Don't be fooled by bogus agencies

The HSE has urged companies and unions to ignore any information they receive from three firms purporting to regulate health and safety legislation. It has received hundreds of complaints from companies that have been sent requests for payment in return for compliance with health and safety law.

A Liverpool firm calling itself the Health and Safety Enforcement Agency (HSEA) demands £125 for a health and safety compliance pack, while the Manchester-based Health and Safety Compliance Agency (HSCA) says that a health and safety compliance register will become law on 1 May and that all businesses should apply for registration - for a fee of £129.25. A third company, the Health and Safety Registration Enforcement Division (HSRED), which gives a Rochdale address, tells recipients to pay up to £249 for health and safety registration.

The HSE said anyone receiving literature from any of these companies should ignore it, as there is no legal reason to buy literature or services from them. Justin McCracken, HSE's deputy director general, said: "None of these companies is connected to HSE. Organisations should be very wary of any approach from these firms, or any company 'offering' similar services. All three firms use wording suggesting they are official enforcement bodies, but they are not."