Warning - Licence Safe, avoid at all cost's

[Wannabegreenfingers]

Argh.... I've been duped. It's my own fault for trying to do everything all at once. Please everyone else don't get caught out like I have. Do not use this company. It's the 1st website that pops up when you add in licence renewal.

I went to renew my driving licence today and clicked on what I thought was the DVLA website - it wasn't! I've ordered my renewal through some doggy 3rd party website that have charged me £93. I could cry. I did a little research and there are literally hundreds of people like myself who have been caught out.

I've been told by the bank, that the payment will have to go through as it is on the pending list and then I have to raise a dispute through them. I really hope this works as i can't afford to piss £93 up the wall.

I'm usually very good at these things and so annoyed that I've let myself get caught out. Feel like a little cry and glass of wine is in order then I'll put my girl pants back on and stop trying to do everything at once....

They have designed the layout of the page so that you don’t see the added charge unless you scroll down. The apply now button and service you need so it’s designed so people click on that without seeing it. Whoever has set it up is smart! It is a con though as all they’re doing is filing in the DVLA application, that we could’ve done ourselves, and charging £79 for doing it!!!!

I used my iPhone btw

It’s not fraud or a scam. These websites work because people click before they read and assume because it’s online it must be legit . There’s a reason why phishing is so effective.

OP I hope you get your money back but if you don’t, this hard lesson could be could have been a lot harder.

I was nearly caught out by this some years, when renewing my driving licence. I only use gov.uk sites.

This thread reminded me I need to tax my car though, OP, so thanks for that.

@SpottyBlueTeacup

They have designed the layout of the page so that you don’t see the added charge unless you scroll down. The apply now button and service you need so it’s designed so people click on that without seeing it. Whoever has set it up is smart! It is a con though as all they’re doing is filing in the DVLA application, that we could’ve done ourselves, and charging £79 for doing it!!!!

But it's clearly not the DVLA website . To me a scam would be a website pretending to be the DVLA - dvla.com or whatever and designed to look like the DVLA. This one is offering a legitimate service - unnecessary and expensive but not a scam as such.

When you google 'Renew drivers licence uk' several sites come up. If you look on the left hand side of the screen the word Ad comes up in bold whereas on the govt site a crown comes up. Hope that helps those of you who need to renew passports etc.

I hope OP gets her money back but they can legally argue it's a marked ad. These sites should be banned in my opinion.

It is a scam because they are deliberately trying to mislead people.

I do feel sorry for people who are caught out by these sites or the similar ones that will help you fill out passport renewals, Estas etc but - as others have said - they are not scammers or fraudsters.

The people who phone you up and pretend that there's something wrong with your computer or that they have heard about the accident which you are involved in or pretend to be from your bank or the Inland Revenue are all fraudsters because they are not who they purport to be and are attempting to steal as much money as they can get away with.

These companies, on the other hand, charge an exorbitant and unnecessary fee for something that you can do yourself but are upfront about their charges and usually do what they promise.

If you skip the ads at the top if Google search pages and check the website addresses then it shouldn't be too tricky to avoid them.

@SoupDragon

It is a scam because they are deliberately trying to mislead people.

What part of “ We are in no way affiliated with the government of the United Kingdom or the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency). We are a third party processing agency which charges a service fee for additional benefits” which appears on the bottom of every page I’ve clicked on...is deliberately trying to mislead people?

It’s no more a scam than paying the post office extra to check your passport application before they send it to the passport service.

It’s godawful value for money but it’s not a scam.

If you get your money back OP I would imagine it’s more a gesture of goodwill than anything, there’s no false misrepresentation that I can see...the law shouldn’t be used to save you from making a bad deal.

@SoupDragon

It is a scam because they are deliberately trying to mislead people.

It's not a scam.

The website is quite clear - they are nothing to do with the DVLA.

"We provide review services for driving licence applications independent from any government body. A full list of the types of applications we deal with and the services that we offer can be found on the homepage of the Site (the ” Services ”). Please note that we are not affiliated with the Official DVLA, the UK Government or any official body."

When you click "Apply" it even says "Government fees: £14. Subscription plan: £79."

If you look them up and go onto the website the info about the extra charge and not being affiliated with the DVLA is there but if you click on the link to renew the license after googling ‘renew driving license’ it comes up with a page that asks why you are renewing (e.g. license expired after ten years) and then there is a big ‘apply now’ button to click- which I did. It is set up so you don’t think to scroll down. I didn’t - hence why I got caught out - but went back and did the same again and saw the extra blurb lower down the page but it is set up that you don’t think you need to scroll. I admit, I did it in a rush as I’d been looking at something to do with child benefit and realised my licence had expired in 2020! I honestly didn’t think they expired!

It is set up to deceive people otherwise that hidden charge and message would appear at the top.

@SpottyBlueTeacup

If you look them up and go onto the website the info about the extra charge and not being affiliated with the DVLA is there but if you click on the link to renew the license after googling ‘renew driving license’ it comes up with a page that asks why you are renewing (e.g. license expired after ten years) and then there is a big ‘apply now’ button to click- which I did. It is set up so you don’t think to scroll down. I didn’t - hence why I got caught out - but went back and did the same again and saw the extra blurb lower down the page but it is set up that you don’t think you need to scroll. I admit, I did it in a rush as I’d been looking at something to do with child benefit and realised my licence had expired in 2020! I honestly didn’t think they expired!

It is set up to deceive people otherwise that hidden charge and message would appear at the top.

But when you click "Apply Now" the pricing is right there on the side - £14 for government fees, and £79 for their so-called "subscription service".

Of course it's a scam 🙄 they have to put the DVLA crap on for legal reasons.

It is deliberately done to catch people out. There is no other reason. None.

Carry on believing that they are doing it to "provide a service" though.

Some people assume "scams" to be automatically illegal. It's really not so.

Nobody is saying that their intention is "to provide a service" for altruistic reasons. They provide a service in order to make money - like the overwhelming majority of businesses.

The charges are exorbitant and it isn't necessary to go through 3rd pary websites but that doesn't make them fraudulent or scams.

@SoupDragon

Of course it's a scam 🙄 they have to put the DVLA crap on for legal reasons.

It is deliberately done to catch people out. There is no other reason. None.

Carry on believing that they are doing it to "provide a service" though.

That still doesn't make it a scam.

Dodgy? Of course. Morally dubious? Absolutely. But not a scam.

It's blatantly obvious it's not the official DVLA website and it even says right there on screen that the vast majority of the fee is for their "service" and not for the actual renewal.

I'm sorry but people need to start taking personal responsibility for their actions. It's a not a spoof DVLA site. It's not "DVLA.com" instead of "DVLA.co.uk" or anything. It's a totally separate, non-official website with some dodgy grammar and an exorbitant fee.

It is a scam. A bit like the PPI lawyers advertising their services for retrieving refunds due when it was payable on simply calling the bank yourself.
They took vast amounts in "admin" fees, I believe. All legal. But lots of people were duped into thinking there'd be some massive legal wrangling involved and it was best left to the professionals.

@GreyhoundG1rl

It is a scam. A bit like the PPI lawyers advertising their services for retrieving refunds due when it was payable on simply calling the bank yourself. They took vast amounts in "admin" fees, I believe. All legal. But lots of people were duped into thinking there'd be some massive legal wrangling involved and it was best left to the professionals.

Still not a scam.

A scam is not something where people are unwilling to look at what they are paying for/signing up to.

A scam is where people are deliberately deceived.

All of the information is on the site to enable you to make an informed decision.

Calling it a scam doesn’t hide the fact it was a stupid decision.

I don't disagree with it being a stupid decision, at all.

@GreyhoundG1rl

It is a scam. A bit like the PPI lawyers advertising their services for retrieving refunds due when it was payable on simply calling the bank yourself. They took vast amounts in "admin" fees, I believe. All legal. But lots of people were duped into thinking there'd be some massive legal wrangling involved and it was best left to the professionals.

But none of that makes it a scam.

When you get a letter saying you must renew your license, the letter includes the web address which is the official DVLA site, not "license safe" or any other page out there.

If people choose to go on a totally different website and pay £79 in admin fees, that's not a scam, it's stupidity.

The website itself says:

"Use our simple step by step solution to apply, renew and replace your UK Driving Licence. By choosing our services, your application will be thoroughly checked for any mistakes or omissions before being processed to DVLA.This ensures your application being completed as quickly as possible with minimal delay.
Please note, Licence Safe is in no way affiliated with the government. You can apply onto the UK Government website or DVLA to benefit from a reduced cost."

I’ve just been duped too and I’m another one who’s always prided myself in avoiding scammers. This is an especially sophisticated and horrible one. (For all the people who are being a little bit smug here, please remember “be kind”... )
Firstly, if you go directly to the License Safe website it looks completely different, so that gives a very different impression (serious gaslighting?)

I actually did doubt my own recollection and wondered how I could’ve been such a muppet to have been taken in, so I went back over my search history for Tuesday when this happened. I’d actually googled “DVLA” and the top hit was to “replace, change or renew my driving licence”. It turns out the website was License-onlinesupport.co.uk. Yes I admit the costs and terms are on their front page, but they’re right at the bottom, in tiny, faded print and you have to scroll down to see them if you’re on a tablet or phone. Other than that, the whole thing looks to all intents and purposes like the government website.
Other than that, costs are all hidden, even on the transaction page and confirmation email. I was in a hurry and I admit my mind was elsewhere (surgery this week), so the only thing that suddenly flagged it for me was the second I clicked the confirmation and realised I hadn’t seen how much I’d agreed to pay. Of course I know that’s a fundamental mistake and I instantly realised and emailed them to cancel the transaction.
They’re now saying they’ve tied me in to a year’s worth of services, but I’m absolute contesting that. They are set up in a way which is designed to deliberately con people and then aims to keep their money if they can. If anyone else is caught up in the same situation, please look them up on Trust Pilot. Please don’t feel too bad, this company is operating in an incredibly shady, quasi-legal manner. They will give refunds in varying amounts, depending on how hard people push them. They’re operating a very successful, profitable scam and it really does stink.