andrewmlogan

Hi

I am pulling my hair out trying to decide an on an agent and if you are reading this then I hope you can understand my conundrum.

I am looking at taking the first big step and I will apply under the 175 visa. I work in I.T and will need to go down the route of the ACS’s RPL. Peter Chiam specialises in the ACS and is confidant that I have a strong case. Also, after a good talk with Marina I have been assured that they are just as competent and I am bolstered by all the good things said about both agents.

I am looking for any guidance that anyone could give in making my decision easier. .

Thanks

Andrew

Ozzidoc

Why do you think that you need an agent?

andrewmlogan

Because I am completely inept at writing essays that would be required for the RPL. Also because I want it done right the first time and the thought of being turned down terrifies me.

chiara

Hi

My OH used PTlabs for RPL and then we are using him for the visa as well.

I cannot reccomend Peter highly enough as he was brilliant. He must never sleep as his emails came at all times of the day and night!

We have utmost faith in Peter and do rate him highly. I have also read great things about Go Matilda.

I think you would be ok using either of these two as generally anyone who is constantly rated on BE is worth a look.

C

andrewmlogan

I think I am starting to swing his way and he is a tad cheaper too. Great sense of humour in correspondence so far as well.

chandugitam

You can check out George Lombard too. He's done a good job for me and his fees are reasonable.

I first went to PTlabs for an initial assessment as i am in IT and he did provide me with good information but did not show much interest in my application.

You still have to write the essays as an agent will only review the essays and may provide guidelines.

ianbrown

Both have good reputations on here, a few searches on them both will show you that, we cannot fault Go Matilda (our agents) who have always responded to our emails/calls the same day, right from our TRA to our last hurdle of the visa process, we know 100% we made the right choice,

Obviously cannot comment on PTLabs so was just replying to your post to wish you luck in your migration journey and also to point out to you that the first two digits on a migration agents number (mara) represents when they first became registered as a migration agent ......... PTLabs (Peter) 04 (2004) and Go Matilda 01 (2001)

Good Luck with whoever you chose

scrum

Hi there

Just thought I'd give you my opinion....

When we first whet looking for an agent I joined every forum I could find and just piggy-backed I suppose. We used Peter and it was the best decision we could have made. The man is fantastic - as is his service.

The thing is Peter knows exactly what the ACS are looking for. He is aware of the "correct" terminology they require and the format everything needs to be in.

He advised us continuously and his advice always made sense.

Peters help was invaluable. Without him we would not be living in Melbourne on a PR visa now. He kept us on track, advised us, nudged us along, calmed us down, you name it and he did it.

The CBOK area was definitely where Peter came into his own. Think about it, we wrote somewhere in the region on 20,000 to 25,000 words and Peter read every one of them. The thing is it's easy to lose track of what the ACS want when your typing it up. It's proving the knowledge you gained all the time. It can be very hard to stay on track.

Considering the fact that Peter is in Sydney and we were in Ireland one would expect communication issues. There were NONE.

Initially I was a bit worried because Peter selects to communicate primarily by e-mail. I can now see that this is by far the most effective mode of communication. We are never in any doubt about his advice because we keep his mails and refered back to them. With telephone conversations something always gets lost in the telling.

Consider the time difference...

I e-mail Peter at night Irish time and the answer is waiting for me the following morning Irish time.

I e-mail Peter in the morning Irish time and I usually get a reply within 30 minutes. This can carry on until he decides to go to bed and I have known this to be at 2:00am his time on occasion.

To conclude, I have absolutely no problem at all in recommending Peter. There really are some cowboys out there but I guarantee you that from my experience Peter is not one of them. If you decide to engage him you will never regret it. You might regret it if you don't though.

All the best.

Trish

Alan Collett

I'm fairly sure you wouldn't go far wrong with Peter.

This said, we'll be delighted to have your business too ...

Best regards.

kunjal and shamir

Hi all
Please can someone give me an indication of the costs involved in going down the RPL/ACS route to 175 through an agent?

I have done lots of reading (on OH's behalf) and am in little doubt we will need the help of an agent!!

I appreciate it will differ on a case by case basis, just a ball park so we can start planning would be great...

Also, some idea of timescales involved would be much appreciated too!

Thanks in advance
Kunjal

Bod864

Hi,

Go Matilda was recommend to myself by a colleague who used them to successfully apply for his visa. I also had to go down the RPL route with ACS and found Go Matilda to be very helpful and supportive. Can't comment on other agents but wouldn't hesitate in recommending them.

juliemtaylor

Hi we too are using Peter and he got us through the ACS assessment and we got MODL - something we were not sure we would get.. Would highly recommend him.

Go Matilda - also very recommended on here and on Poms In Oz.

Julie x

chrisall

Hi,

I am currently going through the RPL process with Peter and can unreservedly second the positive things that have been said about him in previous replies. He is extremely knowledgeable on the subject and always replies promptly and positively, with a gentle push in the right direction if I'm going off on a tangent. He is an absolute stickler for detail and will push you to achieve your very best, which to me shows that he reads every word that I write.

RPL is heavy-going at times, and Peter won't do the work for you, but I would be lost without his guidance.

Good luck,
Chrisall.

fraser_mac

I would like to qualify that this is my own personal experience with Peter and Go Matilda.

After much research on here and other forums we decided to contact both PtLabs and Go Matilda. Peter at Ptlabs got back to us within 24 hours and we bounced various things back and forward mainly with regards to my IT skills. He looked at my CV and asked numerous questions with regards to this. He also outlined our various Visa options. This took 4 or 5 days between questions from Peter and by both myself and my wife.

In the meantime Allan Collett contacted me from Go Matilda and said the RPL guy in Oz would be in contact. 2 days past and nothing. In the end due to lack of interest and communication from Go Matilda in Oz they lost the business. This is no reflection on Allan himself as he took the time to contact me whilst the guy Stephen(I think that was his name) didn't contact us as promised.

With regards to Peter and the RPL process we are currently in the hands of ACS as my application is being assessed as we speak. We have decided to use Peter for both our RPL, our State Sponsorship and for the Visa it's self. I cannot speak highly enough of Peter as he has been brilliant and had to put up with a lot of waffle and stress from my end!

He does most of his correspondence through emails but due to my situation and me being 'self employed' he even called me on the phone and we discussed that in great depth. It certainly eased that bit of stress from my end!

Alan Collett

Hello Fraser.

To put some flesh on the bones of your posting, our records show that you heard from my colleague (Stephen - as you say) 2 days after you contacted us, commenting on your CV and inviting you to comment on the availability of certain information. You then sent an email after we had finished work on the Friday; Stephen was not in on the Monday to answer your email; you then advised us on the Tuesday that you had appointed another agent.

If I might say, that is a somewhat different scenario to that suggested, and to suggest lack of interest on our part and a lack of communication is somewhat awry from what actually transpired.

Nevertheless you are in good hands with Peter - good luck for the remainder of your application.

Best regards.