VAT & insurance scam by cowboy mover hurts everyone

Small sized movers operating from the UK can benefit from not having to register for VAT if their annual sales are below something like £60,000, but in Belgium this is not the case. But I have discovered that a small moving firm advertising in Brussels, a name I am prevented by law from giving, is providing quotes with Belgian VAT added on (21%) but is not registered for VAT; not in Belgium nor in the UK.

I was intrigued as to how this firm this could offer to beat all other prices. So I asked for a quote and enquired which VAT number I could give to my employer. All VAT numbers can easily be checked by going to this EU run site: http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/en/vieshome.htm

So I entered the VAT number this firm had given me and lo and behold it wasn't a valid number. So I went back to the firm and told them that the number wasn't valid, the response was to give me a UK VAT number. I was able to check this too and found that I had been given the VAT number of a reputable British moving firm that had no connection whatsoever with this firm in Brussels. But he was charging 21% VAT on top of the price!

Why should you bother if the price is the lowest you've received? Firstly, this firm is engaging in a criminal act. Secondly, the firm is pocketing the VAT as pure profit, which means that, although the firm has provided a price lower than that of its competitors, he's actually cheating you. Thirdly, legitimate movers who have quoted a price in good faith, and who have to account for VAT, are losing out to what is basically a cowboy operator. Everyone loses, except the cowboy.

There's worse to come. I asked about the insurance because I was being quoted 2.5% of value, something I know is well over the moving industry's average. I was given the name of a UK insurer whom I know stopped offering insurance polices for household goods moves two years ago. This is fraud, plain and simple. My guess is the firm is pocketing the insurance money just like the VAT scam it's operating.

Capital Worldwide Limited
Web site: http://www.capital-worldwide.com
Email: moving@capital-worldwide.com
Phone: 02 535 7430