Don't get done, get Dom

I received notification that accounts for Aug 2012 are outstanding from Companies House.

I don't need to submit accounts as I don't run a business and neither do any family members or friends and certainly not using our address. In fact we've never been approached by anyone to ask if they can register a public limited company from our address.

So I assumed our tenants must be operating a business without our permission and informed Companies House.

The response I received shocked me even further, the Director of the company isn't our tenant, it is a Mr Khan, did I know him? Then I was asked if I knew of anyone from an address in Birmingham. No I don't.

Well I don't need to worry as the business is being closed down and it will take up to 4 months to do so. Ok but what about any debts incurred? People don't tend to close down successful businesses do they?

I asked Companies House why they didn't check that Mr Khan had permission to use the address and they said they weren't legally required to.

So I called the local Police station who put me through to Action Fraud, who informed me that no fraud had actually taken place and they advised I called CAC's (I'm sorry I forget what the acronym stands for) who put me in touch with Trading Standards, who inform me it is not illegal for anyone to use anyone else's address to register their business from.

But I am required to seek permission from my mortgage company, but if I don't own the house then I can do what I like.

The woman at Trading Standards made a suggestion. Yes she was being serious.

'Why don't you write to the Director of the company and ask him why he's done this'

Yes, I'll write to Mr Khan, pop the letter in the post box, then wait by my front door for it to arrive.

Anyone else had experience of this? And if so, what did you do?



 

How to evict tenants

First thing you do is contact your insurance agency and they will put you in touch with their solicitor and after submitting hundreds of documents they'll issue a notice of possession through the courts. The courts will deliver this within 48 hours. The tenants have 14 days to provide a defence. The solicitor then instructs the courts to issue the Possession order and if after 14 days from the date of issue, the tenants haven't moved out, you can apply for a warrant for a bailiff and tah dah 6 weeks later you get your house back.

 

Well that's a load of bollocks...this is what really happens:

Insurance company state they have no record of you, you phone them on May 23rd, you don't find out till June 6th that you're not covered. So you write to the tenants asking them what their intentions are.

Your solicitor starts the ball rolling and you're advised not to have any further contact with the tenants, otherwise harassment charges could be made.

You decide you're not happy with the Insurance company so you make a complaint, they tell you that you are covered, you send them the email they sent you 3 weeks earlier telling you, that you're not covered, so you email them and say, you made a mistake, you refund my costs and they say, they're not responsible for costs incurred before you contacted them, so you tell them to re read the email of complaint that states you're not covered under the policy so having wasted 2 weeks you contact your own solicitor.

I'll let you know when I resolve THAT issue.

You then discover that your solicitor at the cost of £775 didn't submit the possession order on June 27th as they should have done and 2 weeks on you're still waiting as the courts are 'busy'.

Now that you're covered with the Insurance they inform you they'll take over and ask you to return endless forms. This solicitor seems a bit more realistic with a time scale of up to 5 months to get the house back and 1-3 years to recover costs.

But.........

it just gets even better..........

I discover my tenant has done this before, was evicted. The helpful local council have told him to stay put until the warrant for bailiffs is issued. If they leave early they won't qualify for housing. It's also public record (google tenants name and last known address) local paper runs story about theft and fraud and guess what...no reference check carried out on him. Yes, original agent is to blame.

I inform housing that I am homeless due to tenants not paying rent and refusing to move out and that I have a mortgage to pay that I can't afford. The council tell me I can apply for hostel accommodation.

 

and then.......

There is post, post from Companies House, at my address, informing me a business is being operated from my there. I inform Companies House and they inform me that the tenants aren't the ones running the business it's a bloke from Birmingham. After a bit of googling I find several web sites where the company is listed and inform them all that the business has nothing to do with me and no permission was given to use my address and asked them to remove the listing.

...it gets even better as I'm informed by Action Fraud and Trading Standards that it isn't illegal to use someone else's address to register a company and Companies House informed me it's not their job to check that the business has permission from the property owner.

 

...but what finished me off was the suggestion from Trading Standards that I wrote to the Director and asked him what he was playing at.....I'll give it a go, but I suspect it'll be me opening the letter as I can assure you....I've never heard of him and he DOESN'T live at MY address.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just doing as advised

Please note the following post is not an observation it is what we've been told by South Africans in the UK and here, other expats and on various government sites.

South Africa is corrupt, violent and full of fraud.

We at first followed all the advice and were scared shitless to go out. I only took my credit card, phone and small amount of change in my pocket. I didn't go anywhere on my own unless I'd been taken there several times and used the GPS for the local shops. I was scared to drive after dusk as I was told I'd be hijacked, raped and/or murdered or at the very least groped at the robots if I had my window opened.

Of course things do happen, it's appalling what we hear on the news, in the papers or from people we meet.

But on the whole life is very good here.

I now carry a handbag with all my sorely goods in it. I'm required to have my International driving licence and passport on me at all times. I drive at night (alone) I go to familiar places without the GPS. I explore new places on my own.

I was a victim of theft in the UK, car broken into, handbag stolen off my shoulder in a busy shopping area and I've been a victim of theft here. I was loading my shopping in the boot when someone opened the passenger door and helped themselves to the GPS and my camera from the glove box.

One of the few pieces of advice we followed here and I urge you to do the same wherever you are is to tippex over the CVS (3 digit number) on the back of your bank and credit card.

Whenever you hand your card over it is possible they can write down the details and attempt to use your card online or over the phone. They need the CVS number to complete a transaction.

Our credit card has had 3 attempts to use it fraudulently and is now cancelled and a friend was less fortunate as she is now fighting to get her money back from her bank.