My company's disappeared!

Working Lunch's guide to protecting your company

Garry MacLaren's marketing business, Venta Ltd of Worsley in Manchester, was registered at Companies House under his address, with him and his wife as directors.

But last week he discovered that someone had entered in the register that he and his wife had resigned. They also changed the company address and appointed new directors.

Weird

"I was shocked and devastated," Garry told Working Lunch.

"The weird thing was that no one could tell me why it had been done."

All Garry's efforts to track down the perpetrators have been in vain.

The new address leads to a company where staff were as surprised as Garry to find themselves involved.

I was shocked and devastated

Garry MacLaren

The police have drawn a blank.

A spokesman for Companies House explained that it would be a mammoth task to doublecheck every change of address and personnel of the companies on the register.

It is possible, of course, that Garry's records have been changed by mistake.

Garry MacLaren

However, sources in the finance business point to other cases, involving different companies, which have cropped up in recent months.

The perpetrators can use the unblemished business records they acquire to get hold of loans, computers or leased vehicles.

Nick Williams, a solicitor from Hammond Suddards Edge, told Working Lunch that people in Garry's position "would have to get a court order to get the situation rectified".

Solicitor Nick Williams

There are ways to prevent a company being targeted. Companies House recommends regular checks to make sure records haven't been changed.

In addition, there is a scheme called "The Companies House Monitor" which provides an immediate alert if changes are made, for a £2 fee per document.

The future lies with the internet and electronic filing.

Companies can apply to provide their records over the net, and any changes can only be made by keying a series of security numbers.