September 2018 I was keen on applying to immigrate to Canada the most efficient way possible with a minimal amount of lapses and mistakes so I figured out the best way to do it is to hire a consultant since I am too busy to read all the details about the process that seemed overwhelming at first. In addition, I thought a consultant should be professional since this is what he does for living and clearly more knowledgeable than the layman.
Long story short we were referred to someone by our official translator and we signed an agreement that was extravagantly expensive but we cared less for money since our futures are on the line and we thought it is well worth it. A few days later we still didn’t hear anything from him which hit us as weird because we had no clue how to proceed so we took the initiative and emailed him asking about the next steps.
He replied to the point and listed what we should do in broad terms without much elaboration so we had to go back and forth a few times in the conversation to get the info we wanted. After that we sat the language tests and did the ECA and he created our profile and got the ITA. Meanwhile, I was grasping the process more and more by surfing the forums and CIC website and all of a sudden I found out that he wasn’t as discerning as I thought he was to the point that I surpassed him with what I assimilated during this relatively short period of time.
For instance, he couldn’t give me a typical structure on how to present the employment letter and I started to spot cracks in his knowledge.
After collecting the documents, we got our 1st AOR January the 11th 2018 and we were elated. 40 days later people were starting to pass their medicals and I was anxious that I wasn’t getting any updates from him. Please note here that I didn’t have access to my account since he navigates through consultant’s portal which is different from the individual account and in case he gives me the credentials I will be able to access all his clients information and violate their privacies. Regardless if that’s true or not it’s so frustrating not to be able to log in.
I waited patiently for 10 more days and contacted him because he warned me not to frequently ask him and he will immediately share any news. To my surprise he replied that my application was rejected and he’s working hard to rectify the situation! After digging deeper and asking him for screenshots of the documents uploaded and the rejection letter it was obvious that he left out my police certificate which yields a downright rejection!
What pissed my off the most is that he wasn’t willing to confess that it’s his mistake asking me to be patient while he communicates with CIC. I decided to give him one last chance but the attempt was unsuccessful and I was getting more and more upset with him because he was starting to avoid answering my calls telling my not to put stress on him! Really?! It’s my application, my future! And an overpriced contract that ended with rejection for a silly mistake that no amateur would make and you’re telling me I’m distressing you! Let alone that you’re not admitting your mistake!! I was really out of my mind!
The worst part is that he opened a new profile and our score dropped 5 points due to age and we didn’t stand a chance for getting a new ITA and he simply reply you can take the IELTS again and enhance your marks with no morsel of remorse!
Our next step was to cancel his appointment and ask for a refund. He refused to give us what was our right and offered a 40% refund.
This is when we thought that our resort was ICCRC since the consultant is registered. AND HOW WRONG I WAS!!!
I filed a complaint against him and sent it to ICCRC in May 2019 and till this day the case isn’t even assigned to an officer despite several reminders and follow ups. To be fair I received a reply mid-June telling me they are having big loads of complaints and that’s it!
So my only option was to accept his offer because suing him In court would be an agonizing process and I will spend more than I will reclaim.
From this experience and many others on the forums I can infer that many consultants aren’t qualified to handle our files, they care less about our lives, they loot our money and they work without restraints So think twice before hiring a consultant.
Long story short we were referred to someone by our official translator and we signed an agreement that was extravagantly expensive but we cared less for money since our futures are on the line and we thought it is well worth it. A few days later we still didn’t hear anything from him which hit us as weird because we had no clue how to proceed so we took the initiative and emailed him asking about the next steps.
He replied to the point and listed what we should do in broad terms without much elaboration so we had to go back and forth a few times in the conversation to get the info we wanted. After that we sat the language tests and did the ECA and he created our profile and got the ITA. Meanwhile, I was grasping the process more and more by surfing the forums and CIC website and all of a sudden I found out that he wasn’t as discerning as I thought he was to the point that I surpassed him with what I assimilated during this relatively short period of time.
For instance, he couldn’t give me a typical structure on how to present the employment letter and I started to spot cracks in his knowledge.
After collecting the documents, we got our 1st AOR January the 11th 2018 and we were elated. 40 days later people were starting to pass their medicals and I was anxious that I wasn’t getting any updates from him. Please note here that I didn’t have access to my account since he navigates through consultant’s portal which is different from the individual account and in case he gives me the credentials I will be able to access all his clients information and violate their privacies. Regardless if that’s true or not it’s so frustrating not to be able to log in.
I waited patiently for 10 more days and contacted him because he warned me not to frequently ask him and he will immediately share any news. To my surprise he replied that my application was rejected and he’s working hard to rectify the situation! After digging deeper and asking him for screenshots of the documents uploaded and the rejection letter it was obvious that he left out my police certificate which yields a downright rejection!
What pissed my off the most is that he wasn’t willing to confess that it’s his mistake asking me to be patient while he communicates with CIC. I decided to give him one last chance but the attempt was unsuccessful and I was getting more and more upset with him because he was starting to avoid answering my calls telling my not to put stress on him! Really?! It’s my application, my future! And an overpriced contract that ended with rejection for a silly mistake that no amateur would make and you’re telling me I’m distressing you! Let alone that you’re not admitting your mistake!! I was really out of my mind!
The worst part is that he opened a new profile and our score dropped 5 points due to age and we didn’t stand a chance for getting a new ITA and he simply reply you can take the IELTS again and enhance your marks with no morsel of remorse!
Our next step was to cancel his appointment and ask for a refund. He refused to give us what was our right and offered a 40% refund.
This is when we thought that our resort was ICCRC since the consultant is registered. AND HOW WRONG I WAS!!!
I filed a complaint against him and sent it to ICCRC in May 2019 and till this day the case isn’t even assigned to an officer despite several reminders and follow ups. To be fair I received a reply mid-June telling me they are having big loads of complaints and that’s it!
So my only option was to accept his offer because suing him In court would be an agonizing process and I will spend more than I will reclaim.
From this experience and many others on the forums I can infer that many consultants aren’t qualified to handle our files, they care less about our lives, they loot our money and they work without restraints So think twice before hiring a consultant.
