You can look up road tax info, MoT history of a car etc etc for FREE on the www.gov.uk websites.
Playing around with my mobile I googled MoT test & the entry at the top of the Google list was www.vehicleinformation.uk - usual Reg No & Make -
Then asked for your phone number - for a years access to the site it was £10...............same applies to AskMid.co.uk...very easy to pay if you have had a bang & were standing @ the roadside checking the insurance status of the 3rd party's car.
I cannot really describe it as a scam BUT it could be an NLE (nice little earner) if people are unaware that the services of the Government site are FREE!!
Last edited by: VxFan on Tue 10 Jan 17 at 10:19
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The same wariness is needed when renewing VED, applying for a passport or looking for information from HM Land Registry.
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It is a legal scam. If you google for many government services like EHIC cards you find similar sites.
I suppose some might argue that the stupid, ignorant and gullible are fair game in these brave new times we live in but I would prefer a more honest world.
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>>I would prefer a more honest world.
CGN - perfectly put!
FB - thanks for pointing out the scammers!
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Google from laptop/tablet @ home - no 1 listing is .gov.uk.
Same query on Google from mobile gave the £10 site as the No 1 listing. It charges £10 to your mobile phone bill.
Is this an accident that Mobile = scam listing first?
Could this be done by the £10 site on its own or would Google be setting the order of the listing?
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>> Could this be done by the £10 site on its own or would Google be
>> setting the order of the listing?
I just checked this and you are right; but the first result on the mobile, the chargeable service, is a paid ad.
The paid ad is on the PC result too, but at the bottom of the page.
If you are referring to natural search results, then the answer to your question is both. Google creates the algorithms to give the results that people are searching for, and search engine optimisation ("SEO") experts work out how to ensure that the algorithm picks their site. SEO distorts natural search and Google is forever tweaking the algorithms.
Last edited by: Manatee on Mon 9 Jan 17 at 22:47
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Install the App MyCarCheck on your phone.
Following entering a car registration, it will then provide you with a free factsheet including valuation, MOT status and history (inc. advisory notice items of past MOTs), and RFL info.
You don't even need to put in a valid email address to bring up a factsheet on a vehicle.
Apple - itunes.apple.com/us/app/mycarcheck/id344478255?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Android - play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cdlvis.mycarcheckmulti
And it's also available on PC too. www.mycarcheck.com/
(edited to include links)
Last edited by: VxFan on Tue 10 Jan 17 at 12:54
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That's a nice app Dave, very useful if you're out and about looking for a second hand car. There are other similar ones, some of which will also send you a reminder when your tax and MOT are due.
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If you dressed up as a policeman but your uniform said POLITE, and you charged people £10 for a call out, I think you would be prosecuted. Why is it not illegal to impersonate a government website in order to solicit money?
Last edited by: Cliff Pope on Tue 10 Jan 17 at 09:14
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Because they don't actually impersonate as such. The offer a "service", normally to complete forms for you. By law they have to state that are not a Government service and that the service they provide can be accessed free of charge.
The problem is is that a lot of people skip over that bit and just start filling in the forms and pay up.
Look at the wording at the top of in this one that charges £29.99 for you to obtain a free EHIC card.
www.myehic.org.uk
All technically legal but morally dishonest.
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>> All technically legal but morally dishonest.
You can fill in a passport application form yourself for free, or you can pay the Post Office to "check and send" for you. It's about a tenner I think. Isn't that pretty much the same thing? Not sure what they are offering other than making sure you've spelled your own name right and followed the simple rules on photographs.
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>> and followed the simple rules on photographs.
>>
which are getting more complex, when I got my new passport last year I had to remove my glasses for the photo which has never been required before.
What the post office offer is a separate service not pretending to be the passport service itself so I think that's a bit different.
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I have been told that some of the sites even charge if you submit the details but don't enter payment details with the website owner trying to take users to court!
I hope he will fail and of course defendants could claim someone else filled in their details as a jape?
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>> Because they don't actually impersonate as such. The offer a "service",
>>
So in my example, if you said in small print "I am not a policeman but I offer a service, carrying out initial investigations for you in order to ensure that your request is efficiently forwarded to the police" that would be all right?
A sort of private detective dressed to look very similar to a real policeman?
If you dress up to look like a pantomime bank robber, and carry a plastic pistol with a rubber sucker on a string, and walk up to the cashier and say "I am not a bank robber, but I could offer you a service that would ensure that your bank is efficiently robbed" would it be an offence to invite the cashier to hand over the till?
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>> that would be all right?
>>
No. Impersonating a police offer is a crime.
As always, buyer beware.
For illegal fake or misleading web sites, you can do this:
gds.blog.gov.uk/2014/03/02/report-a-misleading-website-to-search-engines/
www.gov.uk/report-suspicious-emails-websites-phishing
www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-to-spot-a-copycat-website
www.asa.org.uk/News-resources/Hot-Topics/Copycat-websites.aspx
conversation.which.co.uk/money/driving-licence-renewal-official-scam-copycat-website/
If you fall for one of these, you should be able to get your money back using Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act (if you paid by credit card) or a chargeback claim (debit card).
It’s illegal for a copycat website to parade itself as a government entity. We have called for a crackdown against sites that don’t prominently display that they’re not associated with the government
Search "fake websites" on google uk to see tens of articles giving advice on dealing with this problem.
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We have
>> called for a crackdown against sites that don’t prominently display that they’re not associated with
>> the government
Who is "we"?
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>> Who is "we"?
>>
Try clicking on the link, then check conversation.which.co.uk/about/ and you will find out.
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Hey Falkirk
I was charged by the same company. After looking at the website again, I can see the pricing is shown quite a few times and I feel a bit silly for missing it. They were quite nice about giving me a refund though.
I'd suggest if anyone else missed the pricing, just give them a call and they should refund the money without much trouble.
Contact info:
0808 178 5349
support@vehicleinformation.uk
Hope this is helpful.
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Beware website charges for access tofree DVLA info - Bromptonaut
