passport renewals

It was time to renew the junior Lamas passports.  So, Lamas Network division sat down at the PC and began the laborious task of filling out the forms online.  He had their old passports, mine and his and was merrily typing away.

"How much is it?" I asked.
"Dunno it hasn't said yet.  What's IPR?"
"Wassa what who?"  I replied.  Looking over his shoulder.
I looked at the URL expecting to see a .gov address.
"What site are you actually on - passports are a .gov site," I said

" ...  " was his reply.  He was on question 9.  "I did a search".
He showed me the search.

The top Google result for passport renewal he landed on was not the renewal site for the government passport agency, but a 3rd party who Review applications on your behalf prior to submission to the government passport agency.

A similar thing happened to a friend while she was renewing the family EHIC cards, all the info was duly entered for new cards and then she got a screen requesting payment for the processing fee.  It was then she realised that she was not on the correct site.

The point of all this is be aware who you are actually giving your info to.  Make sure the site you are on is the right one.  I am not saying that these 3rd parties are trying to scam you, they are offering you a service for which you will be charged over and above any charges that you were expecting to pay.  In the case of the EHIC cards these are issued free by the NHS.

In case you were wondering the cost of a kids passport, (when dealing directly with the passport agency) is £45.00.  It will last them just 5 years.  An Adult passport is £79.00 for 10 years.

Enjoy the summer weather we seem to have (this week).  Lamas dog seems to be spending all her time laying on the grass, alternating position based on how hot she is and whether or not shade is required.