Steps to take if you have been ripped-off by a copy-cat government website

A question about : Steps to take if you have been ripped-off by a copy-cat government website

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Please note: This post is aimed at the best interest of a consumer, who are concerned and has lost money to government copycat websites in operations. This is NOT a definitive guide to secure a refund:

Steps to follow is anyone ended up losing money 'by not reading t&c's/small print mistake' to any of the websites mentioned in this thread. Please do the following.

As a first step :

Write/e-mail to the company requesting a full refund.
Click this link for a sample template letter (thanks to the poster MJMH).
Please make sure you insert the correct details of the copycat website you used.

If you did manage to get a refund, please still make a complaint see below section b) and c)

Second Step:

a) Call the bank or credit card company and tell them you would like open a complaint in reference to a transaction. Please do not ask them for a refund, it is likely to be refused. You have to start a dispute process and do the necessary paper works. You also have to show evidences to the bank to consider your case individually.
By presenting evidences, it will help the bank to realise the conning nature of this copycat website in trade. Please make sure you are speaking with the banks dispute department.
Give all the details of the transactions including date/time, website name and personal/email address and correspondences received when complained to the company(first step).

Before opening a dispute, the bank will expect you to sort this matter out(step a) directly with the trader. If you have already done so, they will ask for copies all correspondences you have had with the company. You will also have to sign a dispute form which you can email or post it back to the dispute department.

In your letter with the signed dispute form, please add that you have strong reason to believe that these websites are designed to rip-off customers with terms and conditions for not reading while clicking. You may also add that it has come to your notice from various media/newspaper articles that Trading Standards and Advertising Standards Authority are investigating against these government website copycat practice. Please send this to them by post or email and make sure they have received. Give them 14 days to investigate and respond.

b) Call the appropriate trading standards consumer advise line of the region you reside. Give full detailed account of this online transaction and circumstances you think that lead to purchasing the service online. You can also make a complaint online by clicking this link.

c) Make a complaint with Advertising Standards Authority. In your complaint mention very clearly that the website is misleading its service by using passport application in their online advertising labels. They are hiding the fact that that they are only a human proxy information handling back office agents transferring details once submitted from their website to the real HMPO website, and there is no application handling as such.
You can also make an ASA complaint online by clicking here

EDIT:

https://www.tradingstandardsecrime.or...hopping-fraud/

EDIT

EDIT:

BBC News on copycats
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26082913

EDIT

Quote:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/p...es-rights.html

Best answers:

• There is no misrepresentation. All of these websites state clearly on their opening page that they are not the official sites and that you can get the same service from the official site, the fact that people are willing to use these websites without even reading what is in front of them does not make them as scam. People need to take responsibility for their own actions.
  The top 3 sponsored links from google:
  https://www.passport-uk.co.uk/
  Quote:
• Don't be silly Wealdroam, you cant expect people to do that for themselves.