TONY HETHERINGTON: Marks Art offer is second stage scam

Tony Hetherington is the Financial Mail on Sunday’s top researcher, battling readers’ corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those left out of their own pockets. Below you can read how to contact him.

PR writes: I received a cold call from a man claiming to be a former boss of the scam art investment company Smith & Partner Limited.

He knew all the details of my art portfolio and said I could sell my prints but would have to pay £6,600 upfront to have them shipped from storage in Switzerland.

He gave me bank details for payment but the account belongs to another company called Marks Art Limited.

Tony Hetherington replies: Good finished. The call came from Marks Art and you’ve seen what the fraud industry calls a recovery room. This is a second stage scam, where the victims of the original scam promised the return of their lost money, but only if they handed over more money beforehand.

Late last year I exposed Smith & Partner. It is now in liquidation and under investigation by the Metropolitan Police. This does not necessarily mean that Marks Art is unreliable. But it’s fake. Very unreliable. It is advertised: ‘Our artworks can be viewed immediately, purchased online and also by appointment at Marks Art Studio.’

And the website invites: ‘Visit our galleries, both virtual and in person.’ So I headed to Kensington’s International House, the Cromwell Road building in West London, home of Marks Art. But when I got there, it wasn’t just a gallery with no paintings; it was a building without a gallery.

I contacted the owner of the art company, Mark Steven Smith. He explained that although he uses the Kensington address, the location of the gallery itself is a secret. He told me, “With all the crime going on in London, we thought it best not to make our gallery address public.”

This was a puzzle. A review on Trustpilot says: ‘Marks Art Gallery is an absolute gem… an art lover’s haven, offering an unforgettable experience.’ Other reviews support this. But the reviews are fake. Who says that? Trustpilot says so. I was told, “Our fraud detection software has removed 14 fake reviews.” Trustpilot has issued a formal warning to the art company followed by a Cease & Desist announcement.

Just as suspiciously, ads for Marks Art say it has paved the way for all art galleries, investors and artists since 2017. Still, the company’s own accounts say it was inactive until 2020. And Marks Art’s latest accounts show a net worth of £2. Then I found Mark Smith’s previous company, Art Store and Insure Limited. It was compulsorily struck down by Companies House last January and has an unpaid court judgment against £497. Smith told me this was just ‘a critical administrator error’.

And finally, I learned that Smith was recruiting a sales team to sell his photos. They would be in Northern Cyprus. The job: ‘Selling artworks to wealthy individuals.’ Wage and Commission: £120,000. Smith told me: ‘Its warmer climate and lower costs make it more attractive than the prices and weather in London.’

I can’t disagree, but I do wonder if one factor is that virtually no country in the world recognizes Northern Cyprus or its laws, and that it rarely, if ever, extradites criminals to face justice.

Now for the punch line. With your permission, I told Smith that it was you who contacted me. A few minutes later your phone rang. It was the voice of the seller who contacted you from Marks Art. But the mask had fallen off and the polite, sophisticated art expert had turned into Hollywood mobster Jimmy Cagney, who said to you, “So you decided to betray the post.”

I asked Smith how his salesman had so quickly seen my email where I gave Smith your name. He didn’t answer. And this is the same advice I would give to anyone Marks Art contacts: don’t respond.

The pension remains the same after a supplement of £3,788

Mrs JM writes: In April I paid HM Revenue & Customs £3,788 for a further five years of state pension rights.

I checked online through the Government Gateway and my account showed that my qualifying years of National Insurance benefits had increased from age 28 to age 33.

However, there has been no increase in my pension, which has remained at £163 a week.

Delay: you pay the tax office at HMRC, but the state pension comes from another agency, the Department for Work & Pensions

Tony Hetherington replies: You are not the only reader who contacted me after paying additional NI contributions and not receiving a pension increase.

The main reason for the delay seems to be that you pay the tax office at HMRC, but the state pension comes from another agency, the Department for Work & Pensions. Basically, the tax officer has to tell the DWP how much you paid, and then the DWP staff has to calculate the new pension.

How long should this take? A DWP official told me: ‘DWP aims to update state pension records as soon as possible, once we are notified that HMRC has allocated a payment to someone’s NI record.’

The good news is that your administration has reached the top of the pile and you now have a weekly pension of £192, backdated to April.

If you believe you have been the victim of financial misconduct, write to Tony Hetherington of the Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Due to the large number of questions, no personal answers can be given. Only send copies of original documents. Unfortunately, these cannot be returned.