Licensesafe scam

JulieJadeJack

I  was also scammed by licensesafe for my license renewal on 23rd March  just saw my statement
I have e mailed them , going to contact my  bank and citizens advice 
Has any one got any other advice to help me get my.money back

David713

I know that you aren't going to agree but you were not scammed, you simply failed to read up on what you were agreeing to when using their service.
The fees that they charge are clearly shown on the website and their T&C's also state that they are a privately run organisation and are nothing whatsoever to do with the government or the DVLA:

Driving Licence (” ​we, ​ ​us, ​ ​our ​”) ​offers ​its ​services ​from ​​itswebsite https://licencesafe.co.uk/ ​(” ​the ​ ​Site ​”). ​We ​​provide ​​review ​​services ​​for ​​driving ​​licence ​​applications ​independent from ​​any ​ ​government body. A ​ ​full ​ ​list ​ ​of ​ ​the ​ ​types ​ ​of ​ ​applications ​ ​we ​ ​deal ​ ​with ​ ​and ​ ​the ​ ​services ​ ​that ​ ​we ​ ​offer ​ ​can ​ ​be found ​ ​on ​ ​the ​ ​homepage ​ ​of ​ ​the ​ ​Site ​ ​(the ​ ​​” ​Services ​”). ​ ​Please ​ ​note ​ ​that ​ ​we ​ ​are ​ ​not ​ ​affiliated ​ ​with ​ ​the ​ ​Official DVLA, ​ ​the ​ ​UK Government ​ ​or ​ ​any ​ ​official ​ ​body. ​ ​We ​ ​are ​ ​a ​ ​third ​ ​party ​ ​company ​ ​offering ​ ​a ​ ​complete ​ ​online ​ ​processing ​ ​and ​ ​validation service ​ ​on ​ ​your ​ ​application. The services that we provide are not mandatory when applying for a driving licence and are available from the official government agency portal, which is the Official DVLA website, with which we are not affiliated, for a lower cost or free of charge. ​ ​The ​ ​fee ​ ​charged ​ ​for ​ ​our ​ ​checking ​ ​service ​ ​is ​ ​additional ​ ​to ​ ​any ​ ​DVLA ​ ​fee.

However, people will only know about this if they actually read the terms and conditions before agreeing to them.

elsien

You don’t need to go as far as the t&cs.

It’s on their home page in normal size writing.

“Use our simple step by step solution to apply, renew and replace your UK Driving Licence. By choosing our services, your application will be thoroughly checked for any mistakes or omissions before being processed to DVLA.This ensures your application being completed as quickly as possible with minimal delay. 
Please note, Licence Safe is in no way affiliated with the government. You can apply onto the UK Government website or DVLA to benefit from a reduced cost”

Sorry OP but you need to check sites more carefully before you use them. 

Unless you appeal to their goodwill (and they probably don’t have much) chalk it up to experience. 

Biggus_Dickus

@JulieJadeJack

We can’t call the people who operate these sites ‘scammers’ or ‘thieves’ because the service they offer is entirely legal,...unfortunately.

However, they exist solely to ‘fleece’ unwary individuals into paying a sizeable chunk of cash for a service that is otherwise offered free of charge by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

These site operators are ‘despicable scoundrels’ imo;...other descriptions are available though.

born_again

7 page thread here...

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6242903/licence-safe-scam/p1

No way to get your money back other than asking the company for it. If you are lucky they will offer £20.

Marvel1

Sorry not a scam, a scam is those fake emails and telephone calls pretending to be from a company to hand over your passwords or/and bank card details.

cymruchris

To echo the above - not a scam - they make it clear they aren't the DVLA - and usually they come up as a sponsored ad at the top of a search engine - so it's common for people to click on it - which is how they do so well - as people (like you) don't pay attention to what it says on the screen and then go ahead and pay before realising later it would have been cheaper to do it yourself direct. It's a learning curve - you'll be more wary next time.

Hasbeen

JulieJadeJack said:

I  was also scammed by licensesafe for my license renewal on 23rd March  just saw my statement
I have e mailed them , going to contact my  bank and citizens advice 
Has any one got any other advice to help me get my.money back

You were not scammed.

You were careless and did not read the very clear wording on their leading opening page.

Licence Safe – Keep your licence safe


You will not get anything back. You agreed to the contract, they did what you asked.


They rely on gullible, lazy people who can not be bothered to read the wordings. And are easily parted with their cash.

daveyjp

No more of a scam than sites such as Trainline which also charge a fee for a service which is free on train operating company sites.

AdrianC

This is hardly a new business model. It's been going on for, quite literally, years - and has been warned about on here and just about every consumer-news outlet.

What happened is always the same.
You do a google search.
You get results.
From those results, you then click on an advert for a commercial service, despite the official site (gov.uk) being in the search results.

It's simply a case of learning how to use the tools. Install an adblocker to your browser, and those ad results simply won't be shown.

lordmountararat

The same thing happens with passport applications. Just be sure only to click on links with ".GOV.UK".