The Angling Trust is warning all anglers NOT to buy their licence from the commercial fishingrodlicence.com web site, unless they want to pay an unnecessary extra charge of £14 for checking over their application.  This service is of no real benefit to anglers because the Environment Agency (EA) does not require applications to be checked before submission.  The web site has been set up this year and comes top of a Google search for “Rod Licence”.  In addition to the extra charge, anglers buying their licences from the web site will not be able to go fishing until they receive their licence in the post.  The EA site offers a receipt and reference number which does allow people to fish while they are waiting for the licence to arrive.

The Angling Trust strongly recommends that all freshwater anglers buy their licence direct from the Environment Agency over the phone or via its website at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/recreation/fishing/31497.aspx, or from Post Offices and clearly authorised outlets.  The representative body for all anglers will also be writing to Consumer Direct to complain about the web site and raising the matter with Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon MP and Charles Walker, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Angling Group. 

Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of the Angling Trust said: “This site offers no real extra service, but demands a 50% surcharge on top of the rod licence fee and we urge all anglers to spread the word.  We would encourage members who have concerns about this website to contact Consumer Direct and their MP.  Any unsuspecting new anglers trying to buy their first licence might be put off by the inflated price and decide not to take up fishing.”

For more info about writing to Consumer Direct go to www.oft.gov.uk/consumer-advice/oft-and-cd

To find your MP go to findyourmp.parliament.uk

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Environment Agency Statement:

We are aware of a website that offers a “rod licence application processing service”. It claims to offer “a comprehensive application service for any angler wishing to obtain a rod license.” It will “check over your application, ensuring there are no errors (for example forename switched with surname, lack of capitalisation in your name, and any obvious spelling errors).”

You pay an additional charge for this service, for example, the service charge for processing a full annual coarse and trout licence is £14, which you pay on top of the £27 licence duty.

The Environment Agency has no connection with this website, nor does it endorse its services.
The service appears to be legal, however, we would like to point out that –

a)
the Environment Agency does not require this check when someone buys their licence through the Agency’s website, over the counter at the Post Office or over the phone. An angler only has to give their name, age, proof of concession where necessary, and post-code and house number – a quick address search completes the rest;
b)
when you buy direct from the Environment Agency’s website at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/recreation/fishing/31497.aspx, at the Post Office or over the phone, you only pay the licence duty – you do not pay any additional charge;
c)
when you buy a licence direct from our website at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/recreation/fishing/31497.aspx or over the phone, you are given a licence reference number and receipt. This allows you to go fishing while we send you your licence in the post. We are not aware that this service can provide such an immediate response, so anglers may not be able to go fishing immediately they have paid for their licence.