Victim of Scam site. Contacted Bank. Next Steps?

garethpick

I Googled "changing driver licence address" and didn't notice that the first link was a sponsored advert. It looked legitimate. It was www.changeukdriver.net. I inputted all my details including driving licence number, National Insurance number etc and paid the £39 fee.

Afterwards I mentioned it to my brother who immediately informed me that he'd done the same but via the official DVLA site and that there's no fee.

I am kicking myself that I've been the victim of a fraudulent website and that I didn't notice the little [ad] sign or [sponsored] signs on the first hits. Google should really make the adverts stand out a lot easier against the proper links.

Anyway I've rung the bank who have cancelled my card and will send me a new one. They will be looking into reversing the transaction.

Is there anyone else I should contact? Perhaps Action Fraud? Should I register myself with the Credit Reference Agencies to see if there's any identity theft issues in the coming months? Which ones?

Thank you

HillStreetBlues

It's not fraud, it's also not legally a scam.
What you paid for is a service and they charged you £30 for that service, it's totally legal.
Should it be legal is a totally different question but that isn't about your  consumer rights.

born_again

garethpick said:

I Googled "changing driver licence address" and didn't notice that the first link was a sponsored advert. It looked legitimate. It was www.changeukdriver.net. I inputted all my details including driving licence number, National Insurance number etc and paid the £39 fee.

Afterwards I mentioned it to my brother who immediately informed me that he'd done the same but via the official DVLA site and that there's no fee.

I am kicking myself that I've been the victim of a fraudulent website and that I didn't notice the little [ad] sign or [sponsored] signs on the first hits. Google should really make the adverts stand out a lot easier against the proper links.

Anyway I've rung the bank who have cancelled my card and will send me a new one. They will be looking into reversing the transaction.

Is there anyone else I should contact? Perhaps Action Fraud? Should I register myself with the Credit Reference Agencies to see if there's any identity theft issues in the coming months? Which ones?

Thank you

You will be lucky to get money back via bank, as you made the transaction. Only hope is if company do not contest the chargeback, but they could go legal & chase for the money.

In reality your best bet is to follow the company refund policy.
These companies are doing nothing more than the Post office do, you are just paying them for a service. Often a monthly email & reminders.
These companies tend to be data registered... So should not be any higher danger of identity theft

Eyeful

1.. Suggest that if you do use the Google Browser you also use the add blocker "uBlock Origin" extension.

2. Better still use the "Brave Browser" which has an add blocker built into it.
If you typed  "changing driver licence address" into Brave, the first website that appears "www.gov.uk" which will get you to the correct website.  

born_again

Not forgetting never to click on a "sponsored advert" for any government service... They are never going to pay for that 😶‍🌫️

MEM62

garethpick said:

I am kicking myself that I've been the victim of a fraudulent website and that I didn't notice the little [ad] sign or [sponsored] signs on the first hits. Google should really make the adverts stand out a lot easier against the proper links.

It is not fraudulent.  You just paid them to provide a service that was available to you for free. 

When you Google any Gov service you should always be wary of the first responses.    

Ergates

garethpick said:

I Googled "changing driver licence address" and didn't notice that the first link was a sponsored advert. It looked legitimate. It was www.changeukdriver.net. I inputted all my details including driving licence number, National Insurance number etc and paid the £39 fee.

Afterwards I mentioned it to my brother who immediately informed me that he'd done the same but via the official DVLA site and that there's no fee.

I am kicking myself that I've been the victim of a fraudulent website and that I didn't notice the little [ad] sign or [sponsored] signs on the first hits. Google should really make the adverts stand out a lot easier against the proper links.

Anyway I've rung the bank who have cancelled my card and will send me a new one. They will be looking into reversing the transaction.

Is there anyone else I should contact? Perhaps Action Fraud? Should I register myself with the Credit Reference Agencies to see if there's any identity theft issues in the coming months? Which ones?

Thank you

Yeah, not fraud and not a scam - they carried out the service you paid them for.  That you can do it yourself for free is besides the point.  

PRAISETHESUN

Unfortunately as the posters above rightfully say, this isn't technically fraud/scam. Unless they don't provide the service they advertise (which they very likely will) then it's unlikely you'll get your money back. Even if the bank does do a chargeback, there's nothing to stop the company chasing you for the money you agreed to pay. It will also be especially easy for them to do so given you have provided them with your contact info as a part of the application. Lesson learnt at least, and hopefully you don't make the same mistake in 10 years time!

If you're worried about identity fraud, then monitoring your credit files (easy to do and can be done for free!) from all 3 CRAs (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) is a good first step. You can sign up for Experian's identity monitoring protection if you want, but it's not particularly cheap. Notifying your bank is also a good idea. Wouldn't bother with Action Fraud 

penners324

Always look fo a .gov in the website address when it's anything to any government (worldwide)

Jazzyb91

I've been scammed by a site found on Google the payment options wer wise bank or bitcoin which I uave no clue about so I signed up to wise, made payment then I could no longer access the website but wise refusing to help or refund me please help what should I do

MeteredOut

Jazzyb91 said:

I've been scammed by a site found on Google the payment options wer wise bank or bitcoin which I uave no clue about so I signed up to wise, made payment then I could no longer access the website but wise refusing to help or refund me please help what should I do

First thing, create a new post with your question. But then, you're going to have to give a lot more (clear) information on what happened before anyone can make any suggestions.