jamie

you are so right ,stressed right now over something so simple as paying a fee.My agent is still adamant that due to recent changes i can only use a money order and not an international cheque/draft in $AUD as i wish because TRA are fed up with paying all the so called bank charges .The only changes i can see on TRA website is who to make the payment too ,not rocket science.very confused and upset as i have already paid 30% of fees to agent and just want to get out .

Thanks Alan i think you are right ,please help,they have just e-mailed to say that TRA will not accept an international money draft/cheque and after about 6 e-mails to my agents on this matter they say that they have wasted to much time on this matter and i must pay for a money order as i am wasting their time. Any advise would be fantastic as i dont wont to spend more money if i really dont need to ,my agents fee for doing the money order of $150 this is 50% of the application fee, seems crazy to me. many many thanks

Thanks guys for this.I think my problem may unfortunately be bigger then this now. We are using an agent who were wonderful at gaining my custom but ever since i have paid for part of their service all they keep telling me is to refer to their check list for help ,which is of no help.now they are telling me that TRA are to be paid via a money order which as stated is very expensive and a pain ,we discussed that they would contact TRA for me ,but they still haven't nearly one week on. section 2 of the guidelines mentions i can send a check for $300 dollars but my agent mentions this may not be acceptable and if was would incur further bank charges. sorry to babble on but confused and down as after a long time putting my TRA together, passing IELTS first time (kind of proud of that one) and ready to post i feel like im not getting any support ,i know i chose them and it was my decision but we wanted someone to support us and make sure all our docs were correct before being assessed . thanks again Jay

Hi all, need some advice .I am ready to send my TRA application and am confused over how to pay as i see that they want it sent as a money order which is proving to be a pain in the you know what,i have e-mailed them direct with still no reply (48 hours).what i really want to do due to cost and ease is send an international bank draft/cheque ,is this OK .what has everyone else done? please help as i would like to get this posted asap many thanks Jay:xmas18:

muzzi ,try not to get stressed, do little but often, I even started to enjoy writing letters and doing listening test (never thought I would say that)trust me if you do the basics correctly you will do good, I think the biggest obstacle is the pressure you put on yourself and the negative thoughts you have that you cant do it.I know its easy for me to say now i have my results, but looking back it really is not that hard, just do that revision and concentrate, don't panic there is plenty of time.The hardest with out doubt is the reading, even when I new the answers it didn't always make sense,it is a stupid section ,more like a way of tripping you up and not constructive or useful,but it still has to be done.there is not much you can do in the way of revision for this section as you wont know what your reading will be on, you will either see the answers or not,as they will be translated in a way that is not obvious .. anyway good luck try and enjoy it instead of looking at it as an obstacle,you will be fine:wink:

Thanks guys, don't feel so clever now ,I have got a red wine head and the kids have been jumping up & down on the bed.:grumpy1

Oh what joy and relief, I passed my general ielts FIRST time and so proud of myself just wanted to share with all. I am a normal Joe average English guy who left school 20 years ago with next to no good exam results , I never write, read and have never been able to spell. I was so afraid and nervous of doing my ielts I nearly didn't do it ,I had no confidence in myself to pass. So I bought an old edition of the Cambridge ielts practice books of eBay and did all the examples over a period of 3-4 weeks I also chose a selection of about 20 words that I new could be used in all scenarios such as; appreciate ,experience,gratefully ,consideration , unfortunately and made sure I could spell them in my sleep,get your there and theirs correct, paragraph,and end your letters correctly once you have become comfortable at writing letters and short essays you will come to realise it does not matter what the topic is, the format and arrangement is the same. I found the reading very hard on the day but didn't panic as you should have enough time at the end to go over the harder questions. The listening is very easy just do some practice test so you learn to get into the zone for the whole 40 minutes. Then came the speaking I had a 4 hour wait from the end of the last exam and I went to pieces ,very nervous. I got called in and said a few pleasantries as we walked to the room where we went straight into the test, I was petrified .my topic was to talk about a book I have just read and why I would recommend it,well as I said earlier I don't read so I just froze for what seemed like days and then just spluttered out a few words about some magazine I had read, I hated this test and had worked myself into a mess for no reason as it really was not that bad.DON'T WORRY. Anyway here comes the best bit ; reading 8 listening 8.5 writing 8.5 speaking 9. overall 8.5. :biglaugh::biglaugh: please don't think I am gloating I am just so proud of myself and want to give hope to others that if you practice for 30 mins a night the exam really is not that bad it is all about getting those basics you learnt in school polished up. Thanks to all on here who have given advice and now for the next stage:biggrin:

hi guys ,did my test on the 21/07/2012 in Bristol and still waiting,convinced myself that I have failed.problem I have is that I cant do a re-test until end of September due to work . results website not yet displaying results.ooooooohhhhhhhhhhh come on , I cant wait any longer:wacko:

Thanks guys this is great,gives me a few more topics to practice on,must admit thought the writing was going to be the hardest part for me ,but i seem to find the reading the most trying.

anyone please:wink:

Hi all, just after some help as I will be sitting the general ielts test in 3 weeks and wondered what sort of topics you were given in the witting sections and what kind of topics you were asked to talk about in the speaking. I have done lots of practice and going OK so any other advice or tips would be fantastic . THANKS :wink:

Hi guys ,can you confirm how many copies you got certified of each document,are photo copies of certified docs allowed

hi ,didnt think it mattered if they were coloured they still need to be certified,i am going through TRA as stated surley a solicitor is ok ,this post is becoming confusing as i am not dealing with APHRA,just wanted to know who i could use for TRA and what parts of your paperwork evidence you got certified, cheers

Hi guys ,yeh im pretty sure you can use a soliciter ,think thats the route i will be taking

Hi , I was led to believe that docs could be certified buy people outlined in the country you live in!!!!!!!!!!!!! my local JP wanted £60 a doc,So i hope this is not the case

Done my shopping dudes, best i could get was £5 for first doc then £2 for every one after,didnt think this was to bad,this is with a solicitor,

I need them certified for my TRA, apprenticeship and training certificates,just unsure of what to certify ,weather its just the certificates or the entire contents of my training courses/manuals.I am thinking of supplyhing each certificate with a brief summary and reference from managment and gettting the certs done. hope this isnt to confusing, thanks Jay

Thanks, few, thought it was a joke at first as i was also being qouted £200+ per hour, going to phone round solicitors tomorrow and hope to get a better deal.Did you get all your paperwork crirtified or just the official ones ie work certificates ,birth certs, passport etc

Hi guys ,just after some advise as to who best to certify our docs and what kind of prices you paid??,as i called a notary today and nearly fell of my chair at there hourly rate :chatterbox: many thanks Jay

Thanks guys ,want to get this right first time ,just getting a bit confused by all the advice ,some people have been telling me to send everything(which is tons)and others mention to said the basics of your training outlines but back this up really well and get back up from employer.

Thanks for this ,i was in a bit of a panic thinking i had to somehow copy and certify every single page and picture from every training manual.what you are saying then is that if i take the course cover title and its contents/index page get these signed and put with the awarded certificate along with a GOOD day to day report of my work duties ,skills and some photos i will be heading in the right direction?? many thanks for your time JAY

Hi all ,please help i am trying to constuct my TRA but am really confused to how much info to send ,i know the more the better but i have hundreds and hundreds of pages and training manuals with certificates from my apprenticeship to present, if i was to send this i would need a cargo ship,do i really need to send every page of the manuals or could i just do a cover plus contents of course covered and cerificate awarded any help on best way to build this would be fantastic thanks

thanks calNgary

you could always PM if you know of anything you think i should know good or bad,or just say sometinh nice for my benefit!!! as i have seen plenty of posts on here talking about agents many thanks

Hi looking for some info on ASA consultants as we looking to appoint an agent to help us.we have been in contact with the usual but these guys seem to be VERY prompt and helpfull ,they are all MARA reg as i checked all this out,just looking to see if anyone has used or heard of them before we take the plunge THANKS