[Rant] Questionable - VisaCenter
 

Hello fellow FT'lers,

while preparing the ETSA application for a friend, I was searching the Delta site for the ETSA application page. For convenience, DL formerly provided the official web address as a clickable link when booking an international ticket.

I was highly surprised to learn that something changed. That clickable link has somehow converted into a new link pointing to visacenter.com. Neither on the DL pages, nor on the directly linked pages any reference to the fact that visacenter is a profit organisation is provided. All you see is an overview page with a box "Start an ETSA".

Inexperienced travellers using this service will be faced with several constraints:

• VisaCenter is not an online tool, it makes you fill in a PDF with sensitive personal information and requests to send this to their UK office AS AN E-MAIL
• deeply hidden in the PDF there is a line stating that "The US Government fee £9 + VAT. CIBT service fee £20 + VAT." Nice one, almost tripled the costs compared to the official government web-site.
• no instant approval but 1 to 21 days lag depending on whether you used the emailed PDF or snail mail
• resulting in more effort to the formerly straight and quick process
• being lured into using a service for no apparent reason, there is absolutely no added value for VWP visitors

The first page of the PDF is featuring a brief introduction that is highly questionable in itself (emphasise mine):

"A US ESTA is an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation to travel to the United States. It is the equivalent to a visa, but no stamp or label is placed in your passport. To be eligible you must hold a passport from one of these countries.
VisaCenter.com processes the US ESTAs through its parent company, CIBT. CIBT is the global provider of visas and passports, and is the fastest and easiest way to secure your ESTA prior to your trip to the United States. With CIBT, you can apply anytime and you will receive an email or post confirmation notifying you once your US ESTA has been issued. Once an ESTA is issued it is valid for 2 years or until your passport expires, (whichever is sooner) and will allow multiple entries into the US.
Due to regulations at the United States Department of Homeland Security, US ESTAs can only be processed outside of United States territory. CIBT is able to process your US ESTA request securely in our London office. Your US ESTA application needs to be emailed or mailed via postal service CIBT’s London office. All service and processing fees will be charged in GBP (£). International credit card fees may apply."

Fastest and easiest?! :confused: I beg to differ: it takes longer, more administrative overhead for the visitor, more data to be disclosed, For comparison, I have then used the official page and it took about less than 5 minutes from start to seeing "Approved" on screen.

Delta, please fix that. It's not only a misleading practive to flank some cash to one of your business affiliates, it's (at least for me) heavily undermining my confidence in you as a trustworthy partner! You should at least display a notice that VisaCenter is a business service and should also present the official government link as alternative!

[EDIT]: Mods, would you adjust the title to "Questionable practice: Delta & VisaCenter" since I forgot that.

FYI - I recently made a reservation that requires a visa (India) and received via email the following a day an email from DL informing me that my itinerary needed a visa and VisaCenter.com could assist me! I deleted it already or I would post verbiage for your consumption.

Visacenter.com is clearly a scam and delta.com is a willing participant.

A friend of men just got burnt getting an ETA (or whatever it is called) for Australia. He stupidly clicked on the "convenient" link in the entail Delta sent and went to some official-looking 3rd party site that charged in US$40 for an authorization that was available directly through the Australian embassy website for AUD$20. I'm saddened, but not surprised, that delta pulls scams like this. All they would have to do is clearly state in the email that they are directing you to a 3rd party site, not affiliated with the government in question, and I wouldn't mind. Instead, their email implies that the link is for the official way to get an ETA. Bad show Delta!

Agree that DL needs to make this more clear that it's an optional service by a third party that costs extra. (Remember the Skycap thread?)

However, I have used CIBT multiple times for travel needs (they are our corporate contracted provider) and have been happy with the service. Same-day passport renewal, next-day visas, etc. which I suppose I could have stood in line for at the embassy myself but am more than happy to pay someone else to.

YMMV.

Penny wise and pound foolish. Most travel agents do the Australian one for free.

Huh? They state in that very same PDF:

"If authorisation is refused, you will require a full visa for travel, for which CIBT can not assist." That does not seem like a next-day visa service to me. Probably you are referring to other visas and I misinterpreted that.

VisaCenter may be a useful tool in some situations but charging you $40+ ($14 for gov't fee, 20 GPB fee for visacenter, 2.5-5% international surcharge for CC payment) and make you wait a couple of days for a simple ETSA (that is $14 and instant at the government page) is not very useful?! :confused:

My beef is that DL makes it look somewhat official to stupid Europeans like me. We are not very familar with American procedures and the $14 club-U.S.A. admission fee makes it even worse. Everyone over here had heard that something is new and that they charge you now so it's pretty easy to mistake this VisaCenter service as the new government page.

Hell, they even show a DL logo on top of the web site and the PDF that makes it even more convincing for an outsider. It's intransparent and misleading to say at least.

Furthermore, I was just realising that they are UNABLE TO TRANSLATE REAL Delta content but the VisaCenter stuff on DL.comis fully available in my own language. Woohoo!

Yes I was referring to other visas for which they've done good work for me (China, Russia, Brazil).

Ah ok, sorry for misinterpreting that.

Is this really worth a "rant"? Is there some other visa service they should be pushing? If so, please let them (& us) know.

You can't really expect an airline to keep track of who offers the best deal on visas for each of 150 countries.

I agree that $40 for an electronic travel authority from Australia is a ripoff (I've even had people with Australia offer to get it free in exchange for an equivalent charitable donation, equivalent of $20AUD, that is), but then I'm an informed consumer who tends to go to the source for everything.

Mike, I definately think it is. Thy have exchanged the "official" link to the ETSA page by VisaCenter, without clearly stating that this is an external service. It may seem obvious to you that this is the case but I highly doubt it is to foreigners.

I was not referring to real visas, nor to Australian ETA but to the American ETSA. I am fully aware of the fact that visas may be tricky. However, I am explicitly referring the VWP and the green form we used to fill in. It has been replaced by an electronic authorisation in 2008 (if I remember correctly). VWP's have to pay $14 since this September. It is a simple US gov't page in which you type in some personal data, hit send, (pay $14), and get a result instantly. Something like that does not need to be replaced by a "service" that costs more, creates more effort (more typing), and takes much longer.

I agree that it's crummy of Delta to replace the official, straightforward government link with that of a commercial service.

Yes I think it is deceptive marketing and there should be clear wording on the Delta page that states this is a 3rd party service that you have to pay for.

Same with the americanpassport link... it actually mentions in the paragraph that it is a service, but says nothing about it being 3rd party and that they charge an additional fee for the same thing that you can get from the govt passport site.

Stuff like this really ticks me off since it is obvious that Delta is getting a cut for clickthru and/or when a sucker makes a purchase.

Delta/VisaCenter.com - beware!
 

If you are traveling to a country that requires visa and you receive email or link from Delta for VisaCenter.com service, beware. This company has extremely diceptive business practices that I have just experienced. Read every line on the "Visa Application Requirements" page and the Visa Center "ORDER FORM" that is generated after you have completed the application form.

I am traveling to China (Beijing) and followed the link provided by Delta to VisaCenter.com to apply for visa. It said 20% discount for Delta SkyMile customers plus 1K miles. VisaCenter.com site listed their Standard Service fee (8 or more days) as $40 and Rush Surcharge (4-7 days) as $43 and Emergency Surcharge (1-3 days) as $86. There is a $25 charge if you use the overnight shipping label they provide and another $25 when they return your passport/visa (or $5 handling if you use your own shipping label and another $5 if you provide a return shipping label). Also, there is an autimatically added insurance charge of $18. If you complete the application form and decide not to proceed/cancel you will be charged $50. The page indicates that your credit card will not be charged until they return your passport/visa, beware because you might be shocked at the charges, I was.

I mailed my passport and accompanying paperwork on Dec. 7 by overnight delivery to VisaCenter.com using my own shipping label and I enclosed a return shipping label. I indicated that I would like to have it back by Dec. 17 and that my travel date is Dec. 23, 2010. I received my passport and China visa on Dec. 17 and a credit card charge receipt for $318.

I called VisaCenter.com to get a breakdown of the $318 charge. They are:
Consular fee - $144.90 (multiple entry valid for 1 year)
VisaCenter Stanard Service fee - $40
Handling fee (for using my own overnight label) - $5
Insurance - $18
Emergency Surcharge - $86
Overnight return shipping -$25

I questioned the Emergency Surcharge ($86) since clearly this was not a 1-3 day order, I questioned the shipping charge ($25) since I provided a return shipping label and the insurance ($18) since I did not request it and the package was being shipped via overnight delivery. The $40 was their standard service fee, so where's the 20% discount? But, I did not question it.

For the surcharge they said they'll review it but that it was less than 8 business days. I asked why they did not notify me before the surcharge, they said their charges were clearly posted on their site. For the shipping they said my label did not indicate next day air. For the insurance they said it is automatic unless you check a box on the order form to decline coverage. Note that this order form is generated after you've completed the visa application form.

The credit card charge has posted on my account. BEWARE!

"[Rant] Questionable - VisaCenter"
 

I just had my own bad experience with VisaCenter.com, I've posted the details of what happened to me. Since they have your credit card number, they hit you with service charges without asking if you'll accept. Also if you decide to cancel they hit you with a $50 charge.