I posted about a corrupt scam being run by local council officials across the country.
Here is how journalists - or anyone else! - can verify what happens.
All it takes is two phone calls and a little bit of preparation. As I said, the practice involves
a) delaying land searches (e.g. up to 8 weeks, rather than the 10-day "guideline")
b) allowing "personal search companies to "book up all the slots", who can then, for large amounts of money, get searches done FAR more quickly than any "member of the public" will be able to
To all intents and purposes, this means delaying your application unless you pay a backhander.
OK, so here's how to verify what I say:
1) call the Land Charges Section of the local council anda) ask them how long they are taking to return postal searches (They will probably say 6-8 weeks, and they will blame overwork and computers)
b) ask them what is the earliest date at which you can do a personal search (They will probably say the earliest "slot" they've got is only a few days earlier than the date by which they would return a postal search anyway. They will probably also tell you that they won't give you an official certificate, and that the price will be =A311)
2) now call a company offering "personal searches" in your area, and ask about personal searches. Ask how much, and how soon. Some of them are suspicious that too many people are finding out what's going on, so it may be worth your while to pretend to be from a solicitors' firm from another area. Say you're acting for someone who's buying a house.(You may have to look hard before you find a firm, because they don't usually advertise in the Yellow Pages. They tend to get all of their clients "referred" to them by solicitors who also taking a cut, along with council officials. But it's possible that they advertise in the local press).
(They will probably tell you they can guarantee that the info they get will be exactly the same as you'd get from a postal search - which is true - and they will quote you prices somewhere around 100-200 pounds for 4 weeks, 200-500 pounds for 2 weeks, or 1000-1500 pounds for 1 week or less. They will also tell you that they can get both LLC1 and CON29 info).
Bob's your uncle.
John
PS Some people may ask why I am posting this here. They should realise that it is perfectly possible for any police officers reading this to investigate by doing the above. There's ample info there to help them gather info for a criminal prosecution. But of course, they're not going to, are they?
People who say that rather than post here I should write to local councils are just being ridiculous. (Incidentally, any threatening idiot who calls me "pal" gets a gold star, OK? )