BEWARE OF RIP OFF LICENCE

joffmiester · #1

Beware The Rod Licence Rip Off!"

Stark warning from Angling Trust.
Following complaints from anglers angered by the re-emergence of a website offering rod licence renewals which charges an additional £11 for ‘processing services’ the Angling Trust is warning anglers not to pay a penny more than they need and is encouraging everyone to use the completely free service provided by the Environment Agency and the Post Office.

Buried away in the small print at www.rodlicence.net are details of the extra charges, none of which is necessary.

“Rodlicence.net offers you third party data processing services, for which we charge a service and administration fee of £5 for short-term licences and £11 for full licences.”

The site offers no additional benefits to anglers for these charges. Indeed, it is worse than the official sites because it does not provide anglers with a licence number immediately and so they could be prosecuted if they go fishing while they wait for their licence to turn up in the post.

Angling Trust campaigns coordinator Martin Salter said: “It beggars belief when we are in the middle of a nasty recession which has hit hard the pockets of so many people that there are organisations out there seeking to charge anglers 40% extra on the cost of a coarse fishing licence for absolutely no benefit at all. Of course the situation has been made worse by the government’s ridiculous ban on marketing by public bodies like the EA which has adversely affected rod licence sales and has prevented the Agency from getting its message out to the wider angling public about renewals. This has opened the door once again to the profiteers who are hoping to make a quick buck at anglers’ expense.”

He added: “The Angling Trust has been lobbying MPs and government ministers to allow the EA to market rod licences and the correct process for renewals as they provide an irreplaceable source of income for both angling and fisheries. However, in the meantime we strongly advice all anglers to avoid these websites like the plague that they are and to apply either on line at www.environment-agency.gov.uk or visit their local Post Office in person.”

The Environment Agency website has been amended to warn people that there is no need to pay any processing charges whatsoever.

Paul Lidgett, Senior Fisheries Officer with the Environment Agency said: “We are aware that other websites offer to ‘process’ your rod licence application for you and may charge you a fee for this service. We have no connection with such websites and do not endorse the service they provide. Anglers who buy their licence direct from the Post Office website are not charged an additional fee. They also receive a licence confirmation number by email allowing them to go fishing immediately”

#2

I wonder how many people will be tricked in to paying extra.

You will always get these kinds of sites where there is money to be made by deceiving people.

#3

"You may also contact us by telephone on 0905 915 1912

Calls cost £1.53 per minute plus network extras. Calls from mobiles may cost more. 18+ bill payers only. Hours of operation:
Monday - Friday 09:00 - 17:00"

I googled the number and found another site they run...

It looks like whoever made that site also did this one too....
http://www.environmental-agency.org.uk

The official site is http://www.environmental-agency.gov.uk

Digging a bit more ...

Registrar:       123Reg/Webfusion
URL:             http://www.123-reg.co.uk/domain-names/

Domain Name:             RODLICENCE.NET
Creation Date:             2012-01-14
Expiry Date:             2015-01-14
Nameserver:             ns67.1and1.co.uk
Nameserver:             ns68.1and1.co.uk
Registrant Name:       Peter Hall
Registrant Company:       Esta Visa Ltd
Registrant Address:       Knighton
Registrant Address:       Alresford
Registrant Address:       Hants
Registrant Address:       SO24 0HJ
Registrant Address:       GB
Administrative Name:       Peter Hall
Administrative Company:       Esta Visa Ltd
Administrative Address:       Knighton
Administrative Address:       Alresford
Administrative Address:       Hants
Administrative Address:       SO24 0HJ
Administrative Address:       GB
Administrative Email:
Administrative Tel:       +44.1420562777
Technical Name:             Webfusion Limited
Technical Company:       Webfusion Limited
Technical Address:       5 Roundwood Avenue
Technical Address:       Stockley Park
Technical Address:       Uxbridge
Technical Address:       UB11 1FF
Technical Address:       GB
Technical Email:
Technical Tel:             +44.8712309525

Both sites are on the same server anyway....

Domain name:
      environmental-agency.org.uk

Registrant:
      TAD Services

Registrant type:
      UK Individual

Registrant's address:
      Knighton
      West Tisted
      Hants
      SO24 0HJ
      United Kingdom

Registrar:
      Webfusion Ltd t/a 123-reg [Tag = 123-REG]
      URL: http://www.123-reg.co.uk

Relevant dates:
      Registered on: 20-Apr-2012
      Expiry date: 20-Apr-2014
      Last updated: 20-Nov-2012

Registration status:
      Registered until expiry date.

Name servers:
      ns67.1and1.co.uk       217.160.80.173 2001

00fe

0000:d9a0:50ad:0100
ns68.1and1.co.uk 217.160.81.173 2001

00fe

0000:d9a0:51ad:0100

Disclaimer
WHOIS lookup made at 15:06:57 25-Mar-2013

Sneaky

#4

54 other sites on the same server.....

americantravelvisa.com
ausi-visa.com
brookhouseifa.com
AND 51 other domains…

Looks like a loads of quickly made websites to con people out of money.

joffmiester · #5

i think i will just walk over the post office tomorrow

joffmiester · #6

its shocking that these sites can get away with this

#7

Do it online through the proper site matey, Easy peasy.

paul_brown · #8

Got mine and the new Mrs through the EA website.

As Si says.... easy peasy. You get redirected to the post office website and its just a case of entering your renewal number or applying for a new one and entering your detais.

#9

I got an email from EA I just clicked the link and everything was already filled out, just paid for it.