Companies House
Registering an address for a new company on Companies House is simple. It doesn’t require any proof of residency or connection to the property being registered. The entire process takes less than 24 hours, and comes at a meagre cost of only £12. Unfortunately, Watchdog has found this has been exploited by fraudulent Chinese companies, who have targeted a quiet residential street in Swansea to register their companies. For those that actually live there, it’s caused nothing but hassle. Not only is the volume of registered companies staggering, but the nature of the businesses themselves also raises some eyebrows…
From Cattle Farms and Fruit Farms to Chemical Engineering Plants, Companies House shows one small Swansea street as home to an eclectic range of companies. A quick look at the directors' occupations listed on the Companies House website for these firms also immediately raises concerns. The registered directors of these companies claim various occupations, including Accountants, a Disc Jockey and an Archbishop.
These far-fetched businesses and directors’ jobs have been no laughing matter for the residents.Watchdog heard from those who have received masses of letters addressed to the companies supposedly operating from their addresses.
Retired couple Rita and Brian began receiving letters in December 2023, stating that two individuals in China had registered a company at their home. Brian told us ‘We had two letters come through the door with these foreign names on, and four from HMRC.’
Not only did the names on the letter raise suspicion, but the nature of the business also seemed dubious. According to Companies House, their 3 bedroom terraced house was engaged in the business of ‘Raising Buffalo and Other Cattle.
At first, the couple dismissed it as a mistake. But when the letters kept coming, they began to worry about the consequences of having a company they have nothing to do with, registered at their home. Rita was worried about the business’ financial activity which would be linked to their home. She asked us ‘What would happen is like bankruptcy or would we be blacklisted?’ The couple are anxious about the potential long-term consequences of the financial activities associated with these fraudulent businesses linked to their home.
In the house across the street, Tony and Tracey Jones have similar concerns. In their case, they discovered that two Chinese companies had registered at their address in November last year. Tony revealed, "We've had requests for credit cards with the same company name." According to Companies House, not only do they own a Cattle Ranch, but also a Inorganic Chemical Plant.
Graham Barrow, a financial expert who runs the Dark Money Podcast, spoke to us about the financial implications of it all. He told us ‘There are certainly cases of bailiffs persistently knocking on doors looking to get debts repaid at houses that have companies registered to them.’
Further down the road, Mark Gordon Williams got in touch to tell us that a company was registered to his property, leaving him surprised and confused. Again, the company was listed as being involved with Cattle Farming, with its director listed as a ‘Disc Jockey’. He’s been struggling to prove that his property has nothing to do with it. He says ‘The fact that I would have to prove that I live in this house and fill in numerous bits of paperwork, to actually get this company moved to a suspended account.’
All three of our case studies have reached out to Companies House to report these companies and prove that they do not exist at their addresses. However, they say it’s been a difficult process. Tracey explained that the forms provided are confusing, requiring personal details of the registered companies, including bank account information, which she cannot provide. For everyone on Rhos Road, the entire process has been lengthy and frustrating, with no resolution. And despite their efforts, the letters just keep on coming.
Companies House Response
“We are sorry to hear about the difficulties people in Swansea are experiencing. We understand the impact this can have and are contacting those affected to help them resolve the issue.
From this spring, we will have greater powers to query and remove fraudulent information from the companies register and will prioritise cases where people’s names and addresses have been used without their consent.
We plan to do more checks to determine the accuracy of information which is delivered before it is placed on the register.
These include requiring company directors and people who file information to verify their identity to ensure they are who they say they are.
These changes will enable us to crack down on the use of false addresses and other misuse of the register.”
