Visa company disappears with passports

JUST one year after
Carte Blanche exposed
fraudulent practices at
Global Visas – a company that
allegedly offered applicants
‘visas to nowhere’ – another
fraudulent visa company
seems to be at work.
TNW was approached
recently by a reader who
claimed she had been
scammed by VCS Group,
also trading as Visalogik.
The victim, who would like to
remain anonymous, asked VCS
to handle her application for a
Moroccan visa. She contacted
Charles Jelliman, owner of the
above-mentioned companies,
who assured her he would
arrange the visa in time for her
holiday at the end of August.
When the client had not
received her visa by August
1, she contacted Charles.
He responded, saying the
consulate was experiencing a
slight backlog but that her visa
would be processed in time
and that there was no need for
concern. Charles then agreed
to meet with the client to hand
over the passport on August
15. However, he never arrived
at the designated meeting
point and the client has not
heard from him since.
Without a passport, the
client was forced to cancel her
trip to Morocco and was liable
for all cancellation charges
and penalties. She admitted
to TNW that she should have
heeded the warning signs.
“I googled visa services in
Cape Town. I contacted two
companies, who both seemed
very efficient. VCS was slightly
cheaper, charging R1 000 in
total. In hindsight this was too
cheap and I believe Moroccan
visas have actually increased
in the last month!”
VCS and Visalogik appear
to have defrauded more
people. Michele Kendall, md
of Visalogix, says the similarity
between the names of the
two companies Visalogik and
Visalogix has often caused
confusion with disgruntled
Visalogik clients. She says,
over the last few months
she has received about eight
phone calls from irate clients
who have lost their passports
and money to Charles Jelliman
and are demanding a refund.
Michele says it is quite
easy for anyone to start a
one-man visa company in
SA as there is no governing
body that regulates the visa
application industry. She
warns clients to look out for a
physical address and reliable
certification. Visalogix has had
offices in Long Street in Cape
Town for the past 11 years
and extensive credentials.
Visalogik and VCS, on the
other hand, have listed three
different physical addresses
and different websites. A
Google Street View search
showed no shop at any of
these addresses.
Although a criminal charge
has been laid against Charles,
at the time of going to print,
SAPS had not yet questioned
or arrested him. TNW tried to
reach Charles by phone and
mail without success.