GHIC and passport applications, pensions tracing: services you should never pay for

Hiring an ‘expert’ to handle these issues for you is simply a waste of money.

Unlike Michael Gove, I’m not sure we really have had enough of experts.

In fact, I’m rather fond of making use of the expertise of people who understand a specific issue better than I do.

However, there are plenty of occasions when making use of a supposed expert for help with a particular service is not only a waste of time, it’s also a waste of money. Here are just a few services that you should never pay for.

Applying for a GHIC

The Global Health Insurance Card, or GHIC, is the post-Brexit replacement for the old EHIC, which was a staple of any trip to the continent.

The card entitled holders to state healthcare for free, or at least at a reduced cost, in EU countries as well as Switzerland and it’s a crucial consideration before any trip. After all, healthcare outside of the UK can end up costing you an absolute packet.

Applying for one is incredibly easy too ‒ you can do it on the NHS website, absolutely free. However, for years there have been firms advertising their wares online, promising to handle the whole thing for you in return for a fee.

It’s a complete racket, getting you to pay money for something that you can handle yourself in a matter of minutes.

It’s worth emphasising though that the GHIC, like the EHIC before it, should be seen as a complement to ‒ and not a replacement for ‒ proper travel insurance.

EHIC replacement: What does the GHIC cover?

Finding an old pension

The workplace pension scheme has been really effective at encouraging more people to engage with pension saving, but given the way that people move between employers today it means that by the time we retire many of us will have a handful of different workplace pensions on the go.

As a result, it’s all too easy for one to slip through the cracks.

The Government has its own pension tracing service to help you try to reconnect with an old pension, while there are other free services available that do the same thing.

However, some wily firms have spotted a chance to turn this into a bit of an earner and charge you for it.

Pension tracing: how to find your old pensions

Getting debt advice

Falling into problem debt can be a serious issue, and lead not only to difficulties with your money but your mental health as well. What’s more, since the pandemic, far more people have been exposed to this level of money worries.

As a result, getting some advice from an expert about how to tackle that debt and get your finances ‒ and likely your health ‒ into better shape is a really good idea. 

Best of all, some of the top debt charities don’t charge anything for their services. Making use of these advisers, rather than a firm that will charge you, makes a lot of sense to me.

Where to get free debt advice

Contacting the DVLA

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) issued a warning earlier this year about people being ripped off by paying third parties to contact the agency on their behalf.

There is a host of reasons drivers might need to do so, such as changing the address on their licence, renewing that licence, or changing the address on a vehicle registration certificate.

However, the DVLA said that since January 2020 it has been contacted by more than 1,200 people who ended up having to pay for these services as a result of going through non-DVLA affiliated firms, rather than directly to the agency.

In many cases, the services are completely free if you go through the DVLA itself. Using a copycat firm offers no additional benefits, it just costs you cash.

Renewing your passport

Now that international travel is opening up again, your thoughts may be turning to once again heading overseas. There’s just one problem ‒ your passport has expired.

Getting your passport renewed is relatively straightforward if you do it directly through the passport service.

However, a cottage industry has sprung up of firms promising to handle the whole thing for you, even including ‘checking’ your application to ensure it will be approved. Essentially they ae charging you cash for sending in a form on your behalf.

These services don’t improve your chances of a successful application at all ‒ be sure to read the requirements yourself and you’ll be absolutely fine, and you won’t have handed over cash to some rip-off merchant either.

Complaining

There will inevitably be times when the businesses we use let us down. And rather than simply stand for it, it’s important to complain, so that they understand where they have gone wrong and can fix their processes in future.

But do you need help with making a successful complaint?

According to the most recent data from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), using a claims management firm when making a complaint is far from useful.

It revealed that a massive 73% of complaints made on behalf of customers by claims management firms were unsuccessful.

By contrast, 41% of non-PPI related claims which were put forward by the customer themselves were successful.

This is even more worrying when you consider some of those claims firms will be charging an up-front fee for their ‘services’.

However, if you need help with a complaint, you can get it for free.

Resolver is an excellent free service that I’ve used myself which can help you with complaint templates and the tracking of responses from the firm you’re complaining too.

Getting help with a complaint doesn’t have to cost you a penny.