A firm whose details were being copied by a housing disrepair claims farmer has thanked the Solicitors Regulation Authority for its swift intervention.
The regulator issued a notice last month that a website was operating at housingdisrepairclaims.uk claiming to be authorised by the SRA. It misused the SRA identification belonging to a genuine firm called Veritas Solicitors and gave contact details for Veritas’ managing partner Faraz Fazal. Neither the firm, which does run housing disrepair claims, nor Fazal have any connection with the website housingdisrepairclaims.uk.
The site also referred to a firm named Fountain Finances Solicitors LLP which is not regulated by the SRA.
The regulator’s notice states that any business or transactions through the website at ‘housingdisrepairclaims.uk’ are not undertaken by a firm or individual authorised and regulated by the SRA.
Fazal, who has been a director of Manchester-based Veritas since 2013, said this was a deliberate, calculated attempt to mislead potentially vulnerable consumers by posing as a regulated law firm. He added: ‘Protecting our clients and colleagues is our highest priority, and we are taking immediate action to stop the unauthorised use of our identity and materials. We are grateful to the SRA for bringing this to light.’
The SRA regularly issues notices on its scam alert page, usually warning consumers about individuals or entities claiming to be regulated law firms and assuming the identities of legitimate practices.
This month alone, in addition to that relating to Veritas, the SRA has warned about a member of the public being sent a letters from a firm called Francis Bill Solicitors which does not have authorisation, and websites misusing the names of two genuine individual solicitors.
Last week it reported that telephone calls were being made supposedly using a real law firm name in relation to purported diesel emission claims, while another scammer had adopted the identities of two genuine solicitors to secure intellectual property instructions.
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