Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:26/01/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I employed this company to get my certified criminal record check and mail it to my lawyers for immigration proceedings. The company knew I needed it in a certain window and failed to communicate with me throughout the process. I had to repeatedly follow up on delays, and I also asked for tracking numbers to be shared with me. The tracking info was only shared after it had already been delivered to my lawyers. When my lawyers received the document it was already expired and useless to them. The document was actually already expired before it was mailed by the company. I tried to dispute the transaction with my bank, but it was already past the timeframe from when I made the complaint because the company took so long. I asked for a refund via email and have been ignored. I called the company but their phone number (416-915-7139) is not working.

  Business Response

  Date: 26/01/2024

  It is unfortunate that our respected customer is not satisfied with the services and had to make a complaint to the Better Business Bureau.
  
  Here are the facts about the case:
  
  The customer contacted us on May 30, 2023 and asked for the services. She needed the following services:
  
  1.     Submission of her fingerprints to the RCMP to apply for a criminal record check report.
  2.     After receiving the police report from the RCMP, sending it to ****** ******* ****** for the authentication process.
  3.     After receiving the authenticated police report from ****** *******, sending it to the embassy of Costa Rica to apply for the legalization of this document.
  4.     After receiving the legalized police report from the embassy, sending it to her lawyer via courier.
  
  On the same day i.e. on May 30, 2023, we replied her two emails provided the cost and the estimated time line for the process.
  
  This applicant sent us two emails on May 31, 2023 and we replied them on the same day.
  
  After two and half months i.e. on August 17, 2023 we received an email from her saying that she has sent out the documents to our office.  She presumed that the process timeline remained unchanged. In May (when she asked for the timeline), ****** ******* used to take 2-3 weeks to authenticate the documents. By the time we received her documents on August 17th, ****** ******* had changed the waiting time to over 45 business days.
  
  We received her documents on August 25, 2023 and transmitted her fingerprints to the RCMP, the same day. We received her police clearance from the RCMP on August 31, 2023 and promptly sent it to ****** ******* for authentication.
  
  On October 02, 2023 we duly informed her that ****** ******* had increased the timing to 45 business days. She never replied that email or showed any concern about the increased timing by ****** *******. Moreover, ****** ******* ****** is a government office and we had no control over their process or the timeline.
  
  On November 09, 2023 we received the police check back from ****** ******* and promptly sent it to the embassy for legalization. We duly updated the customer about it by sending her an email on November 09, 2023.
  
  On November 30, 2023, we received the legalized police check from the embassy and sent a scanned PDF to the customer as an email attachment. We asked to confirm the address for sending the courier.  She replied back saying:
  
  “Hi!
  
  Yes that's the correct address. You can address it to ***** **** ******.
  
  Can you pass along the tracking number when you get it?
  
  Thanks,”
  
  The postal code of the address was missing, so we again sent her an email asking for the postal code.
  
  Eventually the completed document was couriered and delivered to her lawyer’s office.
  
  By the time she asked for the tracking number, the document was already delivered to her lawyer. We do not understand as to why there is so much fuss about the delay in providing the tracking number. There was a weekend when she asked for the tracking number and the tracking number is just for tracking the package. We do not understand how she could speed up the shipping time after knowing the tracking number.
  
  Incorrect statements made by the customer in her statement of claim:
  
  1.     “The company knew I needed it in a certain window and failed to communicate with me throughout the process. I had to repeatedly follow up on delays”
  
  We replied her each and every email and she had to never repeat her emails or requests for the updates. In August, when we received her documents for the first time, she never provided us the so called “certain window”. She asked for the timeline in May and by the time we received her documents in August, ****** ******* ****** had a different timeline for authenticating the documents. If she had sent the document in May, ****** ******* would have completed the process according to the timeline we provided to her.
  
  As mentioned, we do not have any control over ****** ******* ****** timelines and we sent the document to them as soon as we received it from the RCMP. There was not delay from our side regarding sending the documents to the RCMP, to ****** ******* and to the Embassy.
  
  Instead of trying to understand the whole situation, the customer just wanted her money back without realizing that the company had to go through different steps and to pay to different agencies to get the process completed.
  
  2.     “When my lawyers received the document it was already expired and useless to them. The document was actually already expired before it was mailed by the company”
  
  The RCMP police check has no expiry date mentioned on the document itself. The customer can read the RCMP check and let us know as to where did they mention the expiry date.
  
  The embassy of Costa Rica in Canada duly legalized the RCMP check on November 24, 2023 and we received it back from them on November 30, 2023. If the document was already expired, there was no reason for the embassy to legalize it.
  
  We contacted a law office in Costa Rica and they replied back saying that the RCMP check is valid for six months. She can contact another lawyer in Costa Rica to confirm this.
  
  The RCMP check was issued on August 25, 2023. The customer has not provided any proof from her lawyer saying that the document was already expired when her lawyer received it. Moreover, we emailed her a scanned copy of the final police check before it was couriered it to her lawyer. At that time, she never mentioned that the document was already expired, rather she provided the address for sending it to her lawyer and corrected the postal code. Otherwise, at least the amount paid to the courier company could be saved.
  It appears that she had some other issues with her application process and she is simply blaming our company for the delays or for getting the refund.
  
  3.     “I called the company but their phone number (416-915-7139) is not working”
  
  Our phone number is fully active and it never stopped working. BBB can call this number to verify this fact.
  
  Additional Facts:
  
  The customer asked for a refund without fully understanding the situation. She left a serious review on ****** without caring for the reputation of our company and without taking into consideration the efforts made by our company to go through different steps and to pay to different agencies to get her police check and get it authenticated and legalized. This is not fair at all.
  
  As a goodwill gesture, we offered her free service for reapplying for her police check from the RCMP. She flatly refused this offer.
  
  Since Canada has signed the Hague Convention effective on January 11, 2024, we can also offer apostille service to her at our cost. Costa Rica would need apostille by ****** ******* ******. Again, we cannot give any estimate of the time taken by ****** *******. Unfortunately, ****** ******* have been taking very long time to return the documents. We and our customers are suffering from these delays. ****** ******* do not offer any express services.
  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 31/01/2024

  
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  1) It took me 2.5 months to submit my fingerprints to the company as that is how long it took me to get an appointment to have my fingerprints taken. This is common in developing countries. In order to get my fingerprints taken for this process I had to wait for appointment availability, and travel 6 hours to visit the agency in person to have this done. If there was a difference in timeline from when I initially asked, and when I submitted the prints, then this should have been communicated before they charged my credit card. OR they should have initially told me that timelines can change.
  

  2) When I initially inquired on May 30th (screenshot attached) I stated this was for my Costa Rican citizenship. The citizenship application does not go through immigration or an embassy, it goes through a different government agency and they require it to be valid within 3 months. This is confirmed with my immigration lawyers at ******* ***** in Costa Rica. The 6 months timeline was for residency - NOT what I was requiring the check for. This demonstrates the lacking attention to detail by the business.
  

  3) Not sure what they're talking about with the phone line - maybe they decided to set up their voicemail, but I called 3 times at 9:30am on January 23 and was unable to get through or leave a message. I can provide screenshots of required.
  

  4) When the company was sending my application to my lawyers in Costa Rica, I was not aware it was expired so how could I have brought it up to them. They had sent me a timeline, and I had told them what I needed it for. They never asked when I required it and I made the mistake of trusting their timeline and their "expertise" that they could do their jobs (even now they think I'm applying for residency whereas I had told them it was for citizenship). I paid for a service, so I was not counting down the days and I was not asking for specific dates besides what was initially quoted to me. In paying for this service I was purchasing their expertise in managing this process for me within the agreed-upon timeline with the understanding that they knew what I required it for as I had told them.
  

  5) Why would I give them more of my money ($120) to redo the check when they're unable to guarantee that they can even get it to me again within the timeline I need. It's not just about the money, it's also about the time and the logistics required to make the appointment and travel to get the prints done. 
  

  6) Not sure how a reply to their Oct 2 email of the delay would have solved anything. They have already repeatedly stated that they are not in control of ****** ******* timelines, and I trusted them that they would still be able to deliver the document before it was expired. At this point they should have told me that it would be delivered outside of their timeline, and I could have saved myself the courier costs and a few months of my time.

  7) I clearly completely understand the situation and the company's failure to deliver the agreed-upon service, and I appreciate this opportunity to include even more specific details into my reviews about what a complete waste of time and money dealing with this company has been. Not to mention their patronizing tone :)

  
  
  
  Thanks!
  
  
  
  ****** ******

  Business Response

  Date: 08/02/2024

  The applicant paid for the service. We have provided the service and the applicant has acknowledged the receipt of the completed and legalized RCMP check by her lawyer.

  She was duly informed about the changes in the timeline of ****** ******* ****** and we also emailed a PDF version of the completed document to her before sending the original via courier to her lawyer.

  We do not have control over the timeline of ****** *******.

  We would prefer to not to discuss this matter further. BBB may decide about the case based on the facts explained in our first reply.