U.S. PassportOnline.com
Deceptive Advertising and "Cancellation Fee" Scam

This company, which purports to be a company through which one can renew a passport online, is really a front for a credit card scam. The goal of the company is to retrieve credit card information, which it then uses to charge an exorbitant fee for its supposed services, imposing a cancellation fee on anyone who has the presence of mind to immediately terminate the transaction.

I filled out the information necessary to renew a US Passport, for which the fees charged amounted to about $150. After giving this information, I discovered that what I had actually paid for was a "checklist" of information that I would have to send to the government, through this company, with an additional check made out to the government for approximately $200!

Naturally, I called up to terminate the transaction immediately. The young woman who answered the phone informed me I would be charged a $45 "cancellation fee." When I told her I had no intention of giving them a cent, she became immediately hostile, telling me that I should have read the terms and conditions more thoroughly before using the service (understand that I called to cancel this transaction within minutes of having made it).

I asked to speak to a manager, and was told that managers do not work on Saturdays. The young woman continued her belligerance and we had words, after which she hung up on me. When I called back, the person I talked to said she was a manager, that my transaction had been cancelled, and threatened to "file a lawsuit" if I didn't stop harassing them.

Now I'm put to the trouble of tracing this transaction through my bank on Monday. The cancellation notice says that I will not receive a refund for 12-15 days, and that there will be a $45 fee for the cancellation.

There is no business in the world that can't simply void a credit transaction within a few minutes of its having been made. I'm convinced that the $45 cancellation fee is there explicitly to allow this company to make money from people who think that they are paying fees for a passport renewal and find that they must still pay the government fees on top of the amount they are paying to this company.

The impression one has on dealing with this company is that it is comprised of a small number of people working out of a single office, making themselves "middle men" in a transaction where no middle man is required, and charging exorbitant fees for simply forwarding applications to the government (if indeed they can even be trusted to do that).

Stay away from these people. They're liars and scam artists.

Company: U.S. PassportOnline.com
Country: USA
State: Florida
Address: 3309 Northlake Blvd
Phone: 8667371344
Site: uspassportonline.com

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