Caution: UK ETA App(s)

[ronandannette]

I just avoided being taken advantage of in my ignorance, and thought this information might be helpful to others. In the process of applying for a UK ETA for our upcoming trip to London, I followed the UK government website instructions to download "the App" off the App Store. I searched and clicked on the first one that came up assuming it was the correct one - it certainly looked official enough. I then went through all the steps to upload the necessary data and proceed to the payment page. The total came to $269 CAD per person. This made me go as the government website had mentioned 16GBS per person as the price. It turns out I had downloaded a third-party broker site that was adding in their own exorbitant fees. I immediately terminated the transaction, deleted the App and went back to the App Store to check again for the correct, official UK government one, which is called UK ETA and it's icon is a blue and green crown on a white background. I completed the process properly through that App and all is well, with me still having $500+ bucks in my pocket.

 

[ottawamom]

Thanks for the warning. I have to do that soon as well. How long did your approval take? I want to put it off as long as possible to get a few trips in.

I just check the app I downloaded. I had picked the one with the blue and green crown on a white background. Thanks again for the warning.

 

[ronandannette]

Thanks for the warning. I have to do that soon as well. How long did your approval take? I want to put it off as long as possible to get a few trips in.

Wow - I made the applications last night around 9:00 pm. Your post nudged me to check my email just now and sure enough, the approvals are there already, time-stamped at 9:36 pm. That’s much quicker than I expected it to be. My guess is the process is fully automated and as long as your answers to the questions don’t red-flag anything, the approval is pretty much instant once the payment goes through.

 

[pkondz]

This one

 

[bcwife76]

Thank you for the warning, glad you figured it out in time! My husband and I are going to England and Wales in August and I just checked the app I have downloaded (as we have not done the ETA yet) and thankfully it's the "good one" you mentioned. Ugh, so many scammers out there