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Every time Prashant Vashista thinks of BLS International — the sole company sanctioned by the Indian consulate to handle services like visas and passport renewals in Canada — his mind goes back two years to his mother’s death.
Grief-stricken, he drove an hour to BLS’s Brampton location to arrange for emergency visas so he could see his family in India.
Even though he picked up the visas himself, Vashista said employees demanded he pay a $45 courier fee for himself, his daughter and his wife, totalling $135.
“I was in dire need. So I had to pay,” he told CBC Toronto.
It wasn’t the first or last time BLS allegedly pushed him to pay for services he didn’t need — and his experience isn’t unique.
CBC spoke with numerous people who described being pressured to pay extra charges at BLS, many of whom felt their ability to visit India or legally stay in Canada depended on it.
Former employees at one BLS branch say they’re not surprised, saying staff were encouraged to charge clients as much as possible and find minor errors in their forms or photos to sell services or reduce the backlog of applications.
“I knew 100 per cent that we are wrong… and we are [over]charging the clients,” said one former supervisor.
BLS says it has reputation for ‘service excellence’
BLS has locations across the country that provide services like passport renewal, police criminal record checks, and Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cards, which function as lifelong visas.
A quick web search reveals a trove of public Facebook posts, Reddit threads and online petitions — one of which has more than 7,000 signatures — created by frustrated BLS clients. The company has also been awarded an “F” rating by the Better Business Bureau.
In response to CBC Toronto’s questions about the complaints, BLS said the company has a “longstanding reputation for transparency, compliance, and service excellence.”
“We remain fully aligned with the standards and expectations of the governments and authorities we work alongside,” BLS communications manager Pooja Arora wrote.
“Where concerns are raised, we will always investigate them thoroughly and take appropriate steps to improve.”
For its part, the Consulate General of India in Toronto says it is committed to “prompt, efficient” service, adding that BLS International was selected “through a competitive bidding process.”
Client describes ‘legalized plunder’
During a visit to the Mississauga location in April, one client says his OCI application ran aground when staff pressed him for extra documents not mentioned on the BLS website and found minor issues with his photos and application forms.
CBC Toronto has agreed to protect his identity because he fears repercussions from BLS during future visits.
In a complaint he later sent to the company, he says staff used “scare tactics” to push him to pay for extra fees, called his wife “dumb” and threatened to blacklist him when he asked to see an itemized receipt before paying.
Harpreet Hora, a lawyer based in Kenora, Ont., says he had similar experiences during two separate visits to Toronto BLS locations.
“They forced me to take a courier service… which I had never asked for,” he said.
Though he later received refunds after complaining to both the company and the consulate, he described the ordeals as “obviously stressful” and “a sort of harassment.”
“You see that this is legalized plunder from people,” Hora said, pointing out that few people have the time or patience to pursue refunds.
Another client, Shivam Nehra of Oakville, says he was pressured to pay $100 for a “premium lounge service” to bypass the long lineups outside while he faced down a looming permanent residency application deadline.
“I went there three to four times to get my documents corrected and every time, these guys will point out any different mistake,” he said.
The story on the inside
It appears the situation wasn’t better on the other side of the counter.
Three former employees, all of whom worked in the Brampton location within the last five years, say they were kept on short-term contracts and felt pressured to find issues with applications or add extra charges.
CBC Toronto has agreed to protect their identities over concerns about impacts to their careers.
“You need to find a reason where you can take out money from a client,” one said.
“If you’re not selling, you will be kicked off,” they continued, describing internal staff competitions over who could sell the most services, with gift baskets going to the winners.
With little guidance on official standards, reasons to reject applications could be as minor as a missing comma or writing “ave.” instead of “avenue” on a form. They also said some mistakes were unavoidable because of how the company’s own online application forms were formatted.
Two employees also said they would push unwilling clients to use their courier service and charge families multiple times, despite deliveries going to the same address.
‘I know what you’re doing’
The same employee who described looking for misplaced commas said they ultimately left the company because they were disturbed by having to lie to clients they often sympathized with.
“There are students who are doing their applications for their permanent residency, not having jobs… or getting minimum wage, but still BLS is charging them like two or three hundred dollars [for] a thing which could be done [for] $40.”
All three also say they eventually found themselves returning to BLS for services, where they or their families were charged for add-ons they didn’t want.
“I was like, ‘Man, I have worked at this location and I know what you’re doing,'” the same employee recalled telling a Brampton staff member, who charged them an unnecessary courier fee, which they say they had “no choice” but to pay.
The search for accountability
As a private company contracted by a non-Canadian consulate in Canada, BLS operates outside of the purview of any federal or provincial immigration ministry.
Global Affairs Canada says that while it authorizes “the establishment of consular posts,” it has no authority over a company contracted by a foreign state, recommending instead that people with issues reach out to their local consumer protection office, or, in the event of a criminal complaint, the police.
Consumer Protection Ontario, meanwhile, says it has received just one complaint related to BLS International in the last three years, but declined to comment on the outcome.
The only body with authority to fire or discipline BLS is the Consulate General of India, who said in a statement to CBC Toronto that “every effort is being made — including through internal reviews, coordination with BLS, and process improvements — to ensure that service standards continuously improve.”
Former client Harpreet Hora isn’t so sure.
For the last three years, he’s found himself researching BLS, including several right-to-information requests with the Indian government over how many complaints they’ve received about the company.
“Much to my surprise, the Indian consulate says they do not have data of this,” he said. The consulate did not comment on Hora’s claim that it had no data on complaints, when asked by CBC Toronto.
“I feel cheated by the Indian consulate,” said Hora. “Reason being… I’m making complaints to you, and you’re not taking action.”