UK-passport.net

FlyingAngel

Dolphin wrote: »

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:(

Hello..............I too made the mistake of using this site for the renewal of my passport. The problem appears to be that when you put 'passport renewal' into the search engine box, this company is the FIRST one that comes up, I agree that the MAIN PAGE does give details and a disclaimer BUT if you click onto one of the four links below, there is no indication that this is not the official site. I had paid £32 and when I contacted the UK passport office the staff there were sympathetic but explained there was nothing they could do. I emailed back to the company, contacted my MP and eventually managed to get a refund. These companies should not be allowed to operate in this manner!

Pollycat

FlyingAngel wrote: »

These companies should not be allowed to operate in this manner!

Everybody keeps saying this about these companies - there's not just the passport one, EHIC renewals, ESTA applications and booking of driving tests also seems to attract these companies charging an 'admin fee' for something that is free - but are they really operating outside the law?

If they are illegal, why aren't Trading Standards doing something about it?

Why aren't IPS flagging this up?

imoneyop

Pollycat wrote: »

but are they really operating outside the law?

IMHO uk-passport.net are skating close to the edge with their use of IPS helpline phone numbers, but apart from that they aren't doing anything wrong. They are providing a service for people and charging them for that service. The fact that no sane person would need the service is irrelevant.

DCFC79

If you google UK passport renewal yes the first link is uk passport.net but if you look further down the search results eg 4th link you see its a gov.uk link which is the correct site to use.

Pollycat

It might just be me, but I can't see any relevance in either of the 2 links to what is being discussed in this thread.

System

FlyingAngel wrote: »

Hello..............I too made the mistake of using this site for the renewal of my passport. The problem appears to be that when you put 'passport renewal' into the search engine box, this company is the FIRST one that comes up, I agree that the MAIN PAGE does give details and a disclaimer BUT if you click onto one of the four links below, there is no indication that this is not the official site. I had paid £32 and when I contacted the UK passport office the staff there were sympathetic but explained there was nothing they could do. I emailed back to the company, contacted my MP and eventually managed to get a refund. These companies should not be allowed to operate in this manner!

Contacted your MP? The worlds gone mad!

mo786uk

Pollycat wrote: »

Maybe because:
1: it's not actually illegal
or
2: nobody can be bothered to report them to Trading Standards
or
3: it's illegal but Trading Standards either can't or can't be bothered to do anything about them

TBH, I can't understand why the IPS aren't escalating this.

I would say, on the whole, the issues that people are complaining about are not illegal - if they hid the fact they were not the passport office then it would be different.

TS and the IPS cannot stop a business operating if there is no law being broken - its that simple.

Pollycat

mo786uk wrote: »

I would say, on the whole, the issues that people are complaining about are not illegal - if they hid the fact they were not the passport office then it would be different.

TS and the IPS cannot stop a business operating if there is no law being broken - its that simple.

If you read my other posts on this thread you'll see that I don't believe that this company are operating illegally.

My comment about IPS getting involved relates to an earlier post from a poster which says that UK-Passport.net are quoting the IPS Helpline phone number on their website and referring to it as 'ours' i.e. belonging to UK-Passport.net.

If I worked in IPS and had numerous calls from people believing they had paid for a passport but had actually paid just an admin fee and I found out that the company were quoting a Government telephone number and purporting it to be their own, I'd want to get that particular part of their website changed.

wantmemoney wrote: »

on the landing page

'Our service is not connected to or affiliated with the Passport Office or any UK Government department.'
Quote:
click on

FAST application service

'If you are applying for your first adult passport, a passport for someone aged 16 or under, or you were born outside the UK, you will need to fill in a section of this online form that asks for your parent's details. If you do not have these details, please contact our Passport Adviceline on 0300 222 0000 before you start.'

so whose number is that?
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/agencies-public-bodies/ips/contact-us/

Searcher

DCFC79 wrote: »

If you google UK passport renewal yes the first link is uk passport.net but if you look further down the search results eg 4th link you see its a gov.uk link which is the correct site to use.

If you disregard the sponsored links (ads) in the pink box then the .gov site is actually top of the list.

sparkysi

Well Im feeling like a massive idiot right now. Just went through this site and completed the process. I then had a coffee and went to do the second application and then thought, hang on a mo, this isnt all its cracked up to be.

Anywho, I have now beaten myself about the head with my keyboard, sent the cancellation email as per the terms on the site and we shall see.

I have also completed the application forms on the gov site as I should of done in the first place.