ian-mstm

Thank you for helping to make my point.

Ian

Brit3964

If you remember, there was a famous phishing scam in 2005. An email supposedly from Bank of America which said you needed to update your records and if you clicked on it, sent you to "their" website. I almost fell for it except that...

a) It had been addressed to my Hotmail account which BofA didn't have and
b) The website's http address was 192.168.X.X

I've had a virus from some websites where the AVG free version didn't catch it but the paid version does.

Duncan Roberts

Firefox (or maybe a plug in I have) flagged certain sections of the site as possibly phishing but noted that in addition to the usual phishing stuff that it could be flagged because it was charging for a service that you generally didn't need to pay for.

However, the site in question does do a few things that the ESTA site doesn't do so you are actually getting something extra from them. It provides historical access to your application should you need it via email pdf and their own database should you delete the email or lose access to it and they also pay the $14 without you getting possibly dinged for currency exchange or rejected by your bank/credit card. I don't know what the UI and instruction is like for the application but it wouldn't take much for it to be a lot better that the official site. Whether that stuff is worth the extra 20 quid it costs is a matter of personal preference. I don't think it is but some may think that it's worth the cost.

It's similar to hiring a lawyer to do a visa application. Everything they do you can do yourself for just the filing fee but some people need or feel the need to have a lawyer assist them through it.

celticgrid

Famous why? Seems to me, given the details you provide, that it wouldn't have worked...

Brit3964

Famous in the sense that it made the news. There were a few similar ones that got publicity around the same time.

Jscl

OP, did the site ever give you an ESTA confirmation number? If you did you can go to the proper ESTA site and make sure they filled it in correctly.

ian-mstm

I'm sure AVG Pro is a fine program... but that doesn't change the fact that the site isn't a scam site regardless of AVG reporting it as a phishing site - which, by the way, it also isn't.

Ian

katq

Yes, they did, but I also did it independently, so I am just going to use the one I filled in personally.

katq

What makes you so sure that you can trust them with your confidential information? This is them again, try ringing the number and see for yourself:

https://www.checkandsend.co.uk/eu/contact.html

Customer service department? They are as dodgy a they can possibly be!

katq

By the way they now have another paid ad in google: same site, different name: http://www.esta-visa.org/

Jscl

As they actually did what you paid them for, most likely all they're probably going to do (beyond what you hired them to do) is put your contact details in a list and sell it, same as many other sites you'd buy something from might do. I don't think they're likely to do anything malicious, as they want people to continue to use/refer others to their service. I'd stop worrying and just take it as a lesson learned to double check website addresses.

I'm surprised you were able to get an ESTA twice, you'd have thought the real site would have checked for that. Maybe now there's a fee involved they don't care, as long as they get the money .

ian-mstm

I have said - repeatedly - that they are neither a scam site nor a phishing site... and I stand by that assertion. You, and others, are free to determine whether or not you can trust them.


So what? It might interest you to know that Microsoft (yes, that Microsoft) owns 35,450 other domains. Yes... you read that correctly: 35,450 domains. Owning multiple domains (hell, I own 4 myself) isn't proof of any sort that a company is dodgy.

Ian

MsElui

if you even make a new product to sell you would automatically buy EVERY relevant combination of the name even if you then redirected them to one place. Its common business practice.

(think MandS.com and www.marksandsparks.com or marksandspencer.co.uk all take you to marksand spencer.com the proper site but they still own those other domains.

GeoffM

And misspellings thereof. Ever heard of www.gooogle.com?!

Off at a slight tangent, there's the old chestnut of www.penisland.net and www.expertsexchange.com - if you thought those were dirty then you're reading them wrong! (Actually, the latter is a myth - it's www.experts-exchange.com).

Anyway, the OP paid for a service and they got the service they paid for then I don't see the problem. I could go to a travel agent's and buy a plane fare but no, I choose to book direct and get it cheaper, and avoid the middle man.

katq

Just wanted to say that the company did refund me the money after all, so I am really relieved. After the transaction I emailed them to ask them to cancel the service, because I hadn't realised that they were acting as a third party and had overlooked the information. They however didn't reply at the time, and applied on my behalf for esta and took the money. I then sent them another email and they finally replied that they are going to refund me. It has taken ages, but the bank confirmed today that they have received the refund! After all, I think it is fair that you should at least be entitled to cancel the service before they provide it. I did actually expect them to keep the $14 for the esta fee that they paid and I wouldn't have argued that, but apparently they decided to refund the full amount.