How our FCSA umbrella company almost got scammed by ‘Ravi’ and ‘Eliza’ of ‘LY Holding’

I spoke with "Ravi Singh" and "Eliza Yee" who both claimed to be from "LY Holding," writes a representative of a large umbrella company accredited by the Freelancer & Contractor Services Association (FCSA).

We received the same inquiry through our website, also referring to “63” contractors.

Ravi, heard but not seen

I emailed "Eliza" for more information and we arranged a Teams call -- with her finance director "Ravi."

"Eliza" was on screen, however "Ravi" was not.

The conversation seemed to be genuine, with even "Ravi" (off-camera) explaining the 63 contractors were currently being paid as limited companies but that after re-assessing their risk due to IR35, LY Holding wanted to stop engaging with PSCs altogether.

No issues, said Ravi

Before they asked, I advised we do not offer credit terms.

I further advised that it would be a ‘pay on receipt of funds’ arrangement -- which they claimed to have “no issues” with.

They said that after our Teams call, they would make a decision [about engaging our umbrella company] with their “directors,” and be back in touch with us.

'Hi again,' wrote Ravi

Alarm bells were already ringing for us however!

We thought, as we had made it clear -- twice from memory -- that we wouldn't provide credit, ‘If they’re not genuine, we surely won’t be hearing from them again.’

But a few days later, "Ravi" emailed me for a follow-up call!

We had the follow-up call in which “Ravi” explained they would like to proceed with our umbrella company.

We’d like 48-hour terms, persisted Ravi

They even began arranging how we would receive the contractor details.

"Ravi" then advised they wanted to trail the process with one worker first -- which seemed sensible.

However, he then asked if they could have “48-hour terms” to make sure it all worked properly and smoothly.

So we (again) made clear, we would not accommodate any credit terms and it would be ‘pay on receipt of funds.’

Go with your gut

Third time’s a charm, it seems, as we never heard from "Ravi" or "Eliza" again!

Our gut feeling was correct, as it’s now abundantly clear the whole thing is a scam.

We hope no umbrella company falls for this. And it’s sad to hear that some umbrellas may have fallen for it already.