'I paid thousands to a company for jobs that never came'

Apurv Patel, who has been in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa since 2023, said he paid Synetal Solutions £3,600 across February and March for healthcare training after he and a friend were verbally promised guaranteed sponsored jobs.

Eight months later he has received no job offers, interviews or meaningful employment support, he said.

"I'm frustrated. I paid money, I wasted my time. I did whatever they wanted without any result," he said.

"It's had a miserable effect on my family and finances."

Patel said he did receive some training but described it as poor quality and ultimately "worthless".

Having previously worked for two years as a healthcare assistant, he said he became concerned when a trainer was unable to answer routine questions about care work.

"She didn't give us any answers and we realised she didn't have any experience of healthcare," he said.

The company disputes claims that training was ineffective.

He also alleged communication with the company deteriorated after he made his second payment, with responses sometimes taking several days.

Patel has since complained to his bank and sought help from Citizens Advice.

The BBC has seen emails from the company advertising a "three-month recruitment programme" offering "training and placement with sponsorship" for £5,500.

Home Office guidance, external states agencies may charge for services such as training or CV-writing assistance, but cannot charge fees solely for finding, or attempting to find, employment.

Responding to questions about its marketing, Synetal Solutions said: "We acknowledge the 'guarantee' wording in the emails supplied and recognise that contractual terms alone do not resolve concerns about those assurances."

As part of its programme, Synetal Solutions created accounts for trainees on iHasco, a health and social care training platform.

The BBC contacted iHasco, which confirmed the company was a customer. However, it said its terms did not permit customers to resell its training content to individuals who were not employees.

The company said it was reviewing Synetal Solutions' account and would take appropriate action if necessary.

Synetal Solutions said it had acted in accordance with its agreement with iHasco.

The Care Quality Commission said there was no single qualification that automatically qualified someone to work as a care worker. Instead, providers are responsible for ensuring employees are appropriately trained and competent for their roles.

The BBC also contacted a number of healthcare organisations whose logos appeared on Synetal Solutions' website as examples of employers where graduates had worked.

Those organisations that responded said they had no links to the company. Some also said they had not authorised the use of their branding, and some said they would not accept certificates provided through the company's training.

Daniel Blake, director of London Citizens Advice, described the company's approach as "exploitative".

"The promises that were made are impossible promises," he said. "They are targeting people with vulnerable immigration status.

"This company is asking for large sums of money upfront without any reputable standards, without any reputable evidence of success, and yet when it goes wrong they are refusing to take any responsibility.

"For us, it seems a very unethical way of conducting business."

He added that no reputable recruitment agency would guarantee a successful outcome without first assessing a candidate and matching them to a suitable role, and urged anybody asked to pay large sums upfront to seek independent advice.

"If it seems too good to be true, it probably is," he said.

The company's website states: "Synetal Solutions provides the right support, guidance, and guaranteed job placement to help you succeed."

Its social media channels also promoted healthcare as "one of the most reliable paths" for people seeking visa-sponsored work in the UK.

Sarah and Rahul, whose names we have changed, said they paid £3,000 to Synetal Solutions while seeking sponsored employment before the expiry of their student visas.

Rahul, a former dentist in India, could remain in the UK on a graduate visa for longer, but Sarah's immigration status was close to expiring.

To pay the fee, the couple said they borrowed money from a family friend and took out a loan.

Rahul said he was shocked by the quality of the training.

"The mentor didn't know anything about healthcare," he said.

The couple said they were also shown the names of established healthcare providers, including Bupa, as examples of potential employers. Bupa told the BBC it had no connection with the company.

Synetal Solutions says some of their candidates "told us they had secured employment with Bupa" and the reference was "not intended to suggest a formal partnership with Bupa".

It says it had not verified those outcomes and "cannot attribute the recruitment decisions to our training".

Rahul said he secured one or two interviews, but prospective employers rejected the certificates he had received through the programme.

The couple said Synetal Solutions had since stopped responding to their messages.

"We're desperate," Sarah said. "We don't see any other way out."

Amisha, whose name has also been changed, said she signed up with Synetal after being told that both a placement and visa sponsorship were guaranteed.

Her student visa is due to expire soon.

She said the training consisted of three sessions lasting around 90 minutes each.

After paying an initial instalment of £1,800, she became reluctant to make a second payment because she felt she had received little in return. She said the company warned her that her contract would be cancelled if she failed to pay, prompting her to transfer a further £1,800.

"I was waiting for interviews for two or three months. They were ignoring me," she said.

According to Amisha, the company applied for only a handful of vacancies advertised on job-search website Indeed. She eventually secured an interview for a healthcare assistant role, but said the employer told her the certificates she had received were not recognised.

Blake told the BBC: "If it seems good to be true, it probably is. If you are considering handing over money upfront then seek advice."

He said that "if people have given money and haven't received the service that they were entitled to they should seek redress".

"First of all, make a complaint directly to the company, then to Trading Standards.

"If people feel a criminal offence has happened, we would encourage and support them to go to the police."

A government spokesperson said: "We know how much distress scammers cause to their victims, which is why we will do everything in our power to protect hardworking families and vulnerable customers.

"Our reforms have provided Companies House with new and improved powers to prevent companies from acting unlawfully and to query, remove and share suspicious information."

Synetal Solutions said: "We provide training and employment assistance and maintain supporting records. Recruitment, sponsorship and visa decisions depend on employers and the Home Office."

The company said it had records of genuine candidates who had secured jobs and sponsorship through its services.