The first 15 years of London House

1995 - what a different world then - no sat navs, just a good old A to Z and with Godfrey riding shotgun and colleague director and co-founder, Brian, driving, the intrepid duo covered the whole of the UK, never letting a client down and delivering all work on time. Back at HQ was Marjorie Woods, still our PA to this day, who joined us on day one, answering calls, issuing instructions to us, even helping to open the flat pack furniture in our first office!

Our first clients certainly showed faith in us and included Abbey National, Alliance and Leicester and Allied Irish Banks (a good marketing plan to start with the As) and I'm delighted to say they still remain valued clients, although the first two are now, of course, under the Santander brand. Today we have 220 national clients using our head office on a regular basis and many hundreds more using our network of franchised owner/managed offices locally throughout the UK.

Our network has grown steadily from 20 offices back in 2001 to the current 63 postcode territories covered from Glasgow in the north to Exeter in the south-west.

And what a difference new technology has made, not just sat navs to help us in the field but system driven automated distribution of work, the power of the web to aid investigation, emails on the move and photos flashed around the world in seconds.

We would not have been able to achieve this growth and our position in the market place without our loyal staff: Marjorie, whom I mentioned, Mark Blaber - our Business Development Director, Dee Kennedy - now with us for over 14 years, who previously worked in the administration department of New Scotland Yard, Sarita Chopra - previously in Thames Valley CID, Jacquay Oldham and Sally Culley. Our thanks to you all.

Two years ago we re-branded as London House International and have seen a steady growth in overseas instructions, both investigating debtors escaping the UK and from international clients needing our services here or further afield.

What else has changed? Well, legislation has changed, of course, there is more regulation and bureaucracy but one thing has remained constant - the need for our field based investigation services and validating information that databases simply cannot do - Do we trust that returned envelope that says "Gone Away". Throughout this period we have been pleased to play an active part in our two trade associations, the CSA (Credit Services Association) and the BFA (British Franchise Association) and we have developed excellent relationships with our professional advisors, not least our lawyers, Geoffrey Leaver LLP, our bankers, Nat West and our franchise consultant, Gordon Patterson from FDS, all of whom have supported us since the very beginning and, more recently, our accountants, Mercer and Hole.

And so, what lies ahead for the next 15 years - pensions for some perhaps, a paperless office, completion of our UK network and then London House International Spain, Australia, USA? (Now, there's a thought).

And finally, our sincere thanks to all our clients and friends. We really do appreciate your continued and valued support.

by Godfrey Lancashire and Brian Hughes

Milton Keynes to host World Cup?

You may not know that Milton Keynes began celebrating last December when it was named as a host city for the 2018 World Cup should the England bid be successful. If England win the bid, the MK Dons stadium will host World Cup football and one of the teams will be based in the city. This is a huge success for Milton Keynes, placing the city alongside other successful venues such as London, Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool.

The result appears to be narrowing to a choice between England and Russia and we now wait with bated breath for the World Cup decision which will be announced on 2nd December. The Champagne is chilling nicely!

A knock on effect of hosting the World Cup is likely to be a huge increase in the number of attempted frauds and criminal activity. The fraudsters see the games as an opportunity but London House stands ready to help with fraud prevention and the recovery of any losses.

Focus on... Tracing - locating gone away debtors and hidden assets

Our strength is our field force of regional managers (Franchise Owners), all of whom are skilled and experienced in the art of tracing. We differ from many traditional agencies in that we do not rely purely on database enquiries... why have a field force and keep them shut away! Our managers always attend at the last known address of the subject and begin their enquiries by speaking to occupiers, neighbours, etc. always discreetly and always within current legislation. We follow the trail, wherever it may lead, and keep going until we have an answer. We are succesful in the majority of cases and there is a certain amount of satisfaction, for us and you, in our finding that person that just didn't want to be found.

Fraudsters traced and taken to court

London House were asked recently to confirm the residence of a male subject who we believed to be using different names in an effort to hide.

Our trace enquiries began with a series of telephone and database investigations before we visited the subjects property discreetly so as not to alert the occupiers.

 At the address we were met at the door by a lady who confirmed her identification as Mrs X and that she lived at the address with her husband Mr Y (a different surname) and her son, Mr Z (a further surname). We confirmed our understanding with Mrs X and told her we would call her if we needed any further information. We telephoned later and she again confirmed her earlier comments. When asked about middle initials she supplied those for her husband and her alleged son. These matched the details we had discovered on databases. Our investigations had also confirmed that both adult male names had the same date of birth.

Reviewing the information supplied by our clients and the results of our own investigations, we were firmly of the opinion that the two males with different surnames were in fact one and the same person. Our suspicions were confirmed when Mrs X phoned us later, after a period of reflection perhaps, to ask how we knew to call at her address as only the surname Y was used on records and documentation. We were able to supply our clients with a detailed statement suitable as evidence in court.

Mrs X and Mr Y have been found out. As investigators we know to never assume that things are as they seem.

London House news [Nov. '10]

As ever, it is a busy time at London House. We have just finished training a new franchise owner (Marc Borgia in East Surrey & Mid Sussex) and we are delighted to say he has successfully passed his exam.

 When a new franchise owner joins us, they visit us at our Head Office for a 2 week residential training programme. This is a very comprehensive course covering all aspects of the work that we do, the Court system, Data Protection, and the law, amongst many other areas. This training culminates in a written exam (which the new franchise owner must pass before we sign them off). In the meantime, we ensure that they have in place the necessary insurances, register for Data Protection, obtain a Consumer Credit Licence and become a member of The Credit Services Association (thereby working to a published Code of Practice).

We are also quickly approaching our annual Franchise Owner Conference which will again be held in the wonderful surroundings of Whittlebury Hall. Each year our franchise owners join us to hear presentations from clients and industry experts, share best practices and keep up to date with developments at London House.

Godfrey Lancashire