Holly Hamilton explained the situation on BBC Morning Live (Image: BBC)
BBC presenter Holly Hamilton featured on Morning Live on 8 July to warn travellers about some emerging traps they might not know about when arranging flights abroad. The concern revolves around Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTAs), which UK passport holders must secure before travelling to certain countries such as the US, Canada, and Australia.
A recent investigation by MSE uncovered that Sherpa, a third-party website that passengers are sent to when booking through BA, has been imposing administration fees on top of the official costs for these permits, some of which were actually free in the first place.
The BBC presenter confirmed that BA is not the only airline sending passengers to third-party sites to help with travel documentation. However, she also warned that those trying to complete their ESTA independently to avoid these extra charges could face an entirely different risk of ending up on ‘unauthorised’ websites.
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.”
Travellers can complete the ESTA process themselves by visiting the relevant government website directly. While each government sets its own charges for ESTAs, all of these fees were found to be lower than those charged by Sherpa.
For example, the official government charge for a US ESTA was £30.16 according to the BBC, while Sherpa’s charge stood at £51.43. In some instances, such as Australia, the eVisitor permit is provided by the Australian government at no cost, whereas Sherpa imposed a charge of £16.52.
Holly remarked: “So you’re essentially paying for them to do a bit of admin for you.”
The journalist highlighted that these permits and forms are intended to be simple enough for any traveller to fill in themselves. She recommended: “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 those wanting to manage the process themselves, Holly provided an additional 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 addressed the investigations, stating: “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.”
The company added: “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.”
In a previous statement to MSE, BA also commented: “We serve customers travelling 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.”