Alerts

Warning: Correspondence misusing the name of Elisabeth Dean Solicitors

16 October 2022

Correspondence has been sent misusing the name of Elisabeth Dean Solicitors, regarding a supposed ‘unclaimed permanent life insurance policy’ .

What is the scam?

Correspondence has been sent to members of the public from an individual using the name 'Phillip Mann' and claiming to be a partner at 'Elisabeth Dean Solicitors'. The letters seen by the SRA relate to a supposed 'unclaimed permanent life insurance policy'.

The correspondence provides an email address of 'PHILLIP@EDSOLICITORS.COM' and 'PHILMANNESQ@GMAIL.COM', a telephone number of '+44 749 666 7111', a fax number of '44 147 633 8638' and a website address of 'www.edsolicitors.com'.

The correspondence misuses the name and postal address of a genuine firm of solicitors (see below).

Any business or transaction through the above contact details is not undertaken by a solicitors' practice or individual authorised and regulated by the SRA.

Is there a genuine firm or person?

The SRA authorises and regulates a genuine solicitor called Elisabeth Dean, who runs the authorised firm called Elisabeth Dean Solicitors based at 35 Midland Road, St. Philips, Bristol, BS2 0JT.

The firm's genuine telephone number is 0117 955 0777 and the genuine email domain ends with @elisabethdeansolicitors.com. The firm does not have a website.

The genuine Elisabeth Dean of Elisabeth Dean Solicitors has confirmed that neither she nor her firm have any genuine connection to the website referred to in 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 (eg. telephone directories and company records) may be required in other circumstances.