HadEnoughofJuju Posted March 5, 2013 Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 Stay FAR away from the agents we used, I'll PM you their name if you want. They wasted A LOT of time and money that we could have saved doing this on our own. The mistake we made was paying them everything up front. I had to ride them like a donkey, they only responded to threats and I did 98% of the work anyway including creating and Submitting the EOI, uploading all the evidence into the visa application after they took 54 of the 60 days to lodge and pay for the application, which they only did because I threatened to report them to MARA and a few other organisations in Australia. If you want to use another agent there are a couple of them listed on the forum which a quick search should reveal. I can also PM you names of some of them if you would like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm01 Posted March 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 GETTING INTO THE ACT I SEE,"RIDING THEM LIKE A DONKEY"PLEASE PM ME THE GOOD ONES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sianvz Posted March 5, 2013 Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 JM what stage are you at now? Have you submitted your skills assessment? Would be such a pity to throw away that money you've paid them already. No way to negotiate with them that you would like to pull out if they haven't done anything yet?There are some fantastic agents referenced on this forum.We are using Stephen Dickson of Migration Outcomes Australia and we could not be happier! He replies within 24 hours to every email, even if it's something petty and unimportant. He is so efficient and gets applications for the process done properly always within 24 hours of receiving things from us. He really is outstanding.He does each step separately and charges as you go so he would be able to take over your case if you choose to do that. Just my personal opinion that you cannot go wrong with him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbop Posted March 5, 2013 Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 We used Australian Migration Assist - had excellent service at a reasonable price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sa2Nz2Oz Posted March 5, 2013 Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 Stay away, he was Network Migrations....Mate of mine paid him 30K, did nothing for him, never returned calls.He lost his money and lost his opportunity to move to Auss. Sites like this should be used to warn and assist people against money thieves like him.....Yes I used Network Migration in 2001, not too good! Rather stay away and make your process easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm01 Posted March 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 Decided to cancel with Andy and rather go with Stephen,lost some money,but aaaaagh well!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sianvz Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 Sorry for the money you lost in the process! Rather that though than waiting and seeing and potentially losing even more then wishing you could go back. It was a chance you had to take and I know you will not be disappointed with Stephen.It's very important that anyone who had a bad experience with Andy report it. It's not to say he's a bad person or a fraud, but one bad story is one too many for me and the fact that he's even registered with Mara after all the first-hand stories I've read on this forum and that he's now running under a second name is worrying. And that he's still managing to successfully get new clients. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm01 Posted March 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 i dont actually want to call out names but i guess it is nessesary in this case.I called stepen today,chatted for 5 minutes and heard he was the guy for me.I gave him my credit card details,signed the paperwork and waited for the sms coming from the bank for the payment.You know what????Stephen actually first set me an e-mail asking more info,step 1, before taking money.Up till now,no funds were taken from my account.Just goes to show,he actually want to work.The other guy first wanted the money,then sent me an e-mail asking stuff.Mind you,that e-mail was worth R5000.I have save the e-mail and will treasure it till the end of days,lol......Thanx Stephan,keep up the good work. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sianvz Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 So happy that you are happy with your decision! Isn't it great to know that there are still good people out there who have your best interests at heart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadEnoughofJuju Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 i dont actually want to call out names but i guess it is nessesary in this case.I called stepen today,chatted for 5 minutes and heard he was the guy for me.I gave him my credit card details,signed the paperwork and waited for the sms coming from the bank for the payment.You know what????Stephen actually first set me an e-mail asking more info,step 1, before taking money.Up till now,no funds were taken from my account.Just goes to show,he actually want to work.The other guy first wanted the money,then sent me an e-mail asking stuff.Mind you,that e-mail was worth R5000.I have save the e-mail and will treasure it till the end of days,lol......Thanx Stephan,keep up the good work.I'm glad you found someone that you are happy with. You don't need more stress than what is absolutely necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnYellowBrickRd Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 HEJJ, I'll gladly name and shame them: DON'T USE ASA!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sianvz Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 My husband have been so frustrated with this whole process, but now that we are where we are and I read what I've read on this forum, I am more aware than ever how things happen for a reason!When we decided in 2011 to start the emigration process, we were in contact with ASA. Our consultant was a lovely lady, very helpful, she gave us lots of free advice. Then we got their quote and decided that we could not afford an agent, so we used what she had advised us to start the process on our own (something I now highly advise against!). Needless to say my husband's occupation became unavailable for state sponsorship out of nowhere and so that was a dead end road. If we had the money back then, we would have gone with ASA and it seems now we may have bumped our heads with them. So that one worked out for the best, although it didn't seem like it at the time.Then when we decided to start again last year with an agent, we almost went for Andy, then got wind of this forum the same day we were going to pay him for his fees, only to read worrying first-hand experiences with him.Now we're using Stephen, and everything is going smoothly so far and we're feeling good about everything.I'm glad to have God on my side with this whole thing and to know that His plan for our lives is to protect us and for an amazing future for us. It's just too much to take this whole thing on alone in my opinion. I am always saddened to hear when people have had bad experiences with agents and with their process because I've been there. I am just so glad that everything works out the way it should in the end, whether one believes it to be God's plan or just fate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadEnoughofJuju Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 @sianvzUsing an agent is completely a subjective choice. It all depends on things like your occupation, work experience, medical history etc. Had I known in February 2012 what I know now I most definitely would have done this on my own. We paid our school fees, it cost us R30000.00 in agents fees for me to do the work anyway. ASA came with the "legal processing" line every time we asked why things were taking so long when in fact all they were doing was submitting the documentation on our behalf. I collected and compiled all the documentation and applications forms for the skills assessment and final visa application. I created the EOI and sent them the login details. I uploaded all the documentation to the eVisa application (they uploaded my wife's birth certificate because they had to). They took (AKA wasted) 60 days before they submitted a skills assessment application for my wife without even changing or adding anything to it, they then took another 40 days to create an EOI (after we got the skills assessment results back which took 10 weeks) which I ended up doing myself because I got tired of waiting for them. I also had to threaten them with all sorts of formal complaints to get them to submit and pay for our application (because we had paid them in full and upfront) which they only did 54 days into the allotted 60 days you have to submit a valid application once receiving an invitation.Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that everyone should attempt this on their own, there are many pitfalls that could cost you a visa grant. What I do want people to realise though is that you need to do your homework and look at the situation from several different angles before you decide and if you then decide that you would feel more confident with using an agent then go for it, just make sure you pick the right one (which IMHO I think you have). Not everyone has the luxury of paying an agent to do the work and I think that forums like this are an invaluable resource in the process if you are one of those people. It should be a criminal act for a migration agent to take money and not deliver. These are peoples futures and lives they are playing with and a lot of the time it seems that they just don't care, as long as they have their money they are happy to go on with life while they destroys other peoples hopes and dreams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sianvz Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 Totally agree HEOJJ! It is so shocking to hear all the stories of agents taking people for a ride. It's a disgrace that those agents can sleep at night.The only thing I highly advise against is getting info from an agent without paying them, then trying to do it yourself. This is what I learned the hard way and I have seen that I am not the only one who has experienced this. Generally it seems the dodgy agents only give you the info you want to hear to get you as a client, then they've got all sorts of loops and things planned that most likely won't work. Whereas trustworthy agents will give you the correct facts that they know they can carry through on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIMO Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 We used Andy Kerr and although we got our visa in 9 mnths from start to finish, I felt I did alot of the follow up which should have been done on their side. I constantly followed up on which docs were needed/that they had received necessary etc etc which I feel if I didnt do process would have taken much longer. They were however friendly and mostly proffesional and like I say we were successful with our application so wouldnt stress they definately not a fly by night who gona run off with your money. Just do yourself a favour and keep checking on your visa progress/docs etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm01 Posted March 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 We used Andy Kerr and although we got our visa in 9 mnths from start to finish, I felt I did alot of the follow up which should have been done on their side. I constantly followed up on which docs were needed/that they had received necessary etc etc which I feel if I didnt do process would have taken much longer. They were however friendly and mostly proffesional and like I say we were successful with our application so wouldnt stress they definately not a fly by night who gona run off with your money. Just do yourself a favour and keep checking on your visa progress/docs etcI had the same impression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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