Free EHIC Discussion

Pollycat

Tanqueen wrote: »

:-( Having just read this article I looked back on my credit card statements and was charged £14.99 by website applyhic.org Whilst I usually am very savvy I have totally missed the small print that says this card can be obtained FREE and now that I have gone back and read their site, there is even a paragraph refering to people who complain about being charged - they make no excuse for taking money for this service. OUTRAGEOUS!!!

I'm assuming you mean www.applyehic.org.

Hardly small print.

It says on the Home page:

Applying for the card directly from the NHS is free and it is valid for up to five years

and also at the bottom of the Home page (under 'important' which should have encouraged you to read):

You can apply independantly and without charge for EHIC by visiting the offivial website or telephoning....'

Also, under 'apply now' it states again that you can get the card free by visiting the official website.
The same message under 'Important' also appears on the bottom of every page.

It says this on the 'Our Service' page:

We recognise the need for a complete service in offering our customers a variety of ways to apply for an EHIC (which is free) and at the same time offering a review and verification service which can check that all the required information is available - firstly that there are no omissions and secondly to check and identify any mistakes and manually correct them. If necessary we will contact you for clarification. In addition our service accepts applications 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week, unlike the NHS site, which is open for business less than 16 hrs per day and suffers from regular down time, particularly at the weekend..
We value diversity and wish to offer our services across a broad spectrum. In extending the current service offered by the NHS Business Services Authority we are making the EHIC more accessible to those who might otherwise have difficulty in obtaining one.
There will be a processing fee of £14.99 to cover expenses, overheads and operational costs associated with the provision of these services. The same check and send service can be obtained from the Post Office for only £2.00, however after popular demand, we are pleased to be able to offer a more convenient online service.
Please note that the EHIC is available free of charge from the NHSBSA web site (www.ehic.org.uk) or you can order it from this site for a small charge and take advantage of our check and send service 24/7, 365 days of the year. YOU DECIDE. Free from www.ehic.org.uk or just £14.99 from this web site. You may select our Express Service if you prefer, at £19.99. We always prioritise Express Applications and your application will therefore be made more quickly if you opt for this service.

They are hardly hiding the fact that they are charging for the card when it can be obtained FOC.

I'm not condoning the actions of these websites but if you had been as savvy as you think you are and taken a bit more time to read what you were signing up for, you'd have gone to the free website.

islandgirl28

I wish I'd seen your article a few days ago. I recently noticed that my EHIC was out of date and Googled "EHIC" to find out how to get another one.
After checking several sites and finding they all charged in the region of £14+ I assumed that charges had been brought in since I last applied. I am furious to find out that I should have got my renewal cardfree of charge! How are these firms allowed to do this for what after all is government business? I don't suppose there is any way to get my money back?

Pollycat

islandgirl28 wrote: »

How are these firms allowed to do this for what after all is government business? I don't suppose there is any way to get my money back?

I know that Trading Standards were closing them down but I think as fast as they do so, they spring up under a different website name.

Or maybe because they are now stating on their website (and not in the small print either) that you can get the card for free and they are actually charging a processing fee as 'middlemen' that is not illegal.

Whichever, it pays to check what you are signing up for before committing to buy a service that may be free.

dondayesta

I am one of those who was caught out a little while ago and finished up paying a fee to get my card renewed. So I would like to know why the renewal website details is not printed on the EHIC card itself?

Pollycat

dondayesta wrote: »

I am one of those who was caught out a little while ago and finished up paying a fee to get my card renewed. So I would like to know why the renewal website details is not printed on the EHIC card itself?

Probably a question best asked of the organisation that provides the EHIC.

If they put the website on, they'd probably need to put a telephone number on too as you can renew by phone and not everyone has access to a computer.

If you actually look at your EHIC, there is a website mentioned:
www.nhs.uk/healthcareabroad

and that site says this on the first page you hit:

Apply for a free EHIC

The EHIC is entirely free of charge. However, other, unofficial, websites may charge you if you apply through them. Apply now for your free EHIC.

So all the information is there for people to get free a EHIC.

I guess most people don't even bother to read the details on the card - if they did they wouldn't be posting on here about having to pay for the card.

You obviously didn't look at your old card, did you?

And then most people don't even bother reading the website that they have found by Googling that tells them (not in the small print) that there will be a charge for the card if they use that website but they can get it free from the official website.

Really, the responsibility of getting the card from the free place lies with the person applying, there is something called personal accountability.

paul2louise

I renewed mine for free. Mentioned to my mum that mine was out of date. She is off on her holiday in a week and panicked that so was hers. Then she got scammed. I spoke to her and she said it cost 14.99 but got it sorted. I looked at her email and she has a dodgy site. Not like her, she usually is more savvy but because she panicked didn't read the terms like she should. I think she paid on her debit card so not sure if she has any way of getting refund. I didn't want to upset her bu telling her that I thought it was a scam but glad if it means that she can make sure she gets the right EHIC card before she goes away.

I know it says it is free but not everyone is so good with computers and safety, and probably trusts more than they should.

DebsDD

Mum and I have just returned from a weekend away and just before leaving realised that our health cards had expired. Unfortunately Mum googled the website and got the wrong one! Whilst her card company is refunding the money she is worried that this website (or people running it) now have her NHS number, DOB, address etc. is there anything she can do and is this cause for concern?

thanks

Freeheeler

I too put my details into an unofficial site (the URL contains *nhs-direct* but the system won't let me post it) fooled by the URL and the fact that none of the disclaimers were visible in the top half of the screen.
I am cross that I got conned but in my defence:
a) many of the official links didn't work. I did spot numerous unofficial ones, all of which loaded instantly.
b) I had eventually found the correct site but when I went looking for my NI number (my old NHS number didn't work), I got timed out AND the webpage closed down so I had to search again.
I've complained to the NHS BSA who run the site about these technical issues (it's nothing to do with the NHS website apparently).

At least I spotted my error before I paid but my concern, as with DebsDD is, about my DOB/NI number being available to persons unknown.. However, my hope is that, as far as I can see, there's no mention of fraudulent use of these on this thread.

I'd be happier if someone can confirm this or give me advice on anything I can do to protect myself from future misuse. (And yes I will scroll down webpages in future).

kevquinn

Some advice from a geek. When googling for things, it's always a good idea to scan past the "ads related to" links that Google puts at the top of the search results (Google also puts a pale orange background behind these, although it can be difficult to see on modern LCD screens, especially laptops). These sites have paid Google to put them at the top of the list, above the real search results. This means they're _not_ necessarily what you asked for, and that's certainly the case here.

I put "EHIC" into Google, and got three "ads related to" links which are all to scam sites that charge you. The first non-advert site is to a page on (www dot nhs dot uk) which is much more appropriate.

I know might be a bit geeky/techy, but it's also worth looking at the web site domain name itself before following links, to check it looks like where you really want to go. On Google results, the web site name is displayed between the result and the bit of text from the site that it shows you. The web site domain name is the part up to but not including the first "/" - anything from the NHS will end in (dot nhs dot uk) which is wholly reserved for the NHS, so the first non-advert link looks like a good first bet.

Similarly UK government stuff ends in (dot gov dot uk) which is useful to remember (e.g. for tax disc renewal).

Obviously the advice to read in detail the site you end up on still stands - but being "in the know" on web site domains helps as one more string to your bow in combating the myriad ways scammers try to trick you on the internet.

(sorry for the lame " dot " bits when referring to web site names - the forum won't let me type it sensibly, to protect against spammers. Hopefully it's clear enough; when reading it replace " dot " with .)

kevquinn

Thought a bit more - Google may be willing to modify the use of EHIC in adwords as the scammers are currently doing to deceive people. While it may not be illegal, it certainly brings Google into disrepute so they may decide that the use of this word by their Adwords customers to mis-direct people away from the NHS site violates their own policies.

However I had a quick rummage to try reporting it as abuse, but couldn't find anything appropriate in the Google on-line contacts forms that would let me. Perhaps MSE could approach Google about the issue? It's certainly not up to the NHS to buy out the adword(s).