Clicking on a Google Ad instead of Australian Government Website

Fellow Ozbargainers, I've come to ask for your advice a silly matter. A family member was completing a Citizenship application online. Being from a different generation and not quite internet savvy, they Googled "Citizenship" and clicked the first Google search result being an ad, it is a website for Immigration Direct, a company registered to Isle of Man. They then proceeded to pay the $160 fee via Visa thinking that this was the the Australian Government citizenship processing fee.

Most people would realise this is not an Australian Government link, nor does it look like a legit Australian Government website. Although this seems like a company that profits by gullibility of unsuspecting people, by providing a "service" (forms that are free from Government website) rather than a data-mining/identity fraud company, I have advised them to cease using the site. To avoid this from happening again, will educate family member and insert ad-blocker on their computer.

Back to the $160 charge, essentially I'm disputing that their "service" to fill out a form is not a service at all given the form is free online from the Australian Government website, nor did they perform any service as the user has to fill out the form themselves. On the other side I can see that they have disclaimed they are not the Australian Government in the website and the fine print of the "Terms and Conditions" of payments does state that these are fees for their services only.

Has anyone an experience with a credit card company on a charge backs? Would this be sufficient causation for "Services not rendered"?

Comments

  • You'd have to prove to the bank that the services you paid for were not rendered, to claim for a chargeback. Applying for a chargeback not long after making the transaction would come across as extremely frivolous to your bank, to the extent that they might see you as trying to get something for free. That is fraud.

    Most people would realise this is not an Australian Government link, nor does it look like a legit Australian Government website.

    They then proceeded to pay the $160 fee via Visa thinking that this was the the Australian Government citizenship processing fee.

    Clearly, your family member made the error by not realising that it's not a genuine Government website, and it's good that you acknowledge the family member's error.

    But chargebacks don't exist for customer error.

    The family member then proceeded to make a payment on their website, which really baffles me. You'd need to have at least some knowledge of online matters to enter CC details and successfully process a transaction, so how did they mistake a totally non-government website as a legitimate government site?

    I would strongly suggest that instead of attempting to forcefully recoup the paid funds, that you supervise your family member online and assist him/her in making the correct visa application by themselves. Contrary to popular belief, there is nothing magical these agents will do, which you cannot do yourself.

    Don't pay the lazy tax.

  • https://www.consumeraffairs.com/legal/immigrationdirect.html

    Sounds like you're dealing with quite possibly the biggest scumbags on earth. Appears that they take advantage of people who aren't used to Internet browsing using Google ads and have taken a lot of money from people trying to fill out a citizenship application form.

    Also do the world a favour and make sure they get banned from Google's advertising platform
    https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/93713?hl=en

    • +1

      They're based in Isle of Man, so well out of the reaches of toothless Australian authorities.

      Besides, the website isn't doing anything wrong. It's not fraudulently claiming to be an Australian Government website, nor is it offering anything illegal, offensive, dangerous or fraudulent. Targeting a business towards gullible people in itself is no crime.

      There is a serious demand for immigration agents for some odd reason, and it is commonly believed in non-Australian settings that you must engage such an agent to either lodge your visa application, or that engaging an agent miraculously gets visas quicker.

      That train of thought is wrong, and as soon as visa applicants realise this, the sooner they'll be out of business.

      the fine print of the "Terms and Conditions" of payments does state that these are fees for their services only.

      And with that disclaimer alone, it's proven that their business, perhaps unethical, is perfectly legal.

  • Reminds me of the ato etax program, and someone calling their business etax and popping up first in Google search. I'm sure they get lots of people fooled.

  • Happens with lots of government forms in all settings. A student of mine was lucky she didn't understand what she was reading in her application for a tax file number and came to check with me - or she'd be shelling out $$$ for what is otherwise a free service using the correct website. A family member almost paid through the nose for the privilege of somebody lodging the form for his USA ESTA/visa waiver application.

    The only solution is education and remaining alert.

  • Just contact the credit card provider. They deal with all this crazy interweb stuff all the time.

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