Copycat website ‘dupes’ motorists into paying out £40 added for tax disc
Unofficial web site that looks like the true factor charges £40 ‘service fee’ on top of the price of tax disc 
Photograph: REX
Motorists are currently being duped into having to pay a £40 “services charge” when they renew their vehicle tax disc by way of “copycat” websites.
The DVLA tends to make no charge, beyond the price of the tax disc itself, when you renew through official channels.
One copycat internet site, taxdisc-direct.united kingdom.com, has modelled its design on the official a single, making it far more most likely that end users will believe they are utilizing the Government’s own renewal website, taxdisc.direct.gov.united kingdom.
The copycat website ( click right here to enlarge )
Copycat web sites have proliferated in recent many years, partly thanks to the ease with which companies can market on search engines this kind of as Google. Other copycat operations target folks who search for driving licences, European Wellness Insurance coverage Cards (Ehics) or tax returns.
Adverts for the copycat internet sites have a tendency to seem at the prime of the webpage of final results when consumers search for terms this kind of as tax disc or Ehic, triggering people to think that they have located the official internet site.
The official web site ( click right here to enlarge )
The DVLA mentioned the Government was working with Google and other organisations to raise awareness of the difficulty and make certain that “enforcement action is taken where acceptable”.
A spokesman stated: “The Division for Transport is aware of many web sites not connected to DVLA or the official government website that are providing companies to clients who are applying for tax discs and driving licences. The Workplace of Honest Trading has ruled that sites which charge additional fees and services are not acting illegally.
“The Government, led by the Cabinet Office, is taking action to tackle rogue websites and is operating with organisations this kind of as the Marketing Standards Authority, the National Trading Requirements Board, Which? and search engines, including Google, to increase awareness of this problem and to guarantee enforcement action is taken where suitable.”
He explained consumers could shield themselves from copycat websites by using the major government on-line portal, gov.united kingdom, as the “initial quit” for official companies.
The Agenciesreported in February that a web site that had “tricked” 1000’s of people into parting with income had been relaunched . Taxreturngateway.com had previously shut soon after customers stated they have been “misled” into having to pay £500 to file self-assessment returns.
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