CIBTReviews of cibt.com

I am prefacing this review by saying I have used CIBT many times in the past and have always been so happy with the service and timing. So many uploads, so many times. So many errors. My travel companion finally recieved one of two visas only to have the incorrect encryption number. My name was spelled incorrectly. JPGs were fine until they weren't. For the identical itenerary, one person was asked for one document and the other person was not. WHAT? Almost every complaint/ issue here is about their platform and every response is oh thanks for letting us know. Make it better, CIBT. Make it user friendly. Travel IN Africa is never easy, but this experience should be.

It was fairly easy to complete the application and didn’t need to send in my passport until the very end after approval. The process took a little longer than I expected, needing to resubmit a new photo. On the pricing side, more expensive than it might be worth, and including many hidden fees. The base service fee is $185, a threefold increase in their price 10 years ago with mostly the same service. Also $140 that the consulate charges for the visa, $58 for shipping my passport there and back. Hidden fees include $10 “consular processing fee”, $45 “passport replacement coverage” that I declined in the application, and $37 “digital photo service” that weren’t disclosed when applying. I was able to get the $45 and $37 refunded due to California’s SB 478, but they need to do a better job at price transparency.

Unfortunately the last 2 experiences were not good. Agents and team leads clearly not up to date on Schengen visa process. Rather than follow instructions of first visa decline letter they did the same for the second application and the result was the same, declined. Third application they were unable to find suitable dates. Managed to do so on my own. Really unfortunate, the agent did try but seems not guided well.

Service was provided, I have no issue there. My problem was with charges. Be careful about premium service, it is added on top of base charge. In my opinion, it is double dipping.

Delayed business flight due to bad communication. For a company that is focused on businesses, the customer service is unacceptable. Filed for a visa to India, was very clear when I need to travel on Nov 29th and their App showed clearly that I am good to go as long as I file before Nov 24th, filed on Nov 21st. App promised that visa will come back on Nov 27th which was a public holiday. Called on Nov 26th, very dismissive representative told me don't worry, we still work on holidays and have team working across the clock, it will be there. Got an email on Nov 27th 3am that sorry we can't make it as promised. Called on Nov 28th, and that was the last straw, they were closed so no one to reach to or get an update on when to expect my visa. Cancelled my whole business trip due to that delay as they were not able to keep their word

They took my money asked for a lot of sensitive information and in the end I did not get the visa.

Expensive for the service provided. I did all the work yet had to give CiBT over £100!!! When an upload failed to work CIBT did not define the problem. They asked me for some completely different documentation which was or wasn’t required. I don’t know! In the end I was asked to upload all documentation to a CIBT email. I feel that this company was getting paid significantly for doing very little. They need to be much more exact in defining the documentation required to be successful in securing a visa. Trite response given to my review which does nothing to address my comments.

Be careful and read the fine print!!! When I first come across the website and through the whole process of the Visa application, the specified fees were stated as the 50 USD visa fees plus CIBT service fee. Totalling 114.40 AUD. Only when I received the visa document via email, did I find out that the 114.40 AUD was ONLY the CIBT service fee, and the 50 USD for the Nepalese visa is yet to be paid at the airport prior to entering Nepal. I find this to be deceiving. The service fees are more than twice the actual visa application fees. Fooled me. What can I say......... Ilan Toledo,