Over 70s driving licence renewal

dizzy58_2

My husband has renewed his driving licence using Google search.
Unfortunately the link he clicked on then sent him to another page, which states in the small print £10 for license and 4 days free assistance then £89 every 3months for auto renewal?
What can I do please ?
Paid on visa current account.

MattMattMattUK

dizzy58_2 said:

My husband has renewed his driving licence using Google search.
Unfortunately the link he clicked on then sent him to another page, which states in the small print £10 for license and 4 days free assistance then £89 every 3months for auto renewal?
What can I do please ?
Paid on visa current account.

Cancel the auto-renewal. 

sheramber

Look into how you can cancel it.

Aylesbury_Duck

Which site did he buy from?

MalMonroe

Hi,

I was sent a notification to renew my driving licence last December and there were details of the website I should use to renew online on the letter I received, so it's not clear why your husband had to google anything. 

The letter also said I had to cut my old driving licence into two and post it to DVLA - I did not have to submit a new photo as they used the same one from my old licence from three years ago. I had to have a new licence when I turned 70 and then again recently because I turned 73. (Time is flying!)

It didn't cost me anything to renew. Except for the price of the stamp to send my old licence back, that is.

Now you (or your husband) should ask for your £10 back and cancel the auto renewal, as MattMattMattUK says above. 

I was once caught out by such a scam when I wanted to apply for a new passport. I did pay the pretend government site something like £80 but when I found out they were scammers I sent them an angry email demanding my money back and they, to my surprise and relief, refunded me straight away. What a nerve these scammers have. I would demand my £10 back, though, definitely, if I were you.

I'd also want to report those scammers because they're taking people's money for nothing. (What is the £89 every three months for exactly?)  You can do that here - https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/   

And there's some government advice about internet scams here - https://www.gov.uk/report-suspicious-emails-websites-phishing

You could also contact your bank and let them know you/your husband have been the victims of a scam. Sadly, it happens a lot so they shouldn't be surprised. If the scammers won't refund your money, then the bank may.

Please do advise your husband to always check the website address before clicking on any links. This is the one to use for licence renewals - https://www.gov.uk/renew-driving-licence-at-70

As the info in that link says, it's free for we over-70s to renew and we have to do it every three years. 

All the best to you both. 

soolin

MalMonroe said:

Hi,

I was sent a notification to renew my driving licence last December and there were details of the website I should use to renew online on the letter I received, so it's not clear why your husband had to google anything. 

The letter also said I had to cut my old driving licence into two and post it to DVLA - I did not have to submit a new photo as they used the same one from my old licence from three years ago. I had to have a new licence when I turned 70 and then again recently because I turned 73. (Time is flying!)

It didn't cost me anything to renew. Except for the price of the stamp to send my old licence back, that is.

Now you (or your husband) should ask for your £10 back and cancel the auto renewal, as MattMattMattUK says above. 

I was once caught out by such a scam when I wanted to apply for a new passport. I did pay the pretend government site something like £80 but when I found out they were scammers I sent them an angry email demanding my money back and they, to my surprise and relief, refunded me straight away. What a nerve these scammers have. I would demand my £10 back, though, definitely, if I were you.

I'd also want to report those scammers because they're taking people's money for nothing. (What is the £89 every three months for exactly?)  You can do that here - https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/   

And there's some government advice about internet scams here - https://www.gov.uk/report-suspicious-emails-websites-phishing

You could also contact your bank and let them know you/your husband have been the victims of a scam. Sadly, it happens a lot so they shouldn't be surprised. If the scammers won't refund your money, then the bank may.

Please do advise your husband to always check the website address before clicking on any links. This is the one to use for licence renewals - https://www.gov.uk/renew-driving-licence-at-70

As the info in that link says, it's free for we over-70s to renew and we have to do it every three years. 

All the best to you both. 

Not everything is a scam and just because someone uses a site that charges instead of going direct to the Gov site doesn’t mean they can just claim their money back.

I admit these sites are designed to mislead, but the one thing virtually all have in common whether they are driving license renewals, passport or car tax is that they stay legal by stating clearly that the user can go direct to the Gov site. Go and take a look before you start suggesting they can get the bank to refund. I’ve just done a basic google search, the first 3 responses were third party providers the 4th was the official GOV site. On my ipad and my PC the first 3 all show as ‘sponsored’ posts , can you see that clearly, so ask yourself why would the official GOV site need to pay to be seen?

Opening the first one I get the message at the top

“We are in no way affiliated with the UK Government. We are a third party agency which charges a service fee for its services. You do not need to use our service to apply for a UK driving licence. You may instead apply for one directly via the UK Government website at www.gov.uk, for which they may or may not charge a fee”

Would that not warn you?

These sites prey on the vulnerable so I dislike them and hate seeing peop,e fall for them, but the way to stop them is to be aware what we are doing online. Why use a third party when the GOV site is freely available? Stop these sites by stopping using them, when no one uses them and they start losing money they will have to go away.

OP cancel the auto renew immediately to stop any more money going out. 

user1977

MalMonroe said:

I'd also want to report those scammers because they're taking people's money for nothing. (What is the £89 every three months for exactly?)  You can do that here - https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/   

It's for the service which they say they're providing. That may well be an overpriced and rather pointless service, but unless they're not providing it at all, it isn't "fraud". No point wasting Actionfraud's time about it.

elsien

dizzy58_2 said:

My husband has renewed his driving licence using Google search.
Unfortunately the link he clicked on then sent him to another page, which states in the small print £10 for license and 4 days free assistance then £89 every 3months for auto renewal?
What can I do please ?
Paid on visa current account.

If it is within his four free days then theoretically he should be able to cancel without paying the £89. 

Pollycat

Martin Lewis is clear that these websites are not 'scams'.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-56886957

"They are not scams, they're shysters," said Martin Lewis, founder of the website Money Saving Expert.

"They're not stealing your money, they're charging you a fee for something that is completely pointless."

Check the (un-named) website you used and see what it says about cancellation.

4justice2

MalMonroe said:

Hi,

I was sent a notification to renew my driving licence last December and there were details of the website I should use to renew online on the letter I received, so it's not clear why your husband had to google anything. 

The letter also said I had to cut my old driving licence into two and post it to DVLA - I did not have to submit a new photo as they used the same one from my old licence from three years ago. I had to have a new licence when I turned 70 and then again recently because I turned 73. (Time is flying!)

It didn't cost me anything to renew. Except for the price of the stamp to send my old licence back, that is.

Now you (or your husband) should ask for your £10 back and cancel the auto renewal, as MattMattMattUK says above. 

I was once caught out by such a scam when I wanted to apply for a new passport. I did pay the pretend government site something like £80 but when I found out they were scammers I sent them an angry email demanding my money back and they, to my surprise and relief, refunded me straight away. What a nerve these scammers have. I would demand my £10 back, though, definitely, if I were you.

I'd also want to report those scammers because they're taking people's money for nothing. (What is the £89 every three months for exactly?)  You can do that here - https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/   

And there's some government advice about internet scams here - https://www.gov.uk/report-suspicious-emails-websites-phishing

You could also contact your bank and let them know you/your husband have been the victims of a scam. Sadly, it happens a lot so they shouldn't be surprised. If the scammers won't refund your money, then the bank may.

Please do advise your husband to always check the website address before clicking on any links. This is the one to use for licence renewals - https://www.gov.uk/renew-driving-licence-at-70

As the info in that link says, it's free for we over-70s to renew and we have to do it every three years. 

All the best to you both. 

As others have pointed out, it's not a scam, so action fraud or the police would not be interested. The bank may or may not refund.
It is in my opinion unethical but it's not illegal.
Their website does say they're not connected with the DVLA and that they charge a recurring fee for their service.
They rely on people who unfortunately click on the first thing that comes up on Google, and don't check fully before they pay.
Best thing is for the OP to contact the company and ask for a refund and cancel any CPA they've given. Also cancel the CPA with the bank as well.

dizzy58_2

Thank you for all the comments.
Yes I was aware it was the wrong thing to do, but these things happen.
We have sent a reply email to the company to cancel any further services and hopefully this will avoid the £89 every 3 months being taken as a recurring payment from our bank.
We received confirmation email to say they will cancel.
Been to our bank who rightly say they cannot act until first payment goes out, but check online banking for when this happens.
I really appreciate the time you have taken to answer our question.