Novelty documents site defends payslip service
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An online company offering novelty bank statements and virtual employment has defended its services, saying there is nothing fraudulent about mortgage brokers providing their self-cert clients with payslips.
The firm, Net-Docs Document Recovery, says it does work for a lot of mortgage brokers and offers re-placement bank statements from top lenders including Abbey and the Royal Bank of Scotland, as well as utility bills from British Gas and BT.
It offers customers virtual employment whereby a company is available with a telephone number that is always answered along with a website and registered address. It offers to take calls and confirm a person’s employment as well as providing references and payslips.
It also provides a virtual address for clients to receive correspondence and have it forwarded to another address as well as three months’ proof of residency and utility bills.
When contacted by Mortgage Strategy, Ben Thomas, who works at the company, says: “What is fraudulent about brokers providing their clients, most who are self-employed and don’t issue themselves payslips, with documents?”
He says the bank statements his company makes available are clearly for novelty purposes as is detailed in the accompanying terms and conditions.
But he then adds that the statements could be for clients who need more than internet printouts, have left their banks or don’t wish to wait weeks for replacements for fear of losing their mortgage offers.
He says virtual employment is offered for many reasons that can’t be categorised.
Nick Baxter, managing director of Mortgage Promotions and an expert witness in mortgage fraud cases, says: “Such websites are not committing fraud because they have plastered all over them that their documents are novelties.
“It’s what brokers do with the documents that can lead to fraud.” Des Fitzpatrick, the lead on mortgage fraud at the National Fraud Strategic Authority, says: “Revenue & Customs is working with lenders to review their systems so it can cross-reference documents received by lenders and ensure they match the income details it holds.”
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Readers' comments (7)
Doug Bennett | 2 Nov 2009 7:04 pm
You are kidding me right, a firm will provide bank statements, payslips, P60's, a bogus website, and answer the phone for you. I don't believe it. It is ripe for abuse, and the firm believes it is providing a service. Novelty bank statements, help me understand why anybody would want a novelty bank statement, which could be passed off as an original. I am amazed!!
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Jo | 3 Nov 2009 10:55 am
How on earth is the gallery page (http://bestreplicadocs.co.uk/) which states that the company logo's of Abbey, HSBC, Barclays, A & L etc are 'indistinguishable from the origals' legally allowed to keep supplying these? Surely the lenders at least could take action at the misuse of their logo's? You can order 3 months worth of bank statements! What novelty value has that got - it has to be for fraud. Come on lenders and police lets see this type of thing shut down and let the mortgage market get back on an even keel.
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Anonymous | 6 Nov 2009 3:03 pm
As a lender what troubles me is that there must be a demand for this type of ‘documentation’ or there would be nothing in it for the producer. What is worse is that they don’t seem to think that there is anything fraudulent about providing a telephone service to validate employment information for a person who is not employed by them and about whom they have no knowledge. How can that aspect of their service not be considered to be fraudulent?
I also wonder how many less scrupulous brokers will see this as an easy alternative to self cert as and when the MMR proposals get adopted.
Jo is absolutely right that such documents don’t really carry a novelty value and should surely be seen as being a major temptation to the obtaining of money by deception. The worst thing for me is that individuals trying to produce their own bank statements or payslips usually make silly errors but a professional firm is likely to produce documents that would be indistinguishable from the real thing. Still I suppose policing authorities are more interested in speeding motorists!
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Jackson Cohen | 13 Nov 2009 11:11 am
Unfortunately this is the same position as the licence plate providers who make up plates that do not conform with the legal requirements and only require people to confirm they will only use them as novelties/off road. Everyone knows that the vast majority are going to be used illegally but it is the user who is committing the crime.
Maybe the authorities could consider if the sites are aiding anti money laundering and take action on that account! Shouldn't be too hard for the Government, if required, to add provision of documents such as pay slips, bank statements etc as a regulated activity in terms of AML supervision.
This would then oblige these types of sites to identify their clients and be satisfied that the documents would not be used for aml purposes (which, of course, includes fraud).
This would sort it out!
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Anonymous | 23 Sep 2010 7:33 am
As long as it is legal, people should have the right to buy what they please! If that consumer chooses to use those docs in an illegal way, they they alone should be responsible. If we go after the doc providers then we have to go after the pharmaceutical companies that provide medicine that is bought by consumers and misused by some...then, of course there are the spray paint manufacturers...gun manufacturers...tie makers b/c some people buy these LEGAL items and use them to murder others...where does it stop?
People are respoonsible for the actions that they take with products sold legally. Point blank.
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Della | 23 Sep 2010 7:34 am
As long as it is legal, people should have the right to buy what they please! If that consumer chooses to use those docs in an illegal way, they they alone should be responsible. If we go after the doc providers then we have to go after the pharmaceutical companies that provide medicine that is bought by consumers and misused by some...then, of course there are the spray paint manufacturers...gun manufacturers...tie makers b/c some people buy these LEGAL items and use them to murder others...where does it stop?
People are respoonsible for the actions that they take with products sold legally. Point blank.
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Anonymous | 27 Apr 2011 1:50 pm
Has anyone ever used this company, and received the documents????
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