More than a hundred people whose Australian visa applications got rejected are accusing a local education consultancy of refusing to refund their medical insurance fees. The clients say they have been making rounds at the Institute of Professional Management Studies (IPMS) office since December of last year and are now planning to take the company to court. On the other hand, the Chief Executive Officer of the firm claims the problems have arisen because three employees embezzled the money and that he has filed a lawsuit against them.
114 clients of the Institute of Professional Management Studies sought its services to process their Australian visas in December of last year. Most of them were attracted to the firm’s scheme of processing visas without having to sit for the popular IELTS test.
While some people reportedly got their visas granted, most of the visa applications were rejected. They then claimed refunds, which comes out at over Nu 86,000 per person from the firm. The total amount adds up to over Nu 9.7 M. This is excluding a tuition fee of over Nu 700,000 which a client has not received. The clients have asked for refunds over the last six months but to no avail.
“It is almost a year now that we did not get back the insurance fees we paid during the visa-lodging process. No matter how many times we visit the firm and ask for a refund, they are not given it back,” said a client, who requested anonymity.
“Despite my financial challenges, I have invested what I have and also taken huge loans thinking my daughter would get the opportunity to go abroad. But at last, when she did not get the opportunity, I have not received a refund and I am in debt now. I have gone to their office many times and called them,” said an aggrieved parent.
“My niece did not get back both her insurance and tuition fees. It has been almost seven months now. My niece’s parents have passed away, so I tried my best by taking loans thinking it will help her if she gets the opportunity to go to Australia. But now I am worried day and night about the loan. I hope IPMS will refund me soon,” said a guardian of a girl whose visa as rejected.
Meanwhile, the CEO of the firm said three of the company’s staff have been involved in embezzlement and misappropriation of company funds for personal gain. He added that this has damaged the reputation and trust of his company amongst his clients, employees, and shareholders.
He said that the three employees made the applicants deposit the ‘overseas student health cover’ into their personal bank accounts. Later, when the applicants’ visas got rejected, the staff secured the refunds from the Australian insurance companies into their accounts.
Following the incidents, the CEO filed a case against the staff with the Thimphu District Court last week. A preliminary hearing was conducted on Monday where only one of the staff attended. He also claimed to have lodged a complaint against the three staff with the Anti-Corruption Commission.
The clients, however, want to file a separate case against the firm notwithstanding its internal administrative issues.
Kinzang Lhadon
Edited by Kipchu
