TONY HETHERINGTON: Unreliable license plate firm Click4Reg has failed to deliver again

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

Mrs LL writes: Last November, Click4Reg Ltd contacted me and said a buyer had offered £6,000 for my personalized number plate.

I accepted and signed the transfer forms but it then said there was a backlog with the DVLA.

After a few months my son called DVLA and was told there was no backlog, so I called Click4Reg and a recorded message said the company had gone bankrupt.

They confirmed this in writing, but Companies House still showed the company was active.

Tony Hetherington replies: You and other Click4Reg customers have been victims of a series of falsehoods put out by the company and its boss Elie Gabriel Fakhoury.

Last year I received complaints from car owners who had offered their personalized license plate for sale via his website. The buyers paid the company and received the ported number, but the sellers – like you – were left on the sidelines.

One excuse after another followed. The company claimed that its phones were undergoing maintenance. Then all his payment systems collapsed. And the whole time it was all supposedly the DVLA’s fault.

In December I managed to recover £150 for one victim and published a warning, but in January Click4Reg told its customers: ‘It is with great regret that we inform you that Click4Reg Ltd has recently been placed into administration as of 28 December 2023. ‘

Surprise, surprise… but this wasn’t true either!

Click4Reg, based in St Leonards-on-Sea in East Sussex, has never been on the board. And worse still, Emma Mifsud, director of insolvency practice Opus, told me: ‘The director of the firm has formally instructed Opus Restructuring LLP to assist with the liquidation of the company on October 18, 2023.’

That’s right. When Elie Fakhoury told you last November that a buyer was queuing up to hand over £6,000 for your license number, he had already made plans to liquidate his company.

But it did not go bankrupt until April 30, when it was in the red to the tune of more than £755,000 and owed money to 651 customers.

Does this mean the company continued trading even though the boss knew it was going bankrupt? The trustees will only say that they are preparing a confidential report for the Insolvency Service.

I’m sure the report will show where the customers’ money went.

You see, over £800,000 was lent to a company called The Sussex Exchange Limited. It went bankrupt last July. And who owned it? Elie Gabriel Fakhoury, of course.

The company’s administrators reported two months ago that he had failed to hand over the company’s books and records, but they have received claims from creditors totaling £1.8 million. Once again the investigations are continuing.

Both companies have debt judgments against them, but I doubt Fakhoury himself will be found wanting.

He celebrated his 41st birthday last Monday and is still running four companies, although all four have failed to submit bills that are legally due, so whether they will survive remains to be seen.

Fakhoury was repeatedly invited to comment, but said not a word – not even a word of regret.

Why didn’t I get a Nationwide bonus?

Mrs JP writes: I am 82 years old and have been a member of Nationwide Building Society for over 40 years. I was not included in the member bonus.

I complained that they falsely advertised that all members were rewarded when this was not the case. This is unfair. I’m afraid this could happen in the future. Am I a member or not?

Missing out: At Nationwide, not all members are equal

Tony Hetherington replies: You are a national member, but not all members are equal.

The association told me: ‘All of our members share in our success, and the Nationwide Fairer Share Payment is just one way we reward members who have chosen us for their everyday banking relationship.’

It explained that you are only eligible if you have both a qualifying checking account and a qualifying savings account or mortgage.

You have a Flex current account, savings and an Isa, so you’re kind of a second-class member. But Nationwide’s website states: ‘When we benefit, our members benefit too.’ This gives the false impression that being a member is enough, when that is clearly not the case. It also advertises: ‘Our members decide how we are governed’, which again is incorrect.

When Nationwide paid £2.9 billion to acquire Virgin Money, it refused to give its members any say. They might have taken the view that if Nationwide found almost £3 billion, it could have reduced interest rates for borrowers, or raised them for savers. Virgin shareholders had a vote, but national members did not.

During the annual meeting, members could only watch online. If this is democracy, Nationwide might as well leave its Swindon headquarters and move to Moscow.

After being a member for over 30 years, I am quitting.

If you believe you have been a victim of financial misconduct, please write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Due to the large number of questions, personal answers cannot be given. Only send copies of original documents. Unfortunately, these cannot be returned.