralltd 

Scam Warning — Avoid This Company
I was contacted by someone named Sasha Abara who invited me for a phone interview. During the call, she claimed I would get an actual interview if I completed a “Money Laundering Certificate” through CIFA. I trusted her and paid for the certificate, but after that, she went completely silent. This happened back in January, and I’ve never heard from her or the company again.

Thankfully, I had chosen to pay for the certificate monthly, so after the first month I cancelled it. It’s clear now that this was a scam they were just trying to get money from people under the guise of offering a job opportunity. Be careful and don’t fall for this!

To get a call at 8am to state I was dropping my kids off at school and so in effect I was busy. The response of “right well
I’ll close this opportunity down” instead of asking when would be an appropriate time to call back.

I was pretty annoyed and so rang back. Towards the end of the call and rebooking a call back with the initial person whom has called. I could hear someone shouting about the call they had with me. It turned out it was the director!

Very professional.

⚠️ CIFA & Associated Recruiters - Misleading Practices & Unrecognized Certifications

I was contacted by a recruiter with what seemed like a genuine finance opportunity. After a short screening call, I was told I was a strong candidate - but to move forward, I had to enroll in a specific course:
“Introduction to the FCA/PRA and Investment Risks” - a course that appears to be available exclusively through the CIFA website (a quick search shows it’s the only platform offering it under that exact name).

As someone with a background in financial crime, I investigated. Here’s what I found:

⸻

🚨 Key Issues Identified:

🔴 1. No official accreditation
• Course is not listed on the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) website
• Not registered with Ofqual (the UK government regulator for qualifications)
• Not recognized by major professional bodies like CISI, ICA, ACAMS or CFA UK

🔴 2. False sense of urgency from recruiters
• I was told the job application would be withdrawn if I didn’t enroll
• This is a manipulative pressure tactic, common in education scams

🔴 3. No real employer behind the offer
• Despite multiple emails, the recruiter never disclosed the actual hiring company
• The job offer appeared conditional upon buying the course - a major red flag

🔴 4. Suspicious corporate structure
• CIFA appears to be a small, family-run business
• Multiple similar entities are registered under the same UK address
• Only one person is on LinkedIn, and he doesn’t list his directorship

🔴 5. Misleading representation of “interns”
• One individual listed as an intern at CIFA admitted she was just a student
• She could not name a single person who got a job after taking the course

🔴 6. Numerous online complaints
• Many reviews describe identical experiences:
• Recruiter pressure
• Expensive course
• No job follow-up
• No refunds despite promises

🔴 7. Fabricated recruiter identities
• I attempted to find the names of the recruiters who emailed me on LinkedIn and other platforms, and none of them exist
• Based on email headers and names used, it’s clear that these are completely fake identities, created to give the illusion of legitimacy

Conclusion:
This appears to be a course-selling scheme disguised as recruitment. There is no verified employer, no industry recognition, and no clear refund policy.

I sincerely hope that one day, individuals and companies like this will be caught, prosecuted, and sentenced accordingly for preying on people in vulnerable job-seeking positions.

This is an entirely scamming company. I got an email for an interview for a finance advisor position with this company for a job application on Indeed. I was interviewed over the telephone with the company's senior manager, and gave the feedback that I was excellent; however, I was instructed to add a financial qualification on my CV by purchasing an expensive online course from CIFA Institute before forwarding my application to their client. Then, the person who contacted me sent fake emails on three or four days as my application was in the top 30% of applicants of the company and advising me to complete the online course. I cannot understand the relationship between the company and CIFA. After I informed CIFA about this smuggling, communication was stopped by the Interviewer. I did not see the reviews of this website before, as this was the first time I had this type of experience, and the company name has changed on the company house website, and no LinkedIn profile, and never said the name of the company that is going to hire. Do not trust this company. I'm looking for legal actions against this company to prevent this type of action from cheating innocent people in the future. All of the good reviews are fake.

Not really heard much from them since an initial interview with no actual job interview. They asked me to buy an expensive course from cifa.ac.uk. After I bought it, I've been blanked. So I've used my last money to buy something in order to get an opportunity at an interview with these guys, and didnt get any interview. I feel very let down and feel like I was made a fool of.

SCAM!!!
As everyone has mentioned before me, they will ask about your experience and aspirations and ask you prescreening questions over the phone, with which they told me I am an excellent candidate for this role and they really want to submit my application but they will not until I improve my knowledge of FCA regulations by doing one of these courses:

Investor advisor diploma: Exams
Investment advisor certification: CPD
Investment management certification: CPD

They even made me create a profile on their website to show the job and the job description. But after further inspection of the website itself after the call, you can tell it was made in haste and not professionally done as my occupation in my profile is my full name LOL!!!

what made me suspicious about this company was that they said they will be hiring from next month and all of these certificates will take at least that long to complete.

The only different tactic they used for this scam with me was they did not pressure me to buy any of these courses over the phone, they said that I should contact them via email or calls regarding my decision on pursuing one of these courses after which they will discuss my "options" further but they did ask me to confirm whether I will do more research on these courses and to pursue them.

I believe they have done this for legal purposes to prove that the "victims" (you and I) bare the full responsibility of eventually being scammed by them as they did not force us or pressure us to buy these courses ourselves.

I did not buy any of these courses as I just had a phone screening interview with them today at 12pm and everything sounded too good to be true which was when i went on trustpilot which confirmed my suspicions. Also, the good reviews are clearly fake.

Another major red flag was how i was given IMMEDIATE feedback from the 'senior manager' after the initial prescreening questions, in which they emphasised again that I should take the courses as I am a VERY ideal candidate and "it would be ashame" if I did not take this opportunity to strengthen my application.

Stay well clear of them and do not pay anything.

I’ve been placed in two contract positions through them. Both roles were exactly as described, and the process was hassle-free.

Absolute scammers. Will try and convince you to pay for courses in hopes of being shortlisted for a role.

SCAM SCAM SCAM, do not and I mean DO NOT buy the course that they try to sell you after your alleged prep interview. basically how the scam goes is they ask for yourb information and how you'll be a good candidate for this job role on their website (the job doesn't even exist). They then say you should buy this online course before they submit your cv, but at this point you can no longer get in contact with them and now they just made you buy a useless course.

Very frustrating agency. They somehow convinced me to pay for a course because for a job they "had for me", knowing well that I am unemployed. Now I'm not saying that they put a gun to my head and forced me to do it but still... every time I send an email to the person dealing with my case, I never get a response so I have to call them and they keep saying: "You're shortlisted, and when I hear from the company, I will keep you informed", and it's been more than a month! Now I'm stuck with the course and have to keep paying monthly and I paid a £245 deposit for it! I'm not saying they're a scam but it sure is looking like that, and the fact that I can't find the person dealing with my case on LinkedIn has me quite worried but it's probably just me overthinking. I would give half a star if I could.

Recruitment Central made our hiring process incredibly easy. They only sent us pre-screened candidates who fit our requirements perfectly. It saved us so much time.

Had a hassle-free hiring experience. They took care of everything and made the process easy.

Scam!!!!!!!

This company is a scam and in a few months will probably change their name, however, please do not buy whatever CIFA course they are trying to force you to buy. There is no job opportunity, there are no interviews it's all an elaborate scheme to pressure you to purchase an expensive non-recognised course. No matter how nice the "recruitment agent" is they are scammers, they do not care for you and will say/do anything to get your money.

Reliable and efficient! They matched me with a great job in record time. The team took the time to ensure the role suited me well, and their attention to detail was impressive. Highly recommend their services to job seekers in any industry!

Unfortunately this is a scam.
Was offered a job a month ago, job listing is still available, nothing has changed, well exactly same jobs are still available after a month. Everything was fine (what was also a bit suspicious that without any background in finance everything I said was ok) except missing certificate that would increase chances of getting a job. Certificate only from CIFA was acceptable and no other provider would be able to do it. I was told that within 3-4 weeks I will get an answer, since I did not go for a scam I was ghosted, what is not a surprise. If you read on the internet that few people says exactly same thing, that everything during a screen call was fine except missing certificate, that's a Red Flag.

Friendly and professional service from start to finish. They made the recruitment process simple and stress-free. They found me a role that matched my experience, and I appreciated their honest advice and support. Would absolutely use them again!

I have been scammed for just purchasing a course. I have been asked you are selected for out client and top priority for the position but only thing lacks is professional certification of UK financial regulation with CPD hours then made me purchase course on CIFA.com it was all sounds genuine but after I purchase a course it was not as described, and they never responded to their Top priority candidate back . They talk like they are actually from recruitment, they will arrange a meeting called pre screaming interview and made you purchase this and they will disappear. It is a well planned scame and did with I think so many people , I lost my 340£.
Shame on you

Recruitment Central was fast and reliable. They helped me secure a great position in no time.

I got a call from "Recruitment Central Ltd" to arrange an hour long screening interview. When I did the interview I was told that I was the best candidate they had, and the only thing that was missing from my CV was a CPD Finance Advisory Certificate. When I was talked through exactly which certificate to do, it became clear that there were only two options: a certificate through REED courses (which anyone can upload anything to) or through a website called CIFA, which charges £358. I was told that I could do my own research, but I was given very specific criteria which meant that these two courses were really the only ones which would qualify me for the job. I did not pay for the course which they said was a 'requirement for the job' and their efforts to demonstrate to me that any real financial companies (other than the anonymous one for which I had interviewed) had such unusual and specific requirements in their recruitment criteria were wholly unconvincing. I was left with the impression that the 'job opportunity' I had interviewed for was a fictional means of getting me to pay for an online course.

I have come to this conclusion by doing my own research, and you should do the same before listening to anything Recruitment Central Ltd say. They have threatened me with legal action, so I am trying to be very careful with my words so that I have the strongest possible case. When you are doing your research, look at job advertisements in finance - none of them have this course as a requirement. Ask anyone you know who works in finance - nobody I know has this qualification, or has even heard of it. Search Reddit and Trustpilot for 'recruitment companies' such as "Recruitment Central", "City Jobs UK", “My Financial Careers”, and "Recruit Direct" – CIFA qualifications come up often when reading about these companies. It is at the very least interesting that My Financial Careers and Recruitment Central Ltd share the same address. Google "FCA Handbook Appropriate Qualifications". Look at the "Appropriate Qualifications" table. No mention of CIFA, nor the providers of the course on REED. So why would any company require you to simply enrol in one of these courses before even considering you?

As I mentioned, Recruitment Central Ltd have emailed me to threaten legal action for defamation and undoubtedly they have done the same to others, which makes it likely that many negative comments have been deleted out of fear of legal costs. They have even emailed a random selection of staff from my university and, in an attempt to delegitimise my testimony, repeatedly claim that I am a part of a conspiracy by another recruitment company trying to ruin their name. While I have noticed that all of the positive comments here are strangely similar, it is important that people are not deterred from honestly describing negative experiences with this company. If you had a negative experience with them, do not be intimidated by mention of legal action, simply be careful with your language and be honest about your experience. That should be enough for others to notice commonalities with their own experiences, and to avoid paying for a qualification which seems to me to be unlikely to make a significant difference to your employability, despite what Recruitment Central Ltd claim.