Complaints pile up against only agency providing Indian consular services in Canada

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 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."