European Health Card (previously E111)

virgo149

Been online this afternoon to get a new EHIC in my married name.

Went to first link https://www.ehic.org and completed the form - but was then asked for £9.95 to complete the application.

As I knew this should be free, I rechecked - the correct NHS website is https://www.EHIC.org.uk where you can apply or renew FREE OF CHARGE.

What a con! I'm all for business opportunities but that was out of order - all for a UK in the web address.

Beware for anyone else - these type of sites should be closed down.

Freddie_Snowbits

Appears they offer a review service!

Here is something for them to review. Fred is going to apply!

girlonaswing_2

I have just registered with this site as exactly the same thing happened to me today. I knew that the E111 had changed but didn't know whether you had to pay or not. If you're not familiar with google you won't know that the link that comes up at the top of a search is actually an advert and the site looks pretty official.
Its only because I'm a bit tight that I did another search for "ehic free" that I found out you don't have to pay.

This site is definitely verging on a scam.

davidlizard

There was a big discussion about this site a few months ago on here which very rapidly degenerated into an argument as to what constitutes a "scam", and it did all become very tedious.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1176075

However, it is clear that people have been caught out and have paid money for a service they did not realise they could get for free. Hopefully with the summer holiday season kicking off again, posts such as this will alert people to the fact that such a card does not incur a cost.

trisontana

It's the same situation when ordering certificates from the General Registry Office. If you're not careful you will find yourself going through a third-party company that charges well over the odds compared to ordering directly from the GRO. For instance one company charges £19.95 plus VAT for a birth certificate, whereas the GRO only charges £9.25 including VAT.