BLS International Service

Review: BLS International was the sole authorized provider of OCI (a version of Indian Visa) for the Indian Embassy in New York. I live in [redacted] and fall under the NY jurisdiction of the Indian embassy. My wife and I became US Citizens recently so we need OCI/Visa for future visits to our country of Origin, India.

I had applied for OCI and Renunciation of Indian Passports as a family (my wife, 2 kids and I) and hence included almost $1500 in money orders. BLS had 3 weeks to work on the application (they received the postal application on April [redacted] and had time till May [redacted] to work on the application and , if necessary, then handover to Cox and Kings - the sole provider from May [redacted] onwards ) but did NOTHING. And then cashed the money orders the day before sending me the package. Very unethical behaviour from them.

I do realize that things go wrong sometimes. The difference is how the company responds to it. I would have expected some frank talk, an apology for having goofed up and clear directions for redressal of our issues. Nothing of that sort happened. Instead it was the other way round. They just withdrew into a shell. And did not respond. For Days. No directions on their website at all. Actually, there are no directions or communications on this issue even today if you check their website.

It was a hassle trying to reach them and get anything out of them. I spent almost 2 hours at different periods of day trying to reach them by phone but nobody ever picked up the phone. What is the use of pretending that you have a customer service line when it is NOT functional?

Finally, I got their email address. It felt like they were doing me a favor by considering my issue. They expected me to spoonfeed them all the information (including money order numbers that they had previously cashed). I never anticipated being in such a pickle and had shredded my money order stubs earlier. So now, I had to make a separate trip to the bank to get all the money order details and then emailed all this information to them on June [redacted] 2014. And what was the response from them? NONE whatsoever till Today (June [redacted]). No Acknowledgement of email, no estimation of how long it will take to get my money back. Very unresponsive company.

This is causing me a long of mental agony - not to mention the loss of my funds and time.

As a new company (Cox and Kings) is now the sole authorized provider of the same OCI/Visa service now, I had to shell out separate set of money orders for $1500 just to move my application forward and have a visa to visit our aging parents.

This is not an isolated case. Both Indian embassy and the new Service Provider (Cox and Kings) have been inundated with calls regarding this practice and have separate notices posted on their website advising recourse procedures for applicants. It is another matter that even those procedures do not seem to lead us anywhere. I have received no response from them even though I sent my complaints to the Indian embassy and BLS email addresses.

This company is very unethical and unresponsive. It should not be allowed to do business in the US (and thereby give it an opportunity to fleece other unsuspecting customers).Desired Settlement: I expect BLS International to refund all my money orders. Additionally, they should be penalized for unethical behaviour and causing lots of mental agony for the visa applicants.

Review: I had sent in my my daughter's and my own documents and paperwork, passports etc along with two money orders for PIO cards to BLS and they received them May [redacted]. Sent to [redacted], between [redacted] and [redacted].

On May [redacted] I received everything back in the mail except the money orders and I found BLS cashed them on May [redacted]. There was no note, or letter included as to why everything was returned.

Since time is short before our travel on June [redacted] and now India has changed companies I have had to send away for visas to cox and kings with new paperwork and money orders.

Personal money orders for $372.70 and $192.70.

BLS does not answer the phone or emails I've sent to them. I would greatly appreciate your help in resolving this matter.

Please respond as soon as possible.Desired Settlement: I would like to have a full refund of both money orders I sent: $372.70 and $192.70 which totals: $565.40

Review: I submitted all documents and payment for them to render services which they never did. They cashed my payments immediately.

Somehow the contract they have was awarded to another company in the middle of my application process and I received a letter saying that I have to resubmit the application to the new visa services contractor. When I asked for my refund several months ago I was given the run around time after time. I submitted the documents which they requested several times and have still heard no reply or received a refund. This company is a bunch of thieves and I'm sure they do it to a lot of other consumers.

All I want is my money back.Desired Settlement: To have a full refund and an apology. Also it would be great if they stopped these deceitful business practices and don't do this to other customers either.

Review: BLS was processing my OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India). I sent all my documents with bank certified checks in the amount of $950. However, their contract has ended at a later point. Hence, BLS did not process my case and sent me all the documents back. They did not return my certified checks. They en-cashed the money and are now not willing to pay. I am in constant communication with them for last 3 months and they are delaying the process. They are asking for the same documents again and again but not returning my money back. I have also registered a police complaint for this fraudulent activity. Please help in resolving my case.Desired Settlement: I want my Cash refunded that BLS took unlawfully. They stole my money and after 3 months of email back and forth they have failed to refund my money.

Review: Complaint Category: Delayed completion of service. Failure to respond to phone calls or written requests for assistance or support.

Review: I submitted all required documentation for my daughter's PIO (Persons of Indian origin) card on March [redacted] 2014 along with my daughter’s passport and money order towards the required fee. BLS International in New York received my package on March [redacted] 2014. According to the BLS web site, this takes about 3 to 4 weeks. It has been more than 2 months and I have not received anything(PIO and Passport). Online tracking on BLS website said that the PIO card was dispatched on April [redacted]. After that, I happened to reach them on phone, after trying to call them for 5 days, and customer service person says that passport was not dispatched and that online tracking of application showing that package was dispatched was an error! I was requested to send a pre paid FedEx label (Paying $15 for fedex delivery service) to [redacted] in order for them to send my child’s passport and PIO card back which I did on April [redacted].

Repeated phone calls and e-mails have produced no information about the status of application or what is causing the delay. I have tried to call them every 20 minutes during business hours for more than 10 days. There was no one to pick up the call. I sent in three escalation forms, requesting immediate dispatch of passport, but again, there was no response. I also send in an enquiry form.

It is taking unusually long time to process application without explaining the current status of passport and PIO card. There seems to be no accountability.

BLS Receipt number: [redacted]

Passport number: To be given upon request.Desired Settlement: Need to Receive the Passport and PIO Card for my daughter. If mailed need to get the correct tracking number of the package and the address to which it is posted.

Review: I sent a family application for OCI document for India along with my wife's and my renunciation (of Indian citizenship) to them via fedex on May [redacted]. BLS Visa received the application on May [redacted] morning. BLS Visa cashed the cashier checks in the amount of $1207.5 (3 checks 848.10+179.70+179.70), sent the paperwork back without processing!

On May [redacted] the announcement came that Cox & Kings Global Services will be processing these applications from May ** onwards, and all applications received by BLS by May [redacted], will be sent to Cox & Kings along with the monies for those applications. Instead of sending my money and application to Cox & Kings, BLS Visa encashed my checks and sent my paperwork as is (without processing) to me without any explanation.Desired Settlement: They should not only refund the money, but also compensate for the time lost! And therefore should pay for the expedited processing of the documents.

Review: I had sent my OCI application some time ago which was received by BLS International on April *, 2014. With the application, I had also sent a money order of $464.40. I received a package from BLS a month later with all the documents associated with the application and no explanation regarding the return. Also, there was no refund of the $464.40. Since than, I have been emailing the company asking for the refund and I have not received it to this date. It has been over 6 months since I sent the application for the first time. I have also submitted a complaint with FTC with the reference number of [redacted].Desired Settlement: A refund of $464.40.

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have not been contacted by BLS International Service regarding complaint ID [redacted].

Sincerely,

Review: I had applied for my family's OCI and passport Renunciation on April [redacted], 2014 which was received at BLS office at NYC on April [redacted]. Following are the details of the applications

As required by Indian Consulate and BLS International I made a payment of $1539.90 for processing the applications.

No one from BLS office took any action on our application and it kept sitting there for more than a month. I kept calling and sending emails without any response from BLSoffice. On May [redacted] , I visited BLS’s office in Newyork city. One of the representatives checked my case and confirmed that the envelope is there unopened. She also confirmed that since Cox and Kings are going to be the next agency starting May [redacted], to process OCI application, my case will be forwarded to them. I asked her if I can get my papers back so I can personally submit at Cox and Kings. To that, the response was that BSL will submit everything to C&K.

To my surprise, all my papers were sent back to me on May [redacted]. More surprisingly, all the checks were missing. They cashed the cashier checks without doing any service. I again rushed to the BSL office, spoke to the same representative who this time said that I will get a refund in 4-6 weeks.

Since then I have applied for the refund providing all the details the company asked for. On June [redacted], I received a mail from [redacted] , BLS [redacted] that my refund has been approved, asking me to confirm my address so the refund check can be mailed. I did the same however, never received the payment. After that I kept calling and writing mails without any response. Finally, I wrote to the company that I will be filing a lawsuit against their fraud. I received a response on June [redacted] saying company is still looking at the matter and it will take some time to resolve. However after two months of pursuing I am yet to get my refund back ($1539.90). The company has been making excuses after excuses. They have done this to a number of people.

I sincerely request your intervention in this matter so 100s of innocent people don't get duped of their money.Desired Settlement: First of all I need the refund as the company never performed the service and had no intention of performing the service.

Secondly the company should be reported for this so the people are aware of their malpractice.