CS Company Services - Scam?

[Christine_H]

Hi. I've asked this question in a similar forum several days ago now, but I've unfortunately had no response. I need some help soon because I'm very keen to start if possible. Here are my concerns.

Could anyone please tell me if they have any real information regarding a company called CS Company Services Ltd (cscompanyservices.co.uk) ? I'm seriously considering being a loan agent for them, but I need some more reassuring information before I go ahead. The problem is I've read a little negative stuff about this company, but if I could get just a few positives from some people who maybe have dealt with them, then I will probably go ahead with it.

:| They say they work closely with Barclays Bank, but after contacting Barclays directly, they say they have never heard of CS Company Services Limited, so that's why I'm a little cautious.

:| Also, according to their Ltd company details, they are listed as a Dormant Company, and they have moved business address many times in the last few years!

:| Also, I checked to see if they hold a consumer credit license, but it seems they don't. Surely they legally need one?

Thanks for any help.

Christine

 

[-1-]

They have been around for years and I know people who have had bank accounts from them. They get paid a referal fee from the banks and thats how they make cash (apart from the app fee)

 

[Christine_H]

Thanks for the reply. I still have my doubts about them mainly for the reasons I gave in my first post. I've ordered some Companies House Ltd Company reports on them, and I'll make a decision based on those documents.

If anyone else has any helpful information on them, I'd like to hear it.

Thanks again >

Christine

 

[miketombs]

I just looked them up on MarketSafe. They didn't trade during the year to December 2006, and have a DD credit rating, as do the other 4 companies with similar names at the same address. It doesn't exactly fill you with confidence does it?

 

[Christine_H]

I just looked them up on MarketSafe. They didn't trade during the year to December 2006, and have a DD credit rating, as do the other 4 companies with similar names at the same address. It doesn't exactly fill you with confidence does it?

Hello Mike
Thanks for that valuable information. They are starting to look a bit shabby from this end. I've noticed their large expensive adverts for a couple of years now, so they are definitely in business, so why have they declared themselves a dormant company on their tax information with those kinds of adverts running? Possibly some kind of tax fiddle on the go! I know they used to deal in offshore bank accounts until lately, so I wonder if they 'make use' of one of those

It seems I have to try and find out what the company wants the authorities to know, and what it is they wish us their customers to believe. Tricky!

I've decided to play it safe and order their full Ltd Company details from Companies House before jumping in, but I have to say I'm not holding out much hope at the moment. Let's see what the company reports say about them.

Thanks again.

Christine

 

[Steve2507]

Christine, in my opinion if you are having all these doubts it is probably better to walk away now and look for something else. Even if you do start to work with them you are always going to have doubts in the back of your mind and if you want to make a success of it those doubts shouldn't really be there (well not the type of doubts you have).

I don't know anything about the company you are talking about, these are my thoghts regardless of who you are going to be working with.

 

[-1-]

If you are seriously that worried then I would just stay clear but to be honest the outlay is so cheap that I would not be expecting massive returns unless you have some really solid leads.

As I said in the earlier post they have advertised in the sunday times and E&M for years and I know people who have bought stuff without issue.

If you think that avoiding tax is illegal then have a look at Virgin or Philip Green (BHS etc) who know a trick or two!

 

[Kent Accountant]

Know nothing whatsoever about them, but actually the trading company is Beech Associates Limited formed 9/12/2002. Last filed accounts to 31/12/05 are abbreviated but show cash in hand of £33K, other assets of £16K, but liabilities of £99K so the company is insolvent to the tune of £50K. The liabilities may or may not be loans from the directors - not disclosed in the abbreviated accounts. The 2006 accounts are due to be filed by Wednesday but have not yet been submitted. Issued share capital is £2 all in the name of Claire Cullen. She and Paul Cullen who have different addresses are the two directors.

 

[Steve2507]

If you are seriously that worried then I would just stay clear but to be honest the outlay is so cheap that I would not be expecting massive returns unless you have some really solid leads.

As I said in the earlier post they have advertised in the sunday times and E&M for years and I know people who have bought stuff without issue.

If you think that avoiding tax is illegal then have a look at Virgin or Philip Green (BHS etc) who know a trick or two!

I don't think Christine is worried about helping companies avoid tax, she is more concerned with the company themselves and to be honest if you can "Earn over £100,000 per annum, no experience required, can be run full or part-time, all you need is a telephone" (taken from their site) all with only an investment of £125 then it sounds too good to be true.

There are also other quotes that would get me worried like:

"All rights and domain names will remain at all times the property of CS Company Services." So does this mean that if you build a good business with good serps results and for some reason the relationship with them fails you may suddenly have no business. Where if you owned the domain at least you could carry on using a differnet company or put it (and the serps) to another use.

"If a mortgage is completed, your commission is normally sent within 14 days of completion (average commission £750)." Main word here is IF. I am not moaning about the commissions paid on mortgage work as it can be very hard work and an advisor may do 4 or 5 all through to near completion with 3 or 4 of them falling at completion (so the advisor doesn't get paid).

"It is not impossible to earn over £100,000 per annum" So what do people actually earn?

Also do you now much about the industry you could be going into? There are major problems with low credit rated customers at the moment. Banks are currently reducing credit card limits, stopping mortgage right before completion, seriously increasing loan rates etc. So you would have to ask yourself the question "How many customers would I have to throw into the pot for 1 to actually give me a bonus?", the answer I think is "a lot."

As you can probably guess my advice is to walk away.

 

[Gillie]

As Steve says, at the moment finance, especially personal finance is having major headaches with banks changing their minds at the last moment and withdrawing their offers, so its certainly not a quick fix, get rich quick business at the moment.

I have had dealings with Beech Introducers (and looking into them, can't be sure they are even related, although the logo is the same) in that my dealings with them consisted of being harranged by them at the recent Mortgage Expo in Manchester in May of this year.

You need a consumer license if you are offering any credit of less than £25k and offering personal mortgages etc means being FSA registered too.

 

[Jiminite]

Their address on their website is the same town where I am (Loughborough) and I think I can picture the building, as Green Close Lane is small and there's a tudor looking house on it. Next time I'm in town, I'll take a look to see if they have a CS Company Services sign on the front. Obviously won't be able to tell if it's a scam, but at least you'll know if that company is there or not.

 

[Christine_H]

Hi

Yes, that would be of help. I'm still waiting for the Ltd Company reports to come through, which should be very interesting. To be honest I was hoping to have started with them by now.

Thanks all

Christine

 

[Mark Bateman]

They are only a few miles away from me and I have seen their website - what are the concerns ?

 

You all seem to have a real downer on this company, do you work for their competitors?

One post says they arent registered with the OFT but that is not true as i have seen the printed certificate to prove it. I would suggest that you have looked under the wrong name, they are registered as Beech Asociates, CS Company Services is a trading name.

They also spend many thousands in the Exchange and Mart and Sunday Times on advertisments and other large publications and they have been in business for a while now, so i think they must be making good business and if they were dodgy in anyway I think they would have been picked up by now. They must be making money to pay for what must be, very expensive advertisiments.

What an agent earns is entirely up to them if they have a good knowledge of business and put the time in they will get the rewards, somepeople just dont have what it takes to make things work, thats just a fact.

The webpage you get when you sign up is not supposed to bring clients in through it, it is really just to put in your paid advertisements or in your mailshots to local business and adverts in your local area etc, it's really just a basic contact page with your name and email address which proves you are an agent with them, which then leads on to their main website with all the information.

The high commisons are usually on the Mortgages, Car finance and Company formations etc. So it makes sense to concentrate on these areas to me. The bank accounts, credit cards etc are probably at the lower end of the scale. They can only pay you what they get in commsions from the bank themselves however large or small that may be.

Basing your decision on the information which is on this forum which, no offence, is nothing more than tittle tattle based on hearsay, you will get the wrong impression completely.

Yes you've guessed it i have an agent business package and i havent found any problems with them. You get back what you put in really. I do it part time advertising in shops, mailshots and occasional adverts and get a reasonable return which i am happy with. If i can make a few thousand extra a year i am quite happy. Whether you can make the £100, 000 a year they say, i personally think you would have to have your own brokerage package to do that. But i guessed that before i signed up anyway.
Sorry to ramble on, but when i read some of the comments here which were basically just plain wrong i just had to corect them!

 

[miketombs]

You all seem to have a real downer on this company, do you work for their competitors?

One post says they arent registered with the OFT but that is not true as i have seen the printed certificate to prove it. I would suggest that you have looked under the wrong name, they are registered as Beech Asociates, CS Company Services is a trading name.

A comment was made that a consumer credit licence was needed, but I didn't see the one stating that they weren't registered with the OFT. The point about the 'Beech Associates' name was made, together with a note that their accounts were due to be filed shortly. Quick update - they're now nearly two months overdue.

They also spend many thousands in the Exchange and Mart and Sunday Times on advertisments and other large publications and they have been in business for a while now, so i think they must be making good business and if they were dodgy in anyway I think they would have been picked up by now. They must be making money to pay for what must be, very expensive advertisiments.

The point that they spend money on large adverts was made, together with a comment that the poster knew people who had good service from them.

What an agent earns is entirely up to them if they have a good knowledge of business and put the time in they will get the rewards, somepeople just dont have what it takes to make things work, thats just a fact.

Perhaps it's a bit misleading though to dangle the prospects of making £100K a year if that's not a realistic expectation.

The webpage you get when you sign up is not supposed to bring clients in through it, it is really just to put in your paid advertisements or in your mailshots to local business and adverts in your local area etc, it's really just a basic contact page with your name and email address which proves you are an agent with them, which then leads on to their main website with all the information.

The high commisons are usually on the Mortgages, Car finance and Company formations etc. So it makes sense to concentrate on these areas to me. The bank accounts, credit cards etc are probably at the lower end of the scale. They can only pay you what they get in commsions from the bank themselves however large or small that may be.

Basing your decision on the information which is on this forum which, no offence, is nothing more than tittle tattle based on hearsay, you will get the wrong impression completely.

The thread contains both positive and cautionary comments. No-one has held themselves to have any inside knowledge of the company - but they are giving their impressions.

Yes you've guessed it i have an agent business package and i havent found any problems with them. You get back what you put in really. I do it part time advertising in shops, mailshots and occasional adverts and get a reasonable return which i am happy with. If i can make a few thousand extra a year i am quite happy. Whether you can make the £100, 000 a year they say, i personally think you would have to have your own brokerage package to do that. But i guessed that before i signed up anyway.

Glad it's working out for you

Sorry to ramble on, but when i read some of the comments here which were basically just plain wrong i just had to corect them!

Some comments were certainly advising caution. Some comments were positive. A thread like this can only give impressions, since no-one posting (before you) professed to have any inside knowledge. For a financial services company to miss the filing deadlines is surely concerning?

 

[Kent Accountant]

Well said Mike

 

It is extremely concerning that a company purporting to be company formation agent cannot maintain their company records properly. I also note that they have changed their company name many times over the recent years and have never actually filed proper accounts by changing the existing company name and then applying for it to be struck off, so they never file accounts. This is very dodgy behaviour!!!

Avoid them like the plague!!!

 

[dmcspence]

Hello

I recently spoke to cs to enquire about a agency
then i asked about a ccl and they said I would not need one as they had one that would cover me
how does this work
any ideas as i am totally new to this and looking for help
i am trying to set up a small agency so all advice welcome

regards





David

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Please dont take this the wrong way but
How can you be an agent if you know nothing about the businesss

 

[dmcspence]

Please do not take this the wrong way is a silly way of saying I am going to insult you but do not have the balls to do it straight

I have been relatively successfull in previous ventures
now looking to change what I do so after some info on this company and how they operate
so I find it hard to take such a brief swipe personal
also you are flogging your courier business and is such a cheap remark really that good for business

hope you have fun delivering your parcels

regards





David