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!!!!!!

[TapirsCaperWithReindeers]

And indeed.

OP needed a place to vent, and has also managed to let others know to not fall into the same situation as she has.

Hope you get a reasonable outcome to this, OP.

[scottishmummy]

It's legitimate to vent,it's understandable.but no it wasn't a scam.at all
If this thread has been caution at to others,good and the caution is read the terms
But no this doesn't require anyone to out any directors address to incite derision

[FraidyCat]

In no way was the service misrepresented or pretending to be official

You are usually one of the more sensible people on here, but I think you've totally lost your bearings with this one. The test of whether or not this is a scam is not whether or not it's illegal, or whether or not the warnings/disclaimers are sufficiently apparent when someone takes a skeptical look. The test is whether or not the vast majority of people who handed over money got what they thought they were paying for. If they didn't, it's (practically and morally but possibly not legally) a scam.

[TapirsCaperWithReindeers]

Yes, we all know it's legitimate to vent, and the OP was obviously hoping for a safer space in which to do so. Unfortunately some decided to give her a bit of a verbal bashing, which helps no-one.

If the person who operates this site, runs lots of sites designed to look just like official ones, then it's worth pointing this out on a forum such as this. The more educated we are to things like this the better.

[tulipsaredelicious]

Those websites are deliberately designed to make you think you've found the real thing. They KNOW what they're doing. I agree they are a total scam and should be shut down.

Or set up a website that states clearly what it is they do, instead of hiding it in a disclaimer.

Unbelievable the turn this thread has taken.

[Bettercallsaul1]

There was an almost identical thread to this back in January, where people were misled into paying for a form-filling "service" for tax returns. People were asked to pay an amount of money which they thought included the tax owed whereas it was merely a fee to check that the form had been filled in satisfactorily. This particular deception resulted, not only in a fee being charged for an unwanted service, but also in a fine from the Inland Revenue for late payment of tax as people thought they had paid it via this service when they hadn't.

These sites set out to deceive by deliberately and meticulously imitating the bona fide site, in layout, colour etc. If those responsible for the site were really offering a service that was needed by the public - and that the public were therefore willing to pay for - they would advertise it proudly on its own distinctive-looking site and not use an almost exact copy of an existing one.

These sites are set up with the express intention of parting people from their money by misleading them. Of course, they include a disclaimer in small print, or the equivalent - otherwise it would be blatant fraud and the site would be closed down.

[Whoneedsleepanyway]

scottishmummy may I ask you this?

Do you think this website is designed so people think they are paying for something other than they are actually offering?

If a company sold a product for example carpet cleaner and labeled it in big letters carpet cleaner and the in small print on one side put this is actually just water they would not be allowed to sell it packaged in this way.

The point everyone is making is that this website is doing just that but is allowed to do this.

As for what Phillip Green tax status has to do with this I have no idea you seem to have gone off on a tangent there.

All I can conclude is you wanted a bit of a scrap last night so derailed this thread in order to have one.

[UncleT]

It is sneaky, in that they're selling those who can't be bothered or don't know how to exercise basic precautions online a service provided free via the official government site. The problem is though, and the reason they keep doing it successfully, that people keep being silly enough to properly look at what site they're actually giving money to and for what. It's not a scam as such, as like people have already pointed out - they make clear that they are not an official site.

[UncleT]

*to NOT look at

[NoArmaniNoPunani]

I got stung by the DVLA one a couple of months ago. Prior to that I probably would have laughed at the type of idiots that get taken in by these sites. Then I became one of those idiots. I realised as soon as I clicked pay and phoned my bank immediately. They couldn't/wouldn't stop the payment and I emailed the company who wouldn't cancel my request. So I payed silly money for a typed out form.

[Bettercallsaul1]

The thing is that the people who suffer from using these services are not idiots.They are going online to use a service that they know exists, and may have used before. They are being deliberately misled by a cunningly designed, imitation website.

The only relevant point here is the intention behind these websites - they are set up with the express purpose of extracting money from people who do not need or want the expensive, basic "service* offered.

The fact that the websites offer information about their true, worthless purpose in small print, or in an otherwise inconspicuous fashion does not exonerate them from a dishonest, fraudulent intent. To imitate the original website exactly would lay them open to a charge of blatant, legal fraud and they would be forced to close (and their owners would be prosecuted). .

Are people saying that because dishonesty is subtle, and cunningly concealed, it is not dishonesty? The purpose of these websites is dishonest and to try to shift the responsibility to those deceived by them is victim-blaming.

[davidjrmum]

"The problem is though, and the reason they keep doing it successfully, that people keep being silly enough to properly look at what site they're actually giving money to and for what."

But we're back to blaming the victim again. As Whoneedssleepanyway says, we wouldn't think it acceptable to have to check the small print on everything we pick up in the shops just in case that bottle labelled carpet cleaner actually contains water. So why do we think people online are to blame if a site is designed to look like one thing but actually provides something else. The focus of these comments seems to be that the site gives a disclaimer on the home page, however, the whole of the home page is designed to get the user to click on a call to action that takes them off the home page as soon as possible. As soon as they are off the home page (which you can bet in most cases is within a second or so) there is no disclaimer information at all. I'm absolutely gobsmacked that anyone could actually defend the actions of these people.

[dannydyerismydad]

What I find frustrating is that if someone set up a site looking like it belonged to Apple, and charged you money to set up an iTunes account in a cunning way that made the user think they were setting up an account and loading it with money, Apple would shut them down, and rightly so.

These sites are providing no useful service, yet the government does nothing. If Cameron and his buddies really want to clean up the internet, perhaps they can start by dealing with the sites misrepresenting government agencies.

[davidjrmum]

dannydyerismydad - completely agree

[BertieBotts]

Hmm, but if they were using government/NHS insignia then yes of course they would be shut down. But without these things they are technically not pretending to be a government service.

I do agree they are disingenuous.

[namechangesforthehardstuff]

I think it's terrible that anyone thinks that if you are 'stupid' enough to fall for something it's your fault

What about people with learning disabilities? People who struggle to read English? People who are old and not internet-savvy. People who have weak literacy?

Is the message here just fuck 'em, they deserve it?

Awful horrible attitude

[LIZS]

scam simply implies dishonesty, not necessarily illegal but with an intention to deceive. So any site which claims to be an official one , in look, headline or implication, is a scam whatever the small print states. There are so many now, related to passport, driving licences, ehic cards, esta and visa documents, tax returns etc. These sites clearly make money , they even pay for a high profile Google listing which is why mistakes are easy to make.

[SabrinaMulhollandJjones]

Of course it's a scam. Hope you get your money back, OP.

[UncleT]

Folks, I am not saying anyone deserved it at all. This is, however, a classic example of what to look out for online. It is deceptive, but so long as it's legal and the disclaimers are there, calling it a scam (even if we think it is) is not technically accurate.
Anyway, long story short - access all such official services ONLY via the official gov.uk portal. That way you know where you are.

[DuckworthLewis]

Of course I have made mistakes too OP, I'm human!

The difference is that when I have made a mistake due to my own stupidity/carelessness/being in too much of a rush or whatever else (and there have been many times, believe me!) I recognise it as such and take responsibility for it myself.

What bothers me about your attitude is that you are trying to point the finger of blame at the website, rather than have a look at your own part in the situation.

Unless you recognise how you are to blame here, you will never be able to change your approach to (hopefully) prevent a similar outcome in the future.

Had the website fraudulently claimed to be the official .gov site, or did not carry the (many) disclaimers that it is not, then yes, that would be a 'scam'. This is not a scam, it is your own fault.

On the bright side though, I bet you will be more careful in future

[Feenie]

So it's fine then, according to you, to set up a business which feeds off this kind of mistake? What about more vulnerable people who may be at risk, as another poster suggested?

Unless you recognise how you are to blame here, you will never be able to change your approach to (hopefully) prevent a similar outcome in the future.

Has to be the most patronising post ever.

[Ihavebeenscammed]

Duckworth can you clarify for me how I have not recognised I am to blame here, I have stated repeatedly I feel a fool, I did not read the disclaimer, yes if I had taken more care I wouldn't have used this website but do you honestly believe that what these sites do is absolutely fine and have no issue with the fact they are trying to mislead people?

Am I not allowed to be irritated by that?

[NoArmaniNoPunani]

The OP started this thread to warn others. It's nothing to do with her not taking responsibility

[JumbledAndTumbled]

Ihavebeenscammed Your OP was perfectly clear to me. I think some posters are just spoiling for a bunfight. I wouldn't bother engaging with them myself.
It's a shame because this is an interesting subject.

Did you rule out the possibility of getting a refund from the company?