So I was looking for jobs on indeed.com and I found this website that is asking for virtual assistants. It is asking me to pay $12.95 as a one time set up charge to "cost covers our expense of getting you started, setting you up in our system and providing you with your work materials."

The website is www.nctspro.com. Does anyone know if this is legit or should I use the $12.95 and treat myself to Olive Garden? .

Thanks!

Shay

I have never heard of them before I would see if they have some kind of contact info on there with a phone number if not chances are they are not really legit. At the very least I would ask them for references.

There is one really legitimate company I know of that hires VAs they are TeamDoubleClick.com I worked for them for a while until I was ready to branch out on my own and they still contact me from time to time for one time projects that they have come in

Sorry I've never heard of that one - and although I've never worked with an agency I have heard lots about Double Click and everyone seems to like it for the most part.
Whatever you do, make sure you do your homework and check them out as vtec crystal mentioned. Good luck!

__________________

I tried double click, the would not hire me. I did so bad on one of their test (excel). I better brush up.

I agree that you should do your homework before giving your money and credit information to anyone.

I have reservations about the obvious grammar and spelling errors throughout the NCTS Pro website. That raises flags for me.

The company could be legitimate but I'm not sure how many satisfied customers they would have if they can't even take the time to ensure their own website is free of mistakes.

__________________
Shari Sultana
Online Business Manager (marketing for retail ecommerce)

Hello!

I think anyone who charges you money to work with them should be avoided. Chances are, it's a scam.

__________________
Sincerely,

Erin Blaskie of Business Services, ETC

I spent a little time going over their site today and my initial impression is a big fat NO. I would advise that you do not sign up or give them your money.
A few tip offs (for me) that they are either not legit or simply don't have the resources to provide you with substantial workflow:

Their site is *extremely* unprofessional - each page has a different scale, fonts don't match, there are typos (as mentioned) and there is no branding at all.
This tells me there is no money for a proper designer, no investment in branding - as if the site was just thrown up.

I could just as easily toss up a site with a bunch of text and ask for $12 - telling prospective VAs and work at home moms that I can help them get work but even with a limited budget it would look more professional than this.

If they are successful at finding clients then there is money behind the site, or at least there should be...and if they themselves are a new company then whoever owns it could have put much more care into the site. In this case their presentation tells me they have very little if any backing at all, much less the meager time investment by whoever owns the site to make it look and read in a professional manner.

Now, if whoever owns this site wanted to make their service at least appear more legit they'd provide a base address and phone number at minimum...I hate to be so harsh but in my eyes, even if this site is the real deal I'd never go for it - why would I give my money to a company that can't even create a proper online persona? And where on earth are they finding the clients, etc.? There is no client login area, no 'for clients' information area....

Pass on this and anything like it.
I second Erin's statement, by the way, as a general rule.

__________________

Thank you. I reviewed the website too and I would much rather spend my money working on my own VA website. Thanks for researching!

My pleasure...there are SO many sites like this out there - it's too bad really, no telling how many people fall for a 'quick fix' and send in that money. And $12 isn't so much, right? So they go for it...but it adds up! And you're so right, that $12 could pay for a LOT of resources for getting you set up.
You'll find your own clients on your own terms and it won't cost you a 'finders fee'!

__________________

Great evaluation Tess! I love that you are the long typer to my blanket statements

__________________
Sincerely,

Erin Blaskie of Business Services, ETC