A woman who was charged £80 to renew her licence by an unauthorised company has managed to get a full refund - and has shared her tips on how she did it.
Websites that charge more than £100 for a driving licence are making a killing because of the huge backlog at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
Many look similar to the DVLA website and appear at the top of Google rankings, encouraging drivers to click on them.
They offer services that can be done for free on the DVLA website. Even if the DVLA does charge for a service, these secondary websites often ask for even more.
For example, it costs £14 to renew a driving licence on the DVLA website, but up to £100 elsewhere.
The websites are legal, but companies like the AA have warned drivers to avoid them.
One woman, 79-year-old Adeline Johnson, paid £80 to one such firm, Licence Services.
Have you been caught out by these websites? Let us know in the comments below
"I went on what I thought was the government website," she said. "Suddenly up popped a message from my bank asking me to authorise a payment."
After the money was taken, Johnson realised what had happened.
She then emailed the firm to complain, and asked for her money back.
"You have no right to take my money," she said. "If you don’t return it I am reporting you to Trading Standards. I am a pensioner and cannot afford to lose the money."
She got an email back from the company saying: "Our services allow your application to be thoroughly checked for any mistakes or omissions before being processed by DVLA.
"Please note, that under no circumstances, our company is affiliated with the government or working on its behalf. Therefore, we charge a service fee of £80 for one full year."
But this did not wash with Johnson, who was insistent that she wanted a refund, in full.
She kept contacting the company asking for her money back - and eventually they offered her £20.
"There was no way I was taking that offer," she said.
So she kept asking, and was offered £30, then £40, £50 and £60 - before being offered a full refund a few weeks later.
Licence Services has been approached for comment.
How to spot if a licence website is legitimate
If a website offering DVLA-related services doesn't have "gov.uk" in the address bar, it's a red flag that it may charge these extra fees.
Another sign is that you are being asked for money for something that was previously free for you - like updating your car's log book when you move house.
DVLA said fewer licences were issued last year because motorists were given an 11 month extension on existing ones due to Covid.
The DVLA said websites often spring up also offering to help with V5C vehicle registration certificates or renewing a driving licence from the age of 70.
