MSE guide discussion - shyster sites 10 March 2014 at 5:12PM edited 11 March 2014 at 4:58PM in Campaigns Corner 56 replies 64.5K views

Red_Boxer_Dog

I was caught by a fishing licence shyster site. Which is more than the fish were when I used the licence. I thought that I was on the Post Office site. Worse still, when I realise dthat all was not what it appeared to be - there was no padlock/secure site on their payment page, I cancelled. Too late, they had my details and it cost me around £20.00. To be 'fair' to the shyster, there was a warning that they would charge. I just didn't see it. These people should be outlawed

fermi

Shyster site run by Richard Howard, using the court system to bully people into paying.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5185879

10 out of 10 cases actually gone in front of a judge so far, this conman has lost. A few weeks ago he was arrested in a raid by trading standards ecrime,

lozza1967

Omg I've just been caught by a Shuster site for my husband's esta. I didn't know about this until after I did it hopefully amex won't pay but they say my passport may be used fraudulently too. This is a nightmare for what was supposed to be a holiday of a lifetime.

the_juggler_2

I have just been stung painfully by a Shyster ESTA site.I have just paid $95 for a $14 waiver application.I could cry now just seeing that difference in print.I have asked for a refund and cancellation but they have aggressively argued they are a third party agency acting legally.They are just within the law and a cats whisker away from being called a scamming organisation.Please be very carefully when applying on line as this is the only way you can apply for a USA visa waiver.I am trying the bank tomorrow and the American Embassy to see if there is anything I can do.I know deep down this is a costly and painful error and I would hate anyone else to get caught out.

Froggitt

Name and shame them here, so anyone that googles them finds your post about them.

pianist52_2

My husband just applied for an ESTA, and AFTER he paid the £32.40 (!) he queried it with me. It was esta-registration.co.uk.
We took Martin's advice and within two hours bombarded them with emails cancelling the application, explaining we hadn't seen the greyed out tiny writing explaining the extra charge to basically 'hold your hand' through the process, and requesting a full refund.
Next morning he had an email saying they had already made the application, it couldn't be cancelled, but agreeing to refund £16.75.
They clearly recognise they are not making it clear you are buying a service and we are accepting the bulk of the overpayment back.
So if anyone else gets caught - do write to them!!

Lindagreenacre

We are booked to travel to the States with Travelsphere. Today I received an email from them saying, only 10 weeks till we depart and that we need a visa. It is not too late to get one and they can do it for us. I know that we are part of the Visa waiver programme and that I do need an ESTA. I phoned them up to ask if it was an ESTA that they are talking about. Yes it is. I then asked how much they charge - £29 per person. No, thankyou, I will do it online myself from the official site at a cost of 14 $ per per person.
Official site is esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/esta.html

Chris10kwp

I thought I was savvy but I fell prey to the EHIC scam last year through a copycat site - ehicdirect.org.uk and paid £24.50 for two renewals. I wish I had taken the time to visit Martin's Money site before rushing into paying for what should have been free. I have emailed them to say I will not use their webiste or the company in the small print ever again - Smith and Lawson .
Thanks Martin for the information and I hope this post helps prevent someone else giving away money to a company that scams.

Ian011

A scam related to this is perpetrated by the numerous Call Connection Service websites providing various premium rate numbers in place of the official inclusive or free numbers for contacting well-known organisations and businesses.

Further information: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5639282

tealady

A tip which could be useful is if you are ever looking for a government site then go via https://www.gov.uk. It is a gateway to loads including passports and the official land registry website.