Thanks for your feedback John, You're right about double checking (the mistake in question was actually the second mistake - the first time the paperwork listed my date of birth wrong, so I had to wait a few more days for new documents), but my concern really isn't the mistake. Of course I didn't like it, no one does. My concern, however, is about the response I got when I asked about the mistake. my colleague and I did not encounter a good-faith effort to look into the issue, or even any effort at all - all we saw was a rude, angry, yelling response, followed by threats. From the moment Vadim walked in the door he wanted to fight. If the issue had just been the mistake I wouldn't have bothered to warn everyone - it is the risk of such a nasty reaction when something does go wrong that is the problem.
BTW, I did ultimately solve my visa issues, despite Vadim's threats to do his best to prevent the Embassy from offering it - it appears that his power and influence is not as great as he claims. Regards, Kimberly On Wed, Jul 11, 2012 at 7:53 AM, Karl Johan Paul Hultman <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear all, > > Came back from some days offline and saw this conversation. I usually never > get involved with this kind of online-discussions. Here though, I wanna air > my humble opinion. > > First of all, really sorry to hear about Kimberley's problems not getting > her visa in time. I really hope you're doing alright! > My advice to you Kimberley for the future is to make a phone-call and > double-check next time that your email has been received. This is still > Russia and just cause it worked first time doesn't mean it will always be > bullet-proof. For such an important question better be overly cautious about > the process. > > Someone said it's good to put forward all opinions and experiences here. > Probably. A problem though in online forums like this one is that the person > being discussed or accused (in this case Vadim from Liga Consultant) isn't > here to answer and give his version of what happened on those occassions; > that doesn't seem very fair to me. It can easily be nasty and unbalanced. > > Since I like Vadim and his company a lot I felt a little concerned for his > sake and I wanna try to share my own experience there, just in the name of > fairness... Have used his company at least 15 times and feel extremly safe > with it actually. In my opinion their services are cheap, professional and > predictable, and I believe Vadim is a truly good person (probably like most > people he can get provocated on occassion). I have used other companies as > well and can compare, having an idea of what is normal in Moscow in terms of > customer-service when it comes to this area. I feel pretty confident that > most of the people here complaining here about Liga would have loved them > after using some of those other companies. > > As an example I can tell that once I had to leave Russia on a Sunday. My > invitation was ordered to be ready for Friday, which it also was. Only > problem was I forgot to go and pick it up. I called Vadim on his mobile > Friday after working-hours. He agreed to come in from Moscow Region on > Saturday, we met downstairs from his office and he gave me the invitation. I > offered to pay him extra money for this obviously but he refused to take > that. This is a true story and think it tells a lot about what kind of > person Vadim is. So, hopefully this added some nuances to the discussion. > > Thanks a lot for your attention. > > Best wishes, > > Johan Hultman > > On Mon, Jul 2, 2012 at 7:58 PM, Kimberly Zenz <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> Thanks again Rebecca, >> >> I am not sure how we are meant to be trolls - I have no outside agenda and >> strongly dislike nastiness online or off (hence my original complaint!). It >> makes me sad to see legitimate concern answered with a nasty accusation - I >> didn't send my initial warning about Vadim and Liga Visa in order cause >> trouble. I did it because I had a genuinely upsetting experience and wanted >> to help others avoid the same. Advice and ideas for navigating Moscow is the >> raison d'être for this list, and I believe that advice about good firms and >> bad, including the bad Liga Consultant, has a place. >> >> - Kimberly >> >> Some clarity on trolls: >> http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet) >> >> >> On Monday, July 2, 2012, Jerome Dewald wrote: >>> >>> To the extent that Kimberly wants to raise a complaint, I agree with you >>> and I respect her complaint. But this has now become a rant. >>> >>> Except for the occasional troll who would like only to prolong and >>> inflame the rant, I have heard no one else bring forth a similar or, in >>> fact, any complaint about Liga or Vadim. For this reason I think it is time >>> for her to stop badmouthing Vadim, let her complaint rest and let the rest >>> of us get on with something more interesting, like sex on airplanes, getting >>> drunk, or how bad the airlines and landlords are in Russia. >>> >>> >>> On Mon, Jul 2, 2012 at 2:21 AM, John Riley <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> Hey Jerome, >>> >>> Isn't it in all our interests to hear both the good & the not so good >>> about the services we need to avail ourselves of, especially given that >>> many of them are overpriced & come on many occasions with dubious >>> customer >>> service?? If Kimberley (who I've never met) had a bad experience, is she >>> badmouthing by recounting what happened to her?? The heart of her >>> dispute, >>> as she recounts it, was the reaction to a problem that she explains was >>> of >>> Liga's making - perhaps in all your years they never got it wrong to the >>> extent that you had cause to complain. >>> My own personal experience in Russia is that there's insufficient >>> competition to the extent that standards of service fluctuate, & >>> providers >>> become complacent. Thus I'm never surprise by how experiences vary >>> customer to customer. >>> I've used Liga in the past & was quite satisfied but if someone else >>> genuinely had a different experience I'm interested to hear about it. >>> Cheers >>> >>> >>> On 7/1/12 12:00 PM, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >>> >Send Expat mailing list submissions to >>> > [email protected] >>> > >>> >To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit >>> > http://www.lists.ru/mailman/listinfo/expat >>> >or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to >>> > [email protected] >>> > >>> >You can reach the person managing the list at >>> > [email protected] >>> > >>> >When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific >>> >than "Re: Contents of Expat digest..." >>> > >>> > >>> >Today's Topics: >>> > >>> > 1. Re: Expat List WARNING: Avoid Liga Consultant/Rusvis.org! >>> > (Jerome Dewald) >>> > 2. Re: WARNING: Avoid Liga Consultant/Rusvis.org! >>> > ([email protected]) >>> > >>> > >>> >---------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> > >>> >Message: 1 >>> >Date: Sat, 30 Jun 2012 11:00:07 +0400 >>> >From: Jerome Dewald <[email protected]> >>> >Subject: Re: Expat List WARNING: Avoid Liga Consultant/Rusvis.org! >>> >To: The Moscow Expat List <[email protected]> >>> >Message-ID: >>> > >>> > <CAD+1ou_1VwNmkb3pTSAAn9UPOCsP18H8-S4=0M4XCtzQ1UfH=a...@mail.gmail.com> >>> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="koi8-r" >>> > >>> >I have lived in Moscow for more than 20 years. I have used Liga for >>> > many >>> >years now after having some lukewarm experiences with other visa >>> > services. >>> > Vadim has helped me out of numerous problems with my visas over the >>> >years. He is a lifesaver. I have never once had a problem with Liga or >>> >with Vadim. I have recommended him and his firm to my friends and never >>> >once have I heard that there was a problem. To the contrary, my friends >>> >have reported back to me that Liga provided excellent service and >>> > advice. >>> > >>> >I am sorry you have had a problem at Liga. But I cannot agree with you >>> >concerning your recommendation. I will continue to use Liga for all my >>> >visa needs and I will continue to recommend them to my friends and >>> >acquaintances. Of course, if something changes at Liga, I may change my >>> >mind. But my most recent visa through Liga was just last week and once >>> >again, Vadim came through just as he always has. He got me visas when >>> > no >>> >one else could. >>> > >>> >P.S. In the interest of full disclosure, I do not work for Liga, nor >>> > have >>> >I ever worked for them. I do not get any compensation from Vadim for >>> > any >>> >reason and I never >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Expat mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://www.lists.ru/mailman/listinfo/expat >> http://www.expat.ru/forum/ > > > > _______________________________________________ > Expat mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.lists.ru/mailman/listinfo/expat > http://www.expat.ru/forum/ _______________________________________________ Expat mailing list [email protected] http://www.lists.ru/mailman/listinfo/expat http://www.expat.ru/forum/
