Jo Stacey
Virtual Assistant/Consumer Services
AVOID COPY-CAT WEBSITES
Many of us have been fooled into paying for a service online by copy-cat websites - websites that are seemingly official but tucked away somewhere on their website it explains that they are, in fact, a third party company who will do the online administration on your behalf and charge you for it. Some of these sites charge you an exaggerated fee for something you could get much cheaper at the official website, while others even charge you for something you could do yourself for free on the official website!
As long as the website states somewhere that they are a third party submitting the information on your behalf, their business practise is totally legal, if immoral.
The purpose of this page is to provide my clients with links to the official websites you should visit to complete the administration of important services, i.e. passport forms, European Health Insurance Cards, US ESTA's, to name but a few.
https://www.gov.uk/apply-renew-passport
European Health Insurance Card application
https://www.gov.uk/european-health-insurance-card
General Register Office copy certificates (Birth/Marriage/Death)
https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/
For travel to the United States of America under the Visa Waiver Program
https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/
https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax
https://www.gov.uk/browse/driving/driving-licences
Book your official driving or riding theory test
https://www.gov.uk/book-a-driving-theory-test
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/sa/file-online.htm
London Congestion Charge payments
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/congestion-charge
Visa applications for various countries
There are obviously a vast number of countries that you can apply to for a Visa, so always ensure when you search for the official website that the website domain you use ends with '.gov.[the top-level domain of the country you require]', i.e. to apply for a Visa for travel to Australia, search for something along the lines of 'Apply for Australian Visa' and ensure you choose a domain that ends with '.gov.au' - for example, I chose 'http://www.immi.gov.au/Services/Pages/visitor-visa-online-applications.aspx'. Be aware that US government website domains end '.gov', with no country code.