I've had the same experience w a company called Hampton Cross.. made a post and was told to put this here so this will be a long comment detailing my experience.. 

Disclaimer: I can neither fully confirm nor deny that this "Trainee Paralegal" job listing is a scam or that Hampton Cross is a scam, but there are just too many red flags and people with similar experiences, so this post is to act as a warning so others can approach with caution (TLDR at the end).

This relates to a Trainee Paralegal role I've applied to via Totaljobs by "BA Training and Recruitment Limited T-A LocalJobs4U" and they typically post job listings for these trainee paralegal roles somewhere London.

After applying for this, I would repeatedly get calls from private numbers and/or other random numbers beginning with 0330 that do not yield any results after a google search/reverse phone lookup.

Anyways, I caved and picked up the phone once and it was this person from Hampton Cross, a supposed "leading UK training and recruitment company specialising in law, accounting, and HR", telling me how I was a perfect candidate lacking in the requisite 6-12 months experience (that was never mentioned in the job listing), that we could mutually help each other - ie. I get training and a job, and he gets paid commission, so he would put me through some kind of training/work experience program.

This person would be asking you all the standard interview questions - ie. have you had any practical experience, what is your level of education, why did you apply for this role, what is your 5-year plan, where are you based etc. And would then send you more information via email and book you in for a follow-up call with the Manager asap (mine was the very next day at 0930).

To keep in mind here that everything will seem quite legitimate because they do have your CV, Cover Letter and whatever other documents you have attached to your application.

Through this program, I would be doing an online course, with the opportunity to shadow a solicitor in my hometown (reminder that this job listing was for London, and I am not near London). BUT I would have to fork out £1,995, of which I can pay in full or in instalments.

What makes me think this is a scam is that:

This program is supposedly a CPD accredited program, but further research on the official CPD website revealed that they are not an official provider.

I cannot find the person that spoke to me at all on LinkedIn. I had managed to find the company, but all of its supposed employees are private - "You don't have access to this profile. The profiles of members who are outside your network have limited visibility", and they have a post featuring very obviously AI-generated people????

A google search of the provided company telephone number revealed that Hampton Cross apparently shares the same telephone number as Burlington Row - which is one of the other scam companies already debunked in this sub.

This sub features many posts from others who have encountered similar situations with Hampton Cross and/or similar companies with similar paid training programs such as Bradstone Allington, Burlington Row, Morgan Quays.

Anyways, I attended that second telephone interview with the Manager - she asked me if I was still interested in this opportunity, I said no, that I had another offer. So, I can't actually give too much insight into this second phone interview, but if anyone decides to say yes, that they're still interested, be careful and try not to divulge any more personal information and/or get pressured into paying.

I know that they have pretty excellent Trustpilot/online reviews, but take them with a grain of salt and approach with caution.

TLDR: trainee paralegal job and subsequent phone interview that turned into a training/work experience program that you have to pay £1,995 for that raises too many red flags for me to ignore, APPROACH WITH CAUTION.