Business owners across Caerphilly County Borough are being warned about a VAT registration scam that could cost them more than £2,000.
Trading Standards are warning of the scam which centres on an official looking letter from a German company relating to the ‘Publication of Companies and VAT Registration Numbers in the UK Corporate Portal’.
The letter, from TVV Tele Verzeichnis Verlag GmbH, suggests that information must be provided to the company, and it comes with a form to be completed. The small print however shows that if the form is completed and returned, it will incur a charge of £797 a year for at least three years for the information to appear on a website hosted by the company.
The letter looks official and the form is in a style and font similar to that used by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The information requested does not have to be provided to the company, and entries do not have to appear on the company’s website or portal.
For further advice, call Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Trading Standards team on 01495 235 291.