Free EHIC Discussion

cliffh

heatherw_01 wrote: »

The only app link mentioned was spam which was deleted by the forum team.

Thanks.

@Mods - Please remove the link from the article then rather than leaving an invalid link in place - thanks.

Pollycat

cliffh wrote: »

Thanks.

@Mods - Please remove the link from the article then rather than leaving an invalid link in place - thanks.

Mods are unlikely to read this thread.
You can flag it up:

SPOTTED OUT OF DATE INFO/BROKEN LINKS? EMAIL: BROKENLINK@MONEYSAVINGEXPERT.COM

Tania1

Hi there, unfortunately I have been done by one of these EHIC shyster sites this week. It was later in the evening, tired and rushing. My husband was abroad and asked me to renew the cards because they had expired. The site I came to was the first one on Google...it looked the business. It did state at the top there is now a charge for EHIC cards so I assumed this was a new thing.. what with Brexit looming and all.... I know quite naive. So I inputted personal information for the whole family. I paid £32.99 for fast track. It was £29.99 for non-fast track.

However, when I told colleagues and friends the next day they thought it'' fishy'' that i had paid. A good friend looked into it and notified me that I had indeed been done and signposted me to this website. I was very angry and sent the company a somewhat curt email asking for my money back as I felt they were misleading and that I had been miss sold. I mentioned that i would take this up with the credit card company dispute team and speak to Trading Standards when they open tomorrow. I recieved a reply this morning from the company( i was shocked at that) that was rather arrogant in tone saying not to try and hold payment since they win over 90% of disputes and have no reason to believe they would not win mine, which would cost me a legal fee of hundreds of pounds. They then forwarded me all their small print to say there had been no wrong doing. I have questions about the small print , so I said I would still leave it in the hands of Trading Standard as they are the experts.

I doubt I will see my money again but morally I will report them. Strangely enough their site after my first email has disappeared from the net but I feel they have just changed the name and look of the website. What bothers me more is that they have personal details about me and my family and the credit card... but I will cancel that. Oh and Google having them as the first link....not helpful at all !!!. The credit card company said they get so many calls about these sites on a daily basis and would not be able to help...surely they should be able to?

I would appreciate any advice from any other victims of this unethical practice.

ericthelobster

Tania1 wrote: »

Hi there, unfortunately I have been done by one of these EHIC shyster sites this week.

Bad luck - those outfits make my blood boil. Have you read: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/free-ehic-card/#beware

A few thoughts...

First, don't waste your time chasing your credit card company; they would only (maybe) help if the transaction was over £100.

If you are possibly intending to follow this up with anybody else, eg Trading Standards or by going 'legal', make sure you save copies of the website and all the T&Cs, ensuring that the date is obvious; otherwise you run the risk of them changing the wording. If the website did indeed state unequivocally that "there is now a charge for EHIC cards" then that's a downright lie (though I wonder if in fact their actual wording covers them in some way).

I can't comment on whether you have a case or not, but I would certainly ignore all their pontificating about how they'd win any case and you'd lose hundreds - "they would say that, wouldn't they". I have to say though, for the sake of £32 it might be better for your sanity just to let it go rather than get involved in months of angst and legalities, although I know it would really grate to do so. Been there done that (both ways, so I know what I'm talking about!)

Caz3121

Tania1 wrote: »

The site I came to was the first one on Google...

it is worth keeping an eye out for Ads
looking on google, searching EHIC, the first 2 sites are both paid Ads, the first non-advertisement link is the official site

gfplux

Many many people are caught by these sites.
Beware when searching for Passport Office, EHIC, USA-ESTA.

There will be a new one in the future when it becomes mandatory to sign up for a Schengen area ETIAS in 2021, watch out!

Pollycat

gfplux wrote: »

Many many people are caught by these sites.
Beware when searching for Passport Office, EHIC, USA-ESTA.

There will be a new one in the future when it becomes mandatory to sign up for a Schengen area ETIAS in 2021, watch out!

And lots more:
I posted this 18 months ago - the first link I gave is for this thread.
I think Government websites might have stopped some of these companies.

Pollycat wrote: »

There are lots of threads on here about these websites.

Here's one started over 7 years ago which mentions fake websites that will charge you:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2497359

Here's another started 5 years ago that says you might be able to get refund. No idea if it's still relevant but maybe worth checking.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4031333

You should also be aware that these companies didn't just limit themselves to EHIC.

They popped up on searches for:
Passport application/ renewal
Booking driving theory test
Booking driving test
Submitting tax return
EHIC
ESTA
Fishing licences

and probably more that I can't remember now.

You really need to be savvy when using Google.
I always check if a search result has 'Ad' in a little box at the left hand side of the link - as Caz3121 says.

Uncle_Cuddles

Followed the link in the MSE article which landed at https://www.ehic.org.uk/Internet/startApplication.do

Completed the application, and was told to expect an email to complete my registration. Site also said check spam folder if it doesn’t arrive. It didn’t arrive immediately, so checked my spam folder and there it was. Moved it back to my inbox, but the email was actually spam.

The looked like it was from the ehic website, but wasn’t (email address was random digits). The email was a spam ad on how to enhance my performance in bed.

MSE, you need to sort out your link, or ehic need to sort out there website.

Pollycat

Uncle_Cuddles wrote: »

Followed the link in the MSE article which landed at https://www.ehic.org.uk/Internet/startApplication.do

Completed the application, and was told to expect an email to complete my registration. Site also said check spam folder if it doesn’t arrive. It didn’t arrive immediately, so checked my spam folder and there it was. Moved it back to my inbox, but the email was actually spam.

The looked like it was from the ehic website, but wasn’t (email address was random digits). The email was a spam ad on how to enhance my performance in bed.

MSE, you need to sort out your link, or ehic need to sort out there website.

As above ^^^^:

Pollycat wrote: »

Mods are unlikely to read this thread.
You can flag it up:

SPOTTED OUT OF DATE INFO/BROKEN LINKS? EMAIL: [EMAIL="BROKENLINK@MONEYSAVINGEXPERT.COM"]BROKENLINK@MONEYSAVINGEXPERT.COM[/EMAIL]

ericthelobster

Uncle_Cuddles wrote: »

Followed the link in the MSE article which landed at https://www.ehic.org.uk/Internet/startApplication.do

That link is correct; it's the official NHS site to apply for an EHIC card. The spam email you received for whatever reason is not MSE's fault.

I suspect it's most likely that the junk email was completely unrelated to your application?