Passport Canada has issued a warning to Canadians that some organizations are falsely claiming to have the ability to speed up the passport application process for an additional fee. Here’s what you need to know about this fraud.
According to Passport Canada:
- NO third-party person or organization has the ability to speed up the processing of your passport application.
- Only Passport Canada service locations are authorized to collect passport processing fees.
- Passport Canada will NEVER ask you to disclose the security code on the back of your credit card when paying the passport fee.
If you have questions about your passport application, you can contact Passport Canada free of charge. You should also know that passport application forms are available at no charge.
For more information about applying for a Canadian passport, please visit Passport Canada.
March is Fraud Prevention Month. While scams and fraud fall outside of the laws that Consumer Protection BC is responsible for, we are sharing the information in this blog post to raise consumer awareness in support of this national initiative. For more information about Fraud Prevention Month, please visit the Competition Bureau’s website.
ADDITIONAL READING:
A scam warning from Canada Revenue Agency
Planning a big move? Avoid shady moving scams with these tips and tricks!
Don’t buy into a home renovation scam!
Passport Renewal Online? – Passportonline.ca this is a website i got doing a google search for passport renewal. they want $165 plus and as soon as i register and make the payment we can begin the application process. i dont think its legit, is it?
It is an unethical organization.
The government is trying to shut them down. They make promises but no follow through.
They should be ashamed and remorseful for their unprofessional behaviour AND they should be charged as they are breaking the law.
If the the police didn’t run the pardon scam in Toronto, they would be charged along time ago. Wake up people. It’s a clear scam and they are messy through out the processes. It is not legal and it is fraud when they continue to take unauthorized payments on top of fully charged agreement for services. WITH NO WAIVER. DONT BE STUPID. All they do is unethical. IT IS EASY TO DO your own PARDON, ALOT FASTER AND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS CHEAPER. PLUS you will have a waiver or pardon in the end. ( within 3 – 6 months)
You pay $thousands$ for them to fill out simple paperwork. And they scam your account for more to read you directions and lie, and charge more because they realize how nieve you are. WHY ARNT THEY CHARGED TORONTO POLICE.???? I HAVE enough information and more to build a case around these/you brilliant scammer.
RESEARCH PPL. USE YOUR BRAINS.
A waiver cost $ 585 .00 (which they scam you for also) you have to hand it in in person, they can’t do anything. RESEARCH, don’t be lazy or don’t complain for stupidity.
just got taken $216.96
gov\t getting their HST so what do they care
fee is for their service – not informed until they processed fee – thought I was ordering passport
stupid me
needs to be taken off internet
and coming up in search for renewal of passport right on the top –
I just made the same mistake – can’t believe I didn’t notice until it was too late. Passport express.ca
$216.96
Didn’t read the fine print and now need to try and do damage control tomorrow.
what you will do for this
Hi Nicola,
How are you? I did the same mistake and it’s a long weekend. Could you please tell me if you got your money back from them. I am really super worried. I didn’t even complete my application with them. Just left in the middle.
Thank you
Khusbj
Me too. I left in the middle, and erased everything that would erase. But immediately got an email saying that if I didn’t complete within 48 hours, they reserve the right to keep my $216.96, which they have because instantly it disappeared from my credit card. Visa is investigating but the most they hope for, it sounded like, was to get the ad taken down. I’m still within the 48 hours, but am sure that means zero. Scammers and scum.
So how did you remedy it? My husband just made this same mistake!!
Hi Lana, thanks for your question.
We can’t speak to the legitimacy of this business, as Consumer Protection BC oversees certain laws and regulates specific industries in BC (this not being one of them).
If you feel concerned about this company having your credit card information, you could contact your credit card provider to see about cancelling your card and getting them to issue you a new one. If you’re worried about identity theft, the RCMP has issued a pretty comprehensive article about your options: http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/scams-fraudes/id-theft-vol-eng.htm
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre may have further information for you, too. Here’s a link to their website: http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm
I hope that helps.
Hi, I did the same thing. Can you let me know what you did to remediate the problem
Hi Celeste,
If you’re worried about this business having your credit card information, you could contact your credit card provider to see about cancelling your card and getting them to issue you a new one. If you’re worried about identity theft, the RCMP has issued a pretty comprehensive article about your options: http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/scams-fraudes/id-theft-vol-eng.htm
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre may have more information on this as well. Here’s a link to their website: http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm
I hope that helps!
did you have any luck getting your money back?
Hi, I just did the exact same thing with passportexpress.ca . How did you manage the damage control with them?
I just did the same thing, How did you do damage control 🙁 ??
Passportexpress.ca starts scamming you with their name, there’s nothing express about them. Their fees are ridiculous and don’t even include the actual government fees. And then when you need to call their helpline, they don’t answer, they send you into a never ending looping message and you never get to talk to anyone. I canceled my transaction with them (free cancellation? Of course not, they keep 125 per application) because I don’t trust them at all. Now I have to do everything all over again myself and pay the actual government fees. Thank you passportexpress
Hi Judy,
I did the same like you but I realize after only 1 hour that they are scammers, although they are telling on their website that a 75/125 CAD cancellation fee is suppose to take place if you cancel your order. Like I said I cancel my order within an hour and I just received an e-mail that they full refund my application cost.
how did you cancel your order. I made a mistake and did it twice and was charged $216 twice. Please help!!
I agree, I feel stupid for being duped, should have known better but was in a hurry and was not paying attention. Was charged 216.96 as well. Information on credit card statement says the following company charged the card. SPECTRIS CAPITAL FINANCE
Miscellaneous professional services
416-491-7230
Contacted that number and he says he has no affiliation with passport express. Suggested contacting police. Have contacted the bank and they require a letter from PassPort Canada stating they have no affiliation with this company and they have not started a passport renewal in my name. Still trying to get through to a number to get this information, Not so easy.
I just made the same mistake
same here
Passportcanada.org is also a FAKE website…gathers all the same info for renewal, lost and damaged and new passports. A Fee up front to register to have all your information stored for later convenience.
Look so official, but skip this one too.
Bloody hell!!
Do they take your SIN too? Or just information from your passport?
I just made the same mistake, I feel so stupid, what has happened to you? I’m trying to contact all the agencies like passport canada (which is closed today), and my credit card company. I just cancelled my card, about 30 minutes after it happened. But now i’m afraid of identy theft >.<
The same thing just happened to me…
its not legit. they are criminals and no one can do anything about them. Once you paid, that money is lost.
Hi Steve, no third-party person or organization has the ability to speed up the processing of your passport application. And only Passport Canada service locations are authorized to collect passport processing fees. It’s probably best to go through Passport Canada.
I went to this site and paid the fee is there any way to get my money back??
Hi Shirley, thank you for your question. I’m not sure which website you visited, but if it was a scam website, it may be hard to get your money back. You may want to try to contact the company and see if you can get a hold of them. I’m sorry that we can’t offer much but the one thing you can do is to report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Their phone number is 1-888-495-8501 (toll free).
Passportonline.ca also charged me $186.45 for 2 passports but I now know it is a scam. What do I need to do now they asked My mothers maiden name etc. . I cancelled the credit card. But does this affect my bank account or renewal for my passport.
Hi Marlene, cancelling your credit card is certainly a good safe thing to do in this situation. RCMP has more information on what steps to take on their web page – Identity Theft and Identity Fraud Victim Assistance Guide. Here is the link (http://bit.ly/1y1KYb8).
For renewing your passport, you may want to contact Passport Canad directly. Their renewal page is here (http://bit.ly/2bc5Vz1).
Passportonline.ca is a SCAM.
There is no such thing as a passport renewal online. The forms you complete on their website look just like the real forms with the Canadian flag logo, and the same questions as the government version. All the while I really thought I was on the govt. site. The amount they asked is the same as that of a 10 yr. passport.
I found out I’d been scammed when I received via email the invoice for ‘$165 plus tax PLUS Government fee’!
I phoned the company, and was told that they made it clear they were not associated with the government, and they charge $50 for cancelation fee. (BTW, you’d know this if you clicked on the very small print “disclaimer”at the bottom of the form!)
I wonder how many “$50” they collected for doing absolutely NOTHING!
Furthermore I gave them all my personal details and credit card info.
There is also no address on the invoice, just a PO Box.
I did this too exact thing. Do you think they will use it for identity theft?
Do not use this service ! Their forms look like government forms …trying to fool you !
This is the closest thing to a legal scam .
Use the passport office and do not be taken in by these crooks .The cheapest way to get your passport is to go to the appropriate office .
Canada passport office has issued warnings about these people and credit card companies are aware of them .If you have already paid then contact the credit card company and get them to claw back the fee paid it is possible
I took got scammed . $165 for what??? I wish I had just gone to a service Canada place!
Hi Rob —
We can’t speak to the legitimacy of this business, as Consumer Protection BC oversees certain laws and regulates specific industries in BC (this not being one of them).
If you feel concerned about this company having your credit card information, you could contact your credit card provider to see about cancelling your card and getting them to issue you a new one. If you’re worried about identity theft, the RCMP has issued a pretty comprehensive article about your options: http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/scams-fraudes/id-theft-vol-eng.htm
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre may have further information for you, too. Here’s a link to their website: http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm
I hope that helps.
I too was taken by the passport online site and was charged $186.00 I contacted visa but they need to wait 3 days until the charge gets posted.
I contacted passport online directly and they agreed to refund the charges. I will watch for that. In the meantime I am concerned that they have all my personal information including credit card # and 3 digit security code. Is there a reason to be concerned. The website says they are a law firm out of Toronto.
I too was Scammed of 186.45, they have my info , and now I worry about IDENTITY THRFT!!! papers are on there way so they say, in 2 days! I have waited for 3 wks! and still have to pay 120.00 for THE PASSPORT!! I now Know this is not how it is ever done!! Beware People!!!!!
Hello Rob did you get your $ back? I called today and they said that the would refund my $ tonight, less the $50 cancellation fee.
I feel so ripped off.. not sure what recourse I have to get the rest back.. wondering if they kept good on their promise.
Hi Bill — I was actually having a conversation with another consumer last week about this issue and the response you got from the company was the same as what he received. Here is the information I shared with him that may be also useful to you:
First, you may want to call your credit card provider back and ask about disputing the charge. I know sometimes they make you wait 30 days before you can initiate the chargeback, but it wouldn’t hurt getting some information about this process.
Second, our office regulates something called distance sales contracts. These kinds of contracts are not entered into in-person (usually by phone or on the computer). The law that we administer speaks to the kinds of information that has to be included in these kinds of contracts as well as consumers’ cancellation rights (if they have any). Here’s more information on our website about these kinds of contracts: https://www.consumerprotectionbc.ca/hfb-help-for-businesses/regulated-activities/distance-sales-contracts. Take a read of the information on that page and see if you have any cancellation rights. If you think you do, there are some forms at the bottom of the page that you can fill out and send to the company.
I hope this helps, Bill. If you need more information, please let me know and I’ll connect you with our Inquiry department.
I realised something was wrong within one hour of completing my life story and immediately called Visa, they said they could not put a stop payment on my account and that my only recourse was to cancel my card. That was difficult as I had just last week received my new visa card renewal and had advised lmy legitimate vendor accounts of my new card info. I appealed to Passportonline by email within that hour that they should cancel my request. I discovered that they charged my visa $186.45 and then I just got an email saying while they were reversing this charge tonight, there would be a $50.00 fee but they were doing me a favour and only going to charge $25.00.
passport online is great! its more expensive but is very convenient
They got me too. Pretty realistic but looking back, there were warning signs I should have noticed. Anyway…Billed me $184 and change. The bright side is they actually will refund the amount less $50.00 if you pursue them, which at the time, I totally did not believe that they would do as they say. Fifty bucks for a lesson learned..so be it, could have been worse!
I recently signed up to Passportonline after a friend said i can renew my passport online. I noticed that it was a bit more pricey online but i decided to give it a try. What i found out is that they assist with the application and sent me my forms. Would only recommend to people that need help or don’t want to go to the passport office.
did you get your refund? This just happened to me too!! They said they will refund but will take awhile. I too figured $50 for lesson learned!! ahhh so annoying!
I got caught in this scam. Started renewal process on Dec 22/16 on line, thought with Passport Canada – funds taken from bank account same day. Paperwork arrived in mail from Pass Port Office last week. Took into passport office today with photos and had to pay for them again. Approx $375.00 first time and today $320.00. Spoke to Passport on line and got a refund of $175.00. Am taking this to my MP. Voiced my concern with them that their policy was not laid out very good on their webpage. DO NOT DO THIS. Save yourself money and a lot of worry.
Thank goodness I looked just a little harder! I was about to input my card info when something didn’t feel quite right. Glad I found this site. Thank you to all above and Melaina in particular.
Same thing happened to me. I’m in Ontario, was going online to fill out an application for my daughter, thinking it could be done online. Didn’t complete the questionnaire because I realized I needed much more info to finish (she’s 17, so considered an adult in this instance). Within a few hours, the charge appeared on my credit card. I called Amex and they said call customer service, and if you get nowhere, Amex will start a dispute. I called and told them given what they said was covered on the email invoice, I shouldn’t be charged at all, and they needed to reverse the charges. They did to my great surprise.
My story is the same for $186.45 but got a perfect passport mailed in about 5 weeks! BUT 7 WEEKS later I was charged $160.00 on my visa from Gatineau QU. THEY said they were the REAL CANADIAN PASSPORT collecting money for CANADA!! I spent weeks with PASSPORT IN TORONTO; PASSPORT GATINEAU, CANADIAN GOV’T PASSPORT DIVISION; CIBC; MY MP and no one got back to me, EXCEPT ONE of the above! FOR SOME REASON, NO ONE TO REALLY TOUCH IT. THIS was 5 monthes ago! WAYNE
I work in a Retirement centre near downtown Toronto, We had the privilege of having passport online.ca visit us to aid some of their seniors with their applications. They were very helpful and also very honest about the fees.
If you don’t require assistance I recommend going to the passport office.
Hi, I started filling giving info to passportonline.ca before I realized it may not be legit. I gave them my full name and phone number. Is there a chance of identity theft…what can I do. That’s all i gave them before I exited the website.
Hi Pat, thank you for your question. If you didn’t click on a submit button, the company may not have your information. Having said that, if you want to to be safe, visit the RCMP website for more information (http://bit.ly/188tIen) – this page explains how to find out if your identity was stolen. I hope this resource is useful to you!
Hi MaryAnn, thank you for your question – that sounds like a frustrating situation. Consumer Protection BC has no authority over scams or fraud so we can’t speak to the legitimacy of this business but the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre may have further information for you, too. Here’s a link to their website: http://www.antifraudcentre-centreanti fraude.ca/…/. If it was a scam, it might be difficult to get your money back. If you feel concerned about this company having your credit card information, you could contact your credit card provider to see about cancelling your card and getting them to issue you a new one.
I hope that this information is helpful to you!
Hi, I think I got scammed too. I got charged from PASSPORTONLINE.CA TORONTO, ON for the renewal of my passport to the cost of $186.45 and then another charge in December for $160.00. I filed a complaint and I finally got a letter from Passport Canada saying they never charged me the $186.45, and that was probably a scam. The cost of a renewal is $160.00 How do I get my money back?
what about
http://canadapassporthelp.ca/?
I was under impression their website is government website, I entered my information there, was charged $99 the next day without notice. I emailed them and received no reply
Hi Chloe, thank you for your question. Consumer Protection BC has no authority over scams or fraud so we can’t speak to the legitimacy of this business but the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre may have further information for you, too. Here’s a link to their website: http://www.antifraudcentre-centreanti fraude.ca/…/. That being said, no third-party person or organization has the ability to speed up the processing of your passport application. And only Passport Canada service locations are authorized to collect passport processing fees. It’s probably best to go through Passport Canada.
I hope that this information is helpful to you!
Hi there, thank you for your comment. Sometimes people aren’t paying attention or don’t have the information they need to make informed decisions. That’s why we try to share and spread information about these kinds of scams. Knowledge is power 🙂
How can people be so stupid? Passport online is so easy to spot being a scam.
jerkoff
I got pulled in on this as well. Fortunately my credit card company (Amex) flagged the charge as fraudulent and contacted me. They declined the charge. My concern now is they have my personal information. Do you know what actions I should take in order to avoid misuse of my information. Thank you.
Hi Cathy, I’m happy you were able to have the charges reversed! The RCMP have more information on what steps to take to protect your personal information on their web page – Identity Theft and Identity Fraud Victim Assistance Guide. Here is the link (http://bit.ly/1y1KYb8). I hope this information is helpful to you!
I got ripped off…my credit card got charged $186…they sent me the application and want $120 more for my passport…..when I emailed them they said I could cancel the order but it would cost me $50….I am so angry….I can’t believe I fell for this. I have contacted the Globe and Mail to try and have them do a story on this.
They got me too. I tried to cancel as soon as I realized what was happening but they would not answer my voicemail, nor answer their phones for five days. I blocked my Credit Card but they had already taken the money the night before. I have now cancelled that credit card and am contacting the Identity Theft and Fraud Assistance Guide through the RCMP. they claim to be refunding me … all but $50.00 which they claim they need to cancel the proceedings that had NOT BEEN STARTED. I eventually had them on the phone today but they are not very forgiving about the misleading site they represent. PASSPORTONLINE.ca would indicate to MOST people that this was where you would go to obtain a passport online from the Government of Canada. NOT SO. BEWARE
[quote name=”steve”]Passport Renewal Online? – Passportonline.ca this is a website i got doing a google search for passport renewal. they want $165 plus and as soon as i register and make the payment we can begin the application process. i dont think its legit, is it?[/quote]
They are legit, but you don’t get anything quicker and they $185.00 + the processing fee that Passport Services Canada want, ie. $160.00 for 10 years. This is rip off and I would caution people not to use them.
Yes they are a legit real company and they provide assistance. Just had to use them because couldn’t get my passport sent to me from Mexico.
And the fraud goes on, nobody seeing through their scam of posting the fees where they are most likely to be overlooked. It is definitely done to appear as a government web site. Impersonating a police officer is illegal, how about impersonating an entire government branch. I have also been to one of their pardons Canada office, scam also. Impersonating cbsa officers in their little dingy office in the basement of a mall with sally ann furniture and ill fitting uniforms they got from a Halloween costume company. Thought they were taking me to the furnace room. Then there’s a guy ” working” away on a computer that even to me it’s obvious he doesn’t have a clue what he is doing. Isn’t it a clue that when anybody checks into this that the owners all use phony addresses and that their “head office” is fictional. Can’t anybody do something about such a flagrant obvious misrepresentation in an effort to con the unsuspecting. The better business bureau says they can do nothing because a refund was given and a fee for cancelation was charged. Dumbasses, it’s the cancelation fee that is the scam. Probably a good portion of their revenue.
PassportOnline.ca – This is a scam, be careful!!!!!!!!!!!
I started the application thinking that it is a government website, when I realized I stopped the application and never finished.
I called the company and told them that I need my passport quickly and I don’t want to proceed through them with the application
I was still charged $75.00 cancellation Fee.
the company name is PassportOnline.ca
I got caught in this. I usually pride myself on being smarter than this. i cant find a number to call them. nay help with this?
Hi Jim, thanks for reaching out.
If you feel concerned about this company having your credit card information, you could contact your credit card provider to see about cancelling your card and getting them to issue you a new one. If you’re worried about identity theft, the RCMP has issued a pretty comprehensive article about your options: http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/scams-fraudes/id-theft-vol-eng.htm
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre may have further information for you, too. Here’s a link to their contact info if you would like to report an incident: http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/reportincident-signalerincident/index-eng.htm
I hope this is helpful to you!
I made the mistake last night, I didn’t complete the application and got the charge of $216.96 right away.
I had spent the whole morning calling every source possible.
I know we should be careful and had read the review before entering any sensitive information, I quite mad at my poor judgment.
I’m surprised they still operating.
I made the same mistake last Friday. I was too hurry to complete the passport renewal and try to do it online. The website came out and I should have thought it is government website for password renewal. When I stupidly submitted the info. I realized it is wrong and called them right away. They agreed to cancel it but they will charge me $75. IT IS A SCAM! They got all my info! I have to cancel my credit card! but they still have my other info! I HATE THEM!
Yes, I got caught – $216.96. I was in a hurry and was misled by their website. The blue and white color, not looking closely the red and white Cdn flag but the kicker: “Official Canadian Passport Online Assistance” sub-title. Got me – I thought I was on the Gov. website….. I really believe though that Google is complicit and deserve some of the blame. They post PASSPORTONLINE right at the top of the search (and are collecting advertisement revenue off of this scheme)…. On another search I did (in retrospect) the whole screen was those bogus assistance – ad – titles and finally at the bottom, off the screen was the “legit” Service Canada that had to be scrolled……
Scam! I just got ripped off for 278.00 and they won’t answer the phone. Beware
I just got scammed for $216.96 x2 for my husbands and my passport (oct 2018) and now they will not answer the phone when I call . Is there no way for the government to shut this group down and reimburse the innocent people who lost their hard earned money. Does the Canadian government not want Canadians to travel ? HELP US PLEASE !!!!!
Hi Lyn, I empathize that this has happened to you and your family. I haven’t heard of any programs that would help you get the refund but the best way might be to contact your credit card company for reversing the charge. We have heard of successful cases where people get their money back so hopefully this option works for you as well.
Just got scammed! Call your credit card company and they will facilitate your phone call. However, you still will be charged a $75 cancellation fee. This third party site needs to be shut down. I’m so upset right now!
I got scammed. passport express, the website is totally like government website unless there is yellow fine print on the top, I haven’t completed my application form, then I realized something might be wrong, when I check my email, they already charged the money, I called them, they said cancellation fee is $75. I haven’t completed my application yet!!!!! $75 is for nothing. I will report to anti-fraud center for sure.
Hi Mindy, I’m sorry to hear that. Good for you for reporting it, I wish you the best of luck!
Same thing here. $75 charge after cancellation. I got to speak to someone on the phone but they are so rude and not willing to do anything. I will call to dispute the charges with my Visa card company. This is plain wrong and they know it.
I also got scammed by passportexpress.org.
I did a google search for “passport renewal form” and their website came up first. I assumed it was a government website because of the overall look of it. Another lesson to ‘read the fine print.’ It states in a very tiny font that they are not affiliated with the governement.
I found out that they were a third party business after doing the forms and processing. As soon as I found out, I called them to cancel, at which point they said I would be charged a $75 cancellation fee. After 3 hours of calling them and being put on hold for extended periods folowed by being told to leave a message and hung up on. I finally got through to the supervisor who told me they could reduce the fee to $45, but i still needed to pay to have my information safely destroyed.
HUGE SCAM. I am pissed at this company, and they should be shut down and have to repay all the people that they scammed. Absoultely ludicrous.
I was also scammed today by passportexpress.org.
I went online to find the forms for passport renewal, with a google search “passport renewal form.” Their website was the first to come up. It was made to look like a governement website in my opinion, and I followed the link to “renew passport”.
Big lesson here to read the fine print, because it said in a very small font at the top that they were not affiliated with the government, I missed that. And so, I filled out the very official looking forms, thinking that I would get a PDF to download and could take that in to Service Canada.
After filling everything out, I got an email from them, and that is when I realized they were a third party company. I called them immediately to cancel the service, explaining my saituation. They told me I would have to pay a $75 cancellation fee!
After 3 hours of phone tag and talking to the supervisor, I was told I would be able to have it reduced to $45, but that that fee would need to be paid in order for them to hire another third party company to safely dispose of my sensitive information. I didn’t want to give that information to these scam artists in the first place!
Watch out for this service. Although, you probably won’t find any warning before you accidentally use their website like I did. So, if you got scammed by these guys, my heart goes out to you. What a nightmare!
Hopefully this awful corporation will be shut down ASAP, and made to refund all the people they cheated out of hard earned money.
Hello,
Exactly the same thing happened to my daughter too.
I call them and they cancelled it but they keep 75 $ ‘taxe of my stupidity’ I guess 🙁 . It has to be a way to stop them, I cant’ believe it in 2019 in Canada you can get SCAMMED like that
I was able to cancel my order with them, but had to pay a $75 cancellation fee. That’s likely how they make most of their money. This website comes up on the top of the page when you type ‘Canadian passport renewal’ into Google. It’s ridiculous how they’re just allowed to get away with it.
YOU MIGHT BE ABLE GET ALL YOU’RE MONEY BACK!
These same people got me a few days ago at passportexpress.org. I finished half of the questions before seeing the email saying I was already charged and I realized it was odd that I payed before actually doing anything.
I thought I was renewing my passport, but I checked the email and the charge of $216 was for access to their questionnaire, and it said that application fees and shipping fees were separate and to be payed to the government myself. Essentially, they charged me for nothing because this questionnaire is not an application, it just has the same questions.
Then I found this page and fully realized what I was dealing with.
SO
I called my bank and told them about the website and this page, and how they charged for virtually nothing. The person at the bank that I talked to on the phone found the website before I even mentioned it’s name. She read their “fine prints” and “terms of service” and said that there was no issue because they can’t charge me for no service. I hadn’t finished the questions and it wasn’t submitted, so no goods or services were exchanged.
She told me that even if it was submitted, they can’t legally submit anything so there still wouldn’t be an issue.
I was instructed to email them first simply asking for a refund because I changed my mind about an application and did not fully use their services. If they didn’t respond, I was to take screenshots of the pages on their website and of their email stating the initial charges so that the bank can make a case against them. Either way, I would get all of my money returned.
Luckily, the scammers responded saying that I was fully refunded. I checked my account and the whole payment was returned. (It’s possible the wording of my email tipped them off that I had spoken to my bank).
If they got you recently or even if it was a while ago, call your bank. They have several ways of resolving this, because there is little legal ground for these scammers to stand on.
Hi Ethan, thank you for sharing your experience! Hopefully other people can get their money back as well!
Passportcanada.org is also a bad website.
They charge you $32 to register to their site so you can give them all your personal details…and then be charged more for nothing.
I cancelled everything once I saw the fine fine print and that they are a 3rd party non goverment affiliated company. but I am not sure how much of the info I added was saved and sent out.
As a warning, I did put my phone number in and I have been receiving advertisement/phishing scam calls on my cell 4 times today since partially filling out the info.
Going to high fraud and identity theft alert…
Don’t go to that site…
I also got charged $216.96 from passportexpress.org
I informed the police in my town and the dispute branch in my bank to access the siuation. Lost so much sleep with this conflict. How could people do this?!?
They said they would refund me some money back, but I’m not even sure if they would call back or refund me at all! What a scam!
I just fell for one of these.
I searched for Canadian passport forms online and EasyCanadaPassport showed up at the top. I filled up the information and they asked for the payment (199). When I finished the payment, I got a pop-up window saying that there were a 3rd party company and had nothing to do with the Government of Canada. This is when I realized I have made a mistake. Now I see all these comments and realize it’s a scam. I am now worried for the information I gave to them
Hi Alejandra, thanks for your question! If you’re worried about this business having your credit card information, you could contact your credit card provider to see about cancelling your card and getting them to issue you a new one. If you’re worried about identity theft, the RCMP has issued a pretty comprehensive article about your options: http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/scams-fraudes/id-theft-vol-eng.htm
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre may have more information on this as well. Here’s a link to their website: http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm
I hope that helps!
My wife fell for this too. When she contacted them literally 10 minutes after submitting payment they replied 5 days later having already charged our credit card and refused to offer a full refund indicating the following:
“We are sorry to hear that you want to cancel your purchase with us. Unfortunately, according to our refund policy that you can find on our website, once our process and assistance have begun we may deduct or deny any refund.
In your case, we have received and already started your passport application with your data.
We strongly suggest that you continue your application with us or use it for someone else or another time.
Please let us know as soon as possible so we can expedite the process.
Thank you,
Sam | Customer Support Specialist
easycanadapassport.com”
Complete scam if you ask me. Although I am pretty upset at my wife for not seeing the fee listed on the second page, we got dinged for $299 as they indicated. Pretty shady considering this comes up at the top of a google search.
They are based in Spain though and this should have tipped her off.
Luckily, our CC company reimbursed the charges, but everyone should be aware of this scammer.
Just as a follow up to my last post,
The extortionate price aside, my wife never clicked the link to complete the application from the email they sent immediately after payment. She also misspelled my son’s name on in the original online fields so there is no way they could have “started (our) passport application with (our) erroneous data.” So the fact that they wouldn’t offer a full refund also suggests they are a complete scam.
I went to the site today and fill in my information. When I click done, it will not let me print.
It asked me to go to PDF filler online to print, but they it won’t print unless i register. I registered, but then it ask for credit card information and I refuse to do that. I keep refreshing and it will not print, and keep asking for my credit card.
I think we can print the form for FREE, and not subscribe to any PDF Filler with fee?
I went back to the form and delete my information.
This is the website:
https://canadian-passport-renewal.com/
Anyone have this problem? I refuse to give my credit card information.
Hi Angelina, the site you are using isn’t the Canadian government site. The renewal instruction and forms are here (click on this link) and this is through Canada.ca. I hope this correct link will make your renewal process easier!
I used this “service”:
PASSPORTMANAGEMENT.ORG
Their website has the look and feel of the Government website – they intentionally want you to think you are on the real passport site. At the start of the process, I was asked for $32, which I was surprised about, but blindly paid in order to proceed. It wasn’t until several days later that I realized I’d been scammed. Here is what I sent them, which I think others may find useful. I said to them in their “contact us” box:
——————————————————————-
I did not realize that you were not associate with the Canadian Government and was very surprised when I had to pay the $32 fee. You purposely made your site look so “official” and made it match the look and feel of the Canadian Government website – strategy which I’m sure was quite intentional. It was a mistake to enroll in your “services” and I don’t expect to get my $32 back, but as with most “scam” sites like yours, I fully expect some sort of ongoing monthly hidden reoccurring charge that is explained in some fine printing someplace. I’m not going to bother hunting for that. Rather, I’ve kept screen dumps and a copy of this communication in case there are more charges in the future, and I am directing you to immediately terminate my account and all further charges to my credit card. If there are any further charges to my credit card, I will dispute them on the basis of this communication.
————————————————-
Stay clear of these people! Do NOT use their website. The site name of “CanadaPassport.org” makes them seem credible, but they are not.
Hi George
Thanks for your review. i did same mistake with passportmanagement.ca. i gave them my creditcars info and they immediately charge $32. while going further they ask creditcard info again. i wondered and search reviews and found your review. so i send them same email you mentioned not to charge further and not proceeding application with them.
Actualy when i serched “Renew passport canada”. this websire came first and look like government website. so thought this is only option to renew passport.
anyway thanks
I started an application on passportcanada.org. Shortly after entering in my CC info I was charged $35. I immediately e-mailed them and asked for a refund since no service was provided yet. A few hours later they responded telling me that a refund will be issued. They are providing a service but not something you need to pay for since its all on the government sites..
Canada Passport Help
(https://canadapassporthelp.ca/)
Do NOT use them! They promised expediated service (particularly during this covid-19 epidemic), and it took 3 months for them to get my renewal over to Canada Passport. Who then took one week to process and one week to mail!
This is the short version, they are deceitful and very difficult to get in touch with after the initial contact.
This was not my experience with Canada Passport Help. They told me the process would take four weeks from when I completed all the documents, and that is exactly the amount of time it took for me to get my passport delivered. I found them direct, thorough and easy to get hold of and communicate with throughout the process.