Blackmail by the local agency.

[junktex]

I am new to this website.I have been in contact with my fiance now for over a year and a half.It was fully through Chnlove the first year.These last several months we have been in contact through email and Skype and I've made a few trips to China to visit her.We are to be married in here hometown,Beihai in June.This morning she told me that she must pay her local agent $6000 if she gets married.To fail to pay this would endanger her visa application.I trust her as she has dealt with me honestly in all else and she seems sincere in her wishes to marry me.What do you think?

[joeswuhandream]

junktex   you got that right BACKMAIL 
(1) .... you can negotiate  the fee as with  everything in china  , well almost
(2) ....you can tell them to stick it and you will not pay them a penny /dime
but the thing to consider is the loss of face your future  wife would have to endure
but if i am right, to run a marriage agency in china and to receive payment for it is illegal !!!!!
this is a tricky one , what price do you put on happiness and a happy future with your wife to be ?
 many of the experienced members will be able to give you more advice on this situation
 i am sure some of the bros have had to contend with this in their relationships
as for my situation my wife took care of any payments that were due to the agency, she never asked me for any money and i did not know the contract value she signed
but you know sometimes the agency trick the women into agreeing a contract
 and tell them your rich husband from the west will take care of the payment
 tell me have you discussed this with your future wife ?
as a final note if you do not cough up , it would endanger her visa application  think that is bullshit
junket you mention to the agency  you will get the police involved they may well run a mile (what is the name of the agency  ? )
anyway you will get lots of help from the bros on this , this is just my thinking of things
regards joey /sophia

[David E]

If the local Agency has used the "damage to visa application" blackmail scenario, it is a good bet that they are bluffing. Nowhere could this fact have anything to do with your visa application...how would the Agency even know you had made an application

I believe that an International Marriage Agency in China needs a special license to operate......maybe you should ask to see their license...or you will talk to the local Police !!!

If, however, you CHOOSE to pay this money to keep your wife happy...that is your business.....but on a matter of principle I would not go down this track...it only promotes the scam for the detriment of others that come after you.

But if your wife signed an agreement and she feels bound to honour it, then do as Joe says and go and negotiate HARD...they almost certainly will accept a much lower figure than $6000.

For me...I would fight them......but it is your call  ...I would be 100% certain that any Contract she signed would not be enforceable at Law......and you can get a whole lot of Chinese Lawyer for $6000 !!!!

David

[Vince G]

They got it right but it's not Blackmail, it's Extortion. They attempt to scare the lady with the visa but they don't have any pull in a foreign gov.

[maxx]

Junktex ask the agency to see there Licence to introduce a Chinese national to a foreign man.They don't have the licence Because it is very expensive and hard to get.If they persist.Tell them your wife's best friend husband.is a police man.And he will come right over to the agency and straighten this out.Also tell them to give back the money your fiancee payed to the agency.For the meet and greet.

The last agency that introduced a Chinese woman to a foreign man without a licence.And the police heard about it.The owner of the agency.Got seven years in prison.And fined into the poor house.So the last thing one of thees agencies want is the police involved.As far as one of these agencies screwing around with your fiance's visa application.It doesn't happen.They have no way of knowing when you file the papers.And chances are they don't have anyone in a foreign consulate.Who can say or do anything.

When you talk to your lady.Tell her the truth.Whatever contract she has signed.It is not true.Tell your lady that the agency is trying to cheat her and you.If your lady insits on paying the fee.Go down to the agency.And bargen with them hard.Tell them you will give them fifty rmb.And they will give you a thousand Rmb.Not to call the police.

My wife's agency in Zhuhai told my wife the same thing.I just blew them off.Until they started harassing my wife.I went into the agency and told them.If they didn't stop harassing my wife.I was going to call the police.We never heard another word from the agency.I did run into the translator from the agency.In a hotel elevator.He had a client with him.So he was nothing but polite.

We used to have a member.That one of the agencies in Shenzhen tried to pull this on.He went down to the agency.And threatend to beat the stuffing out of the owner and the owner's assistant.Needles to say the agency dropped the fee.I don't recomend this approach.But it seemed to work.

[Willy The Londoner]

Maxx is right there is only a handful of agencies in China that have the licence to introduce foreigners to Chinese nationals. The man that owns Chnlove has them all i believe for his own agencies. They cannot be transferred or used by anyone else. There is no umbrella licence for all agencies.

The other thing is that it is illegal in China to introduce any person chinese to chinese or chinese to foreigner with intention of marriage for a payment. 

My own case is that my wife was with an agency and they kept hassling for a week for money. 

I sent the translator a text after she ask how i was.

I told her that I was far from happy and that at the moment I was having dicussions as to whether i would be taking her, the agency or both to court.    Less than five minutes later my wife received a telephone call from the agency telling her that they had ripped up her contract and that if anyone contacts her then she is not to talk to them.

We have not heard a word from them since. They have no licence and the thought of court action scares them rigid.

However when speaking to Chinese women they do consider that they are honour bound to pay the fee whether legal or not.  So on one hand you could either gain all. or lose the money or risk losing the women

At an early stage in your relationship this is an important matter to discuss. 


Willy

[Wilfred Motosue]

I was told the same thing by my fiance'e and she also said that she will take care of it because it was her agreement but , of course, I will try to pay for it for her. She feels obligated to pay for it to the agency since an agreement was made. And beside, we did meet each other through the agency's efforts and we will get married.
Wil

[Arnold]

I must also say , that Qing's Agency was paid the higher end of the Extortion by them . After she arrived here in the States , we had a lengthy Talk about what she had paid to the Guangzhou Agency . Still today I don't know the exact amount , but it must be between $6K-$8K's . The answer as to why would she pay sooo much for sooo little help , when we already had paid for Signing -up and EMF's ? If I had any idea she had to pay such amount on my first Trip , I would have had a chance maybe to change her Mind or on my fourth Trip which included Guangzhou . This payment just happened so fast and was done secretly , most likely by her Brother .
Anyway , she would NOT have any .. of them NOT paying .. after signing a Contract and feeling strongly .. that they did a great Job and deserve it . I'm not going to go against their Will and make them loose any FACE , which at that time .. I had limited knowledge of anyway . So let sleeping Dog's lie .

So this is for sure .. a lot more about FACE then MONEY to them . Walk carefully with this !!!

[halfpint]

I think most of us guys think this kind fee is ridicoulous.  The reality though is that these ladies have signed a contract.  I think negotiating the fee way down allows the lady to save face and money.  I doubt they could interfere with the visa process.  The suggestion of threatening them back with a relative in the police force, is not a bad idea.

[shaun]

Guys I wouldn't discount the idea of messing with the immigration process.  We only think they wouldn't do it.  We really don't know that for sure.

[Neil]

It still amazes me that people with access to this forum still use Chnlove.  I mean, I understand the draw, I really do.  But when I think about the heartache this site has caused so many people, not to mention the huge cost involved in an already extremely expensive enterprise (of finding, marrying and immigrating an Asian wife), I feel sick.  There are so many stories on this site about problems with agencies and the site in general.  I really think that if you are going to use Chnlove, it should be as an introduction service only - quickly find someone and then get the hell over there and meet her.  Use the face-to-face time to decide if she's the one to marry.  It's so easy to fall in love with the fake letters and beautiful pictures, and so easy to have the world crash down around you when reality sets in. 

I feel bad for the difficult situation you find yourself in.  I hope it can be worked out favorably. 

[lfputman3]

ironically, while meeting the one that dumped me after I returned home, the lady I'm talking to now got my info from the local Chnlove agency, including QQ and other contact info, but they have no idea when I am coming and I don't think she plans on telling them. I use them to send flowers, but she told me to stop. I really don't think she plans on telling them anything. I know they charge 3,000 RMB for their "service" and while I have no issues with that local office, they were actually quite good. It was the charming fraud of  woman I went there to meet who is actually responsible for my meeting my new "friend"

Agency fees can include photos, internet time and language classes, along with other "service fees." In almost any market service fees are legal, they just happen to be overpriced with most of the agencies.

Lloyd

[Willy The Londoner]

What I have learnt is that sending too many flowers is a sign of poor financial management by Cinese ladies.

They consider a bouquet on their birthday as something special but anything else is considered as a waste of money.  Unlike in the West where some take home flowers regulary.

I had a friend who would stop of at the florist every Friday and get flowers for his wife.   He said that without them the graveyard seemd very univiting

Now is the USA in the West or the East from here. Very confusing.

Willy

[David K]

Here in NZ, new immigrants from China are often severely exploited by settled immigrants from China who think that labour practices of China also apply here, and paying tax is an optional extra :-). The usual threat is "work harder for less, or I will report you to immigration".  However immigration is aware of this scam. An actual complaint can result in a visit from the tax and/or immigration officials to the exploiter. One firm had to pay $100K in back wages :-(.  So mostly its straight faced oriental bluff. Sounds like match making agencies are not dissimilar

[Paul]

This thread sends alarm bells sounding for me. I made contact originally with the lady I am corresponding with through an agency in Beihai. I am due to fly out to meet her in July in Beihai. The agency was called the 'Happy Sea International Marriage Club'. Is this the same one junktex? Is there likely to be more than one agency in Beihai? I notice that you haven't posted since your original post but if you do log onto this thread again, I'd be very grateful for any information you may have about this. Hope it has all worked out for you.

On a different note, it is funny that my time has now almost come around. Having watched threads from people over some time now on another site, I've been as guarded as I can without trying to diminish the trust that I have for the lady I have been liaising with. I keep telling myself that at the very worst, I will just have an awesome holiday in China if things aren't what they appear to be. Also, it's been great reading the posts from other people and I am grateful for the manner in which you all share your information so freely.

Junktex, I would love to hear how you have got on.