THORPES

Hi All

We have appointed an agent and paid them almost 800 pounds already. We are in middle of getting things prepared for skills assesment. We now have to prepare statements from 2 employers. Our agents have given examples of the things TRA require but the rest is left to us. We thought because we have paid to go through an agent, they would prepare the statements for us. We have sent everthing to explain what OH does to they seem to know about his occupation.
We feel we have paid for a checking service and could have done the work ourselves. (well we are doing the work) We do understand that we have to get all info as it is down to us but do you think agent should be doing more?

knockoff nige

From my experience, all my agent wanted to do was proof read my application and send it on. They gave samples for references just like you got but the help in filling out the CBOK form was from the documentation you can get from the aus gov website. I would expect them to do more and really regret using an agent.

Dorothy

Did you not clarify with your agent in advance exactly what service they would provide?

dinner-dash

this is not unusual ........ we were informed how agent did things before we signed up, and this was how he expected things to be done, we did references and he checked them for us.

Sunny_Glesga

some agents doing the same sort of thing (checking service)

it actually came to the point where i had given them my whole working life on paper only to be sent back to me twice as it wasnt set out as per the way TRA like it. I has had enough after this and went to see them and told them to deal with what they have and put it the way it should be! I could tell the story but they are paid to write the book!!!!

Time to take a stand and make them do their bit


PS my last payment was for £600 and that was for me to fill in the completed Visa app for and send to them so they can post it off, i had a look and done it myself and posted it. DHL £27. Just one other tip, when your papers are ready to send off dont sit back and wait, my agent in particular sent them off in Bulk when there was enough. How long did it sit there fully prepared?

TMRE

Very happy with our agents. Had a copy in writing and email of exactly what they did/didn't do before we paid them. Double checked again by phone as well. Wouldn't just hand over money without knowing what to expect!. They sent our ACS application back a couple of times with hints on what to change. Spent time looking at it and picked up spelling mistakes and wrong information. ACS sent results to wrong place and the agents spent time on phone chasing them up for us. Would have been hard us to do due to time difference. The visa forms were typed up and sent for us and all calls/emails have been answered within 24 hours. Maybe we could have done it on our own, but small overlooked mistakes we had made on forms would more than likely have ended up costing us more money in the long run. Better safe than sorry we surmised.

steveandtina

Hi ya

We are using agent they wrote our TRA and sent it to us just to change bits and add in stuff in our own words. they also filled out our visa and emailed it to us to check and sign.

Think it might be worth having a chat with your agent and ask what you get for your money and that you think they should do more.

Hope it all goes well for you

Good luck

Tina x

ittakesages

Have to agree. Our agent has been fab. We figured that if we were going to apply for this visa we had to give it our best shot and felt that an agent would help with that. He's picked up on all sorts of mistakes, advised us throughout the ACS application, always answers within hours of an e-mail (I am starting to think he never sleeps) and has guided us through (including uploading all documents for us) the visa process. This visa is costing a fortune anyway so in for a penny and all that

drb

I think an agents job is to really just proof read (as someone else said) and give you a general push in the right direction. At the end of the day each individual is the only person who knows their own details for work history, relationship history etc so have to fill the forms out for themselves.
I think its just a confidence thing whether to use an agent or to go it alone, personally we couldn't justify paying an agent and this forum is excellent to help with any queries along the way.
Good luck!

Simpleton

To an extent I understand where you are coming from, however I feel that I would never have got this far without an agent. I think that like you I thought that by signing up with an agent I would not have to think about all the form filling in and organising by myself. Obviously we've still had to fill in loads of details, but the agent has been there every step of the way to offer advice, answer my silly last-minute panicking questions, provide all the forms that we need, and of course check over our application and forward it on.
We'd been trying to get started for about 12 months before actually signing up with an agent, but never got around to filling the forms in, and to be honest I just kept confusing myself over which order I had to submit everything. (I am easily confused!) Since signing an agent we've got the ball rolling and made some progress, and I feel fully supported. I definitely feel that our agents have been far more than just a 'checking service'.

Good luck with your application, and i hope you feel to smooth things out a little. Just politely raise any concerns that you have with your agent and I'm sure they will be happy to clarify their position.

Nickie

Hiya, our agent has been great and cant praise her enough. If we werent sure of a question we were told to leave it, send it back to her and then she would phone us when she got it.

We couldnt have got through the application without her.

THORPES

Hi Everyone

Thanks for your replies.
I think I will have a polite word with our agent. He is very nice and always responds to our questions quickly.
We signed an agreement to state that the agent would prepare an application for formal assessment by the relevant assessing authority with a view to managing the application through to the desired outcome.

Hopefully we will pass TRA and worry will be for nothing.

Alan Collett

Just a quick note to say that an agent can't write employment references and personal statements - only the applicant can know these details.

What an agent can do (and should do) is provide commentary on the adequacy and level of detail within the references/statements. The process should include a dialogue/exchange of comments in an effort to improve the documentation supporting the claims made in the application.

Best wishes for 2008!

Jamie Smith

Hi all, Seasons Greetings

There's another reason why an agent shouldn't do these reports, as after a while they will end up reading the same way with style, tone and phrasing. That's a trigger for anyone looking to see if the report is genuine - "that sounds the same as what I read last week..."

Getting someone else to write these things only to end up with a similar sounding document is a good way to attract scrutiny and delay the whole process methinks.

I never ask my business planners to do two plans of the same type in a row.

knockoff nige

To be honest, I never expected my agent to write these for me but to be on hand if I needed help with it. Instead they just sent me out forms and the guide which was downloadable from the immi site. I asked them for assistance and they said everything is in this guide.

I think I'll setup as an emmigration agent. You have to do very little to get by it seems.