The only Indian consular service agency in Canada targeted by several complaints

Each time Prashant Vashista thinks of BLS International – the only company authorized by the Indian consulate to manage services such as visas and passport renewals in Canada – he remembers the death of his mother two years ago.

Overwhelmed by sorrow, he led for an hour to the BLS office of Brampton To organize emergency visas. He wanted to see his family in India.

Even if he recovered the visas in person, Mr. Vashista says that the employees demanded that he pay $ 45 shipping costs for himself, his daughter and his wife. The total amounted to $ 135.

I was in urgent need. So I paidhe told CBC.

Mr. Vashista adds that BLS had already pushed him to pay for services he did not need and that this situation has been repeated since.

His experience is not unique. CBC Speaking to many people who describe having undergone pressure to pay additional costs at BLS. Many of them felt that their ability to visit India or stay legally in Canada depended on it.

Former employees of a branch of BLS say that they are not surprised. They claim that the staff were encouraged to charge customers with the highest amounts as possible. The staff also sought minor errors in their forms to sell services or reduce the backlog of requests.

I knew 100 % that we were wrong […] And we overcharged customerssaid an old supervisor.

BLS says he has a reputation forExcellence of service

BLS has offices across the country. These offices offer services such as passport renewal, Indian overseas citizenship cards (OIC) and criminal record checks and police files. These work like life visas.

A quick web search about BLS reveals a multitude of publications Facebook public, discussion sons Reddit and online petitions. One of them has more than 7000 signatures. The company also received the note F from the Business Ethics Office (BBB).

In response to questions from CBC Regarding the number of complaints, BLS said that the company has a long -standing reputation for transparency, compliance and service excellence.

We remain entirely aligned with the standards and expectations of governments and authorities with which we workwrote Pooja Arora, BLS communications manager.

When concerns are raised, we will always examine them in depth and take appropriate measures to improve us.

For its part, the Consulate General of India in Toronto says it is committed to offering a service fast and efficient. He adds that BLS International has been selected by a competitive tender process.

Of Legalized lootingaccording to a customer

A BLS client told CBC that his request forOCI had been rejected by the office of Mississauga in April. According to him, the staff asked him for additional documents not mentioned on the BLS website. The staff would also have discovered minor problems with their photos and their request forms.

The customer asked to keep anonymous for fear of BLS reprisals. CBC agreed to protect his identity. Radio-Canada does the same.

This same customer wrote a complaint he later sent to the company. In this complaint, he says that the staff used intimidation tactics To push him to pay additional fees. He added that his wife has been treated as stupid and that we threatened to put it on a blacklist. According to him, the fact that he asked to see a detailed receipt before paying triggered reprisals from employees.

Harpreet Hora, a lawyer based in Kenora, Ontario, says that he had lived similar experiences during two separate visits to Toronto BLS offices.

They forced me to take a messaging service […] that I had never askedhe said.

He added that he received reimbursements later, after complaining about the company and the consulate. Despite everything, he described these trials as obviously stressful and like a kind of harassment.

You see that it is legalized lootingsaid Mr. Hora. He stresses that few people have time or patience to try to be reimbursed.

Another customer, Shivam NehraOakvillesaid that he was in a hurry to pay $ 100 for a service de salon premium. This service allowed him to bypass the long queues outside. He faced an imminent deadline for his request for permanent residence.

I went there three or four times to have my documents correct. Each time, these people found a different errorhe said.

Disillusioned employees

Three former employees of the office Brampton in the past five years have offered their testimony to CBC. They all claim that they worked under short -term contracts. They add that they were under pressure to find problems with requests or add additional costs.

These ex-employees asked to keep anonymity: they say they fear possible impacts on their careers. CBC agreed to protect their identity. Radio-Canada does the same.

You must find a reason to extract money from customers said one of them. If you don’t sell, you will be dismissed.

The ex-employees have described internal competitions between employees on which could sell the most services. The winners received gift baskets.

With little orientation on official standards, reasons to reject requests could be as minor as a missing comma. You could also reject for writing of. instead ofavenue on a form. Still according to the testimonies of these ex-employees, certain errors were inevitable because of the formatting of the company’s online request forms.

Two employees also said that they forced some customers to pay for a messaging service. And even if several documents were to be sent to the same address, they invoiced families several times.

I know what you are doing

The same employee who described the search for badly placed commas says that he finally left the company. He was disturbed to have to lie to customers with whom he often sympathized.

There are students who make their permanent residence requests who have no job […] or who receive the minimum wage. But BLS their bills anyway $ 200 or 300 for something that could be done for $ 40.

However, the three ex-employees in question add that they had to use BLS for consular services after having resigned. Since then, they add, they have been charged supplements that they do not want.

I said to myself: “I worked there and I know what you are doing, remembers the same employee”. He adds having explained the situation to a member of BLS staff in Brampton which brought him unnecessary messaging fees. Also according to the former employee, the staff member would have replied that he had no choice and that he had to pay.

Only India can change things

As a private company under contract with a non -Canadian consulate in Canada, BLS operates outside the jurisdiction of any Canadian or Ontario ministry.

For his part, World Affairs Canada says that although it authorizes establishing consular stationshe has no authority on a contract under contract with a foreign state. Rather, it recommends that people with problems contact their local consumer protection office. In the event of a criminal complaint, they must contact the police.

Ontario consumer protection says it has only received a complaint linked to BLS International in the past three years. The organization refuses to comment more.

The only body with the authority of dismissing or disciplining BLS is the general consulate of India. The latter sent a declaration to CBC that All efforts are made – including internal examinations, coordination with BLS and process improvements – to ensure that service standards are continuously improving.

According to the information of Naama Weingarten and Kate McGillivray