The Licensing Officer Scam!

Swale Council have recently written to their licensees to warn against a confidence trickster operating in their area.

The scam involves a criminal attending the premises and posing as a Licensing Officer, demanding payment of the licence annual fee in cash.

As with many successful scams the proposition is plausible and the person making the demands appears to know a number of relevant facts such as the amount of the premises annual fees and is able to name a number of local licensing officers claiming, erroneously, that they are colleagues.  On reflection, all of these details are in the public domain and can easily be found by anyone.

The majority of annual fees fall due in November, when the Licensing Act 2003 took effect and with many Licensing Authorities altering their demand dates (for licences granted since 2005) to stream line the process of fees collections in future years. 

A legitimate Licensing Officer will be able to produce identification and will never demand a cash only payment.

If you are in doubt, you should call your Licensing Authority directly to check.  Swale also recommend you report the matter to the Police and retain any evidence, such as CCTV, you may have.

Although Swale have felt the need to warn their licensees it would not be surprising to learn that this scam is not limited to this area and all Licensees should take note.