UK-passport.net

SneakyFate

Literally moments after my last post, I received two e-mails. One from "staff@estavisa.co.uk", to whom my request for a refund (sent to sales@uk-passport.net) had been forwarded. It reads: [FONT=&quot]I’m sorry you feel you have been wronged, as you said yourself however our website clearly states our service, which is a check and send service.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]You have now been refunded

[/FONT]The other e-mail is from hipay.com confirming the refund. It remains to check my bank account, but it seems that no harm has been done, and a lesson learned.
:j

System

SneakyFate wrote: »

Literally moments after my last post, I received two e-mails. One from "staff@estavisa.co.uk", to whom my request for a refund (sent to sales@uk-passport.net) had been forwarded. It reads: [FONT=&quot]I’m sorry you feel you have been wronged, as you said yourself however our website clearly states our service, which is a check and send service.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]You have now been refunded

[/FONT]The other e-mail is from hipay.com confirming the refund. It remains to check my bank account, but it seems that no harm has been done, and a lesson learned.
:j

So does the company deserve an apology from yourself? You implied they were con artists. When not only had they done nothing wrong, they have also refunded you the money you paid!

Frankly because you didn't bother reading the site properly you've just wasted their time!

SneakyFate

goater78 wrote: »

So does the company deserve an apology from yourself? You implied they were con artists. When not only had they done nothing wrong, they have also refunded you the money you paid!

Not exactly, though I have replied and thanked them for their understanding. I followed a (sponsored) Google link that by-passed the home page which contains all the explanation, so I've suggested they change that. On this forum (and nowhere else) I expressed a fear that I may have been conned, I came here seeking further information to help me find out if that was the case. Had I waited another hour or so I would probably never made it as far as this forum. However, I'm glad I did as my experience may help others.

The firm may not be breaking any rules, but they have set their site up in such a way that it's quite easy for people to make a mistake. They also publicise a premium rate telephone number as the main means of contacting them, though to be fair the charge rate for this (£1.53/min) is clearly stated. The e-mail address to contact them takes a bit more finding.

goater78 wrote: »

Frankly because you didn't bother reading the site properly you've just wasted their time!

Maybe if they thought a bit more about the way they advertise they wouldn't have their time wasted. I've wasted enough of my own time getting it sorted out, and I'm not (quite) blaming them for that.

keyser666

SneakyFate wrote: »

Not exactly, though I have replied and thanked them for their understanding. I followed a (sponsored) Google link that by-passed the home page which contains all the explanation, so I've suggested they change that. On this forum (and nowhere else) I expressed a fear that I may have been conned, I came here seeking further information to help me find out if that was the case. Had I waited another hour or so I would probably never made it as far as this forum. However, I'm glad I did as my experience may help others.

The firm may not be breaking any rules, but they have set their site up in such a way that it's quite easy for people to make a mistake. They also publicise a premium rate telephone number as the main means of contacting them, though to be fair the charge rate for this (£1.53/min) is clearly stated. The e-mail address to contact them takes a bit more finding.



Maybe if they thought a bit more about the way they advertise they wouldn't have their time wasted. I've wasted enough of my own time getting it sorted out, and I'm not (quite) blaming them for that.

I would have to agree here. I just went to the site concerned using their normal URL and the warning is there as mentioned. However if you search UK passport in google and then click on their website in the sponsored results, it takes you to their website but the forms area. At no point does it warn you it is not affiliated to the IPS nor does it warn of the service fee you are paying.

I went through all the forms and and it at no point warns you, even after filling them out and clicking the link to complete and pay.

Very dubious IMHO and they obviously know what they are doing by making the sponsored link bypass the site warning

Fairwinds

Pollycat wrote: »

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

There is such a thing as personal accountability.

Don't know if you noticed that i said "nearly" - no credit card waving was done ( by me anyway) and as pointed out already if you follow the google link, any warnings are by passed.

Pollycat

Fairwinds wrote: »

Don't know if you noticed that i said "nearly" - no credit card waving was done ( by me anyway) and as pointed out already if you follow the google link, any warnings are by passed.

Yes, I did notice you said "nearly".

Did I say I was including you in my quote?

And yes, I agree if you google 'UK Passport', the link for this website does take you to the application page of the website.

I'm not sure what you see when you google 'UK Passport' but the 3rd & 4th entry for me are both gov.uk websites.

Personally, I'd head for those rather than some random website.

I actually think this company have been quite good in refunding Sneakyfate.

I wonder why the OP seems to be having trouble in getting a refund.

They clearly state they'll issue a refund in their 'Terms':

You may cancel your application for our service at any time up until we have processed your application and completed our service.
If you cancel before we have processed your application, we will issue a full refund.
If you wish to exercise your right to cancel, please contact us in writing (email is best), supplying your name, address and Hipay receipt number (not essential). Our contact details can be found here.

Maybe the OP left it too late and instead of reading the website and asking ('demanding' doesn't always cut it) them for a refund, he tried his c/c company first and by the time he got round to trying uk-passport.net his application had already been processed.

Fairwinds

okay on the first point - it was because you quoted me directly above your comment

I'm struggling to find what they actually do though.

They present you with a form with exactly the same fields as the official site - email what you fill in back to you and ask you to confirm if it's correct - if they don't hear from you they forward to the passport office.

What possibly value are they adding?

System

Fairwinds wrote: »

okay on the first point - it was because you quoted me directly above your comment

I'm struggling to find what they actually do though.

They present you with a form with exactly the same fields as the official site - email what you fill in back to you and ask you to confirm if it's correct - if they don't hear from you they forward to the passport office.

What possibly value are they adding?

It's more user friendly than the official passport site. I suspect they are aimed at people who don't have English as their first language.

DCFC79

Why not check some of the top 5 links on google first then decide what to do instead of just going for the first link you see, the third link down is the .gov site that explains about passport applications.

System

DCFC79 wrote: »

I wish people wouldnt just go for the first link they see on google, the third link down is the .gov site that explains about passport applications.

Especially when they are sponsored links! Why would the government pay for a sponsored link for a product that has no competing firms!

The first none commercial search result returned is obviously the one you should be using (which is the official one)