Be wary with web passport services
Judy Csillag lost her passport when her car was broken into last year. She was on vacation outside Canada and had to wait for papers to be able to return.
Once home, she did a Google search to find a passport office near her and ended up at PassportOnline.ca, a privately-owned company that helps with processing the paperwork.
“Being a busy working woman, I filed my application and sent in my photos. A few days later, I was asked if I wanted to file for a Nexus pass. I agreed.”
The Nexus pass, which speeds up travel to the United States, costs $50 when applied for at the Canadian government’s Nexus website.
It costs $120 to get a Canadian passport that expires in five years and $160 for a 10-year passport when you apply by mail within Canada. The processing time is 20 business days, which doesn’t include mailing time.
Csillag thought she’d pay $170 in total for a five-year passport and Nexus pass. She didn’t realize the site she found online was not the Canadian government’s passport application service.
“When I received my Visa statement, I saw that I was charged $216.96 for the passport and $310.75 for the Nexus pass,” she said.
She called to protest, but there was no redress. The company told her that it was a third-party supplier and the fees were non-refundable.
“I learned an expensive lesson in reading the fine print,” she says.
“On top of all that, since they wanted an original copy of my citizenship papers, they returned the entire package and told me to take it to the passport office and file the application myself.”
Google can help when you need information in a hurry. But its policy of featuring paid listings more prominently than other listings can confuse you.
When I did a Google search for Canadian passport renewal, the first site that came up was that of a private company, PassportExpress.ca.
“We simplify the process of completing passport forms online using our advanced document editor,” it said.
You have to click through to find the fees — a flat $192 plus tax for each service (applying for a new Canadian passport, renewing a Canadian passport or getting a child’s Canadian passport).
Below is a disclaimer that “government fees are additional and are paid once your application has been sent to Passport Canada.”
Csillag had assumed that private companies couldn’t operate this way.
“I was enraged. How could the Canadian government allow third-party intervention on something as securityfocused as a passport?” she asked.
When I checked the home page at Passportonline.ca, I saw a bold print headline, “Need application assistance? We can help!”
Directly underneath, in lighter print, it says, “PassportOnline.ca is not affiliated with the government.”
Also on the home page, the company says “we do not charge government fees.”
So, what does it charge? I didn’t find a fee schedule, but did find a refund policy — a $75 cancellation fee once the questionnaire is started and $125 cancellation fee for applications mailed out. No refunds for completed applications.
When I forwarded Csillag’s complaint to PassportOnline.ca, I didn’t get a reply.
The Better Business Bureau’s (BBB) website says the Toronto company has been in business for two years. It has an F rating (the lowest) with 107 customer complaints to the BBB and 35 negative reviews.
“This business has a pattern of complaints concerning misleading sales practices,” the BBB says.
“Customers have advised our office that they were directed to PassportOnline.ca via a paid Google ad and, believing the site was the Canadian government, signed up for services.”
The BBB asked the company to correct the underlying reasons for the complaints. On April 17, PassportOnline.ca said it had changed its home page to make it look less like a government website.
As well, clients have to check off a box, indicating they know the service simply facilitates passport applications and charges processing fees separately from any government submission fees. Is such a service really needed? How hard is it to fill out passport forms?
Passport application forms are available online, where you can complete them and print them, said Beatrice Fenelon, a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
“The online form is interactive and helps reduce common mistakes for applicants,” she said.
The federal department has published information on how to protect yourself from passport fraud on its site for many years. It also monitors third-party sites. While Ottawa can pursue action when a third party falsely claims to be re- presenting it, many of these websites clearly indicate they are not associated with the Government of Canada, Fenelon added. My advice: Look for passport programs and services that are consistently identified with an official federal government word mark.
Be careful when providing personal or financial information to any online supplier you do not know. Ask about its privacy policy.
Remember you can cut the processing time to 10 business days if you apply in person to a passport office. And if you have confirmed travel plans, you can get urgent or express passport service at some locations for an extra fee.