Alerts

Warning: 'Merete Solicitors' claiming to be law firm

17 November 2022

The website at 'https://meretesolicitors.com/'. has been operating falsely claiming to be a law firm in London called 'Merete Solicitors'.

What is the scam?

The website at 'https://meretesolicitors.com/' has been operating falsely claiming to be a law firm called 'Merete Solicitors'.

The website provides a postal address of 'One Kingdom Street Paddington Central London W2 6BD', telephone numbers of '+234 793 250 6556' and '+234 203 665 9708' and an email address of 'eretelaw@gmail.com'.

The website displays an image of the SRA digital badge.

The SRA does not authorise and regulate a firm of solicitors called 'Merete Solicitors'.

The website also provides an SRA ID and another postal address which belongs to a genuine firm of solicitors (as provided below) and the SRA ID of another genuine firm of solicitors (as provided below).

Any business or transaction through a firm called 'Merete Solicitors' or the above contact details are not undertaken by a solicitors' practice or individual authorised and regulated by the SRA.

Is there a genuine firm or person?

The SRA authorise and regulates a genuine firm of solicitors called Vardags Limited. The head office is at 6th Floor 10 Old Bailey London EC4M 7NG. The SRA ID is 535955. The firm website is www.vardags.com.

The SRA authorised and regulated a genuine firm of solicitors called Grazing Hill Ltd, which ceased trading on 31 May 2021. The SRA ID for this firm is 591146.

Vardags Limited have confirmed that neither the firm nor their employees have a genuine and intended connection to the above alert.

What should I do?

When a firm's or individual's identity has been copied exactly (or cloned), due diligence is necessary. If you receive correspondence claiming to be from the above firm(s) or individual(s), or information of a similar nature to that described, you should conduct your own due diligence by checking the authenticity of the correspondence by contacting the law firm directly by reliable and established means. You can contact the SRA to find out if individuals or firms are regulated and authorised by the SRA and verify an individual's or firm's practising details. Other verification methods, such as checking public records (e.g. telephone directories and company records) may be required in other circumstances.