Questions buyers ask

Common questions

Is this a site that tells me whether a specific course is a scam?

No, and that is deliberate. We name no individual coach, course or company. We teach you a method you can apply to any seller in a category, which is more useful than a list of names that goes out of date the moment it is published, and it keeps the guidance fair and accurate. Start with how to check any seller.

How do I check if a coach or course is legit before I pay?

Run one test first: ask what the seller can show you that they did not produce themselves. Screenshots, testimonials and income figures are claims they made and chose. Real proof is what they do not control, such as filed accounts, references you phone yourself, neutral reviews, and a figure for what typical buyers actually got. The full method is on how to check.

A coach showed me Stripe screenshots and income proof. Is that proof?

No. A screenshot can be changed in seconds, and it carries no record of where it came from. It is a claim with good production values. Ask for something the seller does not control: filed accounts, contactable references, or a figure showing what most students earned, not just the one in the video.

Why don't you name the bad ones?

Because naming individuals turns a durable, useful method into a brittle fight about one person, and a list of names is out of date the day it is published. Where a regulator or a major news organisation has already named a case, we link you to their finding at the source. Our job is to teach you to read any seller, not to run a list.

Do you make money if I buy a course you mention?

No. There are no affiliate links anywhere on this site and we take no commission on anything you buy. The whole category of "honest reviews" is mostly funded by commission of forty to a hundred percent, which is why honest help is so hard to find. We are funded so that we never have to sell you anything.

They keep saying "only three spots left" and "last cohort ever." Is that real?

Usually it is worth checking rather than trusting. Open the sales page in the Wayback Machine and look back. If the same offer has "closed forever" before, or the "final cohort" reopened, the urgency is manufactured. A genuine intake closes once, for a real reason. See false finality.

The free masterclass turned out to be a ninety-minute pitch. Is that normal?

It is the standard design, and the free part is the hook, not the gift. A free training that exists to funnel you toward a paid offer is a sales tool. That does not make it worthless, but watch what waits at the end of it, which is usually a confident claim and a deadline. See the funnel that found you.

Can I get a refund if a course does not deliver?

It depends on your country and on how you paid, which is why paying by credit card matters. A card gives you a chargeback route, and in some countries extra protection on top. Beware guarantees that only pay out if you completed every step perfectly, which are often written to be impossible to claim. Your country page under [the nation guides] sets out the specifics.

Is it even legal for them to claim "£10,000 a month"?

In most countries a seller making an earnings claim is already required to hold evidence for it, and that evidence is supposed to reflect a typical buyer, not the best performer. A small "results not typical" line does not fix a misleading headline. The problem is that the rules are enforced after the fact, so the check is yours to run before you pay.

They want me to "apply" and book a free strategy call. Why?

Because the application and the call are the close, not a screening. Each small step makes the big yes feel consistent, and the call is built to convert it on the spot, often with the price revealed only under time pressure. A real consultation does not end with "card details now or the price goes up." See the discovery-call close.

How do I check a seller's real track record?

Use the public company register for your country, which can show the entity, its directors and sometimes its filed accounts. The limit is that sole traders leave no record anywhere, so a missing entry is a question to ask, not proof of anything. Your [nation page] has the exact register and its limits.

Why is the "total value" on the sales page so high?

Because the first number you see sets the reference point, and a huge invented "value" makes the real price feel like a rescue. Ask whether any item in the stack is actually sold, on its own, at the price claimed. If it only exists to be added up, it is a number, not a value. See the value stack.

Are courses and coaching just a scam in general?

No, and we are careful to say so. Good coaches and good courses exist, and the checks here are built so that honest operators pass them easily. What we are against is the smaller group who sell certainty they cannot back up to people who can least afford to lose the money. A genuine seller can show real proof and is glad to.

What if the course is about investing, crypto or trading?

That sits outside what we cover, because it is regulated financial-promotion territory. We point you to the relevant financial regulator in your country and stop there. Your [nation page] names the regulator to check.

Who is behind this site?

CourseKiln is published by Kiln Guides, an independent publisher of practical guides for small businesses, under a named editor. We take no affiliate money and earn nothing from your decision. The full account of who we are and how we source is on how we work.