Charged $195 for a document the Thai government provides free — application still "WAITING" 20 days after payment
I paid $195 (Receipt R-2026-095285) for a "Thailand Digital Arrival Card" for 3 travellers, thinking I was on the official government site. I'd searched for the TDAC and clicked a paid ad that led here — nothing made it clear before payment that this was a third-party service, or that the TDAC is completely free at the official Thai Immigration portal (tdac.immigration.go.th). Two things worth knowing before you pay: The TDAC can only be submitted within 72 hours of your arrival date. If your trip is weeks away (mine was), your application will simply sit in "WAITING" status — which their own support confirmed to me in writing — for however long that is. You're paying $195 upfront for something that can't even begin until days before you fly. Their refund policy excludes a "government fee" from any refund calculation. The TDAC has no government fee — it's free — so I asked them to specify what fee was deducted and to whom it was paid. No answer yet. I've requested a full refund, citing their own policy (Section 2.2: service not rendered, since no submission is possible this far from travel). Still waiting on a resolution from their human team as of this review. If you need a TDAC, it takes about 10 minutes for free directly at tdac.immigration.go.th. I wish I'd typed that in myself instead of clicking the ad.