Took a £40 deposit
Took a £40 deposit, never booked the appointment, and 3 months later still no refund.
What happened:
• 11 April 2026 – Paid a £40 deposit by bank transfer, to an account in the name of WOW FARE LTD, and sent the receipt immediately.
• 11–14 April – Completed their application form; they returned a filled version for me to check.
• 20 April – Told my application was "submitted to the visa centre, waiting for them to book the appointment".
• The appointment was never booked. My travel dates came and went.
• 30 April – I requested a refund, as the service was not delivered.
• 18 May – "I'll forward your request to our accounting dept."
• 29 May – "Your designated agent is not available, he'll be there Monday."
• 6 June – "Working on it." / "We're waiting for the refund from the visa centre."
• My messages on 29 June, 6 July and 12 July went unanswered.
What I found afterwards, which anyone can verify for free:
• The website advertises "7 Years of Experience". WOW FARE LTD (company number 16972922) was incorporated on 19 January 2026 — less than three months before I paid. Anyone can check this on the Companies House website.
• The contact address on the website is the same as the company's registered office: 61 Bridge Street, Kington HR5 3DJ.
• The customer testimonials on the site sit under a heading that still contains the placeholder text "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet...", next to stock photographs.
• The site displays no company registration number, no VAT number, no terms and conditions and no refund policy.
• Three different names are used across the process: the website, the WhatsApp account and the bank account are all named differently.
I still have the complete WhatsApp history and the bank transfer receipt. My advice: check any visa agent on Companies House before you pay, never pay by bank transfer, and deal with the official visa centre directly.