MSE News: US travellers' Esta warning after Boris Johnson aide stung by copycat site

SnooksNJ

A friend of mine just paid £75 for her ESTA so I wrote to my Senator Bob Menendez to complain.
http://www.foreign.senate.gov/contact/

rapido

Pollycat wrote: »

It would be interesting to know which website the aide used to see if it was clearly stated on there that you could get the ESTA cheaper from the official source.

Probably estaapply.net as they charge $74 and use the slogan "professional Esta management services"

They also do give a link to the official website.

Pollycat

SnooksNJ wrote: »

A friend of mine just paid £75 for her ESTA so I wrote to my Senator Bob Menendez to complain.
http://www.foreign.senate.gov/contact/

I'd be interested see what response you get, especially if your friend used the website mentioned below.

rapido wrote: »

Probably estaapply.net as they charge $74 and use the slogan "professional Esta management services"

They also do give a link to the official website.

They hardly hide the fact that you can apply through "Homeland Security Official Website" for $14.
It's in large font in white 'bolded' letters with a bright red background.

Any dimwit who misses that and pays $74 deserves to be 'conned', 'scammed' or 'ripped-off'.

VLM129

Pincher wrote: »

I got taken in by an EHIC copycat site, so I can't sneer at anyone who gets taken in by something similar. All anyone does is to do a search, and these sites are designed to fool you.

Fortunately the credit card company refunded my money, but if I had paid with a debit card, it's probably gone for good.

I've just done the same thing - tried to arrange it quickly on my lunch hour and ended up paying $79. How did you persuade your credit card company to refund your money?

Pollycat

VLM129 wrote: »

I've just done the same thing - tried to arrange it quickly on my lunch hour and ended up paying $79. How did you persuade your credit card company to refund your money?

The post you quoted (by Pincher) says that the refund he obtained was for a EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) not ESTA so is not relevant to your situation.

Have you checked the website you used to see if they say anything about a refund?