moneypenny20

I know what you're saying but I'd just like to reinforce what's already been posted. Never ever use a company that does not have MARA registered agents.

If they were a legitimate organisation they would at least have the right website link to DIAC. Putting a link to Aus Goverment is useless to anyone out of the country.

525252

I can see that in your part of the world being registered with MARA is considered very important
however almost all of the agents in my country are not registered with MARA, the weekend newspapers are filled with ads of agents and many of them are very reliable and have been in business for years with lots of +ve feedback

I know, you lose the protection of MARA by going with an unregistered agent however if you chose you agent carefully (by doing proper background checks and asking friends/colleagues) than even a un-registered agent will suffice

they might not be able to handle very tricky cases involving legal or medical issues, however for the usual run of the mill cases they are more than enough and that 's what most people need

Pollyana

Not all to do with tricky cases really, though they do have to reach a certain standard to be regstered, its also a question of whether you want the backup that MARA can give if an agent messes up the application, absconds with your cash etc.
Also, you may not realise that you can use an agent in ANY part of the world, does not have to be in your own country.

Obviously it is up to you, but you cannot expect us to recommend using an agent who is not MARA registered - over the years both Moneypenny and I have seen too many stories of people losing money because of that very thing.

525252

yes, I know that we can use agent from any part of the world but agents cost lots of money and its very uncommon in our part of the world to trust someone with this amount of money just over the internet, people prefer to have someone who has a physical existence and an office , someone whom you can meet in person and someone who has a feedback from locals (friends/family etc)

and of-course there will be a huge communication and cultural gap if you hire someone from other side of the globe, he won't be able to understand your problems and concerns as a local agent and would be unaware of the local procedures (like for PCC)

how much do the MARA registered agents usually cost ? local agents here charge around 1500 USD ~ 2000 USD for the whole case, including the skills assessment, upfront payment is only 15-20%, rest is paid only when you get the grant

Pollyana

I have no idea of costs I'm araid, my own visa was a spouse visa and was several years ago. You would need to contact the individual agents - several of them post on here and have MARA numbers and contact details in their signatures

moneypenny20

I don't think registered agents would be charging greater amounts of money than someone not registered. In fact quite often there have been posts showing the opposite.

Everyone has to do what feels best for them and if that means they use an unregistered agent then that's fine. What shouldn't happen though is for those people to either complain about the agent stuffing up or to advise others that MARA registered agents are not necessary.

JoeBlogsOfOz

So, are we satisfied now that AusFis is a scam company, and gloria87 only signed up on BE to mislead people , and as a result is she now banned from this site?

Laura26

Thanks to all of you, without this thread I would've made a huge mistake and get ripped off by a scam company.
So yes I'm satisfied

Pollyana

No-one has been banned from BE because of tis thread. If anyone is found to be representing a scam business, they will be, but we prefer to act on facts not just suspicion

JoeBlogsOfOz

Well, now we do know

1- AusFis is a scam company
2- Gloria87's first post was about defending AusFis, and was later found to have contradicting information in her later posts.

Join the two, and I read it as - she was representing a scam business.

Pollyana

Yes it seems clear that this is a scam company, and the thread warns against using them in clear enough terms for anyone to understand. However although a poster seems to be defending them I don't feel justified in banning her for that reason - unless you or anyone else can prove she is an employee of the company and joined merely to promote them?

JoeBlogsOfOz

Good old benefit of doubt !

Okay case dropped

rubbeldiekatz

Funny Thread

Sherlock Holmes

Whatever is or isn't happening here...it's obvioulsy askew. Methinks we may have one person, two names, knocking the argument back and forth, just to get publicity?

The thread should remain open anyway as a warning to others.

babyblue29

ok .. here is my story

2 weeks ago my boyfriend received a call from ausfis .. he had registered with them. they told him he could come over to australia as a permanent resident blah blah and asked for account details to charge 249 euro for application .. i told him to give them my account details so they called me and i gave the details although when i tried to ask some questions over the phone the caller was very evasive .. i told my boyfriend i had a fishy feeling about these ppl so the next day he does some research and decides he doesnt like what he sees and calls them .. he cancels the application .. they say ok .. the guy from ausfis who contacted my boyfriend calls back and confirms that the application has been cancelled.

Today .. 2 weeks later .. my account has been debited for 249 euro by ausfis .. both my boyfriend and i have called them .. a female who barely speaks english answers the phone and says her manager is not at the office till tomorrow (and neither is the first caller from ausfis) at which time we will receive a phone call .. very rude phone manner too.

I suppose i trusted my boyfriend to know who he was dealing with otherwise i would never have been caught in this situation.

So .. we are waiting for a phone call tomorrow .. i have a feeling we wont get one .. will keep u updated