02081331548

Izzy, If you or anyone else here have been scammed or suffered a scam attempt by a Bournemouth based business you can contact BTS. They are very helpful and do investigate complaints about dodgy sales methods and practices.

Bournemouth Trading Standards
Bournemouth Town Hall,
St Stephens Road
Bournemouth
Dorset
BH2 6LL
Switchboard: 01202 451451
Email: trading.standards@bournemouth.gov.uk

Consumer Direct (Trading Standards) Scam reporting:
Tel: 08454 040506
https://secure.consumerdirect.gov.uk/reportascam.aspx

Action Fraud (Police & NFO) Scam reporting:
Tel: 0300 123 2040 / 0161 234 9230
https://reportfraud.actionfraud.org.uk/fraudreport/

"It is our job to tackle unfair or illegal trading practices within the Borough of Bournemouth.  By discouraging and taking swift action against "Rogue Businesses" or "Cowboy Traders" and any commercial activity which endangers its customers or disregards the law, we protect residents, legitimate businesses and visitors to Bournemouth."

Hi there Hello (writing that seems strange!)

I was looking last year to get some money out of my pension, and I wrote to Pension Backed Loans (Antony Chewins) - and I decided he was a bit shoddy - then Ark Business CONsulting wrote to my email address (I guessed that they had bought the list from somewhere else - no big deal).

..... Slightly confused John.....
You say Dalriada are trying to help yet the general consensus on here is that you will have to pay the 50% back. How does this help someone, like myself that has used the 50% to sort out financial issues???
What have Dalriada said? I have had a letter from them but nothing more.

Hi John,
I went with ARK earlier this year.It was the only option I had at the time and was to complete a self build home. As the house is now finished and ready to sell I have multiplied what I had from my pension pot six times over. If I was forced to sell the property before it was complete I would have been looking at a big loss and financial hardship well in to retirement. So all those who give advice to steer clear of such a scheme shouldn't be so quick to jump in there. It worked for me and if I have to pay back the funds soon and maybe loose a part of the fund, I am still in a far better position than if I had not had this opportunity. The guys at ARK did a good job for me. BH.

Just wait until HMRC catch up with you Brain ^

Brain. Is Pinky there as well?

I like oranges

Amazing, it would seem the scammers we are dealing with also have the IQ of children.

Am relieved to find this site. I dealt with ARK after being approached on a home visit. Have the full name and email address of the guy who acted for ARK. He sent some info to my email account. Dalriada got involved and have ceased the transfers- it would seem that this is a good thing as I have not actially received any money from the MPVA. All my pension money has been transferred to Cranbourne Star Scheme. I have spoken to Dalriada who are a bit non-commital as to what will happen now. I appreciate that they don't want to say too much or get my hopes up but I am really concerned that my 100k is gone!! I have told Ark that I can give them all the details of the guy who represermnted Ark. I keep trying to ring him but he hangs up. I would imagine that I am not the only one wishing to talk to him.

Post his details here and expose him!

Thanks for explaining Anthony Chewins :-)

Lozzer, was it these guys: www.cranbornewealthmanagement.com
They're in Dorset funnily enough...

Hello Bill, no it was not the Dorset Company. the chap who dealt with me stated that he worked for Ark- they were based in Wakefield. He suggested the Reciprication Plan and sent a personal email explaining how it all worked and answered several questions that I sent him via email. He basically sold it as a better deal than having my existing pension and told me that it would give me an opportunity to self invest. He knew that I did not need the money as such but was looking for advice on how to make my pension work better. He called round at my home to get me to sign all the paper work. He had dealt with a colleague in the past who had received some pension advice from him - not the PRP though. What do you think the chances of getting the money back will be. Do we have any grounds to claim for mis direction at all?
Thanks all

hi,yes im in this as well,i used ark,im interested in whats going on

OK, thanks. With 100K at stake it may be prudent to ring the FOS on 0800 023 4567 to check what you will need if your complaint to Ark comes to nothing. Hope to hell you get it back; lot of money to lose.

http://www.silvermansherliker.co.uk/Repositor ... 20at%20risk.pdf

Anyone read this?? Pensionlending.co.uk and pensionbackedloans.com - investigated (and shut down for the most part!)


Times Money submitted another application to a website called
PensionLending.co.uk - which has since be en t aken down and a message appears
tha t the site is "under maintenance". The website said tha t using a pension loan i t
was possible to borrow "up to 50 pe r cent of your pension value" with no credit
checks. After submitting the application, Times Money was called by a representative
of the website, who said tha t clients could typically bor row "up to 33 pe r cent" of
the i r pension value. He said the r ema inde r would be put into aUK-based "eco Sipp"
investing in sustainable energy. He said the charges would total £1,800 plus VAT
over t en years, which could be t aken out of the pension fund, as well as a £1 pe r ye a r
loan a r r angement fee. However, he said "over a ten-year period you should see
growth of between 90 and 110 pe r cent, so you should be ba ck to where you were
when you took the money out of it".
Documents s ent by the representative said that: "You will default on the loan in ye a r
t en and i t will be written off as a bad debt by the fund."
The representative said tha t Pension Lending was acting as an introducer on beha l f
of Prot e a Wealth Management, which he said was an FSA-registered independent
financial adviser. However, Protea is not listed on the FSA's register and its website
contains no contact details or authorisation number.
A spokesman for Pension Lending says tha t the website ha s be en taken down to be
reviewed for compliance. He says tha t after further research Pension Lending ha s
concluded tha t "nobody can actually bor row this money against their pension".
Stua r t Stein, director of Prot e a Wealth Management confirms tha t the company is
not yet FSA authorised and says i t is awaiting approval. He says tha t while the
company had agreed to receive leads from Pension Lending it does not intend to
follow them up until i t has received FSA authorisation and i t will now be reassessing
its position in relation to Pension Lending in light of Times Money's findings.

Times Money submitted anothe r form to a website called Pensionbackedloans.com,
which ha s also since be en taken offline for maintenance. A representative of the
website, Gary Spicer, called following the web inquiry and offered another scheme
through which he said "you can bor row up to 50 pe r cent of your pension fund". He
07/06/2011 09:59Ea r ly- r e l e a s e ' loans' put pensions at risk IThe Times http://www.thetimes .co.uk/tto/money/pensions/article3050 105 .ece
4of6
said the interest rate would be 5 pe r cent over the Bank of England base rate so
clients would currently pay 5.5 pe r cent, and the r e would also be a charge of 5 pe r
cent for setting up the structure. Mr Spicer said the remainder of the pension fund
would be invested in shares in an unlisted bridging finance company via a Sipp.
Investing in shares tha t are not listed on a stock exchange can be risky because they
can be difficult to t r ade i f you want to get your money out, and the r e are fewer
controls over the governance of the companies and the information tha t they have to
report, so i t can be difficult to get an up-to-date valuation of your investment or find
out how well the company is performing.
Mr Spicer said tha t the scheme would be s e t up by a separate company.
Pensionbackedloans.com says tha t i t is a marketing company and merely acts as'a
lead generator for a numbe r of companies tha t provide unsecured loans, which i t is
satisfied operate within UK pension regulations. I t says tha t the loan is not provided
from the pension itself

I wonder if it was the deputy editor of The Times Money Section who did the investigating? Great article, thanks. Missed a bit at the bottom with the copy and paste:

Jennie Kreser is the he ad of pension law at the solicitors Silverman Sherliker and was formerly the legal director of the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority, the predecessor to the current Pensions Regulator. She says that HMRC could clamp down on the schemes and impose tax charges retrospectively.

She says: "I would not touch these type of schemes with a very long bargepole."   <---- Catching On! :-)

Name & Registered Office:
PROTEA WEALTH MANAGEMENT LIMITED
COUNTRYWIDE HOUSE
KNIGHTS WAY
SHREWSBURY
UNITED KINGDOM
SY1 3AB
Company No. 07437901

Status: Active
Date of Incorporation: 12/11/2010

Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Company Type: Private Limited Company
Nature of Business (SIC(03)):
None Supplied
Accounting Reference Date: 30/11
Last Accounts Made Up To:  (NO ACCOUNTS FILED)
Next Accounts Due: 12/08/2012
Last Return Made Up To:
Next Return Due: 10/12/2011

http://bizzy.co.uk/uk/07437901/protea-wealth-management
http://www.companiesintheuk.co.uk/Company/Find?q=07437901
http://www.companiesintheuk.co.uk/ltd/protea-wealth-management
http://www.companiesintheuk.co.uk/Company/All ... alth-management

Directors:

STUART STONE
TODDLEY BARN REDNALL, SHROPSHIRE, OSWESTRY SY11 4HX
Position:
0 Years
Appointment date:
12/11/2010
Type:
Secretary
Occupation:

GEOFFREY CHEVINS (37)
28 SIMONS ROAD, SHROPSHIRE, MARKET DRAYTON TF9 3DX
Position:
0 Years
Appointment date:
12/11/2010
Type:
Director
Occupation: CONSULTANT

STUART STONE (25)
TODDLEY BARN REDNALL, SHROPSHIRE, OSWESTRY SY11 4HX
Position:
0 Years
Appointment date:
12/11/2010
Type:
Director
Occupation: CONSULTANT

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3254042

"Good morning Angela,
We only act as an introducer so we are not governed by the FSA (although we hold a full category consumer credit licence and are able to broker loans and other financial products). However the company that is used for the transfer is Sustainable Wealth Investments Eco SIPP which is a UK based Sipp company governed under the FSA. I am aware of the offshore Sipp companies and I would advise to steer clear as they are not regulated under the FSA. If you have any concerns I would advise to speak to an independent financial advisor.

Kind regards,

Daniel"

http://who.godaddy.com/whois.aspx?domain=sustainablewealthinvestments.com&prog_id=GoDaddy

www.sustainablewealthinvestments.com

Registrant:
Gary West
Jl Jalak I A9 no45
Bintaro Jaya
Jakarta, Java 15412
Indonesia

Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: SUSTAINABLEWEALTHINVESTMENTS.COM
Created on: 25-Nov-10
Expires on: 25-Nov-11
Last Updated on: 09-Dec-10

Administrative Contact:
West, Gary garywest22@gmail.com
Jl Jalak I A9 no45
Bintaro Jaya
Jakarta, Java 15412
Indonesia
+62.8118118131

Technical Contact:
West, Gary garywest22@gmail.com
Jl Jalak I A9 no45
Bintaro Jaya
Jakarta, Java 15412
Indonesia
+62.8118118131

WOW. You know you're finished when 'The Times' investigates you!