I'm off on the family jollies in a month and realised our EHIC - European Health Insurance Cards expired last year, and needed to be renewed   Googled European Health Insurance Card and sure enough it came up with several links to renewing our cards.   clicked, completed the form gave the personal ID number on the expired card. The next page was a payment screen asking for a £14.99 admin fee   My initial reaction was 'for gods sake, this used to free', but it is was entirely plausible that we are now charged for this service, so I coughed up....3 times for me and 2 daughters.   Couple of hours later and I'm chatting to my daughter who is away at uni, told her I'd renewed hers and she said she'd already applied for one....she couldn't remember getting charged though.   So I rang the helpline number on the direct.gov site (which was actually really helpful), explained what I'd done and asked if I could cancel this morning's renewal for my daughter & get a refund.   the guy explained that the site I used was a third party profit making company that was not endorsed by the NHS....the NHS don't charge to renew the UHIC. They will submit the application to the nhs on your behalf but charge you for doing it. If I had used the bona fide website it would have told me that Alice already had insurance and wouldn't have continued the renewal. Any way he renewed the other two while I was on the phone   I then found a contact number at europeanhealth.org.uk and demanded my money back....he didn't seem that bothered, said their terms were there at the bottom of the web page (yes, yes I know.....small print grrrr), and cancelled the renewals so my card shouldn't be charged.   But now I look more closely there are loads of similar companies. Due to clever wording and cunning marketing they appear at the top of internet search lists and seem very believable when you open the sites   I feel a right twit, but I got my money back. It isn't a huge amount but why should those thieving sods have it....so watch out if you're applying for an EHIC online                                                                                                                                                                                       

Pleased you got it all sorted Margaret.... I've found this happens now with loads of sites and you have to be really careful about selecting the correct one.   The Direct.gov website seems to cover all such things as the European health card, DVLA and a plethora of all government agencies.   And now you've posted this I'm going to check my card, no idea how long they are valid for!                                                                                                                                                                                 

With all the geeks about you would think that there would be a way of coruping these site that are there just to con us out of money
                                                                                                                                                                             

Its not just the EHIC that these sort of things happen. There are also third party companies for things like booking your theory test online. So I presume that there are many others that this advice would relate to.                                                                                                                                                                             

Not to mention those pesky claim your PPI back scammers                                                                                                                                                                              

grr answered phone 3 times to PPI scammers today alone!!
I now press the button to get in their queue to talk to an adviser, then I let them go through it all asking lots of questions about the service before finally saying I a researcher for  BBC Rogue Traders!!! funny how phone usually goes dead in a millisecond!!  hehe                                                                                                                                                                             

never just google and click the first result!

Always look for .GOV in the address.  Alternatively go to the post office and ask for a paper form.                                                                                                                                                                             

The same thing happens with the London congestion charge. Only use the www.tfl.gov.uk/cc. If you use one of the other sites you may not being paying the charge, plus you will get a fine for not paying. Motorcycles are free                                                                                                                                                                              

Same with birth certificates etc. Order one via ancestry.co.uk and it's £22.99, or £39.99 for the express service.
Order directly from the General Register Office, gro.gov.uk, and it's £9.25 for the standard service and £23.40 for the express.

You've been warned!                                                                                                                                                                             

  Excellent thread, sad that it came out of Minnie being duped.   Thanks to all for the heads up.   This is what I love about this community, looking out for each other   Minnie, I hope you enjoy your family jollies, remember your camera and batteries and film if needed