DECEPTIVE ADVERTISING VISA IN VIETNAM SERVICE
IT NEEDS TO BE CLARIFIED: the webpage picture above is NOT the one for Vietnam specifically. I did business with the Vietnam provider at the portal for vietnam: gov dot online slash vietnam. This matters because the main page (listed here) gives some information that was not provided on the Vietnam page, which is misleading.
The website page for Vietnam states it's for visa applications but (this is hidden) there's a 4 to 6 times markup (400% to 600% as compared to the National Vietnam website).
This website proclaims (see upper banner on home page) that it's an official vietnam government service. It also turned up that way on the google search. Please note the page for Vietnam.
There was no indication that this is a third-party agency that functions as an intermediary to apply for visas in Vietnam.
Thus, I went through and paid $150 for a visa. I then (10 minutes later) immediately recognized my mistake. I saw that the National Vietnam e-visa service charges $25 for a visa. Consumers have a right to a refund.
I contacted the site (but it was hard to find their contact information on the website!-- as there was no readily available contact button but there was a chatbot and email address, rather hidden but I did finally find a contact address) and immediately canceled and asked for a refund.
NOTE: The site webpage is gov dot online plus slash vietnam - that 's the webpage that turned up on the search where I did business. The review applies to the Vietnam service.
Later they contacted me and there was a link on their email claiming that no refunds or disputes or cancellations are permitted-- however this was not stated on the website. There's also a disclaimer on their email saying they are a third-party visa agency, but this was not stated on the webpage --(oh, I looked again, look at that, tiny letters at the very bottom of the page in faint script saying that but the upper banner proclaims it's the official Vietnam government site).
These are deceptive tactics. I've disputed the charge with my credit card and hopefully they will reverse. The credit card charge is recorded in the location of Dubai (offshore). There are consumer resources to protect against schemes like this.
If you legitimately want this service, go ahead and do it. But if like me you do business with a provider, under false expectations having been misled as to the nature of that service, then the business is obliged to refund and correct the mistake (otherwise, it's cheating on their part).
I only got a form letter reply from this service, never a direct answer to my queries and cancellation requests.
Please also note that the webpage tries to imitate and copy the genuine National Vietnam visa portal, so much so that it's hard to notice the differences. Here's the official site: evisa dot gov dot vn and compare both web address and the actual layout and color scheme of the fraudulent site, including the banner stating it's the official site!