Highland Titles - Previous Incarnations

When I do searches for information regarding the people behind Highland Titles it seems that nobody has anything good to say about them except themselves. These are some bits and pieces I've come across, it seems they have upset a lot of people before now, here is what others have to say.

This  blog post describes some of the other dubious enterprises used by the people behind Highland Titles to dupe members of the public out of their money - https://theanatomyofascam.wordpress.com

From the Daily Mirror - http://www.mirror.co.uk/opinion/money-opinion/p-s-investigates/fee-or-free-telephone-preference-opt-out-282769

"There's the ­Telephone ­Preference Service, run by the Direct Marketing Association, where at no cost you can register your phone number to stop unwanted sales calls.

Then there's Telephone Preference Register's website, www.telephonepreference.org.uk, which sounds official but isn't and wants £9.99 to add you to its opt-out list.

It has just been ruled misleading by the ­Advertising Standards Authority for "leading users to infer it was a Government service".

It gives a mailbox address in London but the site is registered to the Channel Islands in the name of Lochaber ­Highland Estates Ltd.

It's linked to Peter Bevis, 56, who made a packet selling tiny parcels of Scottish woodland, Laird and Lady titles."

From a thread in a fishing forum at - http://www.maggotdrowning.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=124324&whichpage=2

 "I get the impression that posters to this thread would like to know who has - in common sense, if not strictly legal terms - defrauded them and I think I can help. Apologies in advance for the rather long posting however.

Internet investigation by me using the Data Protection registration number quoted by the fraudulent website (Z2497964) reveals that the ‘company’ behind it is indeed called Universal Check Services, of Office 1, 26 Cleveland Road, South Woodford, London, E18 2AN. This also aligns with what is on the Information Commissioner’s Office register, but this also states that the Data Controller is QUALITY DESIGN (CI) LIMITED whose address is PO Box 140, GG, Alderney GY9 3HA, Guernsey (Note: a GY9 postcode indicates Alderney). Some further searching turns up a now defunct web site stating that Quality Design (CI) Limited is registered in Alderney as Company Number 1712.

The people behind Quality Design (CI) Limited are a Dr. Peter Bevis (full name believed to be Peter John Robert Bevis) and his daughter Laura Miriam Bevis. Peter Bevis, a former academic biologist within the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York is a Director of Lochaber Highland Estates Ltd. which sells very small plots of land in Scotland on the basis that the new owners can then call themselves a 'Laird'. Dr. Bevis is either married to or partnered with a Helen McGregor, apparently a former barrister with the Crown Prosecution Service whose legal advice is no doubt invaluable in ensuring that the risk of the family’s activities resulting in prosecution is minimal."

From thefreelibrary - http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Laird+title+sell-off+'a+bit+fishy'.-a0160995732

"A LANDOWNER is selling off an aristocratic title to anyone who pays pounds 20 for a square foot of his estate.

On auction site eBay, Dr Peter Bevis also promises the right to catch salmon in his Highland grounds.

He writes: "Can you imagine your friends' faces when you tell them they must call you Lord 'Whatever' of Lochaber?"

But the angling rights have been called worthless as no mature salmon can leap the Monessie Falls, a waterfall leading to his 60,000-acre Tulloch estate.

Only juvenile salmon can be found in his stretch of the River Spean - and they are protected by law.

Fishery board member Malcolm Spence QC said: "What Bevis is doing is completely wrong. I think it would be a criminal act to fish above the falls.""

It would seem that the people behind Highland Titles have ruffled a few feathers before.

You can read more about their previous exploits by following these links:
http://highlandtitlesscam.wordpress.com/the-fishing-rod-licence-application-scam/
http://highlandtitlesscam.wordpress.com/telephone-preference-opt-out-scam/

Highland Titles Nature Reserve

Highland Titles on their website on the "we are green" page, claim to have recently acquired a 500 acre plot of land using profits, and have set up the Highland Titles Nature Reserve. There is no location given, no map provided showing the location, no disclosure of how much it cost. I have asked organisations like Scottish National Heritage and Visit Scotland if they have ever heard of it, nobody I have contacted has.

The only clue as to the location is that it is near they place they called Glencoe Wood near Duror, and within the Scottish National Heritage Glen Etive and Glen Fyne Special Protection Area. The Glen Etive and Glen Fyne Special Protection Area is vast, covering huge areas of land between Glen Kinglas in the south to Appin in the north. In short, I can't find where it actually is!

An email enquiring as to the whereabouts of the nature reserve got this response.

"The Nature Reserve is sign posted once you are in Glencoe Wood, it is basically across the stream on the opposite side to our plots within the Conservation area."

I could be wrong as I have not enquired with the Scottish Land Registry to find the owner, but I don't think they own or lease the land indicated by the above directions.

What exactly is in the Highland Titles Nature Reserve? I don't know and they are not saying, little information is given on their website.
Here is what I suspect, I can't prove it but I can speculate. I think they did not buy any land, and have said so to try to account for the money they are supposed to be spending on conservation projects. I think that as of this date, the Highland Titles Nature Reserve does not exist on any new land they have purchased.

As always, if I'm wrong and you can point me to where it is, or prove they did actually buy the land, I'll be very happy to report it here.

Scotland On Sunday Highland Titles Comment

There was an article in the newspaper Scotland On Sunday (The Scotsman) a couple of weeks back titled "£30 Title to Lord it over Glencoe". One of the comments has caught my attention, I thought it quite amusing, to the point, and worth repeating here.

Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 11:06 AM

I might have agreed that it is just a bit of fun had Highland Titles not misdescribed what is on offer. Here's how I see it. If I saw a fully restored vintage Rolls Royce for sale and went to view it only to find it was actually a rusty old Ford Escort that had Rolls Royce badges stuck on it and the restoration work was a cardboard and body filler job and a bad re-spray, I'd fail to see the fun side of it. An explanation by the seller that it was just a bit of fun, would not really make me feel any better about wasting my time going to see it.

That's what Highland Titles have done, picked a vintage Rolls Royce location, Glencoe, and stuck Glencoe badges on their rusty old Ford Escort location by calling it Glencoe Wood. When I buy a car I want to view it personally before parting with cash, when folks in Australia, USA, or wherever buy a plot of land from Highland Titles they don't have an opportunity to view before buying, they take it on trust that the item is as described. Now people are finding out that what is on offer is not as described they are quite rightly getting upset about it, their trust had been betrayed. Highland Titles have misdescribed the product, have been caught out in the lie that the land they sell was actually in Glencoe, and people are complaning about the deception, simple, and in my opinion quite understandable.

Quite well put I thought!

Finding Your Highland Titles Glencoe Estates Plot

Highland Titles claim you can find your plot of land just by using an Ordnance Survey map. Like a lot of the information given by Higland Titles, this does not I think bear close scrutiny. Quite simply, Ordnance Survey maps, good as they are, are not accurate enough to be able to accurately locate a square foot of ground, this can be demonstrated using accuracy figures from Ordnance Survey themselves.

Scale and method of original survey		Expected Relative Accuracy at differing confidence levels
		68%	95%	99%
1:1250 scale	Maps surveyed at 1:1250 scale using instrumental methods to provide a framework of controlling detail.	±0.4m	±0.8m	±1.0m
1:2500 scale resurvey/ reformed	Maps surveyed at 1:2500 scale using instrumental methods to provide a framework of controlling detail.	±0.9m	±1.8m	±2.3m
1:2500 scale overhaul	Maps originally recompiled from pre-1946 County Series mapping.	±1.2m	±2.3m	±3.0m
1:10,000 scale *	Maps surveyed at 1:10000 scale using instrumental methods to provide a framework of controlling detail.	±3.5m	±6.7m	±8.8m

* Some generalisation of detail does occur for cartographic reasons on 1:10,000 mapping therefore some points of detail may appear to be less accurate than these standards.

The large scale 1:1250 scale map can only produce an accuracy of plus or minus 1 metre at 99% confidence level. The best 1:2500 scale map can only produce accuracy of plus or minus 2.3 metres at 99% confidence level. I would say it is not therefore possible to locate a 1 square foot plot using an Ordnance Survey map.

The Keeper of the Registers of Scotland seems to agree that the land cannot be found using an Ordnance Survey Map. “The Keeper of the Registers of Scotland cannot accept applications for registration in the land register for land not sufficiently described to allow it to be identified on the Ordnance Survey Map.”

How about GPS, surely that would locate a plot? Again when we examine the accuracy of commercially available GPS systems we find that the accuracy is not sufficient. Garmin, a very respected manufacturer of GPS receivers claim an accuracy of 15 metres on average. "Certain atmospheric factors and other sources of error can affect the accuracy of GPS receivers. Garmin® GPS receivers are accurate to within 15 meters on average."(http://www8.garmin.com/aboutGPS/). Not accurate enough to positively locate a square foot of ground then.

I have no idea how you could possibly locate your square foot of ground, if anybody does please get in touch and let me know, I'd be very interested to find out, and will correct this post if it is a valid method.

A Small Victory On Not For Profits

Looks like the words "not for profit" have now been removed from the Highland Titles website, a small victory perhaps but hey that's a start.

They do however still claim to spend all profits on conservation work though there still is no detailed breakdown on monies spent on conservation work and no detailed accounts of conservation work done to date.

Highland Titles Not For Profit ... Really!

On the Lochaber Highland Estates, Highland Titles "we are green" page (highlandtitles.com/green.asp) on 15/01/2012 it said:

We are proud to be a not-for-profit organisation, and the company pays no dividends or annual bonuses to any investors/owners. Instead, any profit that the company makes is used for three main purposes; tree planting, land maintenance and improvement, and land acquisition.

If they are a not for profit organisation they are not now or ever have been registered as such either in the UK mainland or in the Channel Islands. Registration of not for profit companies is a requirement in both places.

It is quite normal for this size of company not to pay dividends or annual bonuses there is nothing unusual in that. That would not indicate however any restraint in payment of wages! If all profits were used for wages there would not be anything left over would there? Nor would it make the "pays no dividends or annual bonuses" statement untrue.

Do they give any indication of how much money has been used for the three main stated purposes? That would be no!

Highland Titles And Salmon Fishing

How about the Salmon fishing then that sounds good? Ummmm no, fact is that no mature salmon can leap the Monessie Falls, so the part of the river Peter Bevis, Highland Titles, Lochaber Highland Estates, Lochaber Country Club, offer for fishing is a bit thin on the Salmon, unless you visit the fishmonger before you go!

The only Salmon that are in that part of the river are the juvenile ones that were likely put there, they may be able to get out to sea but they won't ever be able to get back again, and anyway juvenile Salmon are protected by law in Scotland, catch one and you'll likely be breaking the law.

"Fishery board member Malcolm Spence QC said: "What Bevis is doing is completely wrong. I think it would be a criminal act to fish above the falls." "

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Laird+title+sell-off+'a+bit+fishy'.-a0160995732

Anyone with genuine knowledge of and interest in conservation in the area would know that, seems to have slipped Mr Bevis' mind ..... ooops!

Peter Bevis Highland Titles And The Scottish Woodland Alliance

Lets have a look at the Scottish Woodland Alliance, it can be found at lairdswood.org.uk. This is not a registered charity, not a registered not for profit company, no other woodland conservation organisations I have contacted in Scotland have ever heard of it, the Forestry Commision have never heard of it. It seems to me to be a company started and run by Mr Bevis.

How do we know that Mr Bevis is likely to be behind it? The domain name details are as follows.
Domain name:
        lairdswood.org.uk

    Registrant:
        Peptide Delivery Network Limit

    Registrant's address:
        St Annes House
Victoria Street St Annes
        Alderney
        Channel Islands
        GY9 3UG
        United Kingdom

We know that Mr Bevis used the company name Peptide Delivery Network because of the administrative contact of another domain lochabercountryclub.com as follows.

Registrant:
 Peptide Delivery Network Limit
 8 St Annes House
 Victoria Street
 St Annes
 Alderney, Channel Islands GY9 3UG
 GB

 Domain name: LOCHABERCOUNTRYCLUB.COM

 Administrative Contact:
    Bevis, Peter

And finally the contact address given on the website is yes you guessed already.

St Anne's House
Victoria Street
St Anne, Alderney
GY9 3UF

I think it would be fairly safe to say that Peter Bevis is the Scottish Woodland Alliance, it is likely to be another one of his companies.

I find it quite unlikely a company called  Peptide Delivery Network Limit in the Channel Islands would have much interest in the preservation of Scottish woodlands!

In the entry of Peter Bevis's profile on Linkedin http://www.linkedin.com/pub/peter-bevis/28/398/2a8 it says:

"Restoring Scottish woodland in association with the SWA."
Well would not be difficult if SWA stands for Scottish Woodland Alliance as it looks to me that Mr Bevis IS the SWA!  ()

What does the SWA do? Well one thing it does is invites visitors to the site to buy a a tiny plot of land via their locaberestates.com website or buy a tree dedication via their lochaberhighlandestates.com website.The inference is that profits from land and tree dedication sales will be used for conservation projects.

Ok so what conservation projects do they run? Who knows, there is no breakdown of any monies spent on anything. There are no accurate details of location of claimed tree planting, no accurate numbers of trees planted, no accurate details of type of trees planted. These I would think would be details they would be happy to publish, but they don't.

Introduction To The Scottish Titles Buy A Title Scam

Welcome to my Lochaber Higland Estate, ok it is just a house with a garden somewhere in Lochaber, but if folks with a one square foot plot of land can say they have an estate, I think I can too!

Companies and individuals have been selling small plots of land in Scotland for years, with the promise that by so doing you can then title yourself Laird, Lord or Lady. Something happened a while back which gave me cause to investigate this arrangement. It quickly became apparent that these people are taking advantage of peoples' vanity, lack of knowledge and confusion to make quite staggering profits, for very little effort

In fact there are no Scottish landowner titles, they do not exist at all, and the whole idea is a con.

There are many companies out there offering to sell land and titles, I don't have time to investigate them all. I'd like to initially confine myself to just one company, perhaps the biggest one with a large marketing effort behind it. The company in question is called Lochaber Highland Estates (CI) Limited, now called Highland Tites. They operate from an offshore address in the Channel Islands at, St Annes House, Victoria St, Alderney, Channel Islands, GY9 3TA. The people behind this company are Peter Bevis, his wife Helen McGregor, Douglas Wilson, and Laura Bevis.

We have evidence of Dr Peter Bevis and family names being associated with the following companies:

Lochaber Highland Estates (CI) Limited company number 1599 - Changed to Highland Titles Ltd Highland Titles (CI) Ltd - Changed to Bought A Plot Limited in June 2016
Lochaber Highland Estates Limited (UK comapny No. SC232098 dissolved 17/10/2008 )
Quality Design (CI) Limited
Peter Bevis Trading as Quality Design
Highland Titles Ltd (Previously Lochaber Highland Estates (CI) Limited)
Tulloch Farm Ltd (SC231883) (previously known as Kerrow Properties Ltd.) (dissolved 17/05/2013)
Coastal Property Services Ltd (04441328)
Pdn Property Ltd (03301756)
Toac Ltd (SC313316 - Tulloch Outdoor Activities Centre)
Universal Check Services
Telephone Preference Register - changed to DP Services Limited (an Alderney Company) 
D P Services Limited (Alderney)
Scottish Woodland Alliance (Feeder Site For Highland Titles, probably just another Bevis company)
Tulloch Outdoor Activity Centre Ltd (name changed to Highland Activities Ltd 02 Feb 11)
Highland Activities Ltd (SC311105)
Lochaber Country Club
Peptide Delivery Network Limited, PO Box 146, Tortola, British Virgin Islands
SAR Monitoring Services
SAR Leasing Ltd (name changed to Lochaber Highland Estates Limited)
Quexus Ltd (British Virgin Islands - Owns Tulloch Farm)
Tulloch Farm Enterprises Limited - Company Number: SC457446 - Incorporated 22/08/2013
Lochaber Giftware Limited - Company Number: SC457619 - Incorporated 27/08/2013
D P Services (UK) Limited - Company Number: 08662796 - Incorporated 27/08/2013
Emerald Heritage Limited - Company Number  SC471768 -  Incorporated 27/08/2013
Highland Titles Limited - Company Number SC493850 - Incorporated 22/12/2014
Uccle Limited - Seychelles International Business Company No. 94913
Highland Titles Ltd British Virgin Islands (seen on trademark application)
Wildcat Haven Enterprises CIC Douglas Wilson (son in law of Peter Bevis) director.
Little Landowners Ltd Company number 11477641 Douglas Wilson director & secretary
The Little Land Company Limited, registered in Guernsey Company number 64451- Polmear Lodge La Route de Sausmarez St Martin GUERNSEY GY4 6SG
Sanopay Limited Company number 10579361 Douglas Wilson director.
Dot Com Limited a company registered in Alderney number 1936.

Highland Titles OÜ registered in Estonia, number 14943194, manages HT website.

Highland Titles, PO Box 7059, Roybridge, PH31 4WA, Scotland.

Scottish Highlands - company number 69292 Guernsey. Now manages HT website. https://www.greg.gg/webCompSearchDetails.aspx?id=mQ8rpwiAzrk=&r=0&crn=

Glenacres Limited. Company Number:14864426

Rannoch Retreat Limited. Company number SC782866

Gifted OÜ registered in Estonia company number 14943194 used to be Highland Titles OÜ. Details here Is currently (10/11/2024) being used trading as Square Crows.

Town Calendar OÜ registered in Estonia company number 16961138. Details here.

The Telephone Preference Register company inferred it was a Government service where people could register to stop nuisance telephone calls, but was not an official Government website, and charged unsuspecting members of the public for something they can do themselves for free. The Advertising Standards Authority have already upheld a complaint about it. http://www.mirror.co.uk/opinion/money-opinion/p-s-investigates/fee-or-free-telephone-preference-opt-out-282769

I think that is enough for my first post, in this blog I'll continue to investigate and uncover the web of misinformation, deceit and outright lies these people spin in order to make massive profits.