Highland Titles Glencoe Estates in Private Eye - Buy a Title Scam

Thanks to a reader we can report that Highland Titles Glencoe Estates have made it into the pages of the magazine Private Eye, issue number 1328 ....  And again in Private Eye (issue number 1339 page 11) when they were caught using fake newspaper articles.

"LAIRDSHIPS 

Meet the Macduffers

WARNINGS from Forestry Commission Scotland that owners of woodland face £5,000 fines if they fail to tackle diseased ash trees present a new problem for the already questionable business of selling tiny parcels of land and telling punters that purchase entitles them to call themselves Laird or Lady.

The gift lairdship industry has been around for a while, despite consumer groups warning that owning patches of land – some as small as a square foot does not really entitle people to a title. According to the Court of the Lord Lyon (in charge of all things heraldic in Scotland), the title “Laird” is “not appropriate for the owner of a normal residential property, far less the owner of a small souvenir plot of land”.

One of the largest lairdship companies, Highland Titles, offers all its buyers the title Laird or Lady of Glencoe and the “right” to wear Glencoe tartan and bear the Glencoe coat of arms -even though the Glencoe Woods where the small plots are for sale aren’t even part of the Glencoe estate, but on the nearby Keil Estate.

As well as looking silly, purchasers who use the Glencoe crest would risk committing an offence under Scottish heraldic law (something Scottish football clubs have recently discovered is very much alive and kicking).

Highland Titles, which is registered in, er, Guernsey and run by self-styled “philanthropist, conservationist, biologist” Peter Bevis, advertises that its woods consist of “native Scottish broadleaf, either oak, ash, rowan, hazel…” A Forestry Commission Scotland spokesman tells the Eye that statutory plant health notices could be served on either the owner or manager of woodland, which would be decided on a case by case basis. Fines are imposed for failure to comply.

Lairdship companies could of course reassure customers that there is no such risk by admitting that since souvenir plots are not registered in the Land Register, buyers don’t actually own the land any more than they do the title (as Registers of Scotland warned in a law journal article earlier this year). But then, what could they claim to be selling?"

Highland Titles have mentioned this article on their own Facebook page, and in typical fashion have put their owns spin on it and as usual their take is - let's just say somewhat misleading. They have even altered the text on the Highland Titles website to support their new story. Lets have a look at what is says on the relevant bits of their Facebook page text.

"Unfortunately the gist of the piece is that all our Lairds might find themselves liable for dealing with Ash Dieback, 

the fungal disease chalara that is sweeping through British ash trees. There are fines for landowners who fail to deal with diseased ash trees. 

Unfortunately for Private Eye, they were so excited with the potentially humorous side of this story that nobody thought to check whether the Mountain Ash that forms a part of the understory of Glencoe Wood is related to the ash trees that suffer from Ash Dieback. 

Forestry Commission state:
Rowan trees are easily mistaken for ash but they are not susceptible to chalara and should not be reported."

Unfortunately for Highland Tiltes, the Private Eye article made no mention of trees which may have been recently planted. Glencoe Wood also consists of MATURE woodland, and some of that woodland has been sold as plots. I'd be very surprised indeed if none of that mature native woodland did not have ash trees susceptible to ash dieback. Highland Titles seem to have forgotten to mention this - ooops!

The have also changed the story about their planting on the Highland Titles website to suit.

From Google cache at 25 November 2012 on the FAQs page.

“The type of tree we plant for you will depend on the type of land we plant it in. It will be a native Scottish broadleaf, probably an oak, ash, rowan, hazel, birch, holly, willow or alder.”

But on 01 December 2012 the same FAQ now reads.

“The type of tree we plant for you will depend on the type of land we plant it in. It will be a native Scottish broadleaf, probably an oak, mountain ash (rowan), hazel, birch, holly, willow or alder.”

Glencoe Wood is mature woodland, long predating Highland Titles. Their argument that MOUNTAIN ASH is not ASH is a classic straw man ploy, they can use it to make the article look ridiculous, even though it wasn't what was said. Highland Titles can not honestly say there are no ash trees in Glencoe Wood, they have not exhaustively catalogued all of trees in the wood, and it is a suitable native species as they acknowledged in their (now amended) planting list.

In fact we have it from Highland Titles own material that Keil Hill does indeed contain native Ash trees, from their own "Interpretive Plan" http://highlandtitles.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Interpretive-Plan-Final.pdf save a copy before they change it, I have!!.

"Keil Hill has two relict areas of established deciduous woodland, with a mixture of birch, oak, ash, hazel, rowan and holly and willow. The Hill enjoys a damp, humid climate with high rainfall and acidic soils. Salachan as a place name, means "willow"."

Note that Ash and Rowan are mentioned separately!  Oh dear Highalnd Titles caught out fibbing yet again! If you bought a plot and it contains any ash trees, you could indeed be liable if you fail to tackle diseased ash trees as pointed out by Highland Titles own Facebook page. Unless of course you don't really own the land, in which case you have been conned, and you'd have to wonder what you did actually buy?

Highland Titles have made another appearance in Private Eye (issue number 1339 page 11), when they were caught using fake newspaper articles as part of their marketing effort, read about it here.

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I have a lot more evidence suggesting dishonest and unethical business practices by several souvenir plot / title vendors which I have not published.. If you are a bona fide journalist or Government department with an interest in investigating this business and would like access to that evidence, please get in touch with me by using the email address on the right or sending me a comment marked "confidential", I will not publish comments so marked.

Highland Titles Glencoe Estates Diamond Jubilee Wood Project At Keil Hill

Highland Titles Glencoe Estates claim to be planting a 60 acre 30,000 tree Diamond Jubilee Wood at Keil hill http://www.diamondjubileewood.com, and also claim that the Woodland Trust examined the site to give advice.

Quotes from their website

"and have been most appreciative of the advice given to us by the Woodland Trust** on the suitability of our proposed project"

"** Highland Titles acknowledges the valuable support given by the Woodland Trust during their visit to Keil Hill to inspect the site with us in 2011."

"Our plans have already been laid with the active support and expertise of various conservation bodies."

I was concerned about the suitability of the site for the planting of native Scottish species of trees, so I contacted the Woodland Trust to enquire as to whether they did conduct a site inspection and what the results of the inspection were. Below is the reply from Andrew Campbell, Senior Advice and Partnerships Manager for the Woodland Trust.

Dear xxxxx

Your e-mail has been passed to me for my attention.

We are aware of Highland Titles and their web-site regarding their Diamond Jubilee Wood.

I did visit the site in October 2011 following an enquiry by the owner about the suitability of the site as a Diamond Jubilee Wood as part of the Woodland Trust’s UK Jubilee Woods project.

We did not approve the site as a Diamond Jubilee wood candidate on the grounds of area (the possible planting areas identified as suitable for native tree species was less than our required 60 acres) and the limited people engagement opportunities during the establishment stage on the site.  Following us turning this Diamond Jubilee Woodland proposal down we have had no further correspondence with the owners or their local agent.

For clarification, we are not endorsing this site - this is a project entirely separate from our own Woodland Trust Jubilee Woods project.

With regards

Andrew Campbell
Senior Advice and Partnerships Manager

In this newsletter (*** see note at foot) Highland Titles claimed that they were in "partnership with the Jubilee Wood project for The Woodland Trust". This is clearly misleading as the Woodland Trust did not approve the project. Even though they were rejected as being unsuitable, they still claimed to be a part of the Woodland Trust Jubilee Wood project!

If Highland Titles Glencoe Estates are actually planting this wood on Keil Hill, they are doing so without advice given by the experts at the Woodland Trust.

Which must also bring into question the suitability of the site for all the other trees they claim to be planting. If the Woodland Trust could not find 60 acres suitable for the planting of native species of trees, where then are they planting the thousands of trees every year they are claiming?

Readers may also be interested in this blog post.

*** The text in this newsletter has been altered recently. I will put up a link to the original which I have a copy of when I find somewhere to put it and the time to put it there. Thanks to this forum thread for alerting me to this fact http://www.scots-titles.com/forum/fake-scots-titles-exposed-group3/scots-title-reseller-scams-forum12/scottish-highland-titles-no-longer-trading-thread6.52#postid-934

Original Highland Titles newsletter text reads:
"Highland Titles is proud to announce a new partnership with the Jubilee Wood project for the Woodland Trust"

Altered Highland Titles newsletter text reads:
"Highland Titles is proud to announce a new project; creating a Diamond Jubilee Wood with advice from the Woodland Trust"

UPDATE 26/08/2012

The text on the diamondjubileewood.com website has now also changed and so has the story. It now reads:

"Highland Titles acknowledges the valuable support given by the Woodland Trust during their visit to Keil Hill to inspect the site with us in 2011. The Woodland Trust confirmed that the land was entirely suitable for planting, but that as only 50 acres of the proposed new 60 acre wood would be newly planted (the other 10 acres being existing larch woodland and birch) we would not qualify to be included in their Diamond Woods scheme"

Andrew Campbell of the Woodland Trust denies having ever indicated that the land is suitable for planting, either in part or as a whole.

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I have a lot more evidence suggesting dishonest and unethical business practices by several souvenir plot / title vendors which I have not published.. If you are a bona fide journalist or Government department with an interest in investigating this business and would like access to that evidence, please get in touch with me by using the email address on the right or sending me a comment marked "confidential", I will not publish comments so marked

Highland Titles Glencoe Estates Conservation Scam?

What can you do about it if you were to discover that Highland Titles Glencoe Estates are not carrying out the conservation work that you expected? In a two words .... not much!

Here is how it works ......

When you buy a plot of land in Scotland from Highland Titles you enter into a contract to buy that plot of land and the documents that go with it, nothing else. That contract makes no mention of any promises to do anything else, you are not buying a promise to do any conservation work. As they have supplied the land and documents their part of the contract is now fulfilled and as you have paid for it so is your part, that is the end of obligation on both parties.

So if Highland Titles Glencoe Estates do not do the conservation work that you thought they were going to do, their is little you can do about it as the contract is fulfilled, you suffer no material loss as you have your land, so you have no claim.

When it comes to the conservation work that they supposedly do, it is literally a case of "Buyer Beware". They have no contract with buyers to do any conservation work, and can even should they choose to do so mislead, and say they have done work which they have not done. Legally there is little you could do about it as you have suffered no material loss.

Highland Titles Glencoe Estates are not a conservation company, they do not sell conservation. As they say themselves on the home page of their website "We only sell plots of land ."

Highland Titles Glencoe Estates as far as I am aware produce very little in the way of details of conservation work they have actually completed. Oh they have done some, but exactly how much, nobody with the exception of themselves seems to know. They do not produce yearly figures detailing for instance numbers of trees planted, locations of planted trees, yards of paths built and to what standard. They publish no figures that I can find detailing their annual income or expenditure on conservation work, making it difficult for anyone to satisfy themselves that a reasonable amount of revenue is actually being spent on conservation work.

If I go to the website of a reputable conservation charity like the Woodland Trust, I can find out pretty much everything they have been doing with locations and figures, and indeed get a copy of their annual accounts. With Highland Titles when I go to their website looking for specific numbers and locations I find ...... virtually nothing.

Is it not strange that a company who claims to be doing so much conservation works seems to have no interest in publishing exact details of their work to date, and let people know what percentage of income is actually spent on that work? You'd have to wonder if they might have something to hide?

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I have a lot more evidence suggesting dishonest and unethical business practices by several souvenir plot / title vendors which I have not published.. If you are a bona fide journalist or Government department with an interest in investigating this business and would like access to that evidence, please get in touch with me by using the email address on the right or sending me a comment marked "confidential", I will not publish comments so marked

Can I Put My Highland Titles - Glencoe Estates Title On A UK Driving License?

This was included in another post in shortened form but I think it is worth repeating in full on a post of its own.

Highland Titles - Glencoe Estates suggest that you may be able put a title such as Lord or Lady on a UK driving license after buying one of their plots, this is not the case. If you want to find out it is an easy task to just ask the people that actually issue driving licences in the UK, the Driving And Vehicle License Agency (DVLA). An information request asking if there is a policy for titles on driving licenses was duly made to the DVLA, here is their reply.


TITLE CODES
When inputting any transaction we have to include a title, to do this we key in a
number rather than the actual title. Below is a list of the title codes: -
1 - Mr
2 - Mrs
3 - Miss
4 - Female with no prefix e.g. Jane Jones
5 - Male with no prefix e.g. David Jones
6 - Female with a different title to number 2 and 3 e.g. Dr, Lady or Ms
7 - Male with a different title to number 1 e.g. Dr, Rev or Sir
8 - Female without a surname e.g. Lady Clydach or Duchess of Swansea
9 - Male without surname e.g. Lord Pontardawe or Duke of Swansea

· If someone wants to be known by an alias use:
Code 8 for Female
Code 9 for Male

The alias must be entered in the TITLE field, not the surname and forename fields.

· When someone quotes distinction letters after their name, enter the surname as
usual followed by a comma and then the distinction.
E.g. Jones, SRN
Davies, MBE

· Service titles should be entered the same way as civilian titles :
E.g. Code 6 (female) - Brigadier
Code 7 (male) - Major


HEREDITARY AND CONFERRED TITLES
· If the applicant is found in “Who’s Who” or “Debretts”, or submits satisfactory
evidence of entitlement to a hereditary or conferred title, the application should be
keyed following the general rules for all title codes.

· Staff are reminded, however, that when keying title codes 8 or 9 the full title and
requested name must be entered. These codes will suppress all other personal
details used to create the Driver Number.

· Always DAM the licence back to check that the licence has been produced in the
correct format.

BOUGHT TITLES
When a Title deed is received requesting a change of title e.g. “Mr” to
“Lord”, a check of “Who’s Who” (held on some Input teams and Business
Support) or “Debretts” (held in Open Resource Centre, A Block) must be
undertaken. This will establish whether the title has been ‘bought’ or has
been obtained as a genuine title. If a title cannot be located in either
publication it is safe to assume it has been ‘bought’. In such cases the
application must be rejected for a Deed Poll or Statutory Declaration as
evidence of a change of name.

· ‘Bought’ titles do not give rights to a spouse. For example a female applicant
could not claim the title of “Lady” on the strength of her husband buying a title in
his name only. She must submit a Deed Poll either in her own name or as part of
a joint title.

· The applicant should be advised that we are following the practice of the UK
Passport Agency in doing this and consequently, our procedures are subject to
change in the future

· The bought title (Lord, Baron etc) should form the first forename. The title code 4
or 5 should be used to suppress any other title.

· DAM the licence back to check.

So there you are, that is the official line from the DVLA, unless you are in Who's Who or Debretts you cannot have you title put on a UK driving license as a title. The fake titles sold by Highland Titles will not get you into either of those reference books. If you were set on having a Lord Lady or Laird title on your driving license you might be in for a disappointment.

This is yet another example of misinformation supplied by the Highland Titles scam to try to persuade trusting people to part with their hard earned money, please please please don't fall for it.

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/

Did Highland Titles Buy Their Land For Conservation?

Highland Titles claim to have originally bought their estate to protect it from development, this claim simply does not hold up to scrutiny. In fact they sell quarter acre and half acre plots of their estate for devlopment purposes. Remember when the people behind Highland Titles called themselves Lochaber Highland Estates? This is what they said then and are still saying now. To quote from one of their own websites

"The Woodland Sites being offered may be suitable for leisure use or some sensitive development. The land is not zoned for development though temporary structures are normally permitted. However, planning permission may be possible in the future and so the plots offer an interesting long term investment"

These plots are situated on Native Scottish Woodland, development of them would result in destruction of much of that woodland, yet Highland Titles who claim to be so interested in conservation are actively encouraging development! Does anybody still believe they are very interested in conservation?

How Much Money Is Left After The Wages Are Paid?

Interestingly on her BBC Radio Guernsey interview Alex Flewitt agreed with Murray Norton that Highland Titles are the biggest employer on Alderney with 26 employees. Yes that is what she said, 26 employees, and that is just on Alderney, presumably there will be some in the UK too, otherwise how is all that "conservation work" getting done?

You might like to think about how much is going to be left over for "conservation work" after paying out the wage bill before making a contribution.

There is no mention of numbers of employees in the UK. There is only one that I know of, John MacDanold their ghillie, and I happen to know he also works for the National Trust for Scotland so he is part time. If it is the case that he is the only UK employee, who is doing all Highland Titles' conservation work?

Lady Alex Flewitt From Highland Titles On BBC Radio Guernsey

Lady Alex Flewitt of Highland Titles was recently on BBC Radio Guernsey being interviewed by Murray Norton. Here are some quotations (in green) from that, and my comments.

Alex Flewitt - "Under Scottish landowners law you can become the Laird Lord or Lady of the land"

There is no Scottish landowners law which states this, this law does not exist, this statement is nonsense, they just made that up. The only Lord and Lady titles available in Scotland are those awarded to peers, Laird is not even a title at all.

Murray Norton - "So what would the title be"
Alex Flewitt - "Laird Of Glencoe"

This would infer (to me anyway) that the land for sale would therefore be in Glencoe, this is not the case. The land sold by Highland Titles in not in Glencoe, it is 15 miles or so from Glencoe in a small patch of land which Highland Titles just called Glencoe Wood, though it had never been known by this name before, and has no connection at all to Glencoe. Laird Of Glencoe is not a genuine title, it is a trademark registered with the IPO by Highland Titles. A company called Lord Titles pulled the same stunt as can be seen in this Advertising Standards Authority ruling. "We also noted the titles Lord of the Manor of Wansley and Lady of the Manor of Wansley were registered as trademarks with the IPO, rather than being genuine titles".

Alex Flewitt - "Did a bit of Australian telly out there and eh we got upgraded straight away first class flights and hotel as soon as they see that title they go a little bit crazy"

This is really quite a serious claim. Firstly, you do not actually have a title, all you have done is changed your name to for instance Lord Of Glencoe, Lord being your first name not your title. Secondly it is illegal in the UK to change your name for the purposes of fraud. Should an airline or hotel offer upgraded services on the basis that you are in fact a real Lord, should you not volunteer the information that you are not really a lord, and that Lord is actually your first name, you could leave yourself open to an accusation of fraud, which is a criminal offense. The UK Home Office advice on this is quite clear as can be seen in this document http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/agencies-public-bodies/ips/passports-policy-publications/titles-included-in-passports?view=Binary

Quotation from the official UK Home Office Document:
"There are companies that change an individual's name to include a title. Legal advice has been sought on this issue and the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) policy is based on the advice received.
It is clear an individual can call themselves any name they wish providing is not for a fraudulent purpose. However, it is believed there is no legal basis for a person to change their title: e.g. from Mr to Lord. It follows, therefore, that applicants have the right to change their name, for example, from Mr John Smith to Mr Sir John Smith and adopt "Sir" as an additional forename. But they cannot change their title from Mr John Smith to Sir John Smith"

The service offered by Highland Titles is merely a change of name service and does not confer a real title. Buyers believing they have a real title could inadvertently leave themselves open to a criminal charge of fraud. Furthermore, suggesting that you can get upgraded services etc. by changing your name, is without doubt an encouragement to buyers to break the law by changing their name for a fraudulent purpose.

Alex Flewitt - "you have your co-ordinates that you can plumb into your sat-nav, come up to the land, and eh go and find your exact square foot"

It is not possible to exactly locate a square foot of land with any commercially available sat-nav receiver. Garmin, a very respected manufacturer of GPS receivers claim an accuracy of 15 meters 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/).

Alex Flewitt - "We've got 19 pairs of golden eagles that reside on the land"

19 pairs of golden eagles could not possibly reside on 750 acres of land, the idea is utterly preposterous. There are only 19 pairs of golden eagles residing in the whole of the Scottish National Heritage Glen Etive And Loch Fyne Special Protection Area which covers a vast area from Glen Kinglas in the south to Appin in the north. http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/strategy/GEConsult/5.5A-GLENETIVEGLENFYNECASE-B437685.pdf map at http://www.snh.gov.uk/docs/B722753.pdf

Murray Norton - "Can I change the passport"
Alex Flewitt - "Anything that has your previous title on it is fine"

This is misinformation and it needs to be absolutely clear that according to the Home Office you cannot put a title that you do not have on a UK Passport. The Home Office advice on this is again very clear as taken from the following document, http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/agencies-public-bodies/ips/passports-policy-publications/titles-included-in-passports?view=Binary

Quotation from the official UK Home Office Document:
"There are companies that change an individual's name to include a title. Legal advice has been sought on this issue and the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) policy is based on the advice received.

It is clear an individual can call themselves any name they wish providing is not for a fraudulent purpose. However, it is believed there is no legal basis for a person to change their title: e.g. from Mr to Lord. It follows, therefore, that applicants have the right to change their name, for example, from Mr John Smith to Mr Sir John Smith and adopt "Sir" as an additional forename. But they cannot change their title from Mr John Smith to Sir John Smith.

As there is a right for an applicant to change their name by deed poll, the presumed title can appear on the personal details page of the passport as a forename with an observation being entered relating to the name change. An observation is required in any case where there is the potential for any name change to mislead; this includes reference to a title and to maintain the integrity of the passport.
In cases where an applicant has adopted a description of a title of nobility as a forename the observation to be entered is:
• THE REFERENCE TO .............................................. IS TO THE HOLDER'S NAME AND NOT TO THE HOLDER'S TITLE.(e.g. LORD; SIR; BARON; ETC.)

This observation should automatically be placed in the passport of any such applicant and there is no need to contact them unless the application form is completed in a way that indicates the customer believes they are applying for a change of title rather than of name. In these circumstances the applicant should be advised of how the data will be displayed in the passport and of the observation that will be entered in the document.

The above observation should also be used in all renewal applications where the children's and adult's birth names are similarly misleading, for example where names on birth certificates are registered as Princess, Prince, Earl, Duke, etc."

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.

Get A Free Plot Of Land In Scotland! Why Buy A Fake Title

Instead of paying the likes of Highland Titles Glencoe Estates, Lochaber Highland Estates, Scottish Titles or any other dubious people money for a personal right (souvenir land plots in Scotland cannot be properly owned) to a tiny square of land, get a bit of land for free!

Buy a bottle of Laphroig whisky and they will give you a free lifetime lease on square foot of land in Scotland, yes it's true!
http://www.laphroaig.com/friends/registration/CodeCheck.aspx
http://www.laphroaig.com/friends/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2ffriends%2fplots

And here is what you get
http://scotchaddict.com/my-lifetime-lease-on-a-square-foot-of-islay.html

Sounds like a deal to me, the whisky is very good (trust me here I know what I'm talking about :-)), and you get a free plot of land.

Why actually buy a personal right to a worthless plot of land when you can get one for free??

No they don't claim you can call yourself a Laird, Lord, Lady or any of that nonsense, who buys a plot of land and actually really does that anyway? Though if you must you can do that for free too, just follow the guidelines here you don't even need any land to legally change your name in Scotland.

They don't even claim to do conservation work then don't do any!

So to all our friends in Australia, USA, Canada, and the rest of the world .... why are you waiting!!

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.

Laird Of Glencoe Trademark

I find it very odd that a company selling small plots of land supposedly in Glencoe so that supposedly buyers can then call themselves "Laird Of Glencoe" would trademark the phrase "Laird Of Glencoe" but it has happened!

Yes folks, Lochaber Highland Estates (CI) Limited soon to be Highland Titles Limited have indeed trademarked Laird Of Glencoe on paper, cardboard and goods made from these materials.

So you can call yourself Laird Of Glencoe just don't write it on anything or they could sue you! There is no indication on their website that this is a trademark, nor any indication that buyers of their plots have any right to use it or any restrictions of use. Oh, that also proves quite conclusively that they themselves don't consider Laird to be a real title at all. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot!

Taken from the document at http://www.ipo.gov.uk/t-tmj/journals/6881/t-tmj-jnl-6881.pdf

Scottish Title Sellers And Conservation Part 1

One of the ways the appeal of the "buy land get a title" scam is increased is to claim to do conservation work, that way even if folks realise the "title" thing is a bit of a scam at least they will be contributing to something useful, right? Well not necessarily as we shall see.

Some of these land/title sellers claim to do conservation work, and some of them produce information to back this up. Most if not all of the conservation information produced by these people is sketchy at best with little accurate particulars of work done or money spent given. Lets have a look at just one bit of information given by Peter Bevis / Lochaber Highland Estates (CI) Limited / Highand Titles (or whatever they are calling themselves this month), and see why it is misleading, but might well lead the reader to think they were doing something, when in fact they are doing little or nothing at all. So we'll have a look at what it said in a section of their Highland Titles website on 20/01/2012 and then examine it in detail.

Here is what the website said on 20/01/2012.

Glen Etive and Glen Fyne SPA for Golden Eagles

The Glen Etive and Glen Fyne SPA regularly supports a population of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) of European importance and with 19 active territories in 2003 it represents a significant percentage of Scotland's total population of these endangered birds.

Fund raising in 2011 has enabled us to realise the dream of acquiring a tract of land which will enable us to protect and conserve Scotland's iconic bird of prey, the Golden Eagle. This protected area, to be known as the Highland Titles Nature Reserve, is a large predominantly upland site, rising from sea level to over 1100m. It encompasses a diverse range of habitats including heather moorland, rough grassland, blanket bog, native woodland, montane heaths and exposed rock and scree. There are also freshwater lochans and streams.
Funding for this Nature Reserve has come directly from all our Lairds, but we must pay tribute here to the support that we have received in Q1 2011 from Australia.

And they showed this map of the area. (logo has been altered on this one)

Ok so what's wrong with that then I hear you say, that sounds really good, buying land, setting up Golden Eagle sanctuaries even a whole nature reserve, sounds like something getting done there ...... Errrmmmm don't think so!

Ok read it again and look at the map, does it give any specific particulars? does it say where the land is? does it show where the land is on the map? The answer is of course no, if you read it carefully all it actually says they have actually done is "acquire" a piece of land (they later claimed to have only leased it when put under pressure). Everything is in the future, nothing has yet been done. They don't even say or indicate where that land is located.

The map they provided isn't even their map, they stole it from Scottish National Heritage and re-branded it with their own logo!

The truth of the matter is this, Scottish Natural Heritage set up 6 Golden Eagle Special Protection Areas (SPAs) which took place from 13 January 2010 - 7 April 2010, 6 sites were classified by Scottish Ministers on 28 October 2010. http://www.snh.gov.uk/protecting-scotlands-nature/protected-areas/international-designations/spa/classification/ One of those SPA's is called Glen Etive and Glen Fyne.

Now compare the text from the website with the text in this SNH document see the similarity there! Then look at the map provided by Scottish National Heritage at http://www.snh.gov.uk/docs/B722753.pdf looks familiar to me.

The area this SPA covers is vast and there are many many landowners involved, all of whom are REQUIRED by law to protect the Golden Eagle.

You see the deception here, they make it look like they have set up some protection area for Golden Eagles, when in fact the Golden Eagle Special Protection Areas were set up by Scottish National Heritage and the Scottish Government. If Lochaber Highland Estates / Highland Titles / Peter Bevis owns any land within the boundary of the SPA the law already requires them to protect Golden Eagles. The same applies to all of the many other landowners within the SPA.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2010/10/28100843

Since I started writing this, Scottish National Heritage have complained about the theft alteration & use of their copyright map on the Highland Titles website without their permission. The map has now been removed from their website!

If Lochaber Highland Estates, Highland Titles would care to say where their Golden Eagle conservation site actually is, and what exactly they have done, I'd be very happy to pass that on.

My own wee Lochaber Highland Estate (without a Highland Title attached) falls within the boundary of the SPA, I'm protecting Golden Eagles too, and I'm not looking for any donations at all!

Not much sign of a conservation project there then as far as I can see!

If you are thinking about buying one of these titles and the promise of conservation is part of your decision to buy you should write the company concerned and ask for details of conservation work already done. Ask for specific details of work done, exact locations, if trees have been planted ask for exact numbers of specific species, ask how much has been spent on this work, ask what proportion of revenue is so spent, then satisfy yourself that the answers are correct. Any genuine conservation company should be able and happy to provide this information. Plans for the future is not work done.

Highland Titles Glencoe Estates Are Quite Willing To Lie

Lets be blunt about this, Lochaber Highland Estates (CI) Limited / Highland Titles are quite willing to tell outright barefaced lies in order to make their profit, here is lie number one. Some direct quotations from their own marketing material and company representatives.

Lets just confine ourselves to one provable lie for now, there are plenty more for later!

Some quotations from Alex Flewitt from Lochaber Highland Estates (CI) Limited, Highland Titles on Australian Television

"For as little as $50 you can purchase one square foot of land in Scotland up in our Highlands up in Glencoe"

"For as little as 50 Australian dollars for one square foot of land in Glencoe in Scotland" 

 "A few years ago we acquired a considerable amount of land in Glencoe"

And from the Highland Titles website on the FAQ page under  Is This Really Legal (29/01/2012).

"You are truly purchasing a Scottish Highland Estate in Glencoe, Scotland" 

I think it fair to say that by now everyone has the distinct idea that the land for sale is in the actual real Glencoe Scotland. That would be very wrong, Lochaber Highland Estates (CI) Limited / Highland Titles at time of writing do not I think own any land at all in Glencoe, so I don't really see how they can legally be selling any land in Glencoe.

Are they selling land in Glencoe which does not belong to them then? Not that I know of, but it wouldn't entirely surprise me if they were!

What they have done is taken a bit of the land they do own and just called it Glencoe Wood! It is miles from the real Glencoe Scotland and has never been know locally as Glencoe anything. To say that the land they have for sale is in Glencoe is an outright lie designed to boost profits pure and simple.

Why would they do that?  Probably pure greed, Glencoe Scotland is well know throughout the world and makes for a much better sales pitch than say Glendour Forest (the commonly know name for this part) a place nobody outside of the immediate area anybody has ever heard of.

Lord of Glendour Forest just doesn't have much going for it nor would it persuade so many people to part with their cash.


Map showing locations of Glencoe and Highland Titles Glencoe Wood. As can be seen Glencoe Wood is nowhere near the actual Glencoe!!

As it stands at 29/01/2012, if you thought you had ever bought a piece of land from  Lochaber Highland Estates (CI) Limited or Highland Titles (the same company) in Glencoe Scotland, you did not, it was a lie. That fact alone makes this a scam.

Ask yourself this, do you really want to buy anything from liars? Would you trust anything else that Highland Titles say? Personally when I find out somebody is lying, I am very suspicious about anything else they say.

What can you do if you thought you bought a piece of land in Glencoe and have now found out you did not? First thing to do is ask for your money back. Second thing to do is inform Trading Standards in Scotland, yes you can do this even if you live abroad, and they will be delighted to hear from you. I'm not sure what they can realistically do about it, but it won't do any harm to let them know you have been cheated.

The Highland CouncilTransport, Environmental & Community Services
Trading Standards Unit
38 Harbour Road
Inverness
IV1 1UF
Tel: 01463 228700
Fax: 01463 223723
Email: trading.standards@highland.gov.uk
Website: http://www.highland.gov.uk/businessinformation/tradingstandards

Is It Legal Or Not To Call Yourself Laird, Lord or Lady

This is really where I started from and indeed provided me with the first key to unlocking some of the confusion, and uncovering how the scam works.

So lets ask the question and see where it goes.

Is it or is it not legal to call oneself Laird, Lord, or Lady by fact of owning a small piece of land in the UK?

All of the people selling these "plots with titles" claim it is legal. Well, that is one way of putting it, and putting it that way makes it appear that there is a law somewhere which says specifically that it is legal. There is no such law, it does not exist anywhere in the UK period. So saying that it is legal isn't exactly wrong, but it is very misleading, and deliberately so.

Let's put it another way and say it the other way round, it is not illegal do so. That puts an entirely different slant on the matter, one which the purveyors of these titles would rather you not think about! As soon as you think about it as not being illegal the penny drops. If you care to investigate you will find that the law neither says it is legal or illegal. There is no law which says specifically that it is illegal.

The law actually has nothing to say about the legality of it one way or the other, so by saying it is legal, what the seller actually means, is that it is not specifically illegal, but that does not sound as good, does it? They are in effect saying it is legal because it is not specifically illegal!

A cowboy builder can take advantage of a pensioner showing signs of demetia by charging thousands of pounds for a few hours work. This morally repulsive behaviour relies on the confusion and lack of knowledge of the victim, it is not however illegal. In the same way I believe Lochaber Higland Estates, Highland Titles etc. rely on lack of knowledge, confusion, and misinformation to good effect (for them!), and to greatly enhance their ill gotten profits.

Highland Titles say you can change your title using their Master Title Deed, but cannot provide any documentation showing what this is based on, it is completely without foundation.

I found some offical UK Government advice on the subject from the Home Office in the following document, http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/agencies-public-bodies/ips/passports-policy-publications/titles-included-in-passports?view=Binary This advice is applicable to the so called titles supplied by Highland Titles.

"There are companies that change an individual's name to include a title. Legal advice has been sought on this issue and the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) policy is based on the advice received.
It is clear an individual can call themselves any name they wish providing is not for a fraudulent purpose. However, it is believed there is no legal basis for a person to change their title: e.g. from Mr to Lord. It follows, therefore, that applicants have the right to change their name, for example, from Mr John Smith to Mr Sir John Smith and adopt "Sir" as an additional forename. But they cannot change their title from Mr John Smith to Sir John Smith.
As there is a right for an applicant to change their name by deed poll, the presumed title can appear on the personal details page of the passport as a forename with an observation being entered relating to the name change. An observation is required in any case where there is the potential for any name change to mislead; this includes reference to a title and to maintain the integrity of the passport.
In cases where an applicant has adopted a description of a title of nobility as a forename the observation to be entered is:
• THE REFERENCE TO .............................................. IS TO THE HOLDER'S NAME AND NOT TO THE HOLDER'S TITLE.(e.g. LORD; SIR; BARON; ETC.)
This observation should automatically be placed in the passport of any such applicant and there is no need to contact them unless the application form is completed in a way that indicates the customer believes they are applying for a change of title rather than of name. In these circumstances the applicant should be advised of how the data will be displayed in the passport and of the observation that will be entered in the document.
The above observation should also be used in all renewal applications where the children's and adult's birth names are similarly misleading, for example where names on birth certificates are registered as Princess, Prince, Earl, Duke, etc."

The real point is not whether or not it is illegal but whether or not it is true, and the answer to that is quite simple, no it is not, There is no documentary evidence which would indicate that the fact of owning land in Scotland entitles the owner of that land to any from of title. If it was true every homeowner in Scotland would be titled, but they are not.

Highland Titles said on their website "As the owner of a Scottish estate, you will have the full rights to style yourself as a Laird (Lord) or Lady. This is the same wherever you live in the world. You do not need to live in the UK or be a British citizen." If that is true you can do exactly the same thing without being a Scottish Landowner, when it comes to assumed titles there is no difference in Scottish Law between landowners and non landowners. The fact of owning land has nothing to do with the matter.

The logic of the fake title sellers goes like this, a Laird is someone who owns land in Scotland, therefore anyone who own land in Scotland is therefore a Laird, this is utter nonsense, If we apply the same logic to a King we could say that a King is someone who has a crown so anyone who has a crown is therefore a King!  Being a King involves a lot more than someone having a crown, and similarly a Laird involves a lot more than someone who merely owns land.

This is what The Court Of The Lord Lyon has to say on the matter.
"The term ‘laird’ has generally been applied to the owner of an estate, sometimes by the owner himself or, more commonly, by those living and working on the estate. It is a description rather than a title, and is not appropriate for the owner of a normal residential property, far less the owner of a small souvenir plot of land. It goes without saying that the term ‘laird’ is not synonymous with that of ‘lord’ or ‘lady’"

Can you put your Highland Titles title on a UK driving license, in a word, NO!

From a Freedom of Information request to the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency ( DVLA) UK
"When a Title deed is received requesting a change of title e.g. “Mr” to “Lord”, a check of “Who’s Who” (held on some Input teams and Business Support) or “Debretts” (held in Open Resource Centre, A Block) must be undertaken. This will establish whether the title has been ‘bought’ or has been obtained as a genuine title. If a title cannot be located in either publication it is safe to assume it has been ‘bought’. In such cases the application must be rejected for a Deed Poll or Statutory Declaration as evidence of a change of name.

'Bought’ titles do not give rights to a spouse. For example a female applicant could not claim the title of “Lady” on the strength of her husband buying a title in his name only. She must submit a Deed Poll either in her own name or as part of a joint title.

The applicant should be advised that we are following the practice of the UK Passport Agency in doing this and consequently, our procedures are subject to change in the future

The bought title (Lord, Baron etc) should form the first forename. The title code 4 or 5 should be used to suppress any other title."

Yet Highland Titles said on their website of the FAQ page under the "Can I change my bank account, credit cards, drivers license?" heading.
"Yes, we include in each gift pack the legal Master Title Deed accepted internationally to confirm your new title to your bank and any government agencies. You will be able to change your title on official documentation to Laird, Lord or Lady." (note this text has been changed on later vesions of the website)