Recently the theme of our articles is getting the correct information before purchasing or committing to any service regarding timeshare. Today we highlight a firm which came to our attention from an advert for staff, it appears that a new cold calling campaign is set to begin offering terminations and claims.
The advert itself did not name any company, so that attracted attention straight away, it did however have the name of the poster, which gave a start to our search. It didn’t take long to find him and his directorship of a termination and claims company. Our first port of call was their website (registered 31 Aug 2019) and it was here that the alarm bells started to go off.
The home page is very basic but does give company details, such as the registered address and most importantly the company registration number. It also states that they use a “third party” team for terminations and claims, they also claim that those “third parties” are FCA regulated. But who are they?
Knowing who they use as their “third party” “contractors” from the start is one of the most important points in deciding who to use and trust. You need to know about everyone who will be dealing with your case and is registered appropriately, are they experienced in that field, and can they show verified proof of any claims they make? These are important questions you should be asking yourself, it’s too late once you encounter any problems.
From the website, we moved to Company House to check the registration. The company was incorporated on 14 August 2019, so a relatively new company which has not appeared on any radar in the past. This is not surprising when you check Filing History, only 4 entries from incorporation, the most important is the filing for “Dormant Company”, which exempts them from filing any accounts. Basically, the company is registered but not officially operating, more alarm bells.
The section for the directors shows only one director and he appears to have no other directorships. A sign usually associated with front companies.
The registered address is one that is used by around 8,500 companies, many of which have been confirmed over the years as “scam fronts” and used by operators in Spain and elsewhere showing a UK registered company.
It was when we began a further search that we came up with a company of the same name, a different registration number with that company being dissolved in October 2017. Not unusual for a company name to be re-registered, but then you have to question why that name, could it be reputation online for when someone searches?
We did check the director for any links, it appears that he dissolved the company and became part of an LLP. This company is made up of respected lawyers (all SRA registered) who mainly serve the Asian community and have nothing to do with timeshare.
Moving back to the website, it does show on the Home Page, several logos, one for Business of the Year 2018, another for the Women Business Club, the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Trustpilot. Their “Unnamed Third Party” associates have been “accredited with these awards and status”.
The About Us page also gives very little information other than the opening sentence:
“Our advisers are here to offer you the best advice within the timeshare industry as well as travel, consumer credit and section 75 VISA advice.”
Scroll down and you will find two testimonials, not bad for a “Dormant” company.
Just this small search revealed many questions which only lead me to conclude it is not a company that I would do business with. Usually, it is not our policy to name these types of companies, there are so many in this area that our pages would be nothing but names. Below are the links to the main quick searches made.
The Advert that began the search
Website
https://libertylegalsolutions.co.uk/
Whois
https://www.whois.com/whois/libertylegalsolutions.co.uk
Company House Records
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12156667
Original Dissolved Company
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/08814760
Ensuring you do these checks on any company that contacts you or any advert you may see, will make you stop and think before entering into any agreement. Forget Consumer Protection, it doesn’t exist until after the fact.
We hope you had a good weekend and we leave Baby Dog with the last word on this subject.
