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.
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 phishing@companieshouse.gov.uk:
- Requests to verify your Companies House password
- E-reminder requests for accounts
- Company complaints emails
- Online filing submission emails
- ‘Document Order’ emails
- Requests to download a copy of an application
- Requests to verify your identity
- E-Mails using the subject line ‘Hundreds of phone calls and emails have been sent in the name of your company – Notice #’
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.
We’re here to help
If you’re worried about any HMRC or Companies House emails or letters you receive, you can seek advice from one of our accountants or bookkeepers in St Albans. We will be more than happy to identify scams. Please take a photo or screenshot and send it in an email to your accountant or bookkeeper. Try to avoid forwarding the actual email, as it may contain malicious links. Not a client but worried about a piece of correspondence? Not a problem, we want to do our part to help you avoid scammers. Feel free to send copies of potential scams, and we will provide our advice. You can contact us at enquiries@visionaryaccountants.co.uk.
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.