London Scams
A city this liquid attracts people who would rather move money than earn it. This is an open file — not a courtroom. We describe patterns that anybody can verify from public records, explain why the system lets them run, and point you at the people whose job it is to act.
This isn't a political campaign. It's a civic lab. If you know this world better than I do — enforcement officer, accountant, someone who worked on a forecourt — tell me where I've got it wrong.
The Car Washes That Aren't There
Companies registered to London addresses with photographs of busy forecourts. You turn up and there is a locked shutter, a flat, or a launderette that has never heard of them. What is actually going on behind a hand car wash?
Read the investigationThe Phantom Landlord
Holding deposits taken for flats that were never available, viewings staged in properties the 'agent' does not manage, and the paperwork that would have caught it in ten seconds.
Emergency Locksmiths and £900 Doors
Search-ad call centres that sell your emergency to whoever is nearest, with the price invented on your doorstep.
Aesthetics Without a Regulator
Injectables sold from rented rooms and hotel suites, insurance that does not exist, and complications that land in an NHS A&E at 2am.
Where to report, in one place
- Fraud you lost money to: Action Fraud, 0300 123 2040.
- A company using your address, or a fake address: Companies House has a formal address-dispute process.
- Cash businesses and hidden turnover: HMRC's report-a-trader service.
- Workers who may be exploited: Modern Slavery Helpline, 08000 121 700 — or 999 if someone is in immediate danger.
- Rogue traders and pricing: your borough's Trading Standards team, via Citizens Advice.