Unsolicited calls

February 2012 – We have received reports of 'cold calls' purporting to be from a firm of solicitors named "Fraser Brown" or "Frazer Brown" and quoting a telephone number 0845 123 8304. These calls appear to be directed at shareholders in or members of "Club Class Holidays" or other holiday/timeshare type ventures e.g. in Gran Canaria. The caller suggests that Taylor Wimpey is making an offer to purchase "Club Class Holidays" or other holiday/timeshare type ventures and offers to acquire your membership but requires an upfront payment. Please be assured that Taylor Wimpey is not involved in any way whatsoever in any such offer and would not communicate with its shareholders other than in writing. This is believed to be another example of a ‘boiler room scam’ where the scammers will often use high pressure sales techniques to trick investors out of money. Further details on such scams and the techniques they adopt are set out below.

October 2011 – A number of Taylor Wimpey plc (the Company) shareholders have recently been approached by phone or written correspondence by companies offering to buy their shares at varying inflated prices. In some instances the calls or correspondence claims that Taylor Wimpey plc is the subject of a takeover bid. Please be assured that this is not the case. This practice is commonly known as a ‘boiler room scam’, and the scammers will often use high pressure sales techniques and have tricked experienced investors out of money.

The callers or letters say they are from an investment company overseas, and will often follow up with a request for money up front as a bond or other form of security, which will apparently be paid back if the sale doesn’t go ahead.

We advise our shareholders to be extremely wary of such calls and correspondence. You should make sure that you only deal with the Company itself (Taylor Wimpey plc) or financial services firms that are authorised by the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA). The FSA keeps a register of authorised firms available on their website. Authorised firms are unlikely to contact you out of the blue with an offer to buy or sell shares.

If you are concerned:

Here are some useful tips to help you:

  • If the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is! Don’t be pressured into making a quick decision.
  • Take care and treat any calls or mail with suspicion. Even professional looking web sites can be easily created.
  • Make sure you get the correct name of the person, organisation and their contact details.
  • Protect yourself and check out any investment thoroughly. You can find out more information about boiler room scams on the FSA website. You can also check if the firm is authorised to do business by the FSA. If you deal with an unauthorised firm, you would not be eligible to receive payment under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
  • You should be aware that if you hold a share certificate, your name and address details are shown on the public register and this is one of the ways that boiler room operators can obtain your details. You can protect your privacy by considering moving your shares into a nominee account.