BEWARE THE CLONES
I am getting a lot of complaints from Saga readers about websites that
trick them into paying extra for Government services that should be free have a
fixed cost. Passports, European Health Insurance Cards (EHICs), driving tests,
ESTAs for travel to the USA, and visas for travelling to countries where UK
citizens need them are all subject to these scams.
It usually starts with a search engine like Google, Bing or Yahoo. You
put in the term you want – say ‘UK passport renewal’ and at the top of the list
are not the official Government website but clone sites that look very official
but which are not. Some even have a crown logo and use the word ‘official’ in
their material. They charge you up to £99 on top of the usual passport fees for
doing nothing more than letting you fill in a form online and posting it to the
passport office. Some offer you online or telephone help which you can get free
on 0300 222 0000.
The Government warned about these sites in June this year. A spokesperson
said “It’s totally unacceptable that unscrupulous companies are continuing to
trick people into paying for information which is available free of charge by
Her Majesty’s Passport Office.” Renewing a standard UK adult passport costs
£72.50 from HM Passport Office unless you were born 2 September 1929 or earlier
when it is free. See
https://www.gov.uk/passport-fees
Get the form from a Post Office.
Another racket is charging people for EHICs – the card you need to get
free health care in EU countries. EHICs are free but do a search online and you
will find websites that charge £24 or more to apply for you. Get a free one at
https://www.ehic.org.uk/Internet/startApplication.do
The clone sites are also moving into driving tests. The actual
costs are set out here
https://www.gov.uk/driving-test-cost
but many sites will charge you double or more if you go through them. Sometimes
you will not even get a guaranteed test date.
The
safest way to protect yourself is to start any search for Government services at
the website
www.gov.uk
and use its search box for what you want. It will even take you to the correct
site for some foreign services such as the ESTA visa waiver document for travel
to the USA which should cost you just $14. For other foreign visas start with
the country’s embassy or consulate in the UK.
If you
use Google or Bing or Yahoo or other search engines the top sites they turn up
will usually be clones that pay to get high up the list. Don’t be fooled by them
even if they use the word ‘official’ or have a crown symbol. Scroll down to one
that ends .gov.uk.
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