Usit refusing to give me a refund

Jay.D87

Hi folks,

So we attempted to get on the IEC program with Usit but ran into difficulty with things that were beyond our control... (delayed passports and garda clearance) About which we sent proof to them. I emailed Usit the whole time explaining why I was delayed getting in to have the application forms checked and sent off. etc

We had our appointment booked for thursday 31/5/12 but we were not informed they were stopping taking applications on the Monday 28/5

Obviously we didnt get in on time so I rang Usit a couple of times and was passed from person to person but eventually told we should be able to get a refund back to just email them and explain why we were delayed which I did.

Eventually some retail manager rang me today and said we would not be getting a refund because it says in the terms and conditions the programme was non refundable... ok fair enough its in black and white (in the small print)
so I just told her fair enough... no refund is fine... but now she says the money will not count when applying for the next time around!? or even for the australian programme?
We did not avail of even one of their services and I cant get my head around this.

Im currently unemployed and had to work my hole off to get that 400 euro up to pay for it... Imagine being told you were out of time for eligibility for a visa and then being told your 400 euro you worked so hard for has vanished into thin air...


How can they get away with this seriously? they did nothing for us I'm absolutely fuming over this, is anybody in or maybe has been in this situation? any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

mikedragon32

Hi.

First up, that seems like a pretty crappy situation, you have my sympathy.

This isn't the forum for this matter. I reckon it would probably be better suited to the Consumer Issues forum as (not withstanding the service you were purchasing) the matter relates to getting a refund/credit from a vendor.

CI Mods, if it doesn't suit, can you fire it over to Living Abroad plz?

Miaireland

I think the first thing you need to do is sit down and read the terms and conditions. I have a feeling that unless it says that money will not be refunded but can be used for other services that you are out of luck.

They will say that you broke the contract not them and it is up to the applicant to have all their paperwork in order before the deadline.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Fairly clean cut. A non-refundable deposit was paid and you didn't apply in time. You are at the loss of the money. I see no reason why you should get a refund or be able to use the deposit for another transaction. As for them doing nothing for this money - well they had done something is processing what dealings you did have with them and your repeated Emails, with your excuses for the delay, had to be handled if nothing else.

Naked Lepper

i know for a fact somebody got their money back from them before, but it may be too late for you since you already told them why you wanted your money back. if you had come up with some other reason they may have returned your money on that basis.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Naked Lepper wrote: »

i know for a fact somebody got their money back from them before, but it may be too late for you since you already told them why you wanted your money back. if you had come up with some other reason they may have returned your money on that basis.

Lie, in other words?

Jay.D87

Srameen,

Sounds like you work for usit

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Jay.D87 wrote: »

Srameen,

Sounds like you work for usit

What a childish attitude! :rolleyes:
No truth there whatsoever!

Question asked and honest reply given. What more can I say?

Jay.D87

Legend Future Voyage wrote: »

. As for them doing nothing for this money - well they had done something is processing what dealings you did have with them and your repeated Emails, with your excuses for the delay, had to be handled if nothing else.

So we paid 800 euro for a few electronically transferred mails???

are you for real

Jay.D87

Excuse me for getting agitated like,

But as I said I'm unemployed with no jobseekers assistance each week I worked my hole off to get that money up....

And was trying to better my life by getting off this Godforsaken in the first place

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Jay.D87 wrote: »

So we paid 800 euro for a few electronically transferred mails???

are you for real

Hang on! You paid €400 (I assume the "we" means there were 2 of you). I didn't charge you and I didn't fail to put things through in time. I simply answered the question asked. Yes, in effect you paid for a few Emails; because you lost your deposit. Though your own fault - not mine. :mad:

As you state on another thread; You had a mess up with the passports less than a month before the closing date. You have no gripe with USIT and should have ensured Passports etc in ample time - things often get delayed and you must allow for them.

But, don't dare ask for opinions and then shoot the messanger!

slimjimmc

Jay.D87 wrote: »

So we paid 800 euro for a few electronically transferred mails???

are you for real

€800 ?? wasn't it €400 earlier
No, you paid after entering into a contract in which you later failed to uphold your part (i.e. ensuring you had the necessary documents). You knew and agreed before you signed that the fee was non-refundable, you also knew that you needed the documents (that's your responsibility). You took a risk and lost.
Harsh but true.


(And no, I've absolutely no affiliation with USIT)

Jay.D87

Yes myself and my g/f lost it

Miaireland

The only thing you could do is write a polite letter to Usit explaining your circumstances and asking would they allow you using part or all of the deposit towards something else. They do not have to do anything (as they have done nothing wrong) but you might be lucky and they might consider it.

slimjimmc

Jay.D87 wrote: »

Yes myself and my g/f lost it

Were the passports/Garda clearance delayed for each of you or just one person. If the latter then isn't the other person free to continue with the process surely?


I'd agreed with Miaireland, the softly-softly approach is best, try to appeal to their better nature.

Jay.D87

We both ran into a few complications.

Totally beyond our control.

slimjimmc

Jay.D87 wrote: »

We both ran into a few complications.

Totally beyond our control.

The thing is, you really should have had everything in place before you entered a contract and paid a fee knowing it was non-refundable. I know it's very tempting to go ahead in the hope that all will be ok, especially if you were keen not to have to wait on the next round, but that's not the way of the world. It's a lesson learned, hopefully you'll get a result so it doesn't stay a very expensive lesson. Good luck.

Miaireland

Just be careful in the letter how you come across. You don't want to come across as blaming everyone but yourself, this could annoy the person dealing with your letter.

For example don't say something like the Gardai took ages to issue my Garda Clearance certificate.

Instead say something like it took longer than I anticapated for my Garda Clearance cert to be issued.

the_syco

Jay.D87 wrote: »

are you for real

Whatever you say in the letter, if you come across like a self important prick, you will not be helped; heck, they may come after you for any money lost.

Remember that the people in usit are human beings. Give them respect, and most often respect is returned.

mtjm

back in the day I used to hear few customers giving out to the staff about this and that including refunds, sound like things hasn't changed there lol

Zab

the_syco wrote: »

Whatever you say in the letter, if you come across like a self important prick, you will not be helped; heck, they may come after you for any money lost.

Bollocks

scdublin

Unfortunately I don't think there's a chance of you getting anything back...it clearly states that if all the necessary documents are not ready by the specified date, that you could lose your money and the visa company are not at fault.
I have gone on two different visas with another visa company, and they made this clear to me especially the second time I went, as I cut it pretty close with the dates. If my passport hadn't been sent back on time from the embassy or any other delays had occurred along the way, I would have had to accept that the money was gone and nothing could be done.
Like others mentioned, you can try the nice approach and hope something comes out of it.
Don't answer if you don't want to, but what was the issue that you both had with your passport? Just to have some other information about that issue might be helpful.