‘Congratulations on becoming a director’, read a letter, which was posted through a Portadown letterbox last week.
The official letter, from Companies House, detailed all the information and responsibilities that pertain to directing a business.
The only problem was, the person who received the letter had no idea what the business was, or who it was to.
The person whom the letter is addressed to is listed on Companies House as a Chinese national, appointed as Director of the business on April 2, 2024.
Their publicly accessible correspondence address however, is that of the unassuming homeowner in Portadown.
As of April 10, the mystery director’s correspondence address is still listed as Portadown.
The homeowner, who has no knowledge of the business in question, has warned of fraudsters using people’s personal details to register companies without their consent.
They told Armagh I: “We contacted Companies House and they told me to email with proof of my address and they would remove it, but said it would take some time. We received an email that said we would hear back within 20 days. You’d think there would be more urgency.”
Companies House guidance stipulates that if you feel your information is being used by a company without your consent, it should be reported to Action Fraud online.
A Companies House spokesperson said: “We are looking into this matter. More broadly we are taking steps to improve the quality of data on our registers.”
