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.
Sunday, 11 March 2012
Sunday, 4 March 2012
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 AMI 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.
Quite well put I thought!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.
Friday, 2 March 2012
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.
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.
| Scale and method of original survey | ||||
| 1:1250 scale | Maps surveyed at 1:1250 scale using instrumental methods to provide a framework of controlling detail. | |||
| 1:2500 scale resurvey/ reformed | Maps surveyed at 1:2500 scale using instrumental methods to provide a framework of controlling detail. | |||
| 1:2500 scale overhaul | Maps originally recompiled from pre-1946 County Series mapping. | |||
| 1:10,000 scale * | Maps surveyed at 1:10000 scale using instrumental methods to provide a framework of controlling detail. | |||
* 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.
Tuesday, 28 February 2012
Highland Titles Scam - Souvenir Land Plot Ownership In Scotland
Is the land you bought from souvenir plot vendors like Highland Titles actually even yours? That seems like a very simple question, but in reality it is not. You paid your money they sent you a document saying the land was yours so it must be right? Well, in the case of land sales in Scotland, not necessarily.
In Scotland the standard practice for property sales is for the sale of property to be recorded in the Scottish Land Register, the sale not being considered complete until this is done. Small plots like souvenir plots cannot be thus registered. "In accordance with Section 4b of the Registration of Land (Scotland) Act (1979) will not record “a piece of land ……… of inconsiderable size or no practical utility".
These small souvenir plots cannot be registered in the Scottish Land Registry. Inability to register a souvenir plot means that the purchaser can only get a personal right of ownership. He or she cannot get a real right protected by the state guarantee that underpins a registered title. There is no true purchase involved as no title can be obtained to the plot of land.
Should the vendor you bought the personal right of ownership from go out of business, it is very unlikely you would be able to re-claim the land, and I can see no reason why it could not be sold to a third party. This may be of little consequence to the one square foot owners as the loss would be small, but those with larger plots which can cost a considerable amount, might not be terribly happy
A Scottish Land Commission Report On Land Registration (Scot Law Com No. 222)
Paragraph 12.82 of Report 222
Paragraph 12.83 of Report 222
If you bought a souvenir plot of land in Scotland and was led to believe you were buying the real right of ownership of that land by the seller, you've been conned, ask for your money back.
You might also want to read this post on Laird Lord and Lady titles.
In Scotland the standard practice for property sales is for the sale of property to be recorded in the Scottish Land Register, the sale not being considered complete until this is done. Small plots like souvenir plots cannot be thus registered. "In accordance with Section 4b of the Registration of Land (Scotland) Act (1979) will not record “a piece of land ……… of inconsiderable size or no practical utility".
These small souvenir plots cannot be registered in the Scottish Land Registry. Inability to register a souvenir plot means that the purchaser can only get a personal right of ownership. He or she cannot get a real right protected by the state guarantee that underpins a registered title. There is no true purchase involved as no title can be obtained to the plot of land.
Should the vendor you bought the personal right of ownership from go out of business, it is very unlikely you would be able to re-claim the land, and I can see no reason why it could not be sold to a third party. This may be of little consequence to the one square foot owners as the loss would be small, but those with larger plots which can cost a considerable amount, might not be terribly happy
A Scottish Land Commission Report On Land Registration (Scot Law Com No. 222)
Paragraph 12.82 of Report 222
"There are businesses that offer for sale small plots of land in remoter areas of Scotland, usually accompanied by the promise that buyers will be "entitled" to call themselves "lairds". Plot sizes vary but may be one square metre or even less. Usually buyers are assured that they will acquire ownership of the plot, though in the advertisements we have seen there is no explanation of how that could happen given the terms of the 1979 Act, discussed in the next paragraph. The websites sometimes show the type of deed that a buyer will receive. The style used is generally English or American."
Paragraph 12.83 of Report 222
"Section 4(2)(b) of the 1979 Act forbids the Keeper to accept souvenir plots for registration in the Land Register. Even if the land were unregistered, a conveyance of a souvenir plot could not be recorded in the Register of Sasines, because it would be a conveyance for value. Accordingly it is difficult to see how customers could acquire ownership of souvenir plots. We have seen it suggested that the non-registrability of souvenir plots means that ownership in them passes by simple contract. That is not so.)"An article from the Register Of Scotland on souvenir plot sales.
"A real right of ownership in land (in the sense of a right that is enforceable against third parties) can only be obtained by registration in the Land Register or by recording a deed in the Register of Sasines as appropriate."An answer to a question asked in the Scottish Parliament by Mike Russell about Scottish souvenir land plot sales.
"The position of the Scottish Executive on the purported sale of souvenir plots is reflected in the terms of the above mentioned legislation. The Executive would advise that any individuals participating in transactions of this nature should be aware that there is no true purchase involved as no title can be obtained to the plot of land."An article on Scottish souvenir plot ownership by Halliday Campbell Scottish solicitors.
"So, the argument that says you don't need to register title to a souvenir plot is at best disingenuous. It's not that you don't need to: you just can't. So, you can't “own” the plot and someone who subsequently buys the entire estate may register their title and leave you with only a personal right against those who sold to you."This article in The Journal, the magazine of the Law Society Of Scotland is also of interest.
If you bought a souvenir plot of land in Scotland and was led to believe you were buying the real right of ownership of that land by the seller, you've been conned, ask for your money back.
You might also want to read this post on Laird Lord and Lady titles.
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Highland Titles / Lochaber Highland Estates Website Change
I see Lochaber Highland Estates / Highland Titles have changed their highlandtitles.com website. Buried deep in the FAQ page it now says the land they sell is not actually in Glencoe.
That of course will be of little comfort to all those who bought a plot thinking it was actually in Glencoe. I'd expect a lot of customers from Australia, USA, and Canada might have been caught out thinking the plots are actually in Glencoe, as they are unlikely to know the area.
No they don't put it anywhere obvious, you have to really look for it. If someone had not pointed it out to me I'd never have noticed.
They also say there is a wood in Glencoe called Glencoe Wood, I don't know Glencoe that well but have never heard of it, so I phoned my friend Roddy, he was brought up in Glencoe. He is sure there is nowhere called Glencoe Wood in Glencoe. Roddy called his dad, Roddy's dad was born in Glencoe and has never left, he's 74 and sharp as a pin. He has never heard of Glencoe Wood in Glencoe. So for whatever reason I'd recon they just made that up!
So be aware folks, the plots sold by Lochaber Highland Estates (CI) Limited / Highland Titles never have been, and to date, still are not in Glencoe. Oh they do try hard to make folks believe they are, but they are not!
That of course will be of little comfort to all those who bought a plot thinking it was actually in Glencoe. I'd expect a lot of customers from Australia, USA, and Canada might have been caught out thinking the plots are actually in Glencoe, as they are unlikely to know the area.
No they don't put it anywhere obvious, you have to really look for it. If someone had not pointed it out to me I'd never have noticed.
They also say there is a wood in Glencoe called Glencoe Wood, I don't know Glencoe that well but have never heard of it, so I phoned my friend Roddy, he was brought up in Glencoe. He is sure there is nowhere called Glencoe Wood in Glencoe. Roddy called his dad, Roddy's dad was born in Glencoe and has never left, he's 74 and sharp as a pin. He has never heard of Glencoe Wood in Glencoe. So for whatever reason I'd recon they just made that up!
So be aware folks, the plots sold by Lochaber Highland Estates (CI) Limited / Highland Titles never have been, and to date, still are not in Glencoe. Oh they do try hard to make folks believe they are, but they are not!
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!!
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!!
Thursday, 9 February 2012
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.
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.
Monday, 6 February 2012
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!
Sunday, 5 February 2012
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!
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.
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.
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