Residents urged to be wary of 'check-and-send' websites for official documents

West Berkshire and Wokingham Trading Standards sent out the warning following a number of complaints from residents who said they had been misled by websites which are made to look official and had made payment for driving licenses, passports and European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC) only to discover the payment was not for the item itself but for a service which they did not require.
Residents are now being advised to read disclaimers and terms and conditions carefully before signing up to any 'check and send' service online.
Executive councillor for Trading Standards at West Berkshire Council Dominic Boeck (Con, Thatcham South and Crookham) said: “These websites are not affiliated in any way with official Government websites and mislead customers.
“Do not rely on search engine results alone and follow links to other sites which appear to be official.
“Instead, go directly to the official websites such as www.gov.uk or www.dvla.gov.uk or www.ehic.org.uk.
“Commercial sites may only check if your application has been completed correctly then send it to the relevant department on your behalf, a service that people could ask a friend or family member to undertake.”