A holidaymaker discovered he was being charged a fortune every few months after using a website to get a visa to Canada. Denis Mann, from Chelmsford, Essex, was flying from New York to London in May when he realised his flight was making a stop in Canada.
The journey would take him into Montreal, in Quebec, but he wouldn't be leaving the terminal and would proceed to his next flight to London within the airport. However, the weary traveller realised at the last minute that he would need an ETA visa in order to land in Canada.
Often countries will allow passengers to alight in the airport for a connecting flight without needing a visa or entry pass. However, this was not the case in Canada and Denis had to get a visa quickly in order to be able to go home to the UK.
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In the middle of the night, sleep-deprived and panicked he managed to secure the ETA using a website he found online. But, not paying attention to the terms and conditions of the second-party site he used would come back to bite him.
Denis Mann told Daily Star: "I needed an urgent visa for Canada when my plane from New York to London ended up going via Montreal, even though I would never leave the terminal. I didn't realise I needed the ETA until I checked in for the flight.
"I made the application in the middle of the night when I was jet lagged, very tired and a bit panicky as I was flying in a few hours' time. I ended up using a website called my-trip-online.com which did the job, at a premium.
"But you had to tick a box saying you were joining the website. What I didn't realise was that it charges you 89 dollars (£73) every three months for concierge services and you had only three days to unregister."
Unfortunately, Denis ended up shelling out well over £100 for the experience. All because of the unusual charge from the website.
He commented: "The first payment passed me by as it was among lots of other charges from my New York trip. I queried the second this month when it came up on my credit card bill.
"My-trip-online has refused my requests for refunds saying I ticked the box. I've disputed the fee with my credit card and had to go through the aggro of getting a new card.
"It's at the very least sharp practice. I've paid nearly £150 for nothing whatsoever and the customer service is appalling.
"Looking online, I've noticed hundreds of one-star reviews from other travellers who feel they've been ripped off and warn others of a 'scam'."
It's always wise to check any websites used for official documents on places like Trust Pilot before signing up. Though we can understand that tired, jet-lagged passengers might be caught out.
Denis hopes that nobody else will be left out of pocket by the website, warning: "Other travellers should be warned how ticking the wrong box for a £7 visa can leave them hundreds of pounds out of pocket."
He added: "The company, which appears to be run by Eudialyte Ltd in Nicosia, Cyprus, has repeatedly rebuffed my pleas for a senior officer to comment. Their CEO appears to be Evgenios Charalampous, but I could confirm very little about them."
When going through any visa process it's always wise to go to the country's official visa page – for Canada this is canada.ca. You can also research the requirements and further information on the UK's government website gov.uk.
My-trip-online.com was contacted for comment.
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