UK Corporate Portal Scam

AndyD_OHD

Hi there

A friend contacted me yesterday to ask about a scam he has got caught up in. He received a letter from what now appars to be a company in Germany with a fax back entitled "Publication of companies and VAT Registration Numbers in the UK Corporate Portal 2015". He said he just thought it was something to do with his VAT so he signed it, and faxed i back. He then tried to contact them by phone to cancel it but they demanded he paid the £797 they are due following his signature. Can anyone offer any advice please?

zaax

Oops, b2b problem. Though don't pay, but might effect his co's credit rating

browneyedbazzi

Does he still have the document? What does it say on it? Does the document contain terms and conditions? Does it say anything about cancellation? What service are they claiming to provide? Do they actually provide the service?

Without seeing the document and knowing a lot more information it is impossible to provide proper advice.

Your friend may want to check to see if his local Trading Standards Service offers business advice. Many do - some for a charge - and can offer civil advice to businesses who are having contractual disputes.

AndyD_OHD

I will try to get the "contract details" frm him.The company providing the service has a wb site https://www.uk-corporate-portal.com, company is TVV Tele Verzeichnis Verlag GmbH.
Invoice has at top, "Reply by Fax to a London number"
"For the inclusion in the UK Corporate Portal please read the information in the letter attached to this application carefully; check your information and, if applicable, return this form (page 2) to us. Use this form exclusively to place an order liable to costs. The publication of further data-expanded entry- will provide a link to your website -if given- and a highlighted position -of your company-. You alsohave the possibility to state up to three keywords besides your trade. This permits a better search result within the UK Corporateortal and interested parties will find you that much quicker."
Then at the bottom of the sign up form:
"Order:We hereby agree to the publication of our company's data indicated on this form and place an orer to publish the same on https://www.uk-corporate-portal.com according to the general terms and conditions. The conditions are specified overleaf. The information provided will appear aas an advertisement for a term of three years. The portal includes companies, self employed persons, institutions and authorities with or without a web address. Annual billing in the amount of 797 GBP is due upon issue of the invoice. The order is prolonged annually if no cancellation is provided by registered letter. This cancellation notice has to be given three months before order expiration. Application law is exclusively German. Tvv tele verzeichnis veerlag gmbh reserves the right to carry out an adjustment in terms of clause four of the general terms of business and payment. Tvv tele verzeichnis verlag gmbh reserves the right to design the advertisement. Company information will be processed and saved electronically."

I hope this helps with any advice. My friend is a small business owner and is really concerned about this, obviously.
Many thanks in advance.

browneyedbazzi

It looks to me like the contract clearly says that it is a paid service to have his company details published on the service provider's website (for marketing purposes).

Have they published the details as they were contracted to do?

I think you friend may have bought an expensive lesson - he really needs to read things before he signs them!!

AndyD_OHD

His website is not active yet. Not sure if his services are advertised on there yet. Surely there should/would have been a "cooling off" period...?

unholyangel

AndyD_OHD wrote: »

His website is not active yet. Not sure if his services are advertised on there yet. Surely there should/would have been a "cooling off" period...?

The reason for a cooling off period is so that they can have a chance to read the terms and understand what they are agreeing to.

While for consumers a cooling off period may be mandatory in some circumstances (not all), a business does not have the same levels of protection. There is higher expectations of a business when it comes to contractual matters.

You'll also find your friend has likely contracted under deutsch/german law (the contract should stipulate governing law).

andycris3107

This is a known scam.
The documentation appears official and makes you feel like you are required to respond. My advice would be to not pay it and inform them as to why. Any action they may wish to take would be through the European courts and would hardly be worth their while. I would strongly contest on the grounds that the letter was misleading.

agrinnall

Can you send me his address, he sounds so gullible that I'm sure I'd be able to persude him to send me a cheque for £10,000. What sort of business person thinks something is to do with their VAT and sends it back to an unknown sender without doing any checking at all? You know what they say about a fool and his money...

JasonLVC

To be fair to the businessman, the document is very clever to mimic something more official





http://www.xebraaccounting.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/EU-VAT-registration-pg-2.jpg


Its only upon reading it properly that you see this is just a demand for £797 in exchange for listing your company on a website.


The scam part is that the document states you MUST register with them as its an offense not to list your company, but that is of course, utter bolloxs.


Of course, this is an invalid contract, but you may need a german lawyer to help http://www.anwalt.de/rechtstipps/have-you-received-an-invoice-from-tvv-tele-verzeichnis-verlag-gmbh-for-an-online-business-directory-entry_061439.html (these specialise in this kind of scam).


Bear in mind the contract automatically renews each year unless you cancel in writing, so if you don't want to engage with lawyers, maybe write back and explain it was signed by a someone not authorised to represent the company (blame the wife!) and that no contract has been entered into. Worth a punt.

hcb42

I would be tempted to ignore. What are they going to do, they are scam artists!