I was forced into paying for an " add on" which I did not require just to be able to complete the visa application. The visa is available for free from the embassy. I chose to pay for the ease of securing the document with our vaccination status endorsed on the document. I provided the necessary Government proof of vaccination and it is not endorsed on the visa. A poor and, seemingly, oppressive process that appears to be designed to require the selection of an add on when one is not required nor wanted. Last time I use the service from now on I shall apply through the embassy for free.
Needing a Passenger Locator Form for travel to Greece , with very little notice , I went onto this recommended site . The only option that the application website gave me to pay was the most expensive 4-Hour 'turn-around' , at approx £45 cost ... the 2 cheaper / slower options would not 'appear' . I presumed that this was due to there being insufficient time before the booked flight , and thus was happy to pay the £45 , as it appeared , from the website/application process , that this would enable a PLF to be issued by the authorities in time . My application was accepted , and the fee taken from my bank account - all good , I thought , as this meant that there was a tacit acceptance - if not a legal contract .. ! - that the PDF would arrive in time . being unable to access a human contact at iVisa ( they are not the only ones where it appears practically impossible to speak to an actual human , live , in real time .. ho-hum .. ) , I had to use the Chat function , and was duly connected to an operative named Ramon , and gave him all the relevant details - flight number , departure times , address in Chania , Crete , where I was staying , passport details etc etc .. This , by the way , had ALREADY been given , in the preamble form filling , but Ramon had not , it seems , bothered to read/scan this , and thus asked me - electronically , of course , not 'live' - Qs that I had already answered in my initial application forms ... minor , sure , but frustrating , creating an impression of unprofessionalism ... After understandable delays and lengthy 'gaps' , whilst Ramon did what he needed to do at his end , sending the information , in its appropriate form , to whereever in the greek Tourist Ministry is dealing with the PLF protocols , ramon came back to say that one couldn't be issued , as there was insufficient time , etc etc .. Frustrating , as iVisa had given me the impression , by accepting my application and - of course ! - my £45 fee , that it WAS possible .. Ramon told me that I needed to choose a flight at least 2 days hence , which would give the PLF / Greek authorities time protocols the space in which to work their magic ... After a little to-ing and fro-ing , this I did , managing to find another flight ( albeit more than twice as expensive as the one I had been booked on , but could now no longer use , as I had no PLF authorisation .. ) , gave Ramon the details , and , around 90 minutes later , received notification that my PDF had been authorised by the Greek Authorities , and I could thus take the newly booked flight , from manchester , on Thursday , 24 July ... Happy Days ... Now , here's the issue that is giving iVisa the one-star rating ... I was 'forced' , by their IT system , to chose the only payment option available on my initial application , the 4-Hour £45 most expensive choice .. no issue with this at the time , as I explained above , given the short notice .. But , iVisa failed to fulfil their contractual agreement in this instance , with Ramon telling me that I would have to make a new application , with the new flight details , at least 2 days hence , which we did ... I asked Ramon , logically , if I could opt for one of the 2 cheaper options now , given that there was time to do this as my flight was not for 3 days time ...ie there was no need to choose the 4-hour £45 option ... he has still to respond to this electronically-written Q , which he has marked as read .. and iVisa have kept my £45 , and have not responded in any shape or form with - for example , an offer of a refund of the price difference between the £45 paid and one of the other two lower-priced options .. which is what I had enqured of Ramon . Just silence , except for their automatically-generated ' How did we do / rate your experience / aren't we great ..?' emails . Well , no - totally ignoring a polite , sensible question about cost/pricing is NOT great ,nor is NOT fulfilling the legal contract to give me a PLF in 4 hours
I never got the Greek locator form back because iVisa having taken my £15 put the wrong email on my application and did not respond to requests to correct their error! Incompetent or a scam you decide?
Scammers! Said I would receive a document (Greece PLF) within 4 hours (guaranteed) then sent an email at the 4 hour mark saying it wasn’t possible.
