ComplaintsforChicago Passport & Visa Expedite Services, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  07/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  I paid $509 to upgrade to the ***** day service on 3/*1 at the recommendation of the business, and the business did not deliver my passport until FIVE weeks after I submitted, failing to deliver on their promise and causing me undue stress because my passport arrived a week before I was scheduled to leave. Full context: I was traveling to ****** on 4/*9, and submitted an application on 3/19 for the 4-6 week passport renewal service at H313*3938343031303*39H Passport and ***** The business stated verbally that my travel date was at the end of the 6 week **** and that my passport should make it back if I requested the 4-6 week service. However, they recommended that I upgrade to the ***** day service if I wanted a buffer and to have relief knowing that I'd get it in max * weeks time (ideally by 4/1, even with shipping delays, by 4/8). I paid $509 to upgrade to ***** day service on 3/*1. When I had not received my passport by 4/*0, I was very worried and they explained that the ********** of ***** put me on hold since "I was too far out from my travel date and can't process it when it's farther out than 14 days". This seemed like a normal occurrence that they would have known about when they recommended that I upgrade. My passport did not come in until 4/**, which was FIVE weeks from the date I submitted my app and *-3 weeks OVER when it was supposed to arrive. They completely failed on their promise to deliver my passport in the 14 day window - and ended up delivering it in the original 4-6 week window even though I paid over $500 to upgrade to H333537373*3438303*37Hd service. When I asked about my getting a refund when I picked the passport up, the business said they'd get back to me about a decision and did not. I had to call back on 6/17. They were extremely rude and notified me on 6/*4 that they would give me a refund of only $99 because they thought that they "were close enough to the window", even though they had missed it by *-3 weeks. I want my full refund for $509.

  Business response

  07/18/2022

  Akshay ************ 
  Chicago Passport & **** Expedite Services, LLC  
  180 ************* Ste 106 
  Chicago ** 60601 

  
  Better Business Bureau
  121 **************, Suite 2000 
  Chicago, **  60601

  
  To whom it may concern,  
  We are writing to you in response to your complaint regarding the transaction that occurred on 03/19/2022 We have been in contact with ******** since then. She communicated her complaint to us even before the passport was issued. ******** came into our office on 03/19/2022. She needed to renew her ** passport; we gave her all her options; she initially chose 4-6 weeks. We informed her that based on her travel date there was a chance she might not get her passport on time. We could guarantee the passport within 4-6 weeks, but we informed her that we could not give her a specific date on when she would receive the passport, since she was traveling in less than 6 weeks. We made her aware we did not have control over the time frame for that specific option. ******** stated she did not want to take the risk that her passport might not come on time. She still had the option to choose a faster service where we could guarantee that she would receive her passport before her trip, however, she, did not want to pay any additional fees. 

  
   The representative offered the next upgrade, which was 14 business days turnover, which means that it did not include weekends or holidays. With this service, she had a better chance of receiving her passport on time, assuming we had no issues with her paperwork or with the ********** of ************** gave her the full breakdown of all the fees, which included an estimate of her total, which the customer signed knowing we were going to charge her that amount. The fees for this service included filling out all her paperwork, passport photos, shipping to and from the ********** of ****** and a slotting fee.  We also made her well aware that this was something that she could do on her own and it was up to her discretion if she wanted to use a third party to help with her paperwork.   
  

    ******** was unsure of what service she wanted to opt for. Since it was a Saturday and we were not going to ship her application to the ********** of ***** until Monday afternoon, therefore she chose to take some time to think about what she wanted to do. She asked the agent to hold her application until she made her choice. We finished up all the paperwork which included her application and process for the 4-6 weeks on top of the additional paperwork for the 14 days in case she chose to upgrade, however at the time of her visit, the agent only charged her for the 4-6 weeks service. Upon ************ request, we put her application on hold until she reached out. We made her well aware that the longer it took to submit the 4-6 weeks or the 14 days, the closer she got to her travel date, therefore, having less of a chance that she would receive her passport on time. A few days later ******** reached out and confirmed she wanted to upgrade her application to 14 days because she did not want to take the risk of not receiving her passport on time. We were sure to inform her that we would process her passport and charge her the difference for the upgrade. We made her aware that at the moment we were booked ** in slots since we had more customers that came in before her, and we were going to submit her passport to the state in the next available slots, the 14 days would start then. Once we submitted the passport to the state, the department of state started processing her passport right away, however, the state did take the full 14 days to process her passport since her travel date was not until the end of April. Although the process is very similar, the execution and processing of the passport are different. There are certain protocols from the ********** of ***** that need to be followed, it is out of our hands if the ********** of ***** makes a decision regarding the application. This is something that we clarified to ******** when she reached out to ask for a status update on her application. We spoke to the ***** multiple times during the process of Ms. *** application, however, each agent we spoke to give us the same answer, saying that there was nothing we could do on our side and that we would have to wait until the passport application was finished processing. Ms. *** new passport was shipped out from the ********** of ***** on 04/21/2022 via ***** We received her passport at our office on 04/22/2022. We informed the customer right away and she picked up her ********************** a later that day. ******** did state that she wanted a refund on the service representative informed her the department of state does not give any refunds, but they will attempt to reach out.  ************ travel date wasnt until 04/29/2022, therefore she received her passport on time and before her trip. 
   We have every desire to address the client's needs and provide the best solution available to resolve this issue as soon as possible. We tried reaching out to ******** a few days later to give her a partial refund of $99, ******** did not respond, she reached out a few months later.  

  
  The company policy is very clear in this regard. We do not give any refunds or cancellations on our service. The ********** of ***** does not give any refunds whatsoever. In the customers invoice, we have a clear statement at the bottom of the page stating that fact, which the customer physically received and signed. We did offer ******** a partial refund of $99.00 for any inconvenience from our service fee, however, we cannot offer ******** a refund on ****************** Fees that the ********** of ***** issued. We will work to further evaluate how we can prevent this problem from occurring again in the future. Please accept our sincerest apology for any inconvenience the client may have felt. We have provided additional documentation which includes a signed invoice signed transaction receipt, a delivery notice from ***** and status update directly from the ********** of state with the date and tracking numbers as well.   

  Customer response

  07/26/2022

   
  Complaint: 17549681
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  1. Most importantly, this business has engaged in deceptive representation of their services, by Section Five of the *** law. By definition, they have issued me a mislead statement of fact AND which has affected consumers behavior or decisions about the product or service in a material way. Please reference evidence in 1a and 1b below.

  
  1a. Evidence of misleading consumers: *********** is called ***** day on their website and promotional material. A rational consumer would believe that the service would deliver their renewed passport within ***** days OF APPLICATION. They have purposefully omitted relevant information on the fact that this service means the consumers application is processed within ***** days OF RECEPTION by ********** of ***** AND ONLY then, if the travel date is deemed urgent enough to process within 14 days of receiving. I also have attached a sample written correspondence to further show how they deceive consumers into thinking that their service is within ***** days of application not reception. 

  
  1b. Evidence of affecting consumers behavior or decisions about service in a material way: Had I known this, I would have contacted another passport renewal agency who had slots immediately open, tried renewing in a different state, or booked another low-risk international trip that was sooner in order to get expedited service. I would not have paid the $509 to upgrade my service with this agency.

  
  2. The business has falsely represented information in their statement below that invalidates their argument. The business states below that we were going to submit the passport in the next available slot, and the 14 days would start then. Once we submitted the passport to the state, the department of state started processing her passport right away. HOWEVER, the business told me in an email on 3/20/22 that the unfortunately, when we submitted your passport to the state, they KEPT IT ON HOLD because you [the customer, ***********] were too far out on your travel date and they [the **** of *****] cant process it when its farther than 14 days so they put it on hold. This implies the 14 day processing DID NOT START immediately when the passport was submitted to the state, but they put it on hold until my trip was deemed urgent enough. Yet again, the business is making false claims.  

  
  2b. I understand that I signed an invoice, but such disclosures (e.g. no refunds due to delays) cannot protect against claims of deceptive advertising, per *** ****** Act Section 5.

  
  Please issue the full refund of the $509 upgrade.  

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********

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