Company has registered at my address?

Someone has fraudulently used my address.

Didn't find your answer?

Hi guys.

It seems alot of thing are going wrong me for at the moment.

 

I moved into my new house in march 2021. But it seemed someone registered a company around ocotber 2020. I've asked the previous owners but they have no knowledge of this.

Any ideas on what forma etc to submit to let companies house know that the address is being used?

 

The only time I realised that a company was registered was when I received a letter stating that the vat return was not received.

 

Thanks

Replies (19)

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Scooby
By gainsborough
24th Aug 2021 16:35

There's a form for this on the gov.uk website https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-suspicious-company-act....

Maybe also have a look on the Companies House website and see if any additional info is on there too?

EDIT - also worth giving HMRC a ring as well.

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By petersaxton
24th Aug 2021 16:36

What makes you think that the company is registered at your address?

I would check at Companies House to see if your address is the registered office.

If it is I would phone Companies House.

I would phone HMRC regarding the VAT return sent to your address.

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By Paul Crowley
24th Aug 2021 16:44

Quite common for VAT addresses not to be up to date
PAYE is worse

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By CJaneH
24th Aug 2021 17:15

If the company is registered at your address with Companies House good luck. I was told that the only persons that can change the address are the officers of the company. And then CO House sent correspondence relating to the reported address error to the said address! I hand delivered it to the correct address!

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By DKB-Sheffield
24th Aug 2021 18:01

adam_118 wrote:

Someone has fraudulently used my address.

Careful Adam...

Nobody has fraudlently registered a company at your address. Per your OP, the company was registered 6 months prior to your ownership.

The motives behind the registration are unknown. It may be an entirely careless error. Online formation agents store previous addresses (dating back years) for previous incorporations. It may be an incorrect selection. Wrong? Yes! Fraudulent? (probably) No! This would possibly not explain the VAT reg error (unless the Incorporation Agent handled the VAT Reg too).

I assume you have checked the registered address at Companies House and have checked the Officer's list to ensure you don't recognise any names. Does the officer list contain any addresses other than your home? Have you also done an officer and/ or address search on Companies House Online to see if there are matches under other active companies (perhaps with other Registered Addresses)?

I would also be (double) checking the charges register to ensure the property is not listed. It shouldn't be as your solicitor will have checked when purchasing the house. However, a quick verification is always worthwhile!

As everyone else has suggested, contact HMRC, contact Companies House etc. But, do some research too. It has been noted previously that Companies House are unlikely to allow you to change the record so a bit of detective work may help you. However, CH should also have residential addresses that are not on the public record!

Good luck!

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RLI
By lionofludesch
24th Aug 2021 18:21

Why are you opening other people's mail ?

Send it back unopened, marked "Not known at this address".

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By DKB-Sheffield
24th Aug 2021 23:30

Dear Adam,

I thought I'd sent a reply previously but it appears to have been lost in the ether, is in moderation, or has been lost for good!

On your point...

adam_118 wrote:

Someone has fraudulently used my address.

Be careful. Nothing you have said suggests this. Firstly, it was not your address in October 2020 (unless you are saying the current company address was registered after March 2021). Secondly, there is thus far, no information to suggest the registration was deliberate.

There may well be an innocent explanation - such as the address was selected in error from an old address held on file in an online incorporation agent account (by someone who had entitlement to use the address previously - maybe before the previous owner moved in). This is clearly wrong and careless but not exactly fraudulent. It won't necessarily explain the VAT registration being at that address - unless the formation agent handled that as well.

If I were in your position - aside from returning the mail as "unknown at this address" - and if I wanted to know more - I'd be inclined to dig deeper. Perhaps an "officer" search on Companies House Online will reveal more about the officers of the company? You may even find a current Service Address for them.

Clearly, contacting Companies House is advised. They won't allow you to change the registered address (etc.) but, they should be able to contact the officers at their residential address (which may well be suppressed from the public record).

It is also worth pointing out that, whilst Companies House should hold personal residential addresses for officers, HMRC may not. Contact HMRC and explain you have nothing to do with the company and ask that they update their records.

Finally, and to reiterate, whilst you may suspect this action is fraudulent, there is nothing to suggest this is definitely the case. Furthermore, whilst it may be upsetting, and inconvenient, there does not seem to be any suggestion of a fraudulent act being targetted at you - you weren't resident at the time of incorporation, and - unless you are missing a salient point - you are not named personally.

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By Sandnickel
25th Aug 2021 08:31

Good points by DKB.

Wanted to add that I was in a situation where a company was set up fraudulently (both registered address and personal address of the director was my address which I had lived in for several years at that point).

I informed CH who treated me as the one who was in the wrong. They told me I had to prove that it was my address (I asked why they couldn't check the company had the right to use the address but all I got was a proverbial shrug), the evidence of which they then attempted to send to the people who had registered the company. As they had used my address it came to me.

All in all it took about 6 months to convince CH to change the address (although it still appears in the M&A) as they refused to believe that a company could be set up with false details.

Speak to them, they will tell you the form numbers to send in but be prepared for an uphill struggle.

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By Duggimon
25th Aug 2021 08:56

Doesn't everyone get mail from time to time that's not for them? Just return to sender.

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By Leywood
25th Aug 2021 09:40

Signs of a good accountant, trust nothing and no one without proof. Signs of a bad accountant, not doing your research before making a pronouncement.

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RLI
By lionofludesch
25th Aug 2021 09:54

Action Fraud ?

Check with HMRC whether this company has claimed VAT repayments ?

We're just guessing, aren't we ?

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By Duggimon
25th Aug 2021 11:06

If you're the registered office you could get the authentication code and use it to wind the company up.

That'd be illegal, but also quite funny.

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Replying to Duggimon:
ALISK
By atleastisoundknowledgable...
25th Aug 2021 11:23

brilliant idea.

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Replying to Duggimon:
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By I'msorryIhaven'taclue
26th Aug 2021 10:21

Heh heh! You could certainly use it to change the company's registered office address, which would solve the OP's problem.

New address: 100 Parliament Street, London SW1A 2BQ

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David Winch
By David Winch
25th Aug 2021 11:36

If you are interested you can do a (free) search of the Companies House website for all companies whose registered office is in your postcode. Just type your postcode in the search bar. Could be fun to see how many companies are registered at (or near to) your address!

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Replying to davidwinch:
By petersaxton
25th Aug 2021 22:45

davidwinch wrote:

If you are interested you can do a (free) search of the Companies House website for all companies whose registered office is in your postcode. Just type your postcode in the search bar. Could be fun to see how many companies are registered at (or near to) your address!


76k matches companies, officers and disqualifications found!
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Replying to petersaxton:
By petersaxton
25th Aug 2021 22:47

The disqualifications seem to have nothing to do with my post code.

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Replying to davidwinch:
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By Leywood
26th Aug 2021 10:35

Good idea.

Turns out one of my neighbours doesnt know his own address as he quoted the road round the corner on one of his records and I know for a fact he doesnt own that property.

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By Stuck in the past
10th Mar 2023 11:17

This has just happened to me at my rental property. Now I'm sure the Romanian gentleman typed in my full address and postcode several times by accident but I'm not willing to take the risk.

After research it turns out Companies House are really slow, looks like 1 to 2 months, well it was founded in 1844. I was concerned about loans, contracts etc. being taken out in that period so as I had the login codes by post (excellent detective work by the tenants) I changed the address to 1 Fake Company, Mickey Mouse Street and the authentication code too. As its all electronic so I have also paid £8 to wind up/end my own (well sort of) company which shows up immediately on the digital register.

Even then it says :
"The company will be removed from the register after two months of the closure notice being published in the relevant Gazette."
2 months in a gazette, really ? A lot can be falsely done in that time.

I'm sure people will tell me how illegal it is but until Companies House update their antiquated practices I can't see a faster way of protecting myself. Land Registry have two tier protections in place to stop this before it starts.
I'm not a chartered accountant so I'm not worried about being struck off, my searches came across this helpful discussion so thank you all for your comments.

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