Hopefully everyone is now pretty familiar with the websites, highly ranked on Google, that charge a premium for doing something you can do for free, such as renewing a passport. They also appear for overseas items.
I was looking to book a lodge in Yosemite national park, California, so when I did a search and saw the first option was Nationalparkreservations.com, it looked ideal.
Only after you’ve gone through the whole booking process and entered all your personal details, does it become clear that this is an agency – it takes up to three days to make a booking and adds a 10% commission.
You can book yourself – instantly – by going directly to the official national park website Travelyosemite.com – I hope this helps prevent others from wasting time and, potentially, money. JK, Edinburgh
You are right – it would be easy to click on the first site thinking it was the official one, as the “Ad” sign was in small letters. Others be warned.
Google has at least removed the fake passport renewal companies following repeated stories in Guardian Money.
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