Drone Registration - It’s time for this to stop!

[Maviac]

We get this question a lot too. Other than education, and outlets like your channel, I don't really see a way to stop this. If it's an outright scam, they can be shut down. But so many of these shysters actually register your drone, and you're "only" paying for the stickers they send or the convenience of not having to do it yourself.

Both of which are obviously nonsense. Especially the convenience factor.

I’ve been considering filing a class-action lawsuit against these folks but have been hoping the government would shut them down first. Selling stickers doesn’t mean they’re not committing fraud.

 

[spudster]

As long as they don't make false promises and provide the services they offer, it is not a scam. This not new for TRUST, you see this for everything from birth or death certificates to passports. Does it pray on the uninformed? Could be or some may just think it is easier that way. If the person gets what is promised then there is no fraud.

There are lots of places selling registration stickers for $6 to $13. Is that fraud?

How is this different buying a car (or any other product)? After you buy your car you find that someone else got the same car for a lot less. Is that a scam or fraud? No. Could they have told you that you are paying too much? Sure, but that does not constitute fraud.

 

[RUFFSTUFF]

I just checked about the TRUST certificate. It's not free. $14.99 w/o photo and $24.99 with.

It is 100% free. If you paid more than that you just gave your money away. And there is no picture requirement or a need for one.

You can check all day, many of us have already done it. More than many in fact.

 

[RUFFSTUFF]

As long as they don't make false promises and provide the services they offer, it is not a scam. This not new for TRUST, you see this for everything from birth or death certificates to passports. Does it pray on the uninformed? Could be or some may just think it is easier that way. If the person gets what is promised then there is no fraud.

How is this different buying a car (or any other product)? After you buy your car you find that someone else got the same car for a lot less. Is that a scam or fraud? No. Could they have told you that you are paying too much? Sure, but that does not constitute fraud.

This is what makes it fraud. None of the approved test administrators charge a fee.

 

[blabel75]

When you do a Google search for "register my drone" the first listing (an ad) leads to one of these outfits that overcharges you for the service. Google could help put a stop to it by not allowing these ads. I see lots of ads on YouTube and Google for these rip off schemes. Not necessarily scams per say, but they do pray on the uninformed and lazy.

 

[spudster]

This is what makes it fraud. None of the approved test admin

This is what makes it fraud. None of the approved test administrators charge a fee.

That is not what fraud is. Many business charge a fee to provide services that a person can do themselves for free. Food delivery, grocery shopping, etc. Everyone knows that each of those items can be done personally at no cost but they choose to pay someone to do it for them.

Only if they misrepresent the services they are offering that it might be considered fraud.

 

[RUFFSTUFF]

That is not what fraud is. Many business charge a fee to provide services that a person can do themselves for free. Food delivery, grocery shopping, etc. Everyone knows that each of those items can be done personally at no cost but they choose to pay someone to do it for them.

Only if they misrepresent the services they are offering that it might be considered fraud.

So who writes or "owns" the TRUST exam?

 

[Vic Moss]

So who writes or "owns" the TRUST exam?

The FAA wrote the TRUST language. Each test administrator was given a certain amount of latitude about how they will administer it. But it was a very limited amount of latitude. And no one is allowed to change the look of the TRUST certificate or keep any personal information from the TRUST taker. FlyLegit does just that via Drone U.

 

[RUFFSTUFF]

That is not what fraud is. Many business charge a fee to provide services that a person can do themselves for free. Food delivery, grocery shopping, etc. Everyone knows that each of those items can be done personally at no cost but they choose to pay someone to do it for them.

Only if they misrepresent the services they are offering that it might be considered fraud.

[Comment removed by ADMIN]
I'm actually having trouble finding someone that's charging for the exam... Gotta link?

 

[Vic Moss]

I'm actually having trouble finding someone that's charging for the exam... Gotta link?

No one charges for the TRUST. They are forbidden from doing that by the FAA. If the Test Administrators (TA) charged, they would violate their contract, and be kicked out of the program. The FAA is very clear on this.

And what Drone U/FlyLegit is doing isn't fraud. It's slimy business practice by taking advantage of the less informed. But it isn't fraud. FlyLegit has carefully worded their website as to ensure that they can't be charged with fraud. That company has done many similar things over the last few years when it comes to drone registration, so when TRUST came out, they partnered with a TA in order to do the same thing.

 

[RUFFSTUFF]

We can split hairs all day but to me a scam and fraud are the same. Everyone can certainly believe what they want, but at least one person thinks like me. Thanks Russ, 51stones.

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[blabel75]

No one charges for the TRUST. They are forbidden from doing that by the FAA. If the Test Administrators (TA) charged, they would violate their contract, and be kicked out of the program. The FAA is very clear on this.

And what Drone U/FlyLegit is doing isn't fraud. It's slimy business practice by taking advantage of the less informed. But it isn't fraud. FlyLegit has carefully worded their website as to ensure that they can't be charged with fraud. That company has done many similar things over the last few years when it comes to drone registration, so when TRUST came out, they partnered with a TA in order to do the same thing.

Isn't the TA they are partnering with someone violating their agreement with the FAA? I would suspect the TA is getting some form of payment from Drone U/FlyLegit?

 

[blabel75]

We can split hairs all day but to me a scam and fraud are the same. Everyone can certainly believe what they want, but at least one person thinks like me. Thanks Russ, 51stones.

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Fraud is a legal test, not necessarily a personal opinion.

 

[RUFFSTUFF]

Fraud is a legal test, not necessarily a personal opinion.

True, but you will never get to any legal process without someone first having an opinion that a due process has been violated.

 

[BSauce955]

I get too many messages from my viewers telling me that they paid $40 or more to register their drones. It’s time to put an end to this garbage!

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Wait! I thought it was $50?

 

[Vic Moss]

Isn't the TA they are partnering with someone violating their agreement with the FAA? I would suspect the TA is getting some form of payment from Drone U/FlyLegit?

We don't know if the TA in question if violating their FAA agreement. We do know they shared information with FlyLegit before the FAA embargo was lifted.

 

[RUFFSTUFF]

That is not what fraud is. Many business charge a fee to provide services that a person can do themselves for free. Food delivery, grocery shopping, etc. Everyone knows that each of those items can be done personally at no cost but they choose to pay someone to do it for them.

Only if they misrepresent the services they are offering that it might be considered fraud.

I'm sorry if I said something that offended you. I appreciate your perspective on the matter.

 

[flylegitllc]

I get too many messages from my viewers telling me that they paid $40 or more to register their drones. It’s time to put an end to this garbage!

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Hello fellow drone pilots! I'm the owner of the business being talked about in this thread, which operates under multiple domain names including (links removed by moderator)

I wanted to share with you some information about where we came from and why we do what we do. At the start of the U.S. drone registration system in 2015, there were a lot of “drone registration” scam websites advertising on Google and the other search engines. You would either greatly overpay for your registration from these websites, or you would pay and not even get a registration at all (and good luck trying to get a refund!). I saw this as an opportunity to make a difference by stepping in to actually get new drone pilots the registration they needed, without grossly overcharging them. The fees that we charge for a registration and the extra products we sell (drone ID cards, drone registration stickers, etc.) help offset the very high cost of making certain that our search ads appear higher than, or in place of, these scam websites that I talked about above. Our battle with these more expensive and true scam websites continues to this day. Like any other company, however, we can't sell our services and products at cost as this would be a losing business model.

Of course, the FAADroneZone portal is the only official website to register your drone in the U.S. and we state on every page on our website that we are not the FAA. Also, most of our customers understand the difference between a .com and a .gov website. It doesn't matter to us where you register your drone as long as it's a legitimate registration so that you don't get in trouble for flying without one. The registration we obtain for our customers comes from the official FAADroneZone portal, and our customers get their username and password to sign in to the portal to view and modify their registration as needed.

In addition to registration, we've also provided tens of thousands of drone pilots with the registration ID cards, drone registration stickers, lanyards, etc. that we've become known for over the years. While these accessory items aren't 100% necessary to have, many drone pilots register directly with the FAADroneZone and then come to us for these things because they really want them. I don't know about you but I don't own a label maker like the one mentioned in the 51 Drones video, and I don't really want to tape a sad little piece of paper with my registration number scribbled on it to my shiny new drone. Also, an ID card made from your registration certificate can be pretty handy to put in your wallet and forget about it. It's there if you need it (edit: we sell TRUST cards now, too! please visit us at (link removed by moderator)

Although certain individuals and companies like Russ at 51 Drones, Pilot Institute, and others, appear to have made it their life goal to try and destroy us, all it does is bring more attention to the great products we are providing to the community so we are grateful for the free advertising. Keep it up, boys!

We're more than happy to work with any dissatisfied customers, even though they are few and far between. Great customer support is the cornerstone of our business. Our customer support information can be accessed easily through any of our websites.

 

[cgmaxed]

Hello fellow drone pilots! I'm the owner of the business being talked about in this thread, which operates under multiple domain names including xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxcx and xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxcxcxxxcccccc

I wanted to share with you some information about where we came from and why we do what we do. At the start of the U.S. drone registration system in 2015, there were a lot of “drone registration” scam websites advertising on Google and the other search engines. You would either greatly overpay for your registration from these websites, or you would pay and not even get a registration at all (and good luck trying to get a refund!). I saw this as an opportunity to make a difference by stepping in to actually get new drone pilots the registration they needed, without grossly overcharging them. The fees that we charge for a registration and the extra products we sell (drone ID cards, drone registration stickers, etc.) help offset the very high cost of making certain that our search ads appear higher than, or in place of, these scam websites that I talked about above. Our battle with these more expensive and true scam websites continues to this day. Like any other company, however, we can't sell our services and products at cost as this would be a losing business model.

Of course, the FAADroneZone portal is the only official website to register your drone in the U.S. and we state on every page on our website that we are not the FAA. Also, most of our customers understand the difference between a .com and a .gov website. It doesn't matter to us where you register your drone as long as it's a legitimate registration so that you don't get in trouble for flying without one. The registration we obtain for our customers comes from the official FAADroneZone portal, and our customers get their username and password to sign in to the portal to view and modify their registration as needed.

In addition to registration, we've also provided tens of thousands of drone pilots with the registration ID cards, drone registration stickers, lanyards, etc. that we've become known for over the years. While these accessory items aren't 100% necessary to have, many drone pilots register directly with the FAADroneZone and then come to us for these things because they really want them. I don't know about you but I don't own a label maker like the one mentioned in the 51 Drones video, and I don't really want to tape a sad little piece of paper with my registration number scribbled on it to my shiny new drone. Also, an ID card made from your registration certificate can be pretty handy to put in your wallet and forget about it. It's there if you need it (edit: we sell TRUST cards now, too! please visit us at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxcxcxxxcccccc

Although certain individuals and companies like Russ at 51 Drones, Pilot Institute, and others, appear to have made it their life goal to try and destroy us, all it does is bring more attention to the great products we are providing to the community so we are grateful for the free advertising. Keep it up, boys!

We're more than happy to work with any dissatisfied customers, even though they are few and far between. Great customer support is the cornerstone of our business. Our customer support information can be accessed easily through any of our websites.

People call most of these sites that charge more than simple FAA registration charges scams, because most of the time, the site does not tell the registrant they can go straight to the FAA and pay a minor fee to get just the basics. Nothing more is really needed. Maybe wanted, but not needed. These "scam" sites, don't educate the registrant about the FAAs registration website first. Maybe your site does, but most don't.

 

[Vic Moss]

Hello fellow drone pilots! I'm the owner of the business being talked about in this thread, which operates under multiple domain names including www.TrustFAA.com and www.DroneRegistration.com.

I wanted to share with you some information about where we came from and why we do what we do. At the start of the U.S. drone registration system in 2015, there were a lot of “drone registration” scam websites advertising on Google and the other search engines. You would either greatly overpay for your registration from these websites, or you would pay and not even get a registration at all (and good luck trying to get a refund!). I saw this as an opportunity to make a difference by stepping in to actually get new drone pilots the registration they needed, without grossly overcharging them. The fees that we charge for a registration and the extra products we sell (drone ID cards, drone registration stickers, etc.) help offset the very high cost of making certain that our search ads appear higher than, or in place of, these scam websites that I talked about above. Our battle with these more expensive and true scam websites continues to this day. Like any other company, however, we can't sell our services and products at cost as this would be a losing business model.

Of course, the FAADroneZone portal is the only official website to register your drone in the U.S. and we state on every page on our website that we are not the FAA. Also, most of our customers understand the difference between a .com and a .gov website. It doesn't matter to us where you register your drone as long as it's a legitimate registration so that you don't get in trouble for flying without one. The registration we obtain for our customers comes from the official FAADroneZone portal, and our customers get their username and password to sign in to the portal to view and modify their registration as needed.

In addition to registration, we've also provided tens of thousands of drone pilots with the registration ID cards, drone registration stickers, lanyards, etc. that we've become known for over the years. While these accessory items aren't 100% necessary to have, many drone pilots register directly with the FAADroneZone and then come to us for these things because they really want them. I don't know about you but I don't own a label maker like the one mentioned in the 51 Drones video, and I don't really want to tape a sad little piece of paper with my registration number scribbled on it to my shiny new drone. Also, an ID card made from your registration certificate can be pretty handy to put in your wallet and forget about it. It's there if you need it (edit: we sell TRUST cards now, too! please visit us at www.droneregistration.com).

Although certain individuals and companies like Russ at 51 Drones, Pilot Institute, and others, appear to have made it their life goal to try and destroy us, all it does is bring more attention to the great products we are providing to the community so we are grateful for the free advertising. Keep it up, boys!

We're more than happy to work with any dissatisfied customers, even though they are few and far between. Great customer support is the cornerstone of our business. Our customer support information can be accessed easily through any of our websites.

Taking advantage of unsuspecting new drone owners by buying up keywords isn't a scam. Definitely. Shady business practice though.

And teaming up with DroneU to "sell" TRUST stuff isn't very up and up either. No TRUST information is supposed to be shared or even kept by the TA who gave the test. Also getting information from them prior to the lifting of the embargo could have easily backfired on Paul. And should have.