Michael Ashby

Discussing the Concerns of the Canadian Pardon and US Entry Waiver Industry in Canada

President of National Pardon

Archive for the ‘National Pardon Centre’ Category

Letter Blogging: Time Frames for a Pardon

January 21st, 2010 Filed in Canadian Pardons, National Pardon Centre by Michael Ashby

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One of my competitors has a blog that I watch from time to time. And I find it amusing because every blog entry reads like this:

“Here is a letter from a happy client who loves us…”

And then the entry continues with a letter congratulating the company on its excellence. It is not for me to decide whether or not the letter is a fake. And I am also not in the business of disgracing my competition which is why I have not named names. But…I am willing to do a pardon or waiver for half price to the first person who actually reads this blog AND discovers the competitor I am referring to. Send your answers to info@nationalpardon.org I would be very happy if someone actually managed to do this.  

In the meantime I thought it would be fun to turn things around. So, in the interest of blog entries that are nothing more than letters from one person to another here is a letter I sent to an actual person who asked me how long the pardon procedure takes to complete. I guarantee it is 100% authentic.

 

Hi Albert,

Our expedited service is only applicable as far as the work done in our office in concerned. Once the file is sent to the Parole Board it is out of our hands. That being said we are seeing our expedited files finished within 2- 8 months right now (that estimate includes time at the National Parole Board). Of course there are always exceptions since we are dealing with the government, which is why we cannot guarantee this time but that is honestly the average response we expect at the moment.

You should also be aware that expedited services are only available if the client is currently eligible or if he/she will be eligible very soon. We have no way of getting around the probationary periods imposed by the Parole Board.

As for emergency pardons there are some situations that warrant special treatment by the Parole Board. The work on our side does not change but if we can provide proof of emergency status then the response time from the Parole Board can be shortened. However, work is not a valid reason because work is the number one reason people finally get around to obtaining a pardon. Unfortunately, our clients tend to wait until the criminal record is adversely affecting something in their life before realizing the importance of the application.

I hope that information helps. Please let me know if you have further questions or if you would like to get a file started.

Kind regards,

Michael Ashby

(514) 842-2411 x 227
http://www.nationalpardon.org/

 

National Pardon Centre in the Press

January 15th, 2010 Filed in National Pardon, National Pardon Centre by Michael Ashby

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It has been a long time since we were covered extensively in the Media. Since we opened our doors in 2002 we have been featured and/or quoted in everything from the Globe and Mail to La Journal de Montreal, and quite a few in between.

Two of my favourite articles appeared in a little weekly, English language paper here in Montreal, The Montreal Mirror. The paper covered two stories. One was the business in pardons in General and another was the story of a local Montreal business by the name of Pierre Charade.

Pierre is a producer for RDS, which is the French language sports channel. And since meeting Mr. Charade back in 2002 we have stayed in touch and I have advertised on his programs regularly. It is been a positive working relationship. And I like to think that part of what we do here at the National Pardon Centre is build working relationships. In other words, we help our clients get their lives back on the right track. And every once in awhile a client surprises us and helps us out in one way or another.

So if you are interested here is the article on the National Pardon Centre in General.

And here is the article about Mr. Charade’s adventures at the US Border.

As always, if you have any questions just give me a shout. I can be reached by email or phone most of the business day.

Sincerely,

Michael Ashby

mashby@nationalpardon.org
514.842.2411 x 227

BBB Accreditation for National Pardon Centre

December 15th, 2009 Filed in National Pardon, National Pardon Centre, pardon by Michael Ashby

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When it comes to bad service and/or outright scams a lot of people think that the Better Business Bureau will be the answer to all their problems. Unfortunately such is not the case. While the BBB can be a positive venue for dispute settlement the truth is that they have no authority whatsoever to force a settlement, even if one party is clearly in the wrong.

Now, you might want to ask why the National Pardon Centre bothers with a Better Business Bureau membership at all. It is a good question that I have asked myself several times. The truth is that we don’t get many complaints and the ones we do get are dealt with in the office. We are not the kind of organization that screens calls and ignores unhappy clients. At the National Pardon Centre we understand that these applications can be affecting your life in a serious and important way and we do not take that lightly. So when someone contacts us upset because a pardon or waiver is not getting done as fast as it should we always take the time to clearly explain the problem, if there is any.

So why join the Better Business Bureau? We joined the Better Business Bureau because there are some companies in this industry who do not treat their clients the same way we do. And inevitably those companies are NOT a part of the BBB program. While we do not have a great need for dispute resolution (if any at all) it is fairly clear that the companies that have decided to join the BBB are the ones who need it least of all. And that is a good indicator of the reliability of a pardon or waiver service in my opinion. Feel free to visit the

So be careful when choosing your service. While the BBB is not the answer to the potential problems of doing business with a company for the first time it is a reasonably good indicator of the quality of service you are going to receive. My experience in the pardon and waiver business is that anyone doing reliable business online is a member of the BBB. The ones that aren’t are probably worth staying clear of.

If you have any questions concerning this article or any others on this blog feel free to get in touch with me.

Sincerely,

Michael Ashby

Communications Director
514.842.2411 x 227

www.nationalpardon.org

 

 

I do not drink and drive AT ALL, am I alone? (self.AskReddit)

October 29th, 2009 Filed in National Pardon Centre by Michael Ashby

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By far themost common crime I deal with on an average day doing pardons is DUI. No question about it. So when I came across this post from reddit.com I had to repost it to my blog here.  I suggest linking through to the actual post itself to read the discussion that followed. It is definitely worth a read.

 http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/9ypdl/i_do_not_drink_and_drive_at_all_am_i_alone/