As a tutor I've used many sites to advertise my services so I can say honestly that FirstTutors is just a big scam. Their business model is manipulative, censoring communication between student and tutor until the student's paid £20 to the company for the privilege of finding out a phone number. Perhaps as a result of the fairly substantial initial cost I've never found business through FirstTutors. The site doesn't even really add value, any google searches return gumtree as the leading result, which operates under a much more ethical business model of charging a one-off fee from the tutor to host their ad.
In short, FirstTutors is unethical for students and pointless for tutors.
Dear Jack,
I am very sorry to read your comments. To comply with employment agency regulations, we are unable to charge tutors for finding work. We ask student's for a fee to help cover the cost of identity and reference checks on all of our registered tutors. Unlike free services, this offers peace of mind to the customer.
First Tutors aim to provide a service which allows for seamless communication between tutor and student as tuition requirements are discussed on our messaging forum. The content blocker is an essential tool in ensuring the security of this process but we are aware that at times content can be blocked which can be a barrier to the smooth communication we strive to achieve.
Whist I understand First Tutors may not be a good fit for everyone, I hope this helps clarify some of the details you have addressed in your feedback. Should you have any further questions or would like to discuss this in detail, please contact enquiries@firsttutors.co.uk and we will be happy to help.
Kind Regards,
First Tutors