UK-passport.net

Dolphin

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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 £29.95 not the £70 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:(

System

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

flashg67

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 £29.95 / Express £39.95) 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'

Fairwinds

I nearly made this mistake too, as they came up as the 1st entry in Google. Realised when the £29 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

Amba_Gambla

... :doh: ...

Pollycat

Fairwinds wrote: »

Pointless and therefore a complete rip off preying on the unsuspecting

That's why it pays to make sure you know what you are doing with websites before you wave your credit card at them. :cool:

Before you even click on the website, you can see the words

Our service is not connected to or affiliated with the Passport Office or any UK Government department. Our service fee (Standard £29.95 / Express £39.95) is ...

For 'unsuspecting', I read 'too hasty to get things done'.

There is such a thing as personal accountability.

SneakyFate

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 £29.95 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.

SneakyFate

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.

System

SneakyFate wrote: »

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 £29.95 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.

I don't believe hi-pay are a fraudulent company. Therefore you don't need to worry about fraudulent use of your debit card.

It's a genuine company you have used. An unnecessary company for many people, but there is nothing that indicates they are a front for criminal activities.

I would assume the point of the company is to assist people from foreign countries apply for their first uk passport. If English is not our first language the service they provide is probably quite useful.

Pollycat

SneakyFate wrote: »

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.

Actually, the posts about being internet-savvy were posted before you joined the thread - and that was because the OP mentioned the word 'fraudulent' about this website, which it clearly isn't.

You acknowledge that you were tired and not paying attention and that you were stupid - which I can't really argue with as if you weren't you wouldn't have used this service - and that's fair enough.

I hope you get your money back and that your card isn't compromised.

SneakyFate

Pollycat wrote: »

Actually, the posts about being internet-savvy were posted before you joined the thread

I know - I was just trying to pre-empt any more