Unsolicited calls and correspondence to SSE shareholders

It has come to our attention that some of our shareholders have recently received unsolicited telephone calls or correspondence concerning investment matters from organisations or persons who may be claiming or implying that they have some connection with us. We advise that these organisations and persons are not connected with us in any way and have no authority either to claim or to imply that they are.

These are typically overseas based ‘brokers’ who target UK shareholders offering to sell them what often turn out to be worthless or high risk shares in UK or overseas investments. Shareholders are advised to be very wary of any unsolicited advice, offers to buy shares at a discount or offers of free reports into the Company. These approaches are operated out of what is more commonly known as a ‘boiler room’.

You may also be approached by brokers offering to purchase your shares for an upfront payment in the form of a broker fee, tax payment or de-restriction fee. This is a common secondary scam operated by the boiler rooms. They have probably obtained our shareholders’ contact details from our register of shareholders or other publicly available documents on file at Companies House. Further information regarding boiler room fraud is set out below. Should you receive an unsolicited telephone call or document such as those referred above, we strongly suggest that you consult your own independent financial advisor before taking any action. If you do receive an unsolicited call, please try and obtain the caller’s name, telephone number and address and report the matter to the Financial Services Authority (“the FSA”) Consumer helpline on 0845 606 1234.

Should you receive an unsolicited telephone call or document such as those referred above, we strongly suggest that you consult your own independent financial advisor before taking any action. If you do receive an unsolicited call, please try and obtain the caller’s name, telephone number and address and report the matter to the Financial Services Authority (“the FSA”) Consumer helpline on 0845 606 1234.

Should you wish to speak to us about this matter, please contact SSE’s Registrars Department at Capita Registrars on 0845 143 4005.
 

Further information about 'boiler room' fraud

What is a 'boiler room'?
Any company offering to sell you shares or buy your shares without authorisation from the Financial Services Authority (“the FSA”) may be committing a criminal offence. These companies are commonly known as boiler rooms and they target people who currently hold shares or have held shares in the past.

They usually operate by convincing people that they have an amazing ‘investment opportunity’ but end up selling them worthless or non existent shares. They usually claim to be a UK company operating from a UK address with a UK phone number. However, most boiler rooms are based overseas, have bogus UK addresses and phone lines that are routed abroad. Anyone dealing with these companies could lose a lot of money. For further information, please visit the consumer pages of the FSA website and The City of London Police Operation Archway websites.

How to protect yourself
Make sure that you only ever deal with companies authorised by the FSA. You can do this by checking the FSA's register of authorised firms.

Check the FSA's list of unauthorised overseas companies that have targeted people in the UK. If they are not on the list, do not assume that they are legitimate.

Under normal circumstances, it is illegal for unauthorised firms to cold call ordinary consumers in relation to investment products such as shares.  Although authorised firms are allowed to make cold calls, restrictions apply and detailed rules dictate when and how such calls can be made.  So, if you receive an unexpected telephone call, letter or email from a firm of which you are not a customer, treat it with extreme caution.

Some boiler rooms use the name of legitimate FSA-authorised firms.  Always double check the caller is from that company they say they are by asking for their name and calling back using the telephone number listed for the firm on the FSA’s register.