driving licence website

pinkcosway

I wanted to get my son a provisional driving license for my sons 17th birthday in a rush as always I googled driving license application and driving licence.uk came up so i filled out the form and paid online, now i have just had a letter back off the DVLA saying i have to send off my photo etc and sign the form and a £50 fee, when i looked into this further i found out this is not the official site for my license, so in other words i have been conned out of £50
its an absolute disgrace of a scam. I'm usually tech savvy and know a scam when I see one but I hurried, didn't read the fine print and got what I paid for: nothing.
Anyone have any ideas if i can claim a refund? anyone else had experience of this site?
thanks

wealdroam

pinkcosway wrote: »

I wanted to get my son a provisional driving license for my sons 17th birthday in a rush as always I googled driving license application and driving licence.uk came up so i filled out the form and paid online, now i have just had a letter back off the DVLA saying i have to send off my photo etc and sign the form and a £50 fee, when i looked into this further i found out this is not the official site for my license, so in other words i have been conned out of £50
its an absolute disgrace of a scam. I'm usually tech savvy and know a scam when I see one but I hurried, didn't read the fine print and got what I paid for: nothing.
Anyone have any ideas if i can claim a refund? anyone else had experience of this site?
thanks

What website?

I think you'll find that, as you say, you have got what you have paid for... i.e. for the £50 they will forward your application.
But without knowing the website, it is difficult to confirm that.

This problem crops up from time to time and if they are actually supplying the service that you paid for then it is not illegal.
Have you asked them for a refund?

Did you pick the website from one of the 'sponsored links' at the top of a google search list?
If so, can I suggest using AdBlockPlus and never see these adverts, and many other adverts on all sorts of webpages, ever again.

pinkcosway

hello
thankyou for the quick reply, the web site is driving licence . uk. com they wouldnt let me put it in my first thread as i am a newbie on here
it was the first thing that came up on google and it looked just the same as the DVLA site same colour layout etc
i will now be using AdblockPlus thankyou
I have emailed them for a refund but not holding out much hope if you want to contact them by phone it is a premium number and costs a bomb!
i found an article on line where lots of other people have been caught out it makes interesting reading!
i just cant believe i fell for it i work hard as everyone does for there money and £50 for something that costs nothing is shocking i didnt think it was odd as i had already previously gone through this for my eldest son and can pay the DVLA online and thats what i thought i was doing this time
I think they should be stopped and have contacted BBC watchdog along with several others who have been duped!

InsideInsurance

Contact your card issuer and see if they are willing to do a chargeback. Technically you have received what you paid for, ie for them to forward your application, but certainly some banks would have sympathy with you.

Personally I dont block advertisements/ sponsored links as over time they've introduced me to many companies that I may not have otherwised found (google a company's name and you often find their competitors advertising against it) but each to their own.

There is a similar thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4696771 which may help

Abbafan1972

I Googled "Driving Licence" and the top result that came up for me was the Gov.uk website.

wealdroam

Well that website does clearly say, in quite big letters, what service they are providing:

A convenient online application taking the stress out of form filling, ensuring your application is free from errors and checked before you send it to the DVLA.

In fact their home page is covered with information about the service they are providing.

Here's another quote:

We are not affiliated with DVLA, the UK government or any official body. The checking service we provide can be obtained from a DVLA office directly at a reduced fee or you can apply without a checking service where there will be no checking fee payable.

Unfortunately, you will probably not get a refund.

You do not have a right to a refund when you have agreed that a requested service is started before the statutory 'cooling off period'.

Their T&Cs do say:

11.5 If you are contracting as a consumer, you may have a statutory right to cancel a Contract at any time within seven working days of making your order under the Distance Selling Regulations. However, due to the nature of the Services which we provide, we may begin to provide the Service to you before the end of this seven working day period.
11.6 By making your order with us and completing the Application form you are therefore providing your authority to us to begin providing our service straight away which means that you will not have the right to cancel your contract with us once you have made your order.

Hasbeen

wealdroam wrote: »

What website?

I think you'll find that, as you say, you have got what you have paid for... i.e. for the £50 they will forward your application.
But without knowing the website, it is difficult to confirm that.

This problem crops up from time to time and if they are actually supplying the service that you paid for then it is not illegal.
Have you asked them for a refund?

Did you pick the website from one of the 'sponsored links' at the top of a google search list?
If so, can I suggest using AdBlockPlus and never see these adverts, and many other adverts on all sorts of webpages, ever again.

Oh dear

The DVLA are the UK Government agency!:)

Driving Licences UK are not, they will charge you a fee if you use their site and their services

I assume OP is not a driver as they would know this

See links below

Linky Driving Licenses UK Unofficial

Linky DVLA official

pinkcosway

thanks for your replys I found the similar thread and its as i thought my own fault not checking website correctly
it will certainly teach me to slow down and read things first
very expensive lesson though
most expensive provisional licence ever £100!!
hey ho you live and learn
i just hope others dont fall into same trap

Helix

You should always just go direct to https://www.gov.uk/ and search from there when looking for government services.

They really need to do some more marketing of gov.uk.

dalesrider

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Contact your card issuer and see if they are willing to do a chargeback. Technically you have received what you paid for, ie for them to forward your application, but certainly some banks would have sympathy with you.

But no chargeback rights.

All it would end up doing is the OP redebited in a months or so's time again.

Valli

pinkcosway wrote: »

i just hope others dont fall into same trap

Unfortunately they do

similar 'scam' sites include ones for EHIC cards; US Visa applications, passport applications, tax rebates...

Irritatingly GOOGLE happily takes a fee from these websites and keep them high on the search result pages.