DO NOT USE THIS WEBSITE - I have been scammed

[ihavebeenscammed]

Aghhhhhhh so angry.

Needed to renew DD's passport, googled the passport website and clicked on the following link

uk-passport.net/

Was in a rush and filled out the form for a renewal for under 16, and put my credit card details in for 46 passport fee.

Form came back completed in the post a few days later and I took it to the post office with the photos and did check and send, paid again but didn't think anything of it as a message came up when I put my credit card details on the site saying they wouldn't charge my card until the form was submitted.

Anyway turns out it is a total scam, they are not related to the passport office and are just charging you the fee simply to send you out the form you complete online. I realised when checking my credit card bill and saw I had paid twice, once the fee to uk-passport.net and once the check and send fee so rang to find out.

There actually is a disclaimer at the top of the site saying they are unconnected to the passport office, but I didn't notice this. I feel such a fool as am normally so careful about this stuff but was in a rush needed to get a passport quickly.

The guy at the passport office said I was lucky I had done check and send as people have sent their forms back thinking they have paid but then they get delayed as they haven't actually paid and people have missed their holiday he said loads of people are getting sucked into this.

They can't shut this site down, and apparently they are doing the same with DVLA applications and other.

My credit card company are disputing the transcation for me so hopefully I will get the money back they were also aware of the site and have had lots of customers have the same problem.

So Mad!!!!!!

[diddl]

We're in Germany & used to be able to send our applications to Frankfurt I think it was.

Now we have to send to Liverpool I think.

£128 for the (adult) passport & £20 to have it sent to us!!

[LaGuardia]

Buyer beware.

[somedayillbesaturdaynite]

sorry omitted to say dvla imitation site ^^

[dannydyerismydad]

My mum got caught out by one of these sites. She wrote a stinking email to them and got refunded. It's worth trying.

Ignore the smug, superior posters. They aren't covering themselves in glory with their crowing.

[davidjrmum]

"BertieBotts - I take the point about the ads. But surely most people ignore the yellow-background google results which are ads? I've always mentally skipped past them like I ignore any online ad."

Just because you skip them doesn't mean other people do. We have an online business and use google ads - hundreds of people click on our ads every day and a fair percentage of them buy something as a result.

[phantomnamechanger]

why do people have to be so nasty, OP just wanted to vent, she accepts she should have read the small print better and wanted to warn/remind others. she did not have to be so public spirited! No need to keep on with the "it's all your own fault!" comments.

I nearly got done by the EHIC one. We don't holiday abroad, I had to get DD one for a French trip - only because school had rammed it home that these were free did I question whether I was on the right site applying for the right thing. these con artists must do loads of people out of their cash, so any thread that acts as a reminder is a good thing IMO.

[davidjrmum]

Scottishmummy - "but this isn't an omg,quick alert the mn massive to illegal or a immoral act"

This absolutely is something to alert people about via forums like mumsnet. The Guardian has been running a campaign over the last few months to try to stop these sites and has even been putting pressure on google to not accept these ads. The only thing that will stop these people from making money by tricking people is plenty of publicity so thanks ihavebeenscammed for doing your bit to spread the word.

[BertieBotts]

And if I was searching for something I wanted to buy I might click an ad. But looking for something government based? Nope.

[80sMum]

There has been no such thing as E111 for 8 years, so a website that still uses that E111 terminology looks very suspicious.

[davidjrmum]

BertieBotts - I agree, however, until very recently it was very difficult on some screen resolutions to tell where the ads stopped and the natural results started. I'm hoping that now that google have identified the ads more clearly this will make it harder for these sort of sites to get clicks.

Others have said the OP should have read the small print. I'm not sure that this is practical for every online transaction. I once used a site that had a clause committing me to a monthly recurring payment on page 27 of a 46 page terms and conditions (I pasted it into Word to see how long it was). Living in a civilised society should mean that we can go about our day to day business on an assumption that we will be treated fairly. Every company that abuses that trust makes it harder for everyone else. If I go into my local supermarket and make a few purchases, I wouldn't expect to get to the till and have £10 surreptitiously added to my bill because somewhere in their terms and conditions was a clause that I had to pay £10 to join their club if I wanted to shop there. Nor would I expect to buy a packet of cornflakes and then find that the box contained sawdust instead but that's OK because it says somewhere on the box in small print "this box actually contains sawdust". And if this did happen, I'd be very bemused by anyone who told me that it was my fault for not reading the small print! We seem to accept things online that we would never accept in a physical shop.

[IamInvisible]

It might not be a scam in the true sense of the word, but it is near enough.

The real Passport site, and DVLA, do the form filling in service. If you have heard in passing about it, Google, this pops up and you fill it in in a hurry, you can see how easy it is to be duped. One of DS2's friend's mums, who is very Intelligent, got caught out by the driving licence one.

When I re-newed the passports and did DS2's driving licence recently, I knew to look out for the sites like these because I had seen a thread or two on MN and it's been mentioned on daytime tele a couple of times. People like the OP need to mention it to alert others to it, it is no good being sanctimonious, we can all be caught off our guard.

I hope you get your money back OP.

[scottishmummy]

Before you quote me,read the entire post.is not alert folk omg illegal
One can alert folk to anything,legal,illegal or of note. This is dubious but not illegal
It's annoying,and definitely dubious they rely on assumption

[goldenlula]

I nearly got caught on one of these sites for doing the E111 cards for my parents. I searched E111 and clicked on the first site as it sounded official. It was only when I saw the fees that it seemed odd as I thought the cards were free. I checked on the The money saving expert page and found the correct site. No, it is not a scam but some of these sites mimic the official sites so well, you can easily be mistaken.

[davidjrmum]

I don't think a scam has to be illegal for it to be a scam. Couple of example that I think are scams but aren't illegal:
Letters saying that you have won a major prize but then you have to phone a premium rate number to see if you have won (a very elderly aunt of mine fell for this one).
The ads enticing young girls to pay to get their photographs taken so that they can get modelling work (that then never materialises after they have paid for their very expensive photos).

[Pommes]

www.theguardian.com/money/2013/apr/15/passport-application-online-service-taken-ride

[ihavebeenscammed]

Scottishmummy I don't give a fuck that's its not illegal that isn't my criteria for deciding if I want to warn people about something I fell for and am upset about but you carry on

[scottishmummy]

Don't impose your indignation rage on me,it's inappropriate

[ihavebeenscammed]

Davidjr that I think is the most annoying thing. Shops have to be so careful what they advertise, claim etc but it seems online there is so much less policing and you can pretty much do what you want. Things like insurance , distance selling regs etc all have cooling off periods, or you produce a physical product which looks too similar to something else you are in trouble but a website can do just that and it is fine...

[ihavebeenscammed]

I have no idea how I am being inappropriate to disagree with you...????

[scottishmummy]

Don't swear at me or rant what you do or don't give a fuck about.its inappropriate
In your haste you unfortunately overlooked the disclaimer,youve conceded you've unfortunately paid for an unnecessary service,but this you know

[ihavebeenscammed]

But it is ok for you to go on like a dog with a bone that there is a disclaimer? We all agree on that point we know I missed that but you seem he'll bent on repeating ad nauseum this point which is adding nothing helpful to the thread anyway you can go on and have the last word as I am sure you will