Same Day Passport & Visa Expedite Service Inc.

Review: I am not satisfied with the services provided by Sameday Passport and Visa in New York City, NY purchased for $488.32. Completion of the service was promised on Monday, March ** but was not completed until Wednesday, March **. On March [redacted] the merchant offered to take $299 off the bill, but only $117 was taken off. I would like the merchant to remove their entire fee as they promised to do over the telephone on March [redacted]. On March *, 2013 I went to the Chinese Consulate in New York City to obtain a visa to travel to China. My date of departure was scheduled for March [redacted]. The clerk at the consulate told me that I needed at least 4 blank pages at the end of my passport to get a visa. I did not have that many pages and contacted the federal Passport Agency to get the additional visa pages. The Passport Agency agent told that I needed to make an online appointment. I tried to make an appointment, but there were never any open time slots. On Friday, March [redacted] I went to Sameday Passport and hired them to facilitate obtaining the additional passport pages. They told me that they have daily appointments and that they would submit my passport later that day and that I would have it back by the end of the day with the extra pages on Monday, March [redacted]. On Monday, March [redacted] I contacted them to pick up my passport. They told me that the federal government had placed a “hold” on my passport and that the government never told the passport holder why the “hold” was put in place. On Tuesday, March [redacted] they admitted to me that they had, in fact, had trouble with their courier who had quit and had purposely not picked up my passport. [redacted] at Sameday Passport told me at 4:00 pm on Tuesday, that the Chinese Consulate had “same day” visa service and that if I could convince the Passport Agency to release my passport on Wednesday morning and arrive at the Chinese Consulate before noon I would be able to get a visa and fly the next day, March [redacted]. I called the Passport Agency information line at 4:30 pm on Tuesday night to ask about the process of picking up my passport. They told me that I could take the “will call” receipt and pick up the passport the next day, but it would be at the discretion of the passport official, since I had no appointment. I called Sameday Passport and was told that the courier still had the “will call” slip and that they could not retrieve it. I called the Passport Agency back and they told me that it was highly irregular, but if I went to the agency and completed a series of forms, they might be able to return my passport without the “will call” slip. When I called Sameday Passport to complain and have them look for the “will call” slip again, I talked with a supervisor in the Chicago office (whose name I did not get) and was told that they would only charge me the fee for the extra passport pages and that they would not charge me the Sameday Passport fee of $299. On Wednesday, March [redacted] I went to the Passport Agency. They had me speak to the same agent who initially accepted my passport from the courier. The agent showed me her log. There was never a “hold” placed on my passport, and it was available to be picked up on the afternoon of Monday, March [redacted]. In the middle of filling out the paperwork I received a call from Sameday Passport telling me that in fact they had picked up my passport that morning and that it was at their office and I could come and pick it up. [redacted] assured me that if I got to the Chinese Consulate before noon, there would be no problem obtaining “same day” visa service. I arrived at the Chinese Consulate at 11:40 AM. I was told that they had not provided “same day” visa service for over two years. I was told that I could get “next day” service and pick my passport up at 9:00 AM on Thursday, March [redacted]. My flight was scheduled to leave at 8:00 AM on March [redacted], so it was impossible for me to get a visa and still make the flight. I was forced to cancel my original flight and rebook for Friday, March [redacted]. I had to pay an additional $500.00, which was the difference between the original fare and the fare on March [redacted]. I’m requesting the Sameday Passport take off the remainder of their $299 fee as promised for services that were not rendered in a timely fashion. I am not disputing the fee for obtaining the extra passport pages, a service which they eventually performed. Initially when I called Sameday Passport the clerk that I talked to told me that they never remove their fee for any reason. After repeated requests they took off part of their fee.Desired Settlement: I want to be refunded the entire fee I paid them.

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have not been contacted by Same Day Passport & Visa Expedite Service Inc. regarding complaint ID [redacted].

Sincerely,