Misleading eligibility criteria and potential data harvesting
I recently applied for their AI app development program after carefully checking their official website for the eligibility requirements. According to all the published information, I met every single condition perfectly.
However, right after I submitted my application form—which required me to provide a significant amount of sensitive personal details—they called me to say I was rejected. Their excuse was that I needed to have an established company for at least 6 months. This "6-month" rule was a completely hidden requirement that was mentioned absolutely nowhere in their written guidelines.
Collecting people's private information under false pretenses and changing the rules after the fact is highly unprofessional and extremely suspicious. To be honest, this bait-and-switch tactic makes the whole program feel like a scam designed to harvest personal data. I strongly advise others to be very cautious before handing over any private information to them. A complete waste of time.
Reply from Enterprise4all
Hi Fatih, thank you for your feedback. I'll address both points:
The personal information collected during the application process is required by the government as a condition of the Skills Bootcamps funding, we have no discretion over what is asked. Both the DfE privacy notice and our own are linked on the form, which you confirmed receiving before submitting.
On the eligibility decision: our published criteria are clear that this programme is designed for people who already have a specific business idea, problem or project to build around, and that places are awarded on the basis of eligibility and fit assessed at application. Unfortunately your application did not meet those criteria at this time.
We're sorry the experience felt frustrating and we would be happy to have a further discussion to explain the decision.
Kind regards
Andrew James
Data & Compliance Manager
Enterprise4all (North West) Limited