Fellow Ozbargainers, I've come to ask for your advice a silly matter. A family member was completing a Citizenship application online. Being from a different generation and not quite internet savvy, they Googled "Citizenship" and clicked the first Google search result being an ad, it is a website for Immigration Direct, a company registered to Isle of Man. They then proceeded to pay the $160 fee via Visa thinking that this was the the Australian Government citizenship processing fee.
Most people would realise this is not an Australian Government link, nor does it look like a legit Australian Government website. Although this seems like a company that profits by gullibility of unsuspecting people, by providing a "service" (forms that are free from Government website) rather than a data-mining/identity fraud company, I have advised them to cease using the site. To avoid this from happening again, will educate family member and insert ad-blocker on their computer.
Back to the $160 charge, essentially I'm disputing that their "service" to fill out a form is not a service at all given the form is free online from the Australian Government website, nor did they perform any service as the user has to fill out the form themselves. On the other side I can see that they have disclaimed they are not the Australian Government in the website and the fine print of the "Terms and Conditions" of payments does state that these are fees for their services only.
Has anyone an experience with a credit card company on a charge backs? Would this be sufficient causation for "Services not rendered"?
You'd have to prove to the bank that the services you paid for were not rendered, to claim for a chargeback. Applying for a chargeback not long after making the transaction would come across as extremely frivolous to your bank, to the extent that they might see you as trying to get something for free. That is fraud.
Clearly, your family member made the error by not realising that it's not a genuine Government website, and it's good that you acknowledge the family member's error.
But chargebacks don't exist for customer error.
The family member then proceeded to make a payment on their website, which really baffles me. You'd need to have at least some knowledge of online matters to enter CC details and successfully process a transaction, so how did they mistake a totally non-government website as a legitimate government site?
I would strongly suggest that instead of attempting to forcefully recoup the paid funds, that you supervise your family member online and assist him/her in making the correct visa application by themselves. Contrary to popular belief, there is nothing magical these agents will do, which you cannot do yourself.
Don't pay the lazy tax.