TNW pick of the week: ‘It’s robbery’ – agents lash consulate

Travel agents have called for action against the Nigerian Consulate as many claim it will not reimburse their clients the controversial R6 000 repatriation fee, despite providing all the necessary documents.   

A letter to the editor, published recently on eTNW, sparked the outcry. Hardi Ras of Prestwich Travel said he had been struggling for over four years to obtain a refund of the R6 000 repatriation fee his client paid to the Nigerian Consulate. “After numerous attempts and even going as far as to hand-deliver the required documents to the consulate and numerous phone calls, four years later, the fee has still not been refunded.” His letter received dozens of responses from other travel agents experiencing the same problem.

Visa companies in South Africa agree that the situation is problematic. Brian van Tonder, md of Republic of Service Excellence (ROSE), says due to the endless difficulties in obtaining refunds on behalf of customers from the Nigerian Embassy, ROSE has been forced to ask customers to sign a disclaimer, indemnifying ROSE from any responsibility in getting such deposits back.

“In our experience, these deposits are rarely refunded and therefore we have a responsibility to inform our clients that it will be a very difficult process. We believe that our customers should know this upfront before applying for a first-time visa instead of being surprised afterwards. We placed our disclaimer on the website more than a year ago and this helps to keep our customers informed.”

Other visa companies have decided to hand back the responsibility for payment and recovery of visa fees to the client. Shaun Bartlett of MDS Visapak says they no longer pay visa fees on behalf of clients nor do they attempt to get the reimbursement. “The amount of time spent doing so does not warrant the fees we would be charging.” Shaun says some clients have been successful in getting the fees back but the process requires a lot of patience and almost daily requests to the consulate.