UK-passport.net

rockface2004

first time in 25 years and I have been caught.Having gone to a small post office and found it closed,I traveled to a larger one to find a long queue and no passport forms available,went home typed passport renewal into google and the first hot was uk passport.net.Site looked ok(https-ie secure) filled in details paid £72.50,a few minutes later I thought it did not feel good,quick google again and i found this forum...NO I have fallen for it.I did not read many posts here but phoned bank to cancel my credit card,was worried that this company (uk passport.net) had all my details, AND wanted bank details to give a refund,BANK ADVISED NOT GIVING ANY MORE INFO AWAY.The bank sent out new credit card and a few weeks later sent me a fraud declaration form,I think iam going to lodge it with the bank,ukpassport.net say they cant refund without my bank details and the card I used does not exist any more so they cant refund that either.DONT RUSH any passport,bank,driving license renewals etc.Emailed google and asked why the first direction to a search was a scam,no reply.

Pollycat

rockface2004 wrote: »

first time in 25 years and I have been caught.Having gone to a small post office and found it closed,I traveled to a larger one to find a long queue and no passport forms available,went home typed passport renewal into google and the first hot was uk passport.net.Site looked ok(https-ie secure) filled in details paid £72.50,a few minutes later I thought it did not feel good,quick google again and i found this forum...NO I have fallen for it.I did not read many posts here but phoned bank to cancel my credit card,was worried that this company (uk passport.net) had all my details, AND wanted bank details to give a refund,BANK ADVISED NOT GIVING ANY MORE INFO AWAY.The bank sent out new credit card and a few weeks later sent me a fraud declaration form,I think iam going to lodge it with the bank,ukpassport.net say they cant refund without my bank details and the card I used does not exist any more so they cant refund that either.DONT RUSH any passport,bank,driving license renewals etc.Emailed google and asked why the first direction to a search was a scam,no reply.

Did you check if the company you used actually offered refunds?

Their T&Cs state this:

Terms of Business

Cancellation/Refund Policy
We charge a service fee of £72.50 for completing the online passport application process.
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 the application has been processed we will refund the full payment less a £8.00 administration fee
If you wish to exercise your right to cancel, please contact us in writing (email is best), as follows:
We are more than happy to issue a refund, but we can only issue refunds direct to your bank account. Please supply the following information:
Bank Account Number
Sort Code
Order ID
This information MUST be sent by email to: [EMAIL="refunds@uk-passport.net"]refunds@uk-passport.net[/EMAIL]

If you realised 'a few minutes later' that the site wasn't the official one, you could have cancelled and got a full refund without having to contact your Bank and cancel your card.

Please come back and let us know the progress with the 'fraud declaration form'.

Nickolarge

keyser666 wrote: »

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

I just got caught by Passport Direct and my experience is the same as above. Not only did it take me direct to the form but when the bank details came up it did not say that the details were for an immediate payment or how much that payment was. There was no box or page that came up with "£69" and/or confirm payment now. It just went to a page saying that the completed forms would be sent for signing in the next few days.

I have emailed them for a refund but I have since found, hidden away, that they will charge a £15 if they agree to what they call an exceptional circumstances refund. :mad:

Nickolarge

Sooler wrote: »

Q1 on the form

• Please confirm that you have read and understood the warnings on the previous page: * I have read and understood the warnings on the previous page

However the previous page is the form selection page that has no warnings.

But then if you answered Q1 to claim you had read some warnings :huh:

I didn't get asked that question.

Nickolarge

hpuse wrote: »

Also, Pollycat and Shaun, why are these websites 'hiding' their owner information if you think they are genuinely legal ?
Why there is no postal information.

If you have answers to those questiosn please?

The point is that they should be outlawed. As far as I'm concerned a con trick is anything designed to mislead. All con tricks should be illegal. These companies have clearly put their websites together with a clear intention to catch people out.

It would seem to me that regardless of their honesty they fall under the Distance Selling Regs which cover services as well as goods. I have pointed this out in my emails to them and expect a full refund with no deduction of an "admin fee".

powerful_Rogue

Im guessing this is the site your talking about. > https://passportdirect.org.uk/

Its got quite a large prominent warning on the main page:

Use our Check and Send service to apply for, update, renew or replace your passport. Our online service provides translation, checking for common mistakes and a free reminder service. Passport checking services can also be obtained from other organisations such as Post Office or you can apply without a checking service where there will be no checking fee payable. We are not affiliated with HM Passport Office or any government body.

Also under their logo it says "UK Passport Application Check and Send Service"

If you scroll down slightly it says what they offer for £69, and what you can get for free from the HM Passport Office.

In fact, their are numerous pieces of text advising its a check and send service.

Outlawed? They have done nothing illegal. If yuo had taken the time to read, you would have seen what you was purchasing.

As for the Distance Selling Regulations - They are exempt. You agreed to waive the seven days so the service could start immediately.

Under the Distance Selling Regulations, a consumer has seven days to cancel a contract. However, as our service fee is for the review and submission service we provide, and we provide it much before the end of the seventh day, it may not be possible to undo our service. By availing our service, you authorise us to start the work immediately and won't be entitled to cancel once the order is placed. Our processors work in real time and will in many cases have begun the review of your application within minutes of it being submitted online.

mije1983

Nickolarge wrote: »

The point is that they should be outlawed. As far as I'm concerned a con trick is anything designed to mislead. All con tricks should be illegal. These companies have clearly put their websites together with a clear intention to catch people out.

It would seem to me that regardless of their honesty they fall under the Distance Selling Regs which cover services as well as goods. I have pointed this out in my emails to them and expect a full refund with no deduction of an "admin fee".

While it may be morally wrong, I don't believe it's a con. Taking your money and doing a runner while pretending to help you with your application would be a con. They are actually providing you with a service for the fee that you are happy to pay. Whether that service is worth the fee you pay is questionable though!

On your second point, unfortunately I believe they do not, as when you use the website/service you agree to the immediate start of it. This then removes your protection under the DSRs. However they do ssem to offer (partial) refunds if you contact them, which is more than some other sites of these types do.

Nickolarge

Nickolarge wrote: »

I didn't get asked that question.

I have just looked again and what you get is a page full of warnings about not using the site if you are travelling in the next four weeks and a few other things.

Then it asks you to tick a box asking you to confirm that you have read all the warnings above and the terms and conditions.
The terms and conditions are not on that page but the wording "terms and conditions" is a link to a pop up box....if you click on it, which obviously most people don't.

powerful_Rogue

Nickolarge wrote: »

I have just looked again and what you get is a page full of warnings about not using the site if you are travelling in the next four weeks and a few other things.

Then it asks you to tick a box asking you to confirm that you have read all the warnings above and the terms and conditions.
The terms and conditions are not on that page but the wording "terms and conditions is a link to a pop up box....if you click on it, which obviously most people don't.

But if your ticking the box saying you've agreed to the terms and conditions when you haven't read them, thats not the fault of the website.

Nickolarge

powerful_Rogue wrote: »

But if your ticking the box saying you've agreed to the terms and conditions when you haven't read them, thats not the fault of the website.

Yes, or should I say maybe, because when you read the T & C's it's just the usual stuff about what one word or another means followed by disclaimers absolving them from any responsibility for any failure on their part. Then when you are about two computer screens worth of reading down, it deals with who they are and what their service actually consists of. At that point they also first mention the fee and what it does and doesn't cover.

In my book, describing the con you are trying to pull somewhere on your website does not absolve you from challenge. If someone says to me that by ticking a box I have agreed to being conned I would most strongly dispute that.