It’s a rip off. It used to be free. They’ve made it so difficult to simply renew an amateur radio license people are now forced to pay for this outside service to renew it for you, for a fee of course.
Why did they make it so insanely difficult to renew your license? To force you to pay for the service they’re likely associated with and getting kickbacks.
My radio license (Amateur Extra) expired a few years back during the covid hysteria, and it was so difficult and convoluted to renew it that I let it expire completely beyond the ‘renew’ grace period. The result being that if I want to get a new license I have to look around for a hamfest local to my area giving exams or pay a fee for a private examiner to administer the test.
I don’t know if you have already noticed, but EVERYTHING within the federal government, from veterans affairs to IRS to amateur radio is made much more complicated than necessary. Perhaps this is so more bureaucrats can be installed?