Vicar’s house is stolen by ID fraudsters
Property sold while clergyman away
A CLERGYMAN has told of his shock after his house was sold and had all its contents removed without his knowledge.
Reverend Mike Hall had been working away from the house for an extended period of time when a neighbour alerted him that they had spotted a stranger inside.
When he arrived the next day, Mr Hall found his key no longer fitted the lock and a man who answered the door said he was carrying out building work on behalf of the new owner.
After telling the builder he hadn’t sold the house, which is in Luton, Bedfordshire, Mr Hall found to his shock that it had been ‘totally stripped of furniture... All furnishings, carpet, curtains – everything – was out of the property.’
Mr Hall, who had been working in Wales, contacted the police while the builder got hold of the new owner’s father, who said he had bought the house in July and warned: ‘It is now my property. You are now trespassing. Get out.’
He then accessed the Land Registry’s property documentation online, only to find that it was in the new owner’s name.
A fake driving licence in his name had been used to impersonate Mr Hall and a bank account had also been set up in his name, which the proceeds of the sale had been paid into.
Land Registry records show the new proprietor is Jasssveer Singh Sehdevv, who also lives in
Luton. The house had been purchased for £131,000 on July 20 and its title deeds were transferred two weeks later.
At first, Bedfordshire Police officers refused to become involved after Land Registry records showed the property to be in the new owner’s name. Its fraud squad only agreed to investigate when BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme looked into the case.
Mr Hall said: ‘My interest is totally about making the public aware of how vulnerable they are in terms of identity and property. This scenario has revealed how vulnerable our system is, whether through getting personal ID from the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) or birth certificates or any other documents that might substantiate someone’s claim to be an individual.’
The Land Registry’s register of title is protected by state guarantee and someone who is found to have been damaged by an error is entitled to be repaid out of public funds.
The government body, which paid £3.5million last year to compensate fraud victims, said: ‘We work with professional conveyancers, such as solicitors, and rely on them and the checks that they make to spot fraudulent attempts to impersonate property owners.’
The conveyancing solicitors involved in the property’s transfer said they were unable to comment due to the police investigation. ‘We will continue to co-operate with the police and comply with our professional obligations,’ they added.
‘Home owners vulnerable’