This is nothing new, but every year people fall victim to fake rod licence sites. There were fake rod licence sites around last year and no doubt there will be next year, but people are still being scammed out of their hard earned cash!
Now then, let’s just clarify what is meant by ‘Fake’ .
There are several websites that have set themselves up to play a completely unnecessary role of the middleman in the straight forward procedure of obtaining a licence.
On top of the standard Rod Licence price (which this year (2012) costs £27 for Trout & Coarse Fish,) these websites will charge you a ridiculous administration fee for ‘checking’ and passing your details onto the EA/Post Office for your licence.
Oh, and did I mention that this is quite possibly the best outcome if you are unfortunate enough to have been duped by one of these sites?
Let’s not forget that there’s always a chance these type of websites are looking to harvest your bank details and other personal information for exploitation!
The only websites you should buy your licence from is the Post Office or Environment Agency sites. For a Trout & Coarse Fishing Licence you should pay £27.
The EA is aware that this kind of scam practice is prevalent and has issued its own warnings out to anglers. The fear is that new anglers are particularly vulnerable so if you have come across any of these types of scam site please mention them in the comments at the bottom of the page, and help get the word out to anglers you know through the social media buttons below. The sooner we all know the better.
Purchased my husbands licence from RFL, didn’t realise this wasn’t the official site to get a fishing licence. Was charged £47, tried to call to say I had made a mistake but calls went unanswered. Have emailed 3 times and still no reply and no licence yet. Anglers BEWARE!
Sorry to hear about that Louise, you’re certainly not the only one to purchase through rodfishinglicence. Hopefully your experience will prevent it happening to others!
Got caught out this year,recieved an e-mail from Gov,UK reminding me my licence was due. It all looked legit with bthe crown logo on it. I filled the form and only at the end when the charge was £30 instead of the usual £27 did I smell a rat. They did send an acknowledgement and detailsa of my licence number (which I havent recieved yet. The full website address is https://get-fishing-licence-service.gov.uk
What worries me is that these people have obviously accessed the Environment Agencies software to get my details, also if the Agency is accepting payment via thses people are they not assisting them!!
Hi thanks for posting this I paid by pay pal for a salmon license 128 pounds when it is only 82 pounds from e a which I thought I was dealing with got a refund keep emailing them
Hi thanks for posting this I paid by pay pal for a salmon license 128 pounds when it is only 82 pounds from e a which I thought I was dealing with got a refund keep emailing them
Just got scammed massively! A company called frl “fishing rod licens” don’t know what I was thinking!! Can’t belive it! Have messaged the company 5 times demanding my money back but they have ingnored me! There’s 60 pounds I will never see again! Also worried as they now have my bank details!
I tried to buy a fishing license from fishing and rod licenses.com this week, thinking I was on the environment agency site. They took £35.00 from me and no fishing license. I certainly learned the hard way.
Google search for “fishing licence” yields 3 scammer results before you get to the proper “gov” site
I have just unfortunately fell for this scam by RODANDFISHINGLICENCE.co.uk, because I was in a hurry, but when you search for Fishing Licence on line why do these sites come top of the list, the genuine sites are about forth or fifth on the list, this can not be coincidence.
Hi Patrick,
That’s a very good point.
Often the top results are paid/sponsored adverts made by websites such as the one you mention. It’s unfortunate that this is allowed by search engines.
Always remember to buy your fishing licence from the Post Office or Environment Agency.