Just when you think you are aware of most of the scams you need to look out for, you find another! These two purport to be from Companies House, but they are not.
Late Filing Penalty Payment
The way the scam works is like this:
If accounts are late in being filed with Companies House, they will be indicated as such on their website, which is publicly available.
Companies have been contacted asking for payment of a late filing penalty over the telephone. The caller says they will accept a payment of £5 by credit or debit to place a hold on any further action being taken.
Companies House will NOT contact you for immediate payment of a late filing penalty or request payment of a nominal fee to place a hold on any recovery action.
Payment plans are set up with the agreement of the manager dealing with your late filing penalty query. Companies House will not cold call you to take a payment.
Request for Information
Companies have been contacted by persons claiming to be from Companies House, who ask them for details of their company’s directors.
Companies House personnel will never contact you by telephone to find out who your officers are, or ask for secure information such as authentication codes.
This is especially important in respect of authentication codes as we actively encourage clients to register for PROOF, which is a way of combating fraud by making sure that documents can only be filed with Companies House online, as opposed to paper submissions.
If you anyone contacts you claiming to be from Companies House asking for this information, try to obtain a return telephone number and contact Companies House immediately on 0303 1234 500.
More details on Fraud and Companies House can be found here.
