I recently had a Skype interview with Pinnacle Consults for one of its clients. I received a letter offering provisional employment, but where I'm suspicious is in some of the additional information that came with the letter (the text of the letter is at the bottom of this post). Specifically, I'm concerned about the following:
"ADMINISTRATIVE/PROCESSING FEE
The only costs that would be borne by the candidate is the visa application fee which would be paid for before visa is processed (all relevant employment contract documentation, invitation letters, proof of accommodation etc will be forwarded to relevant embassies).
An administrative and processing fee of $200 (us dollars) is required to be paid for immediately to show acceptance of this job offer and to conclude the employment process. (Please note that $100 (us dollars) of this sum would be paid back on resumption of duty in addition to the $1000 (us dollars) salary advance to be given as relocation cost.
It should be mentioned here that payment of the administrative fee signifies acceptance and readiness to resume duty as soon as possible and that this provisional employment will not be concluded until the administrative fee is received."
Does this organization exist? Does it really provide the services it claims to provide? Is it normal for such an organization to require payment of the visa fee?
The text of the letter I received:
7/02/2013
430,Troye Street,
Sunnyside, Pretoria.
Republic of South Africa.
Phone: +27 84 415 3082
Email: [email protected]
Dear Sir/Madam,
INTERNATIONAL TEACHING POSITIONS (LETTER OF PROVISIONAL EMPLOYMENT)
This is to confirm that you were successful in your interview with us and have therefore been offered a provisional employment as a Grade 10 – 12 ENGLISH TEACHER at a newly established international school in Doha Qatar. A formal letter of employment and details of the school will be revealed immediately at the conclusion of this process including information brochure about the school and the city of Doha. The reason for not revealing the institution's name to you at this time is to avoid a situation whereby a candidate will contact the school directly and start mounting unnecessary pressure on them (we have seen this happen in the past).
It should be borne in mind however that the resumption of duty would be between the last week in February 2013 to the first week in March 2013 (this depending on the time visa is granted) every effort will be made to hasten the process as far as possible.
I do believe congratulations are in order at this juncture, please read the following pages carefully and respond as appropriate. I look forward to welcoming you to the country of Qatar very soon. Since we would like this process to be promptly concluded, we have waived some of the documents you are required to submit most especially the police report from your country of abode till resumption of duty. However, other documents would be required in order to process your visa application with the Minister of the interior.
Yours faithfully,
Michael Henshaw
Head, International Recruitment
PINNACLE CONSULT INTERNATIONAL
Pinnacle Consults: is it real?
My dear, friend.
Let me tell you that I also received the same letter or employment offer (with a juicy salary) but once I knew they are charging a fee, I immediately thought it was a scam. No reason for charging you any money; the schools pay these recruiting agencies precisely for that duty. So, please, do not fall into that trap. Besides there is no Pinnacle Consults at least for teachers in the net. I am still dragging these people to give me more info, but no money sent WHATSOEVER. That is the rule! I have been decent and kind, there is nothing else I can do. But I have both eyes wide open for this kind of people. What a drag!
This is definitely a scam. I received the exact same offer you guys did. I thought it odd they wouldn't release the name of the school I had supposedly been hired for. Moreover, they run all the email through a Gmail acct (lol). I got weird vibes, so I searched around and found this blog. I hope others who go through this process find their way here and learn before they send off money they'll never see again 
Pinnacle Consult International is a SCAM
Yolanda Mbali DOES NOT EXIST
Michael Henshaw is a FRAUD
hopefully Google will catch those names with anyone searching them after they get an offer 
Guys, anybody offering easy employment in South Africa is immediately trying to scam you: there is no such thing. Secondly, there is no need to even try to hire the services of an immigration consultant - plenty of those willing to fleece would-be immigrants as well (some genuine, many not). I'd recommend just dealing directly with South African Home Affairs yourself: the paperwork isn't that complex!
In this case, it's definitely a scam. No genuine business in South Africa has a gmail address, sorry.
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