Today’s article really does show how vulnerable we are in today’s world in respect of “identity theft”. It also shows that the authorities are somewhat reluctant to deal with “frauds” where this has happened, a point that is not lost on many of our readers who have been scammed over the years. Although this story is not timeshare related, the similarities timeshare owners have had when reporting their own scams will be familiar.
This story is one that has completely baffled me, it involves what we believe to be a highly regulated and controlled industry, buying and selling a house.
We have all gone through the mill, all the solicitors, the conveyancing, the mortgage and a host of other things, but central to all this is the Land Registry, or to give it its proper title H.M. Land Registry. Yes, it is a GOVERNMENT/CROWN department.
So we would think that it would be impossible for a fraud to take place, well think again.
On this morning’s early news that myth has been well and truly shattered. It has also brought into question the attitude of the Police.
The Revd Mike Hall was working away from his home in Luton Bedfordshire and was a good couple of hundred miles away in North Wales. He then received a call from his concerned neighbours that somebody was in the house and all the lights were on.
Driving back to Luton, he attempted to get in with his key, but the lock had been changed, a man opened the door, he was employed by the “Owner” to carry out renovations. The builder left and returned with the “new owners” father.
The full story can be read at the links below, we have placed several publications but all are very much the same.
Mr Hall was able to check with the Land Registry, according to their records the house had been sold and entered in the register with the “new owner”. There was nothing the Land Registry could do; it was all legal as far as they were concerned.
The thing is, the land registry works on trust, they have to trust all those involved in the transaction of property. In their own words:
“We work with professional conveyancers, such as solicitors, and rely on them and the checks that they make to spot fraudulent attempts to impersonate property owners.”
“Despite our efforts, every year we do register a very small number of fraudulent transactions.”
All they could do was to report it to the police.
The response from the police to Mr Hall was, to be honest, disgusting.
Mr Hall was told:
“Well, there’s nothing further we can do here. This is a civil matter; you need to leave the house and contact your solicitors.”
Using the online service for reporting crime, it was probably Action Fraud, the response was the same, he commented:
“I was shocked – having seen the house in the state it was, I was in a bit of a state of shock anyway – but then to be told by the police they didn’t believe a criminal offence had been committed here was just unbelievable,”
They believed that “no criminal offence has been committed”, had they investigated?
We very much doubt it considering it was the BBC Radio 4 program You and Yours who came to the rescue.
According to their own investigations they uncovered plenty of evidence:
“You and Yours obtained the driving licence used to impersonate Mr Hall, details of a bank account set up in his name to receive the proceeds of the sale, and phone recordings of the house being stolen.”
Bedfordshire Police have now launched an investigation.
This is a shocking story of how something so simple as a “Driving Licence” can be used to open a bank account and receive the proceeds of a sale of a “stolen” house.
At the start, I mentioned similarities, these are to do with how you are treated when reporting any “scam or fraud”. Over the years Inside Timeshare has received so many emails from people who have paid a fraudulent company, Inside Timeshare has always recommended they report the “scam”. The first reason is to obtain the crime number, this will be required when making a claim against your credit card or a refund from your bank if it was transferred.
Other than that, you’ll more than likely hear no more, no one has been hurt, you might get your money back, no investigation is ever likely to be launched. It comes under what was once explained as a “victimless crime!”
Now considering that H.M. Land Registry paid out £3.5 million in compensation for fraud in 2020, a figure which compared to the world of timeshare is we believe low, the question is who paid out the compensation?
That person or persons are the victims and in this case, it is probably the TAXPAYER!
FRAUD IS NOT A VICTIMLESS CRIME!
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-59069662
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1514788/Luton-news-fraud-Man-house-possessions-sold-stranger
