Renewing a passport or driving licence can entail hefty fees when your Google search leads to a paid-for link
*My partner did a Google search for "replacement drivers licence" and clicked the top link. He paid £80 and ordered his licence. *
*The following morning I received a confirmation email and discovered that, instead of the DVLA, he had used a website called drivinglicence.uk.com. This company offers to check the paperwork prior to sending the application off – at a cost of £80. It is blatantly set up to mislead people into thinking they have bought one thing only to deliver something completely different – and at vastly inflated cost. It preys on those who are vulnerable, less computer savvy, or who don't check all the terms and conditions. *AC, Fareham, Hampshire
*I fell for one of the third-party websites charging fees for "passport renewal" when, in fact, it was a form printing service. I Googled "renew child passport" and found a link directly to the UK Passport Online Application Service's child passport renewal page. I was charged £40, which I presumed was the passport fee. However, when I went to the company's homepage there were warnings dissociating it from the official passport site. These were not on the page I had been directed to by Google. So I was charged £40 to have my information printed on a form and posted to me. *RB, Sheffield
These websites, and others like them, appear to set out to mislead people into thinking they are official since no-one in their right mind would pay £40 to have a passport application checked when the Post Office will do it for £8.75. However, provided that the websites make it clear that they are not affiliated with the government and what services you are paying for, they are not illegal. drivinglicence.uk.com does do this on its homepage, but it's evidently relying on the fact that hurried customers, fooled by the words "driving licence application" at the top of the page, will click straight on the two prominent "apply now" buttons without reading the blurb.
UK Passport Online Application Service is more worrying. Although the first paragraph on its homepage points out that it is not affiliated with the Home Office, there is, as you say, no mention of this on the renewal page.
When I contact both companies, only Jamie Wyatt of Caveat Viator which runs drivinglicence.uk.com (the name, appropriately enough, is Latin for "traveller beware") replies, but he goes to ground when I ask how he justifies the £80 fee. UK Passports Online never gets back to me. Both charge £1.53 a minute for calls and in July the premium-rate regulator PhonePayPlus imposed new rules, forcing such companies to be more transparent about who they are and the services they offer. Hence the disclaimers.
"The tough new conditions will help protect the 82% of people who look for phone numbers online by stamping out sharp practice," says Paul Whiteing, chief executive at PhonepayPlus. Except they continue to be as sharp as ever because so many of us fail to read the small – or even large – print before rushing in. Not only can that cost us, but it means unscrupulous firms possess vital personal data. So, traveller beware indeed. Don't ever enter payment details until you can be sure who you are dealing with and don't commit to a website just because it comes first in the Google results.
*If you need help email Anna Tims at **your.problems@observer.co.uk** or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number. * Reported by guardian.co.uk 3 hours ago.
*My partner did a Google search for "replacement drivers licence" and clicked the top link. He paid £80 and ordered his licence. *
*The following morning I received a confirmation email and discovered that, instead of the DVLA, he had used a website called drivinglicence.uk.com. This company offers to check the paperwork prior to sending the application off – at a cost of £80. It is blatantly set up to mislead people into thinking they have bought one thing only to deliver something completely different – and at vastly inflated cost. It preys on those who are vulnerable, less computer savvy, or who don't check all the terms and conditions. *AC, Fareham, Hampshire
*I fell for one of the third-party websites charging fees for "passport renewal" when, in fact, it was a form printing service. I Googled "renew child passport" and found a link directly to the UK Passport Online Application Service's child passport renewal page. I was charged £40, which I presumed was the passport fee. However, when I went to the company's homepage there were warnings dissociating it from the official passport site. These were not on the page I had been directed to by Google. So I was charged £40 to have my information printed on a form and posted to me. *RB, Sheffield
These websites, and others like them, appear to set out to mislead people into thinking they are official since no-one in their right mind would pay £40 to have a passport application checked when the Post Office will do it for £8.75. However, provided that the websites make it clear that they are not affiliated with the government and what services you are paying for, they are not illegal. drivinglicence.uk.com does do this on its homepage, but it's evidently relying on the fact that hurried customers, fooled by the words "driving licence application" at the top of the page, will click straight on the two prominent "apply now" buttons without reading the blurb.
UK Passport Online Application Service is more worrying. Although the first paragraph on its homepage points out that it is not affiliated with the Home Office, there is, as you say, no mention of this on the renewal page.
When I contact both companies, only Jamie Wyatt of Caveat Viator which runs drivinglicence.uk.com (the name, appropriately enough, is Latin for "traveller beware") replies, but he goes to ground when I ask how he justifies the £80 fee. UK Passports Online never gets back to me. Both charge £1.53 a minute for calls and in July the premium-rate regulator PhonePayPlus imposed new rules, forcing such companies to be more transparent about who they are and the services they offer. Hence the disclaimers.
"The tough new conditions will help protect the 82% of people who look for phone numbers online by stamping out sharp practice," says Paul Whiteing, chief executive at PhonepayPlus. Except they continue to be as sharp as ever because so many of us fail to read the small – or even large – print before rushing in. Not only can that cost us, but it means unscrupulous firms possess vital personal data. So, traveller beware indeed. Don't ever enter payment details until you can be sure who you are dealing with and don't commit to a website just because it comes first in the Google results.
*If you need help email Anna Tims at **your.problems@observer.co.uk** or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number. * Reported by guardian.co.uk 3 hours ago.