UK-passport.net

A question about : UK-passport.net

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Back to Dolphin's original post:

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Hi

I wanted to warn people not to use this website to apply for a passport - its not an application site, which i didnt realise until after I had (stupidly!) entered my credit card details and wondered why it said i had paid Ј29.95 not the Ј70 odd i was expecting to pay - this is because it checks your passport details for you which isnt what i wanted at all!

My credit card company said they cannot stop the payment - i have emailed this (fraudulent in my mind!) company to demand return of my payment - is there anything else I can do to get my hard earned money back?

Dol

Best answers:

• It doesn't look fraudulent. It looks pretty obvious what sort of website it is. It tells you clearly on the home page it's not the official uk passport site.
  Not sure how you can get your money back
• Hope you don't take this the wrong way, but right on their front page it says (and it isn't hidden in small print at the bottom of the page) -
  'Our service is not connected to or affiliated with the Passport Office or any UK Government department. Our service fee (Standard Ј29.95 / Express Ј39.95) is payable on completion of the form on this website, but you will not be required to pay the passport application fee until you receive and return the printed copy of your application from IPS. The information on this website may also be available without charge from other sources'
• I nearly made this mistake too, as they came up as the 1st entry in Google. Realised when the Ј29 payment came up.
  I don't think they actually do anything either other than check something is filled into the appropriate boxes ( if that) - the boxes you fill in are exactly as per the official site - they then email the data you have filled in back to you and ask you if it is correct.
  Pointless and therefore a complete rip off preying on the unsuspecting
• ... ...
• Looks like I've been had by this bunch as well. Yes, there is a clear notice as to the nature of the site of the home page, but that is not where the Google link takes you, it goes straight to the form to fill in. I'm normally very careful about Internet activity, but it was late, I was tired and not paying enough attention, I thought I was on the UK Passport Office site. So far (about 36 hours now), I haven't even received any e-mail from them. My bank say they can't stop the payment, the company that processes the payment (hi-pay.com - a clue in the name?) say they can't do anything - at least they had the courtesy to reply. In the so-called "terms and conditions" on uk-passport.net it says you can cancel by giving name, address and (optionally) hi-pay transaction number - this I have done, but still not heard anything. The probably loss of Ј29.95 is annoying, but I'm actually more concerned about identity theft and fraudulent use of my debit card details. I'm keeping a close eye on my bank account, in which the payment is not yet showing even though it has clearly come off the available balance. I'll be interested if anyone can post any more info.
• And please can people stop posting pious statements about internet security - I know full well I've been stupid, but just telling me that again really doesn't help - I'm interested in what steps (if any) I can take to retrieve the situation I've got myself into.
• Literally moments after my last post, I received two e-mails. One from "staff@estavisa.co.uk", to whom my request for a refund (sent to sales@uk-passport.net) had been forwarded. It reads: I’m sorry you feel you have been wronged, as you said yourself however our website clearly states our service, which is a check and send service.
  You have now been refunded
  The other e-mail is from hipay.com confirming the refund. It remains to check my bank account, but it seems that no harm has been done, and a lesson learned.
• okay on the first point - it was because you quoted me directly above your comment
  I'm struggling to find what they actually do though.
  They present you with a form with exactly the same fields as the official site - email what you fill in back to you and ask you to confirm if it's correct - if they don't hear from you they forward to the passport office.
  What possibly value are they adding?
• Why not check some of the top 5 links on google first then decide what to do instead of just going for the first link you see, the third link down is the .gov site that explains about passport applications.