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СпутникиРНSpaceXРоскосмосNASASome passengers may be paying for a service they can do themselves for free
BBC expert Holly Hamilton took to Morning Live on July 8 to warn travellers about some new pitfalls they might not even realise they’re facing when booking flights abroad. This issue revolves around ETSAs, Electronic System for Travel Authorisation, which UK passport holders need to get into certain countries like the US, Canada and Australia.
A recent MSE investigation found that Sherpa, a third-party site passengers are directed to when booking on BA, has adding administration charges on top of the official prices for these permits which in some cases were actually free to begin with.
The BBC expert assured BA is not the only airline linking to third-party sites to help passengers sort out their travel documents. However, she also warned that people trying to do their ESTA themselves to avoid these admin charges could face an entirely different risk of ending up on ‘unauthorised’ sites.
Holly said: “(An ESTA) is basically an online form that you have to fill in before you go. Sherpa itself is not the ones issuing the permit. Basically, it's doing it for you on your behalf but you're paying for the privilege and you're paying quite a bit more.”
Passengers can do the ESTA process themselves online by going to the relevant government website. Each government has different charges for ESTAs but all of these prices fell below Sherpas.
For example, the government price for a US ESTA was £30.16 according to the BBC while the Sherpa price was £51.43. In some cases, like Austrialia, the eVisitor permit is provided by the Austrlian government for free, while Sherpa charged £16.52.
Holly added: “So you're essentially paying for them to do a bit of admin for you.”
The journalist highlighted that these permits and forms are meant to be straightforward enough that any passenger can fill it out themselves. She said: “Don't assume that you do need a middleman to fill these out. If you are concerned if you do want an extra set of eyes, ask a friend or a family member.
“It's just important for people to realise that it's your choice. Just because it's there doesn't mean you have to click on it.”
For people who do want to tackle the task on their own, Holly had a different word of warning: “Many people do this when they are travelling, particularly to the States and looking for their ESTA application, they'll just search online for the form.
“Please do not do that because it's very easy to click on some of these unauthorised third-party sites ones that might not help you actually fill out the application. They might not hit submit at all, but they will take your money and it can often be a sizable amount.”
Sherpa responded to the investigations: "Those who opt to use Sherpa often do so because they find the government portal confusing, difficult to use, prone to errors and unsupported. Our approach is to simplify the application process and make it more accessible, with 24/7 support, transparency on progress, and an AI supported feature-set that reduces the likelihood of error that would invariably lead to multiple applications needing to be submitted.
"We are transparent about the difference between the government fee and Sherpa's service fee, and depending on the integration we often give the option to go directly to the government system. Before payment, Sherpa provides an itemised receipt showing the different costs, including a government fee and its fee. The latter of which is split between Sherpa and its airline partners."
BA also previously told MSE: “We serve customers traveling to hundreds of different destinations where entry requirements vary by nationality and route taken, with some requirements changing at short notice. We offer an optional third-party service to assist with this and check requirements all in one place, and for some destinations, an optional service to help with applications.
"We make it clear that customers must check the full entry requirements with the relevant government directly. It is clear that Sherpa is a third-party provider and may charge fees, and customers can always apply directly via official government channels."
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