updating driving licence and charges

toby66

I received a letter from Dvla to update my driving licence with details of how to do it online for £14. I copied the Url exactly as it appeared yet have been charged £93 by a company called licence safe to apply on my behalf. I have challenged this with the bank as I believed I applied to the gov site. 
Has anyone else had this happen to them and have they successfully challenged it 

[Deleted User]

No. You went to a third party site instead of direct and as such will have agreed to their fees.

The bank won't mediate with your agreement with Licence Safe.

soolin

toby66 said:

I received a letter from Dvla to update my driving licence with details of how to do it online for £14. I copied the Url exactly as it appeared yet have been charged £93 by a company called licence safe to apply on my behalf. I have challenged this with the bank as I believed I applied to the gov site. 
Has anyone else had this happen to them and have they successfully challenged it 

As above Unfortunately you obviously didn't copy a web address accurately as you have gone to a third party sitr. The company is legit so your bank can't help and these companies operate carefully and do warn before you use them of the additional charge. There have been warnings here on MSE about these third party companies, and at least they do warn you now before you go ahead that they make an additional charge, and this particular site already has a thread you might find interesting

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6242903/licence-safe-scam#latest

Hasbeen

toby66 said:

I received a letter from Dvla to update my driving licence with details of how to do it online for £14. I copied the Url exactly as it appeared yet have been charged £93 by a company called licence safe to apply on my behalf. I have challenged this with the bank as I believed I applied to the gov site. 
Has anyone else had this happen to them and have they successfully challenged it 

The very first page when clicking on their site, states a £79 for service?

Rayla

Exactly same as Toby. Typed in website address from renewal letter. Must’ve been redirected in some way by scammers paying google. Website looked same as dvla and processes! Nowhere did it mention £93 not even confirmation emails. Devious underhand and illegal. Emailing re cooling off period terms and conditions etc., bank not helpful but have raised a dispute. Not happy with bank response im sure this happens a lot so why isn’t something being done to stop unscrupulous companies doing this? Google making money by taking ours? In time of covid we are all struggling. These lowlifes need to be caught and stopped. 

Pollycat

In addition to the thread highlighted by Soolin, here is another one about the same company:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6253974/licence-safe-dont-touch-them-with-a-barge-pole#latest

It sounds very odd that 2 people say the website address on the renewal letter directed them to a 'value-add' website.

Most of these complaints come from people Googling for 'passport renewal' etc.

Can one of you post the URL please.

@ Rayla:

In the link to the other thread provided by Soolin, the last post shows a screenshot of what you would have seen prior to paying.

Didn't you check the amount to be paid?

When doing a search, people need to be aware of hits that have Ad next to them.

These are adverts.

Placed at the top by companies who pay Google etc to be at the top of search results.

Of course, if you use these companies rather than the official website, you will pay for a free service or pay more for a service than from the official source.

People should beware of any website that has Ad at the front of the search result.

Legitimate companies may also have Ad at the front of search results, obviously they have paid Google etc for the top spot.

In these cases, there is usually a link immediately below to the same website without Ad.

To be 100% sure, I always select the link without Ad.

For anything remotely governmental - including stuff like licences, POA - I would always go to GOV.UK and use the search function on there rather than relying on Google, Bing etc.

unforeseen

If you typed the address into the url bar of your browser then it goes nowhere near Google.
If you put it into google search then Licence Safe is only one of a number of hits. If you took the top one then your fault for not actually checking that it was the right one. 

soolin

unforeseen said:

If you typed the address into the url bar of your browser then it goes nowhere near Google.
If you put it into google search then Licence Safe is only one of a number of hits. If you took the top one then your fault for not actually checking that it was the right one. 

What unforeseen says is important to understand. If I type my own business website address into the URL bar it can only go to the correct page , it has nothing at all to do with Google - the only way I can end up somewhere else is if I type it incorrectly, it cannot be hijacked and diverted to a site that pays for advertising, Google is not the internet it is just one of many search engines. 

if you use google and start searching for 'renewing your license',  for me the correct GOV site (and it is clearly stated it is the Gov site) is actually the 4th option on the list- there are 3 other companies that clearly state they are paid ads, and actually none of them for me is current LS.

This is not new, there are warnings everywhere and it isn't just driving licenses you also see this for passports, ID cards etc- always ALWAYS check you are using the GOV site. 

Hasbeen

Rayla said:

Exactly same as Toby. Typed in website address from renewal letter. Must’ve been redirected in some way by scammers paying google. Website looked same as dvla and processes! Nowhere did it mention £93 not even confirmation emails. Devious underhand and illegal. Emailing re cooling off period terms and conditions etc., bank not helpful but have raised a dispute. Not happy with bank response im sure this happens a lot so why isn’t something being done to stop unscrupulous companies doing this? Google making money by taking ours? In time of covid we are all struggling. These lowlifes need to be caught and stopped. 

From front page? £79 plus £14 = £93

LicenceSafe offers a turnkey solution to assist you with your Driving Licence applications, to keep your Licenceprotected, to assist you on any Driving Legal issue and to benefit of exclusive discounts on many car-related products and services.
We only charge £79 for our services for a full year: no subscription, no hidden cost ; and are detailed below

But there is a site very similar to gov one.

Called Driving Licence Support.com

Could it be that one you have used?

Pollycat

This has been going on for years for things like passports, EHIC, driving licences and driving tests (theory & practical) and even fishing licences.

Someone on a similar thread found the same for Land Registry.

Martin Lewis mentioned this on one of his shows in February.

IIRC, he said what these companies do isn't legally wrong but he felt it was morally wrong.

He mentioned all the other things that companies offer a 'value added' service for such as passports, EHIC etc.

All this could easily be avoided by people taking a little time and a little care before clicking on 'pay now'.
The internet really isn't a fluffy, friendly place and the sooner people wise up and start treating websites as potential rip-offs, scams and cons until their research proves otherwise, the sooner these companies will run out of victims.