Google search for passport website brought up US Passport Now website which looks official with passport logos and everything (!). Several misspellings on the website should have been the tipoff.
Here's how this website works:

Step 1: Provide name and DOB

Step 2: Provide credit card information and pay for expedited service ($129).

Step 3: Now, get information that you need to FEDEX all your passport information to US Passport Now and they will process the passport for you. No guarantee that you will get the passport in the amount of time you paid for because it depends on when you send your information to them and when they get around to processing it.

Step 4: Realize you've been ripped off because you could have done all this for FREE at the local post office.

Step 5: Check for confirmation email from US Passport Now with "Case Number" and instructions to cancel service. There is a $50.00 nonrefundable fee if you cancel within 24 hours. Otherwise, you're stuck with the whole bill. Here are the details: New Passport - Expedited Service

$49.00; Non-Refundable Processing Fee

--(This will show up on your credit card statement as a seperate charge)--

$50.00; FedEx Return Shipping

$30.00; Total* $129.00. (BTW: that's their spelling of "separate.")

Step 6: Call w/in 24 hours to cancel the service and stay on hold for over 30 minutes.

Step 7: Go to cancel services via email on their website: See note that to cancel service you MUST speak to a live person whom you cannot reach because no one will answer the phone.

Step 8: Feel like an idiot because you realize you've just given away your credit card number.

Step 9: Call credit card company to tell them you've been ripped off.

Step 10: Realize you're mired in a mess.

Stay away from this website. These guys are crooks.

Click Here to read other Ripoff Reports on US Passport Now

6 Updates & Rebuttals

Inspector

Tobyhanna,
Pennsylvania,
USA

Not illegal...

#2Consumer Comment

Thu, December 29, 2011

but there is a lot of personal information when applying for a passport I would not give to a third party just so I don't have to do any paperwork. Be careful!

Steven

Jacksonville,
Florida,
U.S.A.

They are not doing anything illegal.

#3Consumer Comment

Thu, December 29, 2011

What is not legit about it? For some reason people are always willing to pay a 3rd party to do something they don't care to bother to try to do themselves. There are companies that operate in some states that will renew your drivers license for you for a nominal fee. People can easily do that online themselves so why pay extra for someone else to do it for you?

People pay companies to pick up their take out orders and bring it to their homes.

I would imagine there are people who get paid merely to refer people to others that can help them with just about anything and everything so what is wrong about someone claiming they can expedite your passport application when you can do that yourself. Last I heard buyers remorse is hardly grounds to scream ripoff.

Currently the State Department is reporting that it takes 2 to 3 weeks even for an expedited passport request. But I did notice that the Passport agency in Miami does issue a passport card onsite so it is possible that if someone walks into their offices after making an appointment they could get a card for the applicant while the regular passport is being completed and you can use a Passport Card in lieu of a passport depending on where you are going. I did notice that the Western Passport office in Tucson can do this also.

Flynrider

Phoenix,
Arizona,
USA

Interesting.

#4Consumer Comment

Thu, December 29, 2011

I guess it would depend on one's definition of "legit". I will say that the site appears to exist only to attract those who click on whatever is returned by their search engine, and who don't pay any attention to where it takes them. The notion that this site could be confused for the official State Dept. site is absurd, except to those who only look at pictures. Geez, it says right below the name of the company : "America's Passport Expediting Company" What part of that sounds like the U.S. Government?

On the other hand, the notion that introducing a third party between yourself and the State Dept. will speed things up seems out there. The State Dept. does not give special consideration to applications submitted through this website. If you order expedited service directly on the State Dept.'s passport renewal site, you'll get it just as quickly. I'm hard pressed to guess what value is added by using this service.

It all looks quite legal. If that's legit in your book, then they're legit.

Steven

Jacksonville,
Florida,
U.S.A.

So then he is legit

#5Consumer Comment

Wed, December 28, 2011

Livetotell.. Let me put it this way. US Passport Now is in fact a legitimate company that processes applications for passports and renewals. As long as they send you a passport there is no reason to prosecute them.

Since you are putting a middleman into the process you should realize that the time it takes to process your application depends on how long it takes the government to process your passport and give it back to them to send to you.

True enough you could have saved yourself this headache by going to the State Department website and getting this information yourself but you elected to just go by the results of the Google search (or whatever search engine you used) that happen to display the paid services above the State Departments own website.

You should probably know up front that sometimes the State Department may not be able to process your request as soon as you would like it done and even though you may pay THEM for expedited service you may not get it either depending on how many other passport applicants are requesting expedited service.

live2tell

baltimore,
Maryland,
United States of America

UPDATE to US PASSPORT NOW

#6Author of original report

Wed, December 28, 2011

I did some more research on US Passport Now and found the owner located in Glendale, California. He's an "immigration consultant," and owns another company specializing in passports and visas under the name of Omega Business Services. Here's the address: Omega Business Services, Inc., 331-A N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, CA 91203

Here's the link to this guy: http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/sf/bond_search/bondsearch.aspx?id=2029-57BSBFQ4053

BTW, his other business is Active Collection Services, Inc.

Ken

Colorado,
USA