Don't get caught out by this Companies House scam
Visionary Accountants
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Companies House Warns About ‘Company Registry’ Correspondence
Having previously warned about correspondence and communication from HMRC that may not be genuine, this week, it’s necessary to warn about a letter from company calling itself Company Registry.
When you register a new limited company with Companies House, this information is publicly-available. Registration means you have filing, recordkeeping and payment obligations. However, 'Company Registry' indicate that payment to them will create a ‘Secure Vault’ of the necessary information,
The key point is that there is no legal requirement for?your details to be?stored in such a vault. It appears this publicly-available information from Companies House may be the trigger for the letter from this company and may lead you into activating and paying for a secure vault.
Be careful and alert!
A secure vault of information will require the storage of things such as the Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) Number, the Government Gateway ID and password plus Companies House authorisation codes. This is valuable information, information you want to secure, not anyone else. Releasing this information could open you up to potential fraudsters – imagine the damage that could be caused by allowing Government Gateway access and, possibly, amending bank details.
Receipt of a letter from Company Registry may look and sound official, however, it is anything but official. There is NO legal requirement for have a secure vault of this valuable information and we advise you should not activate any account or send any money requested in their ‘secure company dashboard’. The fact the letter refers to a 'COVID-19 new business' discount should raise alarms with you anyway.
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Other potential scams
A Companies House archived blog indicates they are aware of letters purporting to come from prosecuting solicitors asking for payment plus invoices from ‘Government Digital Service, Caroline Street, Birmingham’ asking for payment. You should contact Companies House?on 0303 1234 500 if you receive such a letter.
The same blog also warns against the following scams by E-Mail which should be forwarded to [email protected]:
The fact the blog has been archived suggests these were scams that no longer exist. However, recent comments on blogs such as Trustpilot suggest the Company Registry letter is still an active attempt to defraud businesses.
You can read more about Companies House identified scams and thier advice on what to do here:?Companies House Warning
Visionary Accountants deal with Companies House on a daily basis on behalf of our clients. Please get in touch today if you need support or assistance with your Companies House?compliance duties.