Nigerian Businesswoman Paid Medilives UK £1,500 to Attend Workshop. She Was Denied Visa and a Refund
November 30,2022
Mercy Omorogie, a business owner in Ibadan, has said that Medilives Global Health Care UK, a healthcare service delivery company, ripped her off.
The entrepreneur told FIJ that the company lured her into believing they were reliable with their many promises, but she found out that the company was not gold like it glittered.
Her nightmare started in January when a friend introduced her to Medilives UK. She said that the company told her it was a recruiting agency in the United Kingdom that helped people get work visas.
According to Omorogie, the company asked her and other people looking to attend a workshop in the UK to show their interest.
“The company said we had to pay £3,500 if we wanted to attend the workshop. They also said we could make an initial deposit of £1,500,” she told FIJ
In a series of Zoom meetings held several times, Medilives UK told the participants that if they applied for visas and were not granted, they would refund the money, Omorogie said.
Concluding the firm was reliable, Omorogie said she paid £1,500 to the company for the workshop in the UK, which the company confirmed immediately.
“After making payment, Medilives UK sent me a letter of invitation, an invoice, and a hotel reservation. These are the documents we were to present at the embassy to show that Medilives UK invited us,” she stated.
Omorogie stated that her major issue with Medilives UK began when she applied to the UK Embassy in Abuja. She said that she told the company that her application was turned down, but they told her to try again.
She said she refused to reapply but requested a refund because she didn’t want to go through the application process again.
When I told them I wanted a refund, Medilives UK told me what they hadn’t said earlier. They said people who wanted a refund would only get 60 percent of whatever they had paid because 40 percent had gone into other things,” she said.
Omorogie said she sent all the required paperwork to Medilives UK to get her money back.
“Medilives UK told me they would process the refund within sixty working days. I was patient enough to wait, but since April 26, I have not got my money,” Omorogie said.
“There is no positive response from them. There hasn’t been a Zoom meeting since April. I sent emails but got no response. They are ignoring me.”
When FIJ contacted Medilives UK via email, an automatic message was sent to this reporter, indicating the active phone numbers of the firm. FIJ also tried to get in touch with the company through WhatsApp, but as of press time, they hadn’t given any answer