Misleading Esta application website

DenLane

I googled the Esta (U.S. visa) application and the clicked on the first site which had the american flag and looked official. I filled in the application and paid a fee of £29.95. Then I did the same again for my husband - so in total we have paid nearly £60 for two Estas that should have come to $28! It was only when my son came round and checked it that he pointed out it was not the official site (which only charged $14) and that it was run by Westland Securities Ltd. who had put a small box under where it said Apply Online saying they were not to do with the U.S. Visa agency. They say on their site that they take the stress out of applying but they have caused me stress! There was nothing more to filling out the form on the official site than I did on their site as I hae since done it on the official site for another family member. This company is misleading people into thinking the application process is complicated and stressful when it is not! The stress is finding out that you have been mislead into paying nearly three times what you should have!. BEWARE!

wealdroam

DenLane wrote: »

I googled the Esta (U.S. visa) application and the clicked on the first site which had the american flag and looked official. I filled in the application and paid a fee of £29.95. Then I did the same again for my husband - so in total we have paid nearly £60 for two Estas that should have come to $28! It was only when my son came round and checked it that he pointed out it was not the official site (which only charged $14) and that it was run by Westland Securities Ltd. who had put a small box under where it said Apply Online saying they were not to do with the U.S. Visa agency. They say on their site that they take the stress out of applying but they have caused me stress! There was nothing more to filling out the form on the official site than I did on their site as I hae since done it on the official site for another family member. This company is misleading people into thinking the application process is complicated and stressful when it is not! The stress is finding out that you have been mislead into paying nearly three times what you should have!. BEWARE!

Why have they caused stress?

Have they not done what they said they would do?

Like everything else, it pays to shop around, and perhaps your first stop should've been the MSE article about ESTAs.

This crops up frequently on the Overseas Travel board.

Wolfy_2

wealdroam wrote: »

Why have they caused stress?

Have they not done what they said they would do?

Like everything else, it pays to shop around, and perhaps your first stop should've been the MSE article about ESTAs.

This crops up frequently on the Overseas Travel board.

I think you are being unfair to the original poster and missing the point.

Firstly the OP is clearly new to MSE and may have found out about your article after.

Firstly sites such as this are misleading as they are making you pay extra for something you can just as easily do on the official Esta site. They make themselves look very official hoping you will be fooled. They use words to imply they are saving you time and stress when the form being filled in is EXACTLY the same whether you do it on the official site or the unofficial site.

It is misleading. Its not about shopping around, its about going to the official site, not making out it is more of a deal than it is.

They are bord

amandaardley

Hi

It is not legit, you will have problems entering the country with that, I would speak to your bank and get a chargeback due to a fraudlent website.

Equaliser123

amandaardley wrote: »

Hi

It is not legit, you will have problems entering the country with that, I would speak to your bank and get a chargeback due to a fraudlent website.

Rubbish. You have no way of knowing it is fraudulent so stop panic-mongering.

Lots of websites offer a "service" of applying for Visas and this sort of thing.

OP should be able to check the ESTA number on the official website.

meer53

These websites usually state somewhere that you can apply for an Esta more cheaply on the Dept of Homeland Security website. If you choose to pay, then you can't really complain !