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Company Anti-Hijacking and Prevention of Identity Theft Service

Prime is aware of the damage caused by hijackers to Limited Companies which has regularly been covered by the media in recent months. Company hijackers normally involve fraudsters changing details of the Company Directors and Registered Office and then using the "hijacked company" to order goods or services on credit which they can sell, but never pay for. The company then has to sort out the aftermath, including correcting its public record.

Companies House cannot prevent company hijacking. It does not have the power to investigate the contents and accuracy of forms sent to them for filing. Once a "Form AD01" (form to change the Registered Office of a company) is completed and submitted, Companies House will amend its database without any confirmation. The fraudster can start opening trade accounts and ordering goods to be delivered to the bogus address. The innocent company whose details have been altered by the fraudster will only find out about the scam when the debt collectors arrive, or when legal action is initiated to recover the goods that have been fraudulently obtained.

To prevent this, as an addition to our online annual return service, we have put in place a company monitoring system that will immediately alert us on your behalf with the fact that someone has filed a Form AD01 (change of Registered Office), AP01 (Appointment of Director or Secretary) or Form AR01 (Annual Return) or Form MG01 (Mortgage Charge) that did not originate from our office. This person may or may not be legitimate. As soon as the documents are received and registered at Companies House, our system will alert us so that we can check whether they are legitimate or not. If they are not we will contact you immediately and advise you of the steps you need to take to protect your compamy. The cost of this is less than £1 per week.

Companies House offer a secure filing system known as PROOF (PROtected Online Filing). This system is free but this will mean that the company will have to file its own annual returns and other forms, such as forms to change the registered office and any forms regarding directors' appointments and resignations. The PROOF system does not include such documents as mortgage charges which would mean that somebody could fraudulently register a charge against the company's name and you may not know about this until the company is chased for payment of the debt. Our monitoring system picks up all such forms filed at Companies House as soon as they are registered.

If you would like further information regarding this, please contact Jane Canavan or Pam Rai on 024 7622 0208.

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Prime Coventry
29 Warwick Road, Coventry, CV1 2ES
T: 024 7622 0208 E: coventry@primeaccountants.co.uk

Prime Solihull
Marlborough House, Warwick Road, Solihull, West Midlands, B91 3DA
T: 0121 711 2468 E: solihull@primeaccountants.co.uk