GovAssist are scammers. They debited R2517.88 on the 18th & 23rd of March and R3626 on the 21st of March 2024, without my authority. AdrianP promised to refund it. They still haven't refunded. They send reviews themselves as if they are a good company to deceive people.
RM
RAMOS/MARYANN P.
Omg they just charged me $190 dollars…
Omg they just charged me $190 dollars what’s this ????why they doing this ???😩😩😩😩🥹
ME
maxim E.
Scammers of the worst kind.
Scammers of the worst kind.
EC
Emma C.
Scam - what to do if you have fallen for it
I have written this review to hopefully help others out who have been scammed by showing the process of damage control post scam.
There is a legit GovAssist LLC site (or seemingly legit if you trust the positive reviews for the trustpilot page of that site) that also charge $89 for a US ESTA. Whilst possibly not a scam, they do charge an unnecessarily high cost - you can get the same ESTA for $21 (my partner did this one via the official government site and got his visa back in an hour and a half, site is: esta.cbp.dhs.gov).
HOWEVER, there is another 'GovAssist' or 'Visa GovAssist' site that does not have LLC in it's title, which is definitely a scam. I went into full on panic mode when I realised it was a scam as they have taken a whole bunch of personal details including my address, passport details (and my daughter's), bank card details on payment, work details, social media handles and so on.
If you have fallen for this scam, don't feel stupid, scams are designed to trick people. I personally have never applied for a visa before so just took the first site as legit because it was sponsored by Google. I think it's disgraceful that Google are making money out of this and they should take the site down.
ANYWAY, onto damage control, I did the following after realising I'd fallen for a scam:
- reported to the fraud department, in the UK it's Action Fraud UK and you can find the site linked to by official UK sites so you know its legit if you're suddenly feeling nervous to input data online. You can also phone them to report it.
- reported bank card as stolen so they can't take anymore payments
- cancel passports - obviously this is very stressful potentially if you've left it late to apply for a visa. Most UK passports go through and get returned within a week, you can go the emergency passport route to apply for a new one if you've got days to go before your trip. You may decide not to cancel straight away - I'm just going off of what the HM Passport Service advised as bank accounts and other things can be set up with a valid passport.
- unfortunately there is nothing I can do about them having my address, we're moving soon thankfully but still feels like such an invasion :(
- change handles and passwords on social media pages you linked or provided
- notify anyone whose email you provided for your emergency contact to ignore any emails or calls from visa services
- report the website as fraudulent to Google
This all created so much admin and stress and worry. I'm so sorry if you too have fallen for this scam. I hope this review helps prevent people falling for it/helps them do damage control if they have fallen for it.
MJ
Mark J.
Don’t use govassist as you pay $89 rather than $21
Although not a scam I used this to apply for an esta to USA at a cost of $89
I could have done it via USA official application for $21
Do not use this website and apply directly- I think google are partly responsible as this comes up as top hit if you type in ESTA
ST
Stewart
Fraudulent company
Fraudulent company, these people put themselves at the top of ESTA searches for the US with google ads and charge 10 times the price of an application. They promise a 3 hour ESTA but actually only SUBMIT your application in three hours, whereas doing it on the government website does it instantly.
Deceitful marketing, rip off prices. Basically praying that you don't realize its not a government site.
LP
Louise P.
VISA ESTA IS NOT 89$
VISA ESTA IS NOT 89$.
They make you think it’s a real gov website. A Visa ESTA VISA waiver is only 21$ on the real website. You enter the same information on the real US web, easy. DONT USE GOVASSIST
MM
Melik M.
SCAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SCAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WASTED 89 USD FOR THIS SHHHIIII........
REAL ESTA COSTS 21 USD.