Company Registration validation

If a business is legitimate then there will be evidence that you can verify. Look at the basic details and make sure that all the obvious facts add up. Whilst most of these checks won’t give you a definitive answer, they can help raise your suspicions and keep you on your guard. Some of the simplest and easiest checks to perform include the following:

Address details – if the business is local, drive round to its premises and confirm there is a sign or some indication of its presence in an office or a building. Most businesses are located in city centres, business parks or shared office space.

If a business or a company is working out of a home this is not uncommon, but you should only be expecting to be dealing with a one to three man band or a small trades company. Most serious businesses soon outgrow the domestic setting.

Phone number – you really want to see a landline number here. If a business only has a mobile number this isn’t a red flag, but it does certainly mean you should have your guard up. Call the number, check you’re talking to an employee or the business owner and ask a few standard questions.

You’re looking for a professional greeting with the company name at the start of the call and a competent and helpful attitude throughout. All genuine companies are usually happy to get sales enquiries and will even help you check any details over the phone.

Website and social media presence – does the business have a strong web presence? Most businesses these days will have a site and presence on a few social media channels. If you are dealing with someone out of area, then their website can be a key signal.

Confirm that your contact is working in the company with a quick look on LinkedIn. Whilst not appearing on the web doesn’t mean the company is not legitimate, it may help guide your investigations.

Check their ISO certification — Most companies will display the logo of the certification body who issued their ISO certification. It is then a case of then searching for the Certification Body and contacting them to verify. You can search for Certification Bodies by visiting the UKAS website, who are appointed by the government to oversee Certification Bodies in the UK. To check if a company is certified with us, input their certificate number here.
You can get some details about a company, including:

• company information, for example registered address and date of incorporation
• current and resigned officers
• document images
• mortgage charge data
• previous company names
• insolvency information