News: Moray Council’s trading standards section is warning against websites that can mislead small businesses into paying extra for online government services. Many small businesses may be rushing to submit their tax returns before the end of January. However, they should ensure that they use the official government - gov.uk - website to avoid being charged for submitting their return. Trading standards received 15 complaints last year from Moray residents and businesses who had been misled by copycat sites. The commercial copycat websites offer a checking service where they charge an additional fee on top of the normal cost for the online government service. In some cases there is no charge when dealing direct with gov.uk services. The copycat sites are designed to look like the official websites and although most disclose that they are not connected to the government, this information is usually hidden in the small print. Even if the customer discovers the mistake and attempts to cancel straightaway, it can be very difficult to obtain a refund from the trader. Examples of the types of goods and services commonly applied for include submitting a tax return, European health insurance card, renewal of driving licences, booking a driving theory test, paying car tax and renewing a passport. Trading standards advises people to access government services through the gov.uk website rather than googling for government services. This will take you straight through to the official site and avoid the lookalikes.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 10:12:17 +0000
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