The Consumer Protection Agency (CPA) is calling on President Nana Akufo-Addo to take steps to ensure that “unfair” treatment meted out to Ghanaians who wish to travel to the UK ends.
The Executive Director of the Consumer Protection Agency (CPA), Kofi Kapito, argued that the British High Commission was not refunding applicants’ fees when they are given a lesser duration visa type other than what they applied and paid for.
Mr Kapito cited an example of applicants paying for a two-year visa but getting a six months’ visa yet “you are not given a refund of the visa type you paid for”.
He stated: “In any transactions of commerce, this is clearly considered as fraud. The British High Commission has found a convenient way of ripping unsuspecting and voiceless Ghanaians of their hard earned money.”
This was contained in a press release on Wednesday, May 17 that catalogued several other inconveniences and frustrations of Ghanaian travellers.
Mr Kapito hinted that a demonstration would soon be organised to put pressure on the British High Commission to change its operational standards if the several petitions are not addressed.
Below is the full statement:
UNFAIR TREATMENT TO GHANAIAN TRAVELERS BY BRITISH HIGH COMMISSION IN GHANA
The Consumer Protection Agency of Ghana is grateful to H.E President Nana Akufo-Addo for suggesting to British Airways to upgrade the quality of service for passengers leaving Accra to London at Heathrow Airport terminal 3 instead of Terminal 5 which is more convenient.
Currently, passengers travelling across the Atlantic Ocean find it challenging to connect to other flights because of the long walk between terminals which makes some passengers miss their flights altogether.
Ghana as a member of the commonwealth does not seems to enjoy any balanced visa acquisition. Ghanaians used to travel to the United Kingdom and get visa on arrival as a member of the commonwealth. In most recent past, travelers were simply told to present documents to be interviewed by the consulate after the review qualified applicants are asked to pay their visa fees.
A later review of the visa acquisition process by the British High Commission introduced the submission of documents without being interviewed by the Consular, and then came the introduction of paying visa fees at a chosen bank (Barclays and Standard Charted Bank).
Currently, the system of payment is only by a Visa or Debit Card. Ghana is a country that has is 99.9% cash society of which the British Government knows too well, therefore the directive is discriminatory and unfair.
Even in the United States of America where there is a sophisticated e-commerce environment, users have a variety of payment options which cash is among. This mode of payment has created a number of loopholes and has fostered a black market.
Another grossly unfair practice by the British High Commission is not refunding applicants fees when they are given a lesser duration visa type than what they applied and paid for, a typical example is paying for a two year visa but getting a six months visa yet you are not given a refund of the visa type you paid for.
In any transactions of commerce, this is clearly considered as Fraud. The British high commission has found a convenient way of ripping unsuspecting and voiceless Ghanaians of their hard earned money.
The British High Commission has two of the largest properties in Ghana located at Ridge, these properties are sizable enough to have an in-house visa processing team. However, they currently outsource all visa processing to a private company that resides in one of the most expensive real estate in the country which is the Movenpick Hotel.
These agents ironically behave like the British high commission itself with poor customer relations to applicants.
If the High Commission has no need for those huge buildings at ridge to process their visa then they should give the land back to the Government of Ghana.
Lastly, the CPA is also informed of the new practice where applicant’s documents are sent all the way to the UK for approval. The CPA would like to know if documents sent to the UK for approval also includes applicant’s passport, if so the Government of Ghana should intervene because there is no way they can take your passports out of the country without your knowledge which breaches simple diplomatic rights and international courtesies.
Sir, The C.P.A on two occasions wrote to the previous government for a solution of this matter and therefore this makes it the third.
We are contemplating hitting the streets on a mass protest against the British High Commission if these concerns are not addressed in the shortest possible time, however out of respect to your good office we will hold on to our protest and request for a meeting with you to seek an amicable solution to this matter.
Thank you so much for your co-operation.
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Thank you CPA, for bringing up this supercilious attitude of the Brits. This is actually state sponsored racketeering. This is an organized visa scam bordering on fraud. You are compelled to submit your documents through a faceless processing centre who accept no responsibility for anything. Your documents are reviewed by a so-called decision maker in the UK who does not even read the documents submitted and I know this because I have experienced it. Next you are bounced against the very reasons for which you submitted documents. They then issue you with a standard letter that says you cannot appeal but you can re-apply. The concept is very simple. If they permit an appeal, they know you will be successful so in order to perpetrate the scam, they offer you another chance to re-apply and the cycle goes on until you are lucky to fall in the quota for the day. If you have something important to do in the UK, they know you will re-apply. This is imperialistic and neo-colonialist daylight robbery. Visa fraud is not only when applicants make false representations, it equally applies when the issuer spuriously denies visas to compel applicants to pay another round of fees. At another level, you pay more a for a multiple visa with longer validity but they issue you with a six-month single entry and don’t give you a refund. The shorter the validity, the higher the frequency of applications and the scam goes on. No other embassy or high commission operate such a dubious system craftily engineered to scam applicants. If one takes the basic three-month visa with no trims, the fee is £56.25 plus service charge of £60. If you assume 100 applications per day, (minimum) they are raking in over almost £3.5 million every year. If you have a success rate of 50% (the figure is lower than 50%) then they amass about £1.8 million from poor souls. Why do we have to pay service charge of £60.00 for them to courier applications to the UK for processing?? Is it legal for them to export our passports?? We will join the protest.
Oh so you think.. I knew block headed people like you will say this. But I came for a purpose and has finished . Coming home in due course... Meet me at kotoka..o sormi on lo?
It's been long overdue.The ripping off thousands of Ghanaians day in and say out is saddening.Let's not only bark but Bite.Demo will send a stronger message than deplomacy.I do not care about visiting that pit of a country for anything..but only concerned about those who need to. Ghana is far better a country to prosper and rest in. KAPITO KUDOS AND MORE FIRE!!
@NII .IF YOU DONT LIKE IT WHY DONT YOU LEAVE AND GO BACK HOME.YOU WILL DIE WITHIN 2 WEEKS.
Britain thinks the owe the world. I don't blame them..i blame our leaders A country like Britain who Africa can feed till thy kingdom come...is in our country cheating on us. Why do we even want to travel to UK? A country who has no single natural resource. A country that base don't on taxes to survive. Making its citizens look like crazy and depressed people. Come to UK and see if it's a place to live. Bills upon bills.. Fined upon fined for the little offence commited. The best place to be is your country of birth. No morals, I mean zero moral values. Single mothers all over because they don't know what is marriage between a man and a woman. A country where lesbians and guys have rights. Is that what you are desperate to Come? Come to UK and see how regrettable you will feel. Tell them you are not ***barred word***. /hey can't cheat on you in your own country. They have nothing. They pretend all is well with them...tweaaa I regret the day I left the shores of Africa to come here to UK. I pray u come and see for yourself. A country that even ghana can feed for a 1000 years if our resources are well managed by sensible leaders. There they are in your country treating you as nothing? Gosh!demonstrate and spit fire into their ***barred word*** eyes.african leaders must woke up and change Africa's destiny...we have all we need. We don't need Europe for anything. They rather need us. Can't you See? They are nothing. Come On! My people stay home for Europe is a pit of hell . Force our leaders to stop stealing. Europe must beg Africa for food. Can you think? Don't you see what I See? Ahhh these people cheating on you in your own country? Fuck them all off!