u/Illustrious-Number

Honestly, I think HelloGov is borderline a scam.

I used them because they’re promoted through CLEAR, which made me assume they were reputable and actually managing the expedited passport process themselves. Instead they appear to just be another expensive middleman routing things through RushPassport while adding very little actual value.

I paid a massive premium because I had urgent international travel and needed reliability. What I got was one of the most stressful and disorganized customer service experiences I’ve dealt with in years.

Part of the issue at the beginning was my mistake. I accidentally selected a passport card in addition to the passport book. Fine. That part was on me.

But then HelloGov gave me completely incorrect information about the process afterward.

They told me we needed to wait for a letter before moving forward. Except the letter was apparently never even going to be sent to me in the first place (it was sent to RushPassport). So I lost additional time sitting around waiting for something that was never coming because THEY gave me the wrong instructions.

That set the tone for the entire experience.

Communication was unbelievably slow. Sometimes nearly a week between responses while my travel situation was actively changing and becoming more urgent. Nobody ever seemed to know what was happening. Nobody took ownership of anything. Every response felt vague, reactive, and inconsistent with the last one.

Then the delivery estimate they gave me was completely wrong.

Once the passport shipped, things somehow got even more absurd. I was sent tracking information and screenshots that appeared to reference the wrong address/company entirely. At one point I genuinely believed my passport had been lost or shipped to the wrong place because nobody at HelloGov could clearly explain where it actually was.

I repeatedly asked basic questions:

• what address is on the label?
• where was this actually sent?
• why does the tracking info not match what you’re telling me?

Could never get a straight answer.

Eventually I had to contact RushPassport directly myself, then FedEx separately, because HelloGov seemed incapable of managing the situation despite charging “premium concierge” prices.

Ironically, the final shipping confusion appears to have been caused by FedEx posting incorrect tracking information. But the entire reason I paid for a service like this was so I WOULDN’T have to personally spend hours untangling logistics and chasing multiple companies myself.

Instead I basically became my own passport expeditor while paying them a fortune.

The passport did eventually arrive, but the process was stressful, confusing, and honestly felt incredibly deceptive relative to how the service is marketed.

I complained and requested a full refund, which they did ultimately provide. To me that says they know this level of service is unacceptable.

Would absolutely never use them again.