A Briggs Passport & Visa Expeditors, Inc

We are aware of the problem this customer experienced and did all that we could to get his visa issued in a timely manner.    We did also advise him not to purchase a "non refundable" ticket until the visa was issued.  According to our terms of service we can offer no guarantees about...

when or whether travel documents will be issued.  We did everything on time and properly, the delay was with the UK Consulate.  During this time of year the UK Consulate often is overloaded with visa requests which causes these delays.  There is nothing we can do, the UK is a sovereign nation with a consulate in New York.  When you are in their consulate you are not on US soil, rather on UK soil.   There were many visas delayed during this period and many applicants were not able to travel as scheduled.  As a result, we cannot refund any of the fees charged.

Review: I was accepted into a university in the United Kingdom. In order to attend school over there I must obtain a Tier 4 student visa, and I needed it expedited. I found this expediting service called "A Briggs" and on their website they said they could get me my visa in 1-4 days which was perfect for me. After calling on three separate occasions to ask about the arrival date, each time I called the person on the other line told me it would arrive September the 6th on a Saturday which was perfect. Well, Monday rolls around and still no visa or notification from the company. And to get this visa expedited it cost me $408 and for a student making $12 an hour doing concrete in the Tennessee heat, that is alot of money so I expected what I was being told. It is now the 10th and I still have no Visa. My flight was booked for the 9th and which I had to miss costing me $1200 and I have to buy a whole other ticket because the change fee was $3000. All this is stemming from this excessive delay which they blame the consulate because "they are at the mercy of them." I was promised a service by the form of my payment and that is what I expected and I did not receive the service as promised.Desired Settlement: I would like a full refund for the simple reason I wanted this service was because it advertised 1-4 day service. if they would have told me it was going to take longer I would not have used them. This is simple capitalism. The Producer gives a product that they stand by. All I am asking is that A Briggs recognizes their mistakes and stand beside and do what is right objectively, thank you.

Business

Response:

We are aware of the problem this customer experienced and did all that we could to get his visa issued in a timely manner. We did also advise him not to purchase a "non refundable" ticket until the visa was issued. According to our terms of service we can offer no guarantees about when or whether travel documents will be issued. We did everything on time and properly, the delay was with the UK Consulate. During this time of year the UK Consulate often is overloaded with visa requests which causes these delays. There is nothing we can do, the UK is a sovereign nation with a consulate in New York. When you are in their consulate you are not on US soil, rather on UK soil. There were many visas delayed during this period and many applicants were not able to travel as scheduled. As a result, we cannot refund any of the fees charged.

Review: I used A.Briggs to expedite my passport. Their receipt does not show details of the shipping information requested. I recall that I requested an adult signature for my passport delivery; they say no signature was requested. (Fedex claims they left my passport at our front door because no signature was required, but the passport is not there.) I think they should be required to provide a copy of all information input into their computer system. My recollection of the delivery options is 1) did I personally want to sign for it, yes or no, and 2) did I want any adult to sign for it, yes or no. The customer service representative on the phone stated that she was not seeing these two options, just a single "no signature requested".Desired Settlement: They need to give us a copy of what we are agreeing to. (And perhaps the government needs to require all passport deliveries have a signature). Since I have no proof that they did not deliver my passport as requested, I cannot recoup my money, let alone the hassle I now face.

Business

Response:

Our selection is very clear whether to allow for "no signature" or signature required. In this case "no Signature" was chosen. We have reached our to [redacted], but she has not responded so we assume that she has found her passport. We are willing to work with her in any way to resolve this issue.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

I have no issue with their system offering a signature or not. Re-Read the complaint! The issue is that the RECEIPT does not show what was selected. I recall asking for signature delivery; they cannot show that I did not. (The passport was eventually found; the Fedex person left it at a side door instead of the front door. Since we often have problems with Fedex leaving packages outside the gate, at side doors, on the road, etc. I KNOW I asked for a Signature since it was my passport and I did not want it misplaced. Also, the passport was issued from their Houston office, and a person in Denver was the one who called me. Since the Denver office did not issue the passport, they could not answer any questions about it! So I did not call that office back.)

Regards,