...AS THEY BACK MoS ANTI-FRAUD CAMPAIGN

THE boss of credit reference firm Company Watch warns that lack of trust in the information on which companies decide whether to extend credit to buyers can have an adverse impact on trade.

‘Wary firms may restrict the supply of trade credit on which the economy depends,’ says Jo Kettner. She backs The Mail on Sunday’s call for reforms to Companies House to be enacted soon.

She says better collection of data would help, adding: ‘Revenue & Customs and Companies House do not always work together. That means a firm can file one set of accounts to the Revenue to make it look as if it did not make a profit and so does not need to pay tax.

‘It then sends another set of accounts to Companies House that make it look profitable so it is able to borrow credit.

‘Also, as a result of poor quality data, a company can have a county court judgment against it without this appearing on the public record.’ On Friday, Companies House said there were 4.7million companies on the register and that the vast majority abide by the law, though it admits that UK corporate entities are used to enable fraud, and says it is working closely with law enforcement agencies to tackle it.

It added: ‘Basic checks are undertaken on any documents received to make sure that they have been fully completed and signed. But we do not have the statutory power to verify the accuracy of the information filed.’