Hamster Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 My son is going abroad on a short school trip and we were asked to organise a EHIC card for him so googling had me clicking the very top entry by a certain www.europeanhealthcard.org.uk and foolishly seeing the org.uk bit and the general layout I made a £23.50 payment late one night. The following morning there was already an e-mail requesting further info about the parents national insurance numbers etc, which would be fine but the fact it had come through so early in the morning (6.30 am) raised my suspicions especially since I thought my son had said it was free ! To cut a long story short these are legal ******** who get a top google position for themselves and using plausible sounding names con people into parting with money and then act on their behalf and get a card issued which is free anyway. I went through my credit card complaints channel and raised a disputed payment query and said I'd been conned and wanted the transaction voided and suggested they ought to reconsider partnerships with cloning set ups. Less than 24 hours later got a positive response back which is nice but just goes to show how legal some scams can be and how careful we all need to be as more and more we rely on faceless transactions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mungler Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 There's a host of these - charging for free companies house information, charging for a free service performed by the intellectual property office, charging for a free registration with the information commissioner's offices. You have to keep your eyes open. You can present anything on a plausible looking web site and at the top of Google page listings, and people trust it and buy into it hook line and sinker. The embarrassing bit is that I bet you there is a legal disclaimer somewhere in the web site, but no one bothers to look or read the small print..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 (edited) What he said. Same for the now infamous tax-credits premium rate number. Careful where the web takes you. Edited January 8, 2014 by Thunderbird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crossy 666 Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 I have just done a simular thing mate when trying to re new my driving licence on line at a cost of £80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVB Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Mate gone done for paying the London congestion charge. Ended up paying a premium via a scam site. They did actually pay the charge but added a premium. It was a very professional looking site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted January 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 I have just done a simular thing mate when trying to re new my driving licence on line at a cost of £80 Open a disputed payment claim through your card claiming you've been scammed, it worked for me although as Mungler says there are likely to be small print terms we would both have ticked ! At the end of the day the credit card companies can't facilitate their members to be fleeced by conmen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crossy 666 Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Open a disputed payment claim through your card claiming you've been scammed, it worked for me although as Mungler says there are likely to be small print terms we would both have ticked ! At the end of the day the credit card companies can't facilitate their members to be fleeced by conmen. I paid with my debit card mate I dont own a credit card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sha Bu Le Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 (edited) Saw another one yesterday on "Rip Off Britain"...........Passport renewal doing same kind of thing. Site is set up with a .org address so people believe it is an official site, its not. In reality it is a concern who offer to complete you application form and charge you £75 for their trouble, if you want it fast tracked they charge you another £26 so there's £101 for starters. They send you the completed form which you then send to the passport office who want guess what? the standard £80ish renewal fee. In the example the programme cited the conmen made a pigs aris of filling the form in so the applicant had to do it herself anyway. And everything is covered in the small print. Be careful out there..........the world wants your money any way it can get it. Edit=typo Edited January 10, 2014 by Sha Bu Le Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mighty Prawn Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 Saw another one yesterday on "Rip Off Britain"...........Passport renewal doing same kind of thing. Site is set up with a .org address so people believe it is an official site, its not. In reality it is a concern who offer to complete you application form and charge you £75 for their trouble, if you want it fast tracked they charge you another £26 so there's £101 for starters. They send you the completed form which you then send to the passport office who want guess what? the standard £80ish renewal fee. In the example the programme cited the conmen made a pigs aris of filling the form in so the applicant had to do it herself anyway. And everything is covered in the small print. Be careful out there..........the world wants your money any way it can get it. Edit=typo I nearly fell for exactly this - google passport application and nearly half a page of 'service' companies come up who sort of seem like they are endorsed or affiliated. Doesn't really help they've registered better domain names than the real sites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sha Bu Le Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 Well done for spotting and avoiding it MP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangon Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 I booked flights to New York a while ago through Virgin. There was a link on their page saying you have to prebook your customs visa, I had a look and the cost was £45. I then found the the legitimate USA customs site and paid £10., Virgin rip off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aris Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 I booked flights to New York a while ago through Virgin. There was a link on their page saying you have to prebook your customs visa, I had a look and the cost was £45. I then found the the legitimate USA customs site and paid £10., Virgin rip off The Virgin brand is no longer what it used to be. Mutton dressed as lamb. There have been rip-off's like the OP's for many years. The US Green Card Lottery for instance. It is normally totally free to apply, but unscrupulous agents trick you into paying them a fee to enter on your behalf, proposing that you will have a better chance if they do it for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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