Holiday-makers are being warned to be wary of paying unnecessary fees for travel documents this summer.
Bath and North East Somerset Council is advising people not to be fooled by businesses offering help with passports and health insurance cards through unofficial online application processes.
The authority said the businesses in question are not operating illegally and typically will state in their terms and conditions that they are unofficial websites.
However, consumers can mistake these businesses for official Government services because their names typically appear above official websites on internet search engines.
According to the council a couple from Stanton Drew in Somerset fell victim to an offer.
They ended up paying twice for their passport renewals.
A private company charged them £68 for a check and send service, which is normally free, but then they received a letter from the official Identity and Passport Service (IPS) requesting the official passport fees of £72.50 each.
Councillor David Dixon (Lib Dem, Oldfield), cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said: "B&NES Council's trading standards team wants to ensure that consumers don't unwittingly mistake these business websites for official application websites.
"Such businesses usually charge additional fees, making the application process more costly for consumers.
"In some cases they charge fees to process the applications of documents that are free to obtain through the official website.
"We want consumers to be aware that these businesses are not doing anything that a consumer could not do for themselves.
"In some cases these businesses have simply duplicated the official online application process."
The Citizens Advice Consumer Service provides free, confidential and impartial advice on consumer issues.
Visit www.adviceguide.org.uk or call 08454 040506.