Web search results reveal scores of 'rogue websites' tricking the unwary into paying too much for government services
Pensioners Brian and Valerie lost £80 after going on Google to renew their passports. The couple, from Harrogate, realised too late that the website they used, UK-passport.net, was not the official government service they had expected and that they had parted with their cash for "virtually a piece of paper which could be obtained for nothing from the Post Office".
Another Money reader, Veronica Fenton, is furious that her daughter, a single mother, was caught out after a Google search directed her to passport-uk.co.uk, where she handed over her credit card details and passport number, only to end up paying an inflated price to obtain a passport.
These are just two of the many letters Guardian Money is receiving almost daily from readers, outraged at the list of websites that appear at the top of Google searches and persuade the unwary to pay twice as much as they need to renew their passports.
But the issue stretches much further than passports. On virtually every government or local authority service where a fee or licence is required, commercial organisations are paying Google for their websites to come top on searches – and then obtain fees by preying on the unwary. The list includes birth and death certificates, congestion charge payments, driving licences, national insurance numbers and even rod fishing licences.
Each website tries to appear as official as possible. Indeed, passport.uk.com has "Official UK Passport Application" in its title line, and pays Google to sit firmly above the real official site, gov.uk/renew-adult-passport.
Why, everyone asks, is Google allowing this, and indeed profiting from it? Why is the government not doing more to shut down these sites?
Last week, Guardian Money scored a small, albeit temporary, victory when we took up Brian and Valerie's case. Google acted promptly, taking UK-passport.net off its searches. But days later, the ad reappeared on its search results, with slightly different wording at the top of the opening page.
The way these sites work is to mimic the official passport site, passing on your details and charging you a fee for the privilege. Many describe themselves as "third-party processing firms" that make the application process "quicker and easier".
But as Chris Ralston, another reader who was caught out, says: "The site I was taken to looked like the official government site. I am quite capable of filling in a form; these people need to be stopped. It's outrageous."
Many users only find out they are not on the official site when they also have to pay the real passport service a charge of £72.50. Many ring the Home Office's passport service to complain, where the problem is now so common that staff have got used to explaining to upset callers that the site is nothing to do with the official service.
Google says its rules do not allow firms to charge fees for services that are free from an official site, but a few minutes on the web uncovers many companies doing precisely that. The sites are supposed to prominently make it clear that the service they are offering is available elsewhere for free or for a lower fee, but this information is often buried at the bottom of the page in greyed-out type.
In Brian and Valerie's case, prior to our intervention UK-passport.net had a message at the bottom of its page stating that it was not connected to IPS. Maybe it was relying on the fact that few consumers know that this stands for the Identity and Passport Service, which is actually now called Her Majesty's Passport Office. Following our calls to Google, the disclaimer is now more prominently displayed.
UK-passport.net has now refunded the £80 fee the couple paid, but Brian says they have had to put their Rhine cruise on hold because of fears their new passports would be delayed while they took on the company.
A spokesperson for Google said: "Our 'sale of free items and official services' policy makes it very clear that we do not allow the promotion of sites that charge for products or services that are otherwise available for free, unless they clearly state that the original service is available for free elsewhere, provide a working link to the official source where they can get the free service, as well as accurately represent the added value they are charging for. If we discover sites that are breaking this policy we will take appropriate action."
There are signs that the government is becoming increasingly frustrated at what it calls "rogue sites". A spokesperson for Her Majesty's Passport Office told us: "It's totally unacceptable that unscrupulous companies are continuing to trick people into paying for information which is available free of charge by Her Majesty's Passport Office.
"We have already taken action with the Advertising Standards Agency to fine the owners of rogue sites and ensure they do not use official logos or branding. We continue to monitor these sites and explore new ways to counteract their activities.
"Customers can find information and download passport application forms via our website and telephone advice line on 0300 222 0000."
We contacted UK-passport.net and asked them to justify their services. A director, James Wyatt, told us that his firm offers a genuine service aimed at people who need help filling in the application form, and said the site makes it explicitly clear that it is not the official IPS site. He said large numbers of passport applications failed each year because of errors – errors that his team will spot, saving his customers time.
When asked why he thought so many Guardian readers were claiming they'd been misled, he said he had nothing to add.
While most of the complaints that Money has received relate to passport sites, anger is also growing at sites that require users to pay for a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). These are free from the official site, nhs.uk/ehic/, but type EHIC into Google and click on the companies in the yellow ad box at the top of the search results, and you'll be asked to pay around £25 for your card.
For example, Applyehic.org appears to fall foul of the Google guidelines but it continues to operate in spite of this. The website invites applicants to tick a box to confirm they have read its terms and conditions – but if you actually click on the terms and conditions link, there aren't any.
Once you've got your health card and try to renew your driving licence, the same company behind UK-passport.net will charge you £40-£60 to check your licence application. The site features the same colour scheme as the old Direct.gov websites.
Those applying to pay London's congestion charge face similar issues, as do those applying for a fishing rod licence. Perhaps the most nauseating are the sites that try to lure people wishing to obtain birth, marriage and death certificates.
Leicester City Council, at the top of its own website offering information on the certificates, warns: "A number of private services have been set up online, which often appear to be official. But these websites can charge you extra 'administration fees' and some of them ask you to call premium rate telephone lines. In most cases you will have paid more for exactly the same service. Beware of companies overcharging for replacement certificates."
Could a blanket ban be imposed on such sites? It's interesting that Google at one time promoted sites that came top on searches for the NHS Direct telephone number, but simply connected callers to the line on a premium rate instead. Under pressure from the public, it now bans commercial users from using its AdWords system to buy such searches. Critics say this shows that the internet giant, which made a profit of £2.6bn in the UK in 2011 but paid just £6m in tax, could do more to help consumers.
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