extremely negative rant.. consider yourself warned!

[o6ocpaka]

Yep, their call centers can be pretty brutal, but you will get answers if you are *extra* nice to them and courteous. I was able to get them, and it was way more than 20 minutes waiting...
I am not sure if this is how they are trained or just silly ambitions...They are CS reps, and don't earn much money.

But! Based on what you have wrote, I can't believe they allow you to work as a telephone agent, do you also lose your temper that quickly when on the phone doing the job?
Keep in mind they have those warnings about foul language and threats before the calls just for the same reason. On the other hand why could not you pay the fees all upfront? CIC website is very detailed with all the options on how you can do it.

 

[andrew-brit]

o6ocpaka the OP's job puts them in contact with people whose lives are not on hold. Applying for PR is a very stressful time and being approved and then going back in process would drive anyone insane.

I think WeeHippieElf is perfectly entitled to be annoyed at what has happened.

 

[o6ocpaka]

*put your name here* is perfectly entitled to be annoyed at what has happened.

I like this better ;D

 

[WeeHippieElf]

Yep, their call centers can be pretty brutal, but you will get answers if you are *extra* nice to them and courteous. I was able to get them, and it was way more than 20 minutes waiting...
I am not sure if this is how they are trained or just silly ambitions...They are CS reps, and don't earn much money.

But! Based on what you have wrote, I can't believe they allow you to work as a telephone agent, do you also lose your temper that quickly when on the phone doing the job?
Keep in mind they have those warnings about foul language and threats before the calls just for the same reason. On the other hand why could not you pay the fees all upfront? CIC website is very detailed with all the options on how you can do it.

since i make a living being on that end of the phone (which, by the way, i wouldn't be able to do if i lost my temper at my callers ), i am always extra nice to customer service reps, whether or not they are able to answer my questions. i know what it's like when people call and want to shout, and i would never do that to a person. that being said, no matter how nice you are, if the agent doesn't have access to the information, there's not much to be done. they can't give you what they don't have. and i am completely capable of being nice to a rep while fuming inside (i of all people understand there's nothing the agent can do if they simply don't have access to the files) and then coming on an Immigration-focussed forum to vent my frustration

and as for not paying the fees upfront, the website is very detailed about paying the fees, including that the RPRF is not mandatory at the time of filing the application but needs to be paid before the processing is finalized, which is what we did. i'm not sure why you asked?

So sorry to hear that. I have seen it happen before and generally the application goes back to DM in a couple of weeks. I cannot recall who but user Bemsee applied in 2014 and their ECAS never went to DM at all, they just received it in the post.

Forget about the call center, insert joke about a chocolate teapot here. Your best bet is to send an email and/or a case specific enquiry to London. In the email put Urgent and your file number. Be concise in your questions and do not ramble.

thanks for the guidance and reassurance. i'm going to wait a few days and see if there's any changes on ECAS, and i'll let you know.

 

[mikeymyke]

Sorry about your bad experience, but also remember that it's stated that not paying the RPRF fees upfront might cause some delays, despite it being optional to pay the RPRF fees upfront.

 

[andrew-brit]

Sorry about your bad experience, but also remember that it's stated that not paying the RPRF fees upfront might cause some delays.

OP's application has not been delayed, it went IP->DM->IP. This is not a delay this is a mistake on CIC's part.

 

[WeeHippieElf]

Sorry about your bad experience, but also remember that it's stated that not paying the RPRF fees upfront might cause some delays.

yes, that is not what has me frustrated. i am nowhere near being considered 'delayed' right now, seeing as i am only 5 months into the 28 month average processing time for my Visa Office. my frustration has nothing to do with the length of time. it has to do with having ECAS changed to DM for 3 days, then go back to IP, and having nobody that i can contact immediately to reassure me that this isn't a bad sign and that our application isn't being denied - compounded by frustration that the call center agents don't have access to anything more than we do on ECAS and so why does CIC waste resources on having call center agents?

nothing to do with length of time, nothing to do with paying fees in an allowable manner, and everything to do with not having someone we can contact when something out of the ordinary happens and we are scared.

 

[rugrat907]

yes, that is not what has me frustrated. i am nowhere near being considered 'delayed' right now, seeing as i am only 5 months into the 28 month average processing time for my Visa Office. my frustration has nothing to do with the length of time. it has to do with having ECAS changed to DM for 3 days, then go back to IP, and having nobody that i can contact immediately to reassure me that this isn't a bad sign and that our application isn't being denied - compounded by frustration that the call center agents don't have access to anything more than we do on ECAS and so why does CIC waste resources on having call center agents?

nothing to do with length of time, nothing to do with paying fees in an allowable manner, and everything to do with not having someone we can contact when something out of the ordinary happens and we are scared.

I agree 100% with this sentiment. It's not the agent's fault they can't access any more than we can, and that's pretty much the black hole things go into once the file hits the visa office. While I understand that they aren't likely to ever get access to what we see in our case notes (and it would take them forever to unscramble them anyway!) it would be nice if they could tell more than we can in ECAS. Or hell, if we ALL could see more in ECAS, such as the various stages of approval for all the little pieces, like medicals, background, etc. In this day and age, it should all be electronic and systems should all be updated in real time.

As for the email you got, I blame that totally on bad training. Like you, I've done more than my fair share of call center work, on the recipient side as well as a manager. We both know how high turnover can be, but these people really should be trained better so they can at least disseminate the correct information.

 

[Ineffable]

Could it at all be possible that an officer put the application back IP because the RPRF wasn't paid? (I'm not saying that it's standard operating procedure, but a mistake on their part.)

I know I'm likely reaching, but I'm trying to figure out why on earth they'd think to move it back to IP unless they're a newbie who's confused by something (something being the only obvious thing on the table, the fees).

 

[WeeHippieElf]

Could it at all be possible that an officer put the application back IP because the RPRF wasn't paid? (I'm not saying that it's standard operating procedure, but a mistake on their part.)

I know I'm likely reaching, but I'm trying to figure out why on earth they'd think to move it back to IP unless they're a newbie who's confused by something (something being the only obvious thing on the table, the fees).

that's definitely a possibility. we got a request to pay the fees and to give my husband's medical history over the last 12 months on the 10th, sent in the medical information on the 11th with an acknowledgement from CIC that they received it, paid the fees on the 12th with an acknowledgement that they received them, went DM on the 13th, and back to IP today (the 16th). any explanation for the mistake is as likely as any other

again, i don't mind not having DM yet - it would have been ridiculously quick - i just wish there was someone i could contact at CIC who could tell me for sure that this was just a mistake rather an indication of a problem with my application.

 

[needhimback]

each time i've called, the agents have either directed me to their website (as if i chose to wait on hold for 15 minutes to ask them something i didn't check the website for first : ) or have sent me 'useful emails'. i say that sarcastically. when i called to ask them about paying RPRF fees - since the website says to print the receipt and attach it to the letter we received and snail mail it back, when we only received an email - the agent couldn't tell me how to do it and instead sent me an email about how to demand a refund for our RPRF fees now that our application was refused. helpful. thank goodness for this forum where i found out we could just email the receipt - sometimes i feel like the people on this forum are the ones CIC should be paying! today i called to ask about a change on our ECAS, and was sent an email explaining how to contact CIC about technical issues uploading documents on the website.

i work a very similar job to these people and you can rest assured that i would be fired faster than you can dial their number if i were as incompetent as most of them have been. credit where credit is due - one of them was very pleasant and happy when i called in to find out the decision about my Sponsor Approval (i was impatient and couldn't wait for the email hahaha) but even she was like, "well it's probably accepted because why wouldn't it be?" without being able to actually confirm it. so why are these people employed and taking up financial resources if even the most helpful one was not able to actually give concrete information?

Lol @ the forum being the CIC call centre - you are 100 percent right about that
I gave up with them long time ago and come to this call centre call the " Forum" for all my questions lol
Those people are useless !!

I hope all goes well for you soon

 

[kangamoose]

since i make a living being on that end of the phone (which, by the way, i wouldn't be able to do if i lost my temper at my callers ), i am always extra nice to customer service reps, whether or not they are able to answer my questions. i know what it's like when people call and want to shout, and i would never do that to a person.

I think anyone who has ever worked in a call centre is extra nice and far more understanding than the average person when it comes to dealing with CSR's. I didn't spend long working there but long enough to know that you get far more help by being nice and polite than from getting angry (even if you are fuming on the inside!). I only worked for an internet company so our we didn't really hold peoples futures in our hands (although many callers tried to argue otherwise) but not being able to give someone a concrete answer was so frustrating for the me as well as the caller. If the CIC CSR can't answer your question, they should have the option to escalate it to someone who can answer it, we shouldn't have to involve MP's to gain a clearer idea of where our file is at.

What I'd like to see in ECAS is a progress bar or a checklist so you at least know what your file is up to, if they provided more info online it would go a long way to reduce call volume.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents for the night!

 

[cali2bc]

At least some agents have access to our GCMS files. I have an entry from a Montreal Call Center agent in my GCMS notes. They have the information available to them, it's just a matter of finding an agent that is willing to give case-specific assistance.

As earlier posters have said, providing more information on ECAS would drastically reduce call center volume, and then ideally, agents would be able to provide more inclusive service to callers that cannot find their answers on ECAS.

The fact that it's almost 2016 and ECAS doesn't update in real time is beyond me.

 

[jamsham12]

All call centre reps have access to the files that are processed "inside" of Canada and at the Ottawa VO, i have had numerous agents confirm this fact. Whether or not they have access to other applications in other VO's i am not certain. They tell you they do not have access to the files because they have been trained to not even type in a file number for any applications that are being processed outside of Canada that are within the processing times hence the ole " 17 month has not passed therefore we have no access to your file" meaning they have access to your file but will not look into it because they were trained not to. I have worked at plenty of call centres, i just dont understand why these people are working, they literally pick up the phone you tell them your story and then after every call its the same shiit, "we dont have access to your file, it is not past the posted processing time for your "VO" please have patience and the office will contact you of any decision or additional documents". I would love their job, sit there and get paid while doing absolutely nothing of value.

 

[SenoritaBella]

For what it's worth, if there is a problem with your application they will either schedule an interview or request whatever document is missing before making a decision. It's more likely a glitch with ecas. Unfortunately, I don't think you will get answers as to why especially if it will entail revealing classified information about their processes/systems.

that's definitely a possibility. we got a request to pay the fees and to give my husband's medical history over the last 12 months on the 10th, sent in the medical information on the 11th with an acknowledgement from CIC that they received it, paid the fees on the 12th with an acknowledgement that they received them, went DM on the 13th, and back to IP today (the 16th). any explanation for the mistake is as likely as any other

again, i don't mind not having DM yet - it would have been ridiculously quick - i just wish there was someone i could contact at CIC who could tell me for sure that this was just a mistake rather an indication of a problem with my application.