Esta

[tearinghair]

Have just received a communication saying that my ESTA is out of date. I checked, and it is, by several months. Filled in all the details and submitted it, was asked for payment. This was then transferred to a Paypal payment (I don't have a Paypal account and don't know how it works). Receipt says that it will show on my statement as Paypal Joyce Smith. No indication as to when I should receive my ESTA, which I think did happen last time. Have I been very stupid, or is this just the way the system works?

[rockyracoon]

I've never received a reminder telling me my ESTA is out of date. There's no way the US government are going to annotate your Paypal payment with Paypal Joan Smith.

How much was the transaction?

[wolf63]

I would say that you have posted this in the right section of AB. I get a few each day from HMRC but they don't have my email address.

Maybe someone will be able to help you to claw it back.

[tearinghair]

£34.99, which sounds about right. I think I had a reminder last time. The receipt put an asterisk by the name Joyce Smith, so I did wonder if that was just an example (clutching at straws here). I sent a message via Contact us, but obviously if it was a scam they're not going to say so. I did ho

[tearinghair]

...continued: hover the mouse over the sender's email address as advised, and it looked OK.

[bednobs]

for just one? Thats way over the top

[tearinghair]

just tried typing in the email address, and it looks as though it's genuine, though not the official US government website and about twice as expensive. I'll keep my fingers crossed. In fact it may have done me a service, as I hadn't realised it was out of date and I may need to go to the US at a moment's notice soon. But I should have checked.

[hc4361]

No doubt you had to give all your personal details? I'd be worried. According to the US government website they don't accept PayPal.

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/esta.html?_flowExecutionKey=_c7BA5F6F2-1123-7A2C-39E5-30D0FEBEAF79_k1B868357-20A1-8CD2-D15E-261762554D64

[hc4361]

Can we have a link to the site you used?

[rockyracoon]

An ESTA is $14

[tearinghair]

Yes, rockyraccoon, the website I so stupidly used does give that figure, but states that its service is much better...the address is esta-cbp-vwp-com
I'm hoping that this is just an occasion to put down to experience because I didn't check properly first, and not a scam. I'm loath to contact the bank and stop my card if it's genuine.

[Ellipsis]

It's a scam, but they may provide a genuine service to you (just a bit expensive). See

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1164/~/esta--ive-been-charged-more-than-$14.00-for-esta,-why%3F

[hc4361]

You won't need to stop your card if you paid by PayPal as PayPal don't give out your card details during the transaction.

If you gave your card details on the website then you do need to stop the card now.

[Hopkirk]

HC, the original poster doesn't have a paypal account

[tearinghair]

Thanks, all, for your advice. I decided to contact the bank and cancel my card. The payment was showing on my account and had been authorised, and they couldn't understand why it was showing as Paypal when I said I don't have a Paypal account. So I guess there are a couple of possibilities: either I shall receive a very expensive Esta or I'll have to apply through the proper channels and mark it down to experience. How stupid am I? Incidentally the address of the 'service' concerned is Luxembourg...

[tearinghair]

I don't think so, Methyl: I'm almost certain i got it from the official US government website. If I remember correctly, it came through by email within two or three hours.

[Ellipsis]

You don't have to have a Paypal account to pay through Paypal - many websites use Paypal as their payment services provider, meaning Paypal just processes your credit or debit card.

Cancelling your card was probably overkill but at least you're sure it now can't be abused.

[jno]

bookmark this for future use

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/

[FrogNog]

You don't pay that much for an ESTA.
Applying for mine recently was much cheaper than that and dead simple.
Sounds like a scam to me.
Here's just about every answer to every question about ESTA :)

https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/WebHelp/ESTA_Screen-Level_Online_Help_1.htm

[tearinghair]

Have just received an email telling me that my visa waiver application is approved. I checked with the official US government website using the reference number given, and all seems in order. So apart from stupidly paying three times as much as I needed to, it's OK; and I shall be short of cash until next week when my new bank card arrives!

many thanks to all of you, for comments and advice.