thinklogical

hi,
I have been cheated by a legal firm in CANADA called<snipped>.. They were responsive at the initial stage and i got carried away by their response and have fully trusted them to apply for skilled immigration to Canada which is due to apply on the 4th May, 2013..
I paid total sum of around 700 USD in two installment to process my application.. I have spend near 300 USD to collect my documents, posting to them and all..
I have registered with their legal firm to process my application sometimes in December , 2012 inorder to apply on time when the skilled immigration opens on the 4th May, 2013 ..
During the whole process, there was no advice or guidance from them. they just sends the empty forms and to be filled up and we have to send back to them.. They are not informing what all important documents are to be collected..
At the last moment they were saying one of my document is missing and it is not possible for me to get that document at this stage.. and am missing my oppurtunity to apply on the 4th May, 2013...

Their 100% money back guarantee is a day light robbery planting on the innocent people...
I have requested for refund atleast half of the amount i paid...they are now saying that their charge is 300USD per day.. and i will not get any money refund...

this is insane.. i have sacrified lots to save that much amount of money to have better lives for my family.. It has been all robed by them...

My dear friends... donot trust this so called legal firms to apply on your behald.. It is as good as applying it directly by ourself to the immigration..

Siouxie

Whilst I understand your annoyance, I have removed the company name.

iaink

Sounds like someone screwed up if a form was missed, but $1000US is a drop in the bucket when it comes to immigration costs. If that a major blow to your finances I would think carefully about whether you are doing the right thing anyway.

$300 a day for legal advice seems relatively cheap to me FWIW, but if they have a money back guarantee and they failed to tell you to get a particualar necessary document then I agree you are hard done by.

However, bad mouthing a company as a first post here (and second duplicate thread) is generally not good form, hence the name removal.

gb_griffiths

Now that the name has been removed I feel that I can fully endorse this poster's experience.

Same firm. Same experience.

$1,000 CAD was not a huge deal to me (it was a bit painful) but could be a big deal to someone else.

__TJ__

thats why you should always use reputable firms that us british expats have posted about.
im happy to recommend my immi lawyer but frankly sounds like you couldnt afford her ( considerably more than $1000!) but my case has been complicated...

also many british expats will tell you the forms are easy enough to fill in yourself. its all there for you with checklists and step by step guidance. im sorry you got screwed over but maybe the dream isnt over. you can get your paperworkk together and apply as soon as possible after the 5th may and maybe be in with a chance. or consider another stream, we got in on a provincial nominess ( the province says they desp need a profession, you have that profession they fast track you)

check http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index-can.asp for details on the different types of visa available and what you might qualify for and then think on the application again.
its not a cheap business tho the fees for immi are in the thousands too and theres no guarantees.

ninaDGBCA

We did it all ourselves and even that cost considerably more than $1000. For a family of 5 (although 1 is Canadian and therefore cheap ) the whole process from LMO/TWP over PNP to PR probably cost around $5000-$6000 excluding moving and shipping costs.

firstchoice

When your application has been submitted (maybe, just maybe you can still succeed if you do that after May 4), you may want to contact your Provincial Law Society and see if there is a basis for making a complaint.

gb_griffiths

The $1,000 CAD referred to (based on my experience with the same firm) covers only the first 2x instalments of the process.

Specifically, it covers:

1) c. $500 - For an information pack (largely just the stuff you can get online reformatted into a Word Document and some other stuff which I really don't feel was useful for understanding the application process (e.g. an 'exclusive' list of job websites for Canada, a list of links to websites about various different Canadian towns and cities and a couple of sample reference letters etc).

2) c. $500 - For them to review the application form you've filled in for them.

I thought the service provided by this lot was dreadful. However, as I said many posts ago on a different thread, I know people on this forum who have had good experiences with these guys. Maybe my expectations were too high but I echo the frustrations of the OP.

scribe123

Perhaps expectations come into it a lot when putting a value on the experience.

After looking at the forms there is little they will be able to fill out without a lot of correspondence or you on the end of the phone whilst they are completed.

I'm not saying you did, but I think a lot of people go into it thinking that the form filling will be done for them, but of course that can't be done unless you are dictating to them. It's hard work finding all the information and chasing references and transcripts, and most of the time it's something only you can do.

januarymix

If they are consistently bad, wouldn't mind knowing who they are.

Siouxie

As you don't appear to be wanting to use an Immigration Consultant I see no reason that you would need to know the name.

Whilst the OP and one other have had problems, other people have used the company concerned with no complaints.

It would be incorrect to name them for this reason.

scribe123

I won't be using a consultant, but in the interests of clarity and fairness for those who may, I think they should be named.

This site isn't just for positive reviews and they should be balanced. If I were to use them after reading the good reviews here and had an awful experience, I'd be pretty mad if I then found out negative reviews had been censored.

Siouxie

There is also fairness to the company concerned to be taken into consideration. If you were to ask the question "thinking of using xyz immigration, any views" that would be different and I am sure that any feedback you got would be left in situ.

If you wish to discuss this further, please do so by PM.

Thank you.

Thread closed.

christmasoompa

Trouble is, that as Siouxie has said in her first post, this has come from a newbie and it's their one and only post so far. Normally, anybody joining just to badmouth somebody wouldn't be allowed to do so, as how do we know they're not just from a competitor?

Just as somebody new isn't allowed to put links in their first posts recommending a company (as usually they're spammers), ditto from newbies wanting to complain about a company as well.

If it was from an established member, then it wouldn't be an issue, but it seems the OP has only joined BE to air his grievances, so it's not really fair on the company concerned as we don't know his background or situation.