Google have removed a site which was charging people for tax disc transactions when there is no charge on the official site.
Unfortunate motorists have found themselves to be victims of a website scam which asks them for a £40 service fee when purchasing a tax disc. Those who produced the site were careful to make it almost identical to that of the government and their page was appearing at the top of search listings as a Google advert until it was discovered to be fake. Car owners are being urged to be vigilant when using such services online.
The government’s official site taxdisc.direct.gov.uk makes no such charges and only takes payment of the cost of the tax disc itself. A DVLA spokesperson said: "Several organisations have a role to prevent websites making misleading claims. The Government is working, and will continue to work, with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the National Trading Standards Board (NTSB), Which? and search engine providers such as Google, to raise awareness of this issue and to ensure enforcement action is taken where appropriate."
The Department for Business are aware of how sites are portraying themselves as official government services and are working to prevent it happening in future. They have set aside an additional £120,000 for the National Trading Standards Board to help identify the sites and take action against them.
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