The image that was here has been taken down at the request of Highland Titles solicitors. We have replaced that with an image of the REAL Glencoe.
The company ‘Scottish Highland Titles’ have caused much controversy – they offer the ability to buy a Scottish title. For a price anyone can become a Scottish Laird or Lady, and this title can be handed down to their descendants – or so they say. On their site they say you will ‘legally’ bear the Title:
- ‘Laird of Glencairn’
- ‘Laird of John O’Groats’ or
- ‘Laird of Glencrannog’
Or the preferred option for female Lairds:
- ‘Lady of Glencairn’
- ‘Lady of John O’Groats’ or
- ‘Lady of Glencrannog’
You achieve Laird/Ladyship by buying a token piece of Scottish Land, the cost of this – just under £25. I see this is actually quite expensive compared with their competitors as Amazon are selling them at £18.79
On their site they state that the recipient of one of their Scottish Highland Titles will be in the best of company, namely, Nelson Mandela, Phil Collins, Nigel Mansell and Barry Manilow! who have all been gifted a Scottish Highland Title souvenir land plot.
A group of people passionately against this and others like it formed the site ‘Fake Scottish Titles‘ to EXPOSE those people using FAKE Scottish Titles. They name and shame people falsly using the titles of; Chief, Baron, Laird, Lord etc. Likewise, those peddlers of Fake Scottish Titles such as; Scottish Lochaber Estates, Scottish Highland Titles, Native Wood Preservation Ltd, Scottishlaird.com, Mac Sothis, Select Titles and others.
On Amazon there were some amusing reviews for some similar products such as:
“I bought this for my wife at Harrods.
It is fun and the package may get you a better table at a restaurant, or a variety of other perks only limited by your audacity.
But to the best of my knowledge the UK Deed Poll Service does not accept it (see their official website under 2.3 of ‘Title Restrictions’ in ‘Are there any restrictions on names?’). So, you will not be able to amend your passport, or any other important documents. Like other title packages for sale at Amazon and elsewhere, it is surely a scam in this respect. Although the product is sold with Scottish lawyers saying or implying it is authentic, it apparently is not (see Wikipedia’s entry on ‘Laird’, especially notes 2 and 3). There can only be one laird or lady per property.
For perks at restaurants and elsewhere, you can call yourself a Laird or Lady or whatever title you wish without having to pay for this product.
So, on consideration I regard this product as far more scam than fun.”
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“oh my god are you serious! its a bit of a laugh nothing serious! you can only be born into or marry into a title, you can’t just buy one, its just meant ot be funny not real!
seriously get a life mate! and wake up in the real world! ”
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aha – while I too thought it was just for fun – a friend has just changed her bank details to incorporate the title – while I wouldnt have the nerve in case they all laughed at me ….it does show that it is possible
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I wonder what other people think about this? Is it just a bit of fun? Maybe even a way of saving our countryside? Or something more disturbing? A scam?
You can find out about these people and what they sell at http://www.faketitles.in.titles.htm It may be legal but I still don’t like it.
These clowns have recently been targeting Glencoe, they have renamed a patch of woodland on the Oban road to furnish their scam. Is there any way of finding out what conservation work they have done? what money they have obtained to date? are they selling land covered by grant aid? How many times can they re-brand/re-name a plot and then re-sell it ?
WHY HAS IT BEEN GOING ON SO LONG?
This is being taken as more than a fun way to donate to land reclamation and planting of trees. People that try to use this “title” for their own elevation of station are not respecting history. However, land reclamation is giving us history. I am a Baron by Russian lineage, and more importantly, I know who I am and a title doesn’t make the man.
I have just seen your comment on the “title” being given for a plot of land in or around Glencoe. I was gifted with the title, deed, etc. in 2013, and was able to visit shortly there after. I thought it was a great marketing idea to raise funds for the trees and wildlife. I got a good laugh when I asked if I could camp on my land! It is only a 10 inch piece of dirt!. But again, it is all in fun and if it brings in a few dollars to the area in tourism, I have no problems.
Lady Ginevra da Cunha (Portugal)
Well said Lady Ginevra de Cunha – many of us agree, if it helps funding the land preservation, then view it as an honorary title for a kind donation… and lighten up, non of us lives for ever and it’s truly a small joy for a shirt period of time, be kind.
Unfortunately some of these companies operate outside the UK e.g. Lochaber Highland Estates (CI) Ltd in the Channel Islands. The director of this company is a man called Peter Bevis, one of his other business websites has already been subject of an ASA enquiry and been ruled misleading by the Advertising Standards Authority for “leading users to infer it was a Government service”. http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2011/09/fee-or-free-telephone-preferen.html
It is about time the sellers of this misleading worthless tat for pure profit was stopped. It discredits the name of Scotland and takes attention and resources away from genuine people and organisations doing real work of real benefit to the community.
No, Roger, the Procurator Fiscal will clearly not be on you like stink on a monkey because the people who sell these souvenir plots are doing nothing wrong. People have ben selling these tiny plots of land, with or without the title, for decades. If it was illegal to do so, Trading Standards (who have real teeth, unlike the novelty box Lord Lyon) would have shut them down. so when you don’t know about something, my advice would be to keep quiet to avoid looking silly.
Jess, when you say it it legal that infers that there is a law somewhere that says so. That is not the case there is no law on the matter. It would be much more accurate to say it is not illegal.
That is why the scam works. It is the same thing as say a salesman pressuring a teminally ill elderly person with signs of dementia into buying a timeshare in Siberia for the cost of their entire life savings even though there is no possibility they could ever actually go there. That is also legal, but only because it is not illegal. Because something is not illegal does not make it by defenition morally right.
It can only be said to be legal because it is not specifically illegal.
In a democracy, you do not have to say what is legal; law say what is illegal; if something is not forbiden, that involve that ii’s legal.
Less than $50 (American) is, hopefully, nobodies life savings. I see this as being similar to those companies claiming to name a star after you or your loved one. Cute, but not official at all.
Well said John..No emotion just factual..Good on you.
Sorry but I don’t agree. Laws don’t state what you can do, just what you can’t do (including your rights). Selling a misleadingly product as you describe is unlawful, especially to someone who is vulnerable.
Thank you Steve I agree wholeheartedly! My daughter being thoughtful just bought me a plot and a title as advertised in Glencoe so then I found out it isn’t Glencoe and the land can’t registered legally in my name nor can a title be permitted by Lord Lyon. The website said a certificate could be instantly downloaded and my daughter became upset because it only led to a number with nothing to download. I waited 3 days and phoned all the numbers only to get an answering service an then another number and finally was able to speak to them. I was ready to give it up as a scam so I wonder how many other people have had this problem, paying and not receiving anything. I was told it should have been automatic so she then emailed me the phoney certificate. I decided to research it further a couple of days ago and read so much from Scottish lawyers about shady backgrounds and false reviews then the bomb dropped when I read on Wikipedia that the land sale isn’t recognised by Scottish law because there is no conveyencing and registration which in affect means it remains in the hands of the seller and then Lord Lyon doesn’t accept fantasy titles! When I asked if a tree would be planted with my money I was told that they would have to wait for a few more sales for that. How much does a tree cost in Scotland? The money part doesn’t bother me just all the false advertising and lying to people they will own a small plot of land…as well as the mockery of history with those silly titles to everyone. It should be stopped as it is being advertised so heavily now and masses are being conned. The Scottish lawyers frown upon it too. If they are false about everything else I doubt the funds are used properly.
The fact that Lochaber Highland Estates (CI) Ltd have been selling plots they say are in Glencoe but which are not, and that one of their operations (the telophone preference website) has been uncoverd as publishing misleading information by the ASA (thanks Emily) would clearly indicate that this is a company with very low moral standards.
Looks like our friend Peter Bevis is on the move again!
Lochabar Highland Estates (CI) Limited is changing its company name to Highland Titles Limited.
http://www.alderney.gov.gg/gazette/edition/5/volume_19
NOTICE
Alderney Offical Gazette Volume 19 Number 5 (States ID: 0190005)
Date: 3rd February, 2012
Notice is hereby given that LOCHABER HIGHLAND ESTATES (C.I.) LIMITED whose Registered Office is situated at York House, Victoria Street, Alderney, Channel Islands, GY9 3TA will in accordance with Section 30 of The Companies (Alderney) Law, 1994 petition the Court of Alderney on Thursday 9th February 2012 at 2.30pm to approve a Special Resolution passed at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Shareholder of the said company on 24th January 2012 that the name of the Company be changed to HIGHLAND TITLES LIMITED and any person wishing to oppose the said Petition should inform the Clerk of the Court of Alderney forthwith.
Sally Mosley
Company Secretary
Lochaber Highland Estates (C.I.) Limited
I don’t know what this means exactly, but I’d bet it isn’t in the interests of anybody who bought land off of Lochaber Highland Estates (C.I.) Limited! or the original UK registered company Lochaber Highland Estates Limited (Company No. SC232098).
Looks like somebody have got it in for Highlabd Titles, Lochaber Highland Estates, Peter Bevis! http://lochaberhighlandestate.blogspot.com
Good on you pal, it’s about time these scammers were shown for what they are and their “conservation work” uncovered as nothing more than a smokescreen of respectability.
I see Peter Bevis, Highland Estates, Lochaber Highland Estates or whatever they call themsleves this week have made it into the newspapers and not in a good way. http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/heritage/historic-sites/30_title_to_lord_it_over_glencoe_1_2125806
And as for the parasites from the Channel Islands called Highland Titles run by Peter Bevis selling land they say is in Glencoe but is actually miles from Glencoe in a bit of almost worthless hillside they just called Glencoe Wood!!
http://lochaberhighlandestate.blogspot.com
http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/heritage/historic-sites/30_title_to_lord_it_over_glencoe_1_2125806
http://lordglencoe.wordpress.com
I am diappointed to discover these stories of a Glencoe “scam.” When the ad popped up on my Facebook page I was interested in learning more since it is in the Argyl region where my “family” is from. The notion of a “title” was more of a joke for me to buy for my wife. However, I was more interested in what the news story out of Australia claimed. It was being presented as a land preservation project in Glencoe. I certanly hope that that aspect of the Glencoe Estates land purchase program was not false.
Highland Titles do no preservation work in Glencoe. That is none at all, nothing. They might do some somewhere, but it is definitely not in Glencoe.
There is a bit of confusion here between two Companies. The company that sold the tartan sleeved tin was Scottish Highland Titles. They sold the Laird of Kincavel product produced by moon estates.com, now part of the large giftware business called Gift Republic. This was and is a straightforward novelty like naming a star or buying land on the moon.
Highland Titles are a very different organisation with an interest in Scottish conservation. They manage the Keil Estate, several hundred acres of highland nature reserve. They have a track record of charitable giving, are well known and respected by local MPs, local people and even the stuffy Lord Lyon has had dealings with them (naturally a bit frosty as they undercut his ancient services by a couple of thousand pounds).
Highland Titles are respectable and absolutely legal and above board. They certainly do good and have many supporters. They are taking a major role in the Royal Diamond Jubilee celebrations, having donated one of the 60 acre woods that Princess Anne requested be planted for her mother. They have their own tartan and crest, which their customers can use.
There are a few old fogeys who do not approve of selling bits of Scotland to foreigners. They do not approve of them adopting the title of Lord of Glencoe. But people like to own a little bit of Scotland and they like to visit it too.
For this reason, if no other, this means that most Scots approve of the whole deal. Tourism puts coins into sporrans.
So, love them or hate them, they are not going anywhere. They bought a second large estate in 2011. They will do the same again, this year or next. Even more nature reserves and more souvenir plots.
So where exactly is this second large estate they bought in 2011?
How much did it cost?
How many trees have been planted so far in their Jubilee Wood project? Where are they?
How many trees have they planted in total since 2007 when they started? They say they plant thousands every year, so you’d expect a absolute minimum of 10,000 tress to have been planted …. where are they?
Yes they are well known by at least one local MP, Charles Kennedy …. they used his name without permission!! Write to Mr Kennedy and ask him what he thinks about Highland Titles http://www.charleskennedy.org.uk/Contact/Get-in-touch
I am a Steward of Glen Carrifran Project, and resent this SCAM passing themselves off as Foresters. If you want to help reforest Scotland for non-profit use, join legitimate organizations like, BORDER FOREST TRUST. We the supporters have planted over a million tree in the Glen of Carrifran and other close properties. I invite you to visit the car park off the road about 10 miles north of Moffat, to see the young forest that will mature into the forest that was part of Eastern Scotland a thousand years ago. A legacy for our great grand children.
I forgot in my last reply to give our Border Forest Trust number. It is SC024358 number given in Scottish Charities.
Thank you Joseph,
I was looking on Google satellite only last night looking to see if any remnants of the Ettrick forest remained around Selkirk. Although it looks like everything is greening up over the generations when you approach by road; in actuality when viewing satellite images of the entire area you can view the massive damage done via de-forrestation in the vicinity. I have driven everywhere in the Borders and am always very excited to find new plantings and afforrestation when I come across it. Keep up the great work ! A MILLION trees WOW! 10 Miles north of Moffat …past St Mary’s Loch area?
I would think you would appreciate that some are interested in preserving the land.
Does anybody above the age of 5 believe that Jake is not a representative of Highland Titles? Me neither! Ah yes Highland Titles, the company that told a barefaced lie that the land they were selling was in Glencoe when it wasn’t, the company that say there is 19 pairs of nesting golden eagles on there estate when that is a ludicrous claim and another lie. The company that says they bought a second large estate in 2011 but won’t tell anybody where it is!
I prefer to get my information about them from other sources such as here http://www.scotsman.com/news/30-title-to-lord-it-over-glencoe-1-2125806
And here http://lochaberhighlandestate.blogspot.co.uk
And here http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2011/09/fee-or-free-telephone-preferen.html
And here http://www.maggotdrowning.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=124324&whichpage=2
Remember the Highland Titles Glencoe Estates Diamond Jubilee Wood project? You might well want to see this http://lochaberhighlandestate.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/highland-titles-glencoe-estates-diamond.html Looks like just another scam, it was not approved by the Woodland Trust.
You mean i didn’t really adopt that wolf or those African kids either!!?? Dear god why would i donate to conservation funds to get some sort of chinsey picture and a pin if i don’t really own something.
Why would Highland Titles need to get their Diamond Jubilee Wood “approved” by Woodland Trust? There is nothing unique about planting a 60 acre wood in the Queen’s diamond jubilee year. You do not need permission to plant a wood and I am sure Woodland Trust have no issue with other conservation groups choosing to create a wood. I guess Highland Titles just thought it was a good idea.
Sounds to me that you are just making stuff up in a pathetic attempt to undermine the great work Highland Titles are doing in Scotland.
Emma, as you seem to think Highland Titles are doing such great conservation work, perhaps you could demonstrate that by telling everyone who, (with their qualifications) did a suitability study and impact assessment to indicate that the land is even suitable for planting large numbers of native Scottish broadleaf trees. Did they even do one? And maybe let us know exactly how many trees broken down by species that they have planted so far with locations. If you don’t know, how come you recon they are doing such a good job?
Ian, “Emma Farquarson” is a crude Highland Titles piece of “sock puppetry”. They are using the name of a blogger critical of Highland Titles to post supportive comments. Many, if not all, comments in their support are employees using fake names. If you hadn’t already realized, this is an operation that is built on dishonesty and deception.
Hi Stephen, Oh yes I am quite aware of the “sock puppet” techniques used by Highland Titles. They have used my name before and no doubt will do so again. I know fine they use Emma Farquarson in an attempt to discredit the blogger Emily Farquarson at http://lochaberhighlandestate.blogspot.co.uk
To be honest I find it side splittingly funny, and shows just how childish and vindictive Peter Bevis and his crappy fraud companies actually are.
Note there are NO replies to my last posts.
Indeed why would Highland Titles Glencoe Estates need to get their Diamond Jubilee Wood “approved” by Woodland Trust? They don’t and never did, but the fact is they did originally claim to be part of the official Woodland Trust Diamond Jubilee Wood project and claimed to be in partnership with the Woodland Trust. Why did they ever do that if it is their own project?
The fact that they did actually claim partnership with the Woodland trust is easily verified by contacting Andrew Campbell of the Woodland Trust. He is very aware of the partnership claims made by Highland Titles, which the Woodland Trust had no knowledge of and did not approve.
I personally think that what highland titles are doing is perfectly legitimate. Surely any part of Scotland that is owned by thousands of people cannot be changed or built upon.therefore it is being conserved. The land seems like a perfectly nice piece of Scotland, I don’t see the problem.
And why does it matter that the company is based in the Channel Islands? If the land is sold in scotland, surely the fact that it is in Scotland is good enough.
I don’t see why such an idea can cause so much uproar. The land exists, and, should people want to, they can legally they can call themselves a laird or lady.
Also they have not changed the company name, lochaber highland estates still exists
You are of course entitled to your opinion John. Regarding the plots being owned by thousands and therefore protected you might want to have a look at this. http://www.journalonline.co.uk/Magazine/57-4/1011036.aspx#.UGHF71HcFoB
If the Highland Titles contract does not protect against a third party buying the land, it might as well not be owned by thousands.
The land Highland Titles have did not need any protection as planning permission would not likely be granted for building there anyway. Also, what builder would want to build anything in amongst a commercial forestry plantation anyway?
Anybody can call themselves laird or lady anyway without owning any land anywhere ever. There is no difference between Scottish landowners calling themselves laird or lady, and non landowners doing the exact same.
Regarding the name change ….
Alderney Offical Gazette Volume 19 Number 5 (States ID: 0190005)
Date: 3rd February, 2012
Notice is hereby given that LOCHABER HIGHLAND ESTATES (C.I.) LIMITED whose Registered Office is situated at York House, Victoria Street, Alderney, Channel Islands, GY9 3TA will in accordance with Section 30 of The Companies (Alderney) Law, 1994 petition the Court of Alderney on Thursday 9th February 2012 at 2.30pm to approve a Special Resolution passed at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Shareholder of the said company on 24th January 2012 that the name of the Company be changed to HIGHLAND TITLES LIMITED and any person wishing to oppose the said Petition should inform the Clerk of the Court of Alderney forthwith.
Sally Mosley
Company Secretary
It is of course possible that the petition was successfully opposed and the change was not approved.
On the subject of Laird Lady and Lord titles I thought this blog comment by Andy Harris sums the whole thing up quite neatly and is worth repeating here.
Supporters of these fake title schemes frequently trot out that the proof the titles are real is that people have changed their name on bank accounts etc. to for example, Lord Of Glencoe sucsessfully, and I dare say that might be even be true. The trouble is that the fact of ownership of land in Scotland had nothing whatsoever to do with the name change. The same people could have changed their name to Lord Of Glencoe in exactly the same manner without owning any land anywhere ever!!!
The other standard “proof” is that it is fully legal to style oneself as a Laird Lord or Lady by owning land in Scotland, and it is ….. but it is also equally fully legal to style oneself as a Laird Lord or Lady without owning land anywhere, there is no difference.
Source –
http://highlandtitlesscam.wordpress.com/2012/09/20/highland-titles-scams-lochaber-highland-estates-scams-peter-bevis-and-laura-bevis-scams/#comments
WOW!! YOU NEED TO GET A LIFE MAN!!! ITS JUST A LAUGH! FOR GODSAKE ITS JUST A NOVELTY GIFT YOU IDIOTIC MAN JOHN!! LOL YOU HAVE TOO MUCH TIME ON YOUR HAND MATE!! CHILL OUT
It’s just fun.
What else can you by for £30 that gives you a bit of fun?
A night in the pub, at the pics or going out for a meal -just as much if not more £££. And hey, you get a nice certificate to boot. Just chill, or perhaps you are too tight (no nationalistic insult meant) to spend £30 on entertainment?
And when and wherever you spend money, by definition someone else is always profiting from it….
I’d rather have a night in the pub than give my money to some scammer who says he has done massive amounts of conservation work, but in reality has done very little.
I wouldn’t trust anybody who claims to be running a not-for-profit company as Highland Titles Glencoe Estates have done when that is not actually true.
I wouldn’t trust anybody who claims to be in partnership with The Woodland Trust like Highland Titles have done when that is not actually true.
I wouldn’t trust anybody who claims to be selling land in Glencoe like Highland Titles have done when that is not actually true.
I can print out a very nice certificate myself thanks, and it will be just as valid as any supplied by any of these fake scots titles sellers.
I can think of many better ways to spend £30. Lets see, £10 donated to the RSPB will plant five trees instead of Highalnd Title’s one. That sounds like a better deal to me, and I can also be fairly sure they will actually have been planted! I wouldn’t trust anybody that told as many lies as Highland Titles do to even plant one!
Slainte!
I’ve been reading through all your replies to this. I was just looking into buying my parents a wee plot of land in Scotland (I’m 3rd generation McDonald) and really liked the idea that the money was going towards conserving Scotland. I thought it would be a fun thing for my parents and would also do a bit of good for preserving the woodlands.
Now after reading all of this, I’m not so sure. Is there a legitimate company that DOES do conservation/preservation? I don’t care so much about the titles, more about them being able to say they have this little piece of their history. Ideas?
Any help for the uninformed American would be appreciated. Thank you!
Hi Carmen
When buying land/trees please try and use officially recognised places, government funded or government run sites mean they have to abide by certain rules.
I have just been working a bit with The Forestry Commission on a community project, they are government run and do try and do a great job, but on limited funds. They also understand the importance of planting native trees and working towards the return of more balanced woods rather than the big forests of fir trees you can see today across Scotland. This is a long term project and anything to help this would be a truly wonderful gift.
Other great projects are:
http://www.aigasforest.co.uk/
This a a partially funded community project where the community has bought up the woodland, they need ongoing funds to help in the massive job of managing the wood. It’s quite inspirational.
Also take a look at trees4scotland.com. They are doing a fantastic job at creating a sustainable model for planting trees and managing woodlands. Their work is quite well known and visible in Scotland.
If in doubt please ask advice from The Forestry Commission. To be honest there is quite a lot of worry that companies selling ‘Highland Titles’ are actually doing that much conservation work as they are in the business of selling not conservation.
Thank you! That’s really helpful. I had no idea that these companies didn’t plant the trees or do the work they promised. Very disappointing.
I will check out the other places you mentioned. My mom I’m sure would be really happy with having trees planted in her name and the family name.
Thank you for your response 🙂
Does anyone know anything about the Sealand titles?
Hey, I looked it up the other day. Sealand titles are not considered real as no country officially recognises Sealand as its own country so while you can be a count, lord or baron of Sealand no government would officially recognise you as one. However its just a bit of fun and I think there’s no harm in buying a Sealand title or one of the highland titles if you want to.
Hi Carmen
You can purchase trees and souvenir plots of land from Highland Titles and be confident that your purchase will go towards creating and sustaining a genuine community based Nature Reserve. You will also get considerably more in return than the warm glow that you get when you give money to the likes of the Forestry Commission.
If you would like more information about how the Highland Titles Nature Reserve is run, or if you wish to play a part in its management then why not join the thousands of people who have helped create this unique venture, at Glencoe House on May 15th next year.
Don’t be fooled by one or two trolls on this and other forums. They simply do not like to see people succeed. Why not visit us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/scottishhighlandtitles and join a genuine community project.
Unfortunately, Peter, we know from experience that Highland Titles makes it up as it goes along.
We’ve seen misleading information regarding the “Jubilee Wood”, the “eagle sanctuary”, the incidence of ash tress in Keil Wood etc. All have been documented before and after you’ve doctored the websites so as to pretend that your critics are lying. The mendacity is yours.
What we don’t like seeing, Peter, is people being scammed. Something you appear to be very good at, if the following website, dedicated wholly to your family’s dodgy practices is to be believed.
http://highlandtitlesscam.wordpress.com/
Hi Carmen,
I would advise that any organisation supposedly doing conservation work in Scotland that is not a Scottish registered charity, has to be considered as very highly suspect. It means that they are completely and totally unaccountable to anyone, and can do whatever they want with your money … including keeping all of it and spending nothing on conservation!
All Scottish charities can be checked out at:
http://www.oscr.org.uk/
If they can’t be found there, they are not a Scottish charity period. Their charity number ought to be displayed on websites and other advertising materials.
Now there is a thing, Highland Titles have been mentioning some “membership charity” that is going to be the registered owner of the plots they “sell”. Funny that they completely fail to mention anywhere the name of this charity or where it is registered!!!
You’d also have to wonder why if the plots really do belong to the buyers, how come any organisation can register as owner of them????
The final paragraph of this mainly silly post is a fair question. So I shall answer it. In Scotland, when land is sold, it may be registered with a Scottish land registry set up quite recently.
The process is slow, but eventually the transfer of title gets recorded and everyone is happy. However if the transfer was not recorded, the land would still have changed hands, though with some restrictions. For example it might be possible for the vendor to sell it to somebody else if the transfer was not recorded, even though he no longer actually owned it. The purchaser would then have to seek redress from the naughty vendor who had sold land that he no longer owned, but which he was able to sell because it was still registered to him.
The legislation that created the land registry deals with the problem of souvenir plots, so as to regularise their sale. It could have said that such sales would be illegal, but it does not. It says simply that they cannot be registered. It is then up to the registered owner to honour the sale and not sell the land a second time. As the value of souvenir plots tends to be trivial compared, say, to houses, this seems to us to be reasonable.
But this does pose a conundrum. One day Highland Titles Limited may become insolvent and the liquidators might attempt to sell an asset that the company no longer owns, simply because it is registered to them. Our Scottish solicitors assure us this could not happen, but we are naturally cautious. Our solution is to transfer the registered title of all the plots we sell to a Scottish Charity which will be operated by its members and which should hopefully outlast us all. The land can never be sold.
The AGM of that charity is May 15th at Glencoe House. We hope that lots of our members make it.
The use of the name Highland Titles when no legitimate title is offered really sums up the credibility of this group.
Highland Titles sells souvenir plots of land. The name is therefore entirely appropriate.
Title is a legal term for a bundle of rights in a piece of property in which a party may own either a legal interest or an equitable interest.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_(property)
Bafflingly, the Scotsman seems to have gone from debunking (http://www.scotsman.com/scotland-on-sunday/scotland/30-title-to-lord-it-over-glencoe-1-2125806) to partnering (http://link.johnstonpress.co.uk/rsps/wlnk/c/1109/r/533553/e/10091) according to an unsolicited email which I received today.
I suppose it’s a case of the editorial and enterprises departments of a single newspaper group and never the twain shall meet.
It is of course relatively easy for an enthusiastic troll, with an ability to create multiple anonymous websites and use Photoshop to change our website, so as to confuse a single Scotsman journalist. It is quite another thing to sustain that lie once the editorial team has had an opportunity to investigate.
The story is actually how a small commercial operation has created a Nature Reserve with support from thousands of people from around the world rather than use the “apply for taxpayer money” route. And probably of even more interest to the Private Eye readership is how and why two or three evil and or stupid people have attempted to stop them. I think they should be named!
The truth will always prevail. It is always there. Lies and spin will be shown, ultimately, to be just that.
In 2013, The Highland Titles Nature Reserve moves into the control of a Scottish charity run by a membership of thousands. The lies and spin perpetrated by two or three small minded bigots will not change that fact.
“The truth will always prevail. It is always there. Lies and spin will be shown, ultimately, to be just that.”
And that is exactly what has happened to Highland Titles.
Of course, when the charity is formed, the Charity number will be publicised, unlike the “anonymous” charity that supposedly backed their “Scottish Woodland Alliance” (allied with just whom is naturally vague) so that it may be verified.
Highland Titles, of course, previously claimed to be a charity, a claim which they have now dropped after it was challenged with the Alderney authorities.
One has to wonder whether this very insecure man (why else would he call himself Professor and claim outdated post-nominals?) has to lie and spin so often if his product is as genuine as he claims. The answer, of course, is that he is not a conservationist but is just lining his own pockets.
More lies Piet. Do you never tire of making stuff up? Do you really think that you can sustain this thin tissue of fakery for ever? I wonder what your real name is. Too frightened to come out from behind your sock puppet? Yes, of course the charity number will be published. The charity is being formed by our solicitor, Colin Liddell, a Specialist in Charity Law with the firm J & H Mitchell WS of Pitlochry. In the Channel Islands, I have asked the SWA to go on the general Guernsey register next year so that they are visible. The SWA is an old and rather Conservative alliance of people and organisations who like to give to charity without blowing their trumpets. You probably would not understand the desire to quietly do good.
Highland Titles has never claimed to be a charity, although it does, correctly, point out that all profits are applied to our conservation. No dividend has ever been paid and as there is no corporation tax in Guernsey there is no incentive for us to register as a charity.
When I was an Associate Professor of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, I used the title Professor appropriately and sparingly, in the same way that I now sometimes correctly use the title Dr. Mainly I am simply Peter to my many friends and neighbours in Scotland and the many local supporters in Duror and Glencoe who view the lies and spin from one or two misguided people with increasing irritation.
I am a public figure. My address is available for everyone to see at http://www.highlandtitles.com. I am proud of what I do and have a reputation for honesty and integrity that is valuable to me and to the business that I run. Just post your real name and address and we can discuss this as equals. After all, if you are not a total liar, what would you have to worry about?
I will not correct your lies endlessly. I am a busy man and I have much to achieve. I cannot waste much time on you and your fantasy world. You simply are not worth it.
Post-nominals. Yes there is somebody who cannot resist displaying a whole load of silly post-nominals every time they write their name.
I think you must mean W R B Cunninghame Graham of Gartmore MSc MA FSA Scot
What a mouthful…..
If the content of your first paragraph above is correct, some things would logically follow.
Your business would seem to have been subject to significant harassment and passing off by the “enthusiastic troll” at whom you point a vague finger and would presumably have suffered some non-trivial quantum of financial damages as a result which you would presumably (again) be eager to recover through a civil claim. Did you do this? If not, why not?
The editorial department at Scotland on Sunday would certainly have been interested in a follow-up article debunking the original debunking and exposing the “enthusiastic troll”. This sounds like it would have been at least as usefully column-filling as the original article. (The original article looks like it was a print and online publication not an online-only publication but that is only supposition on my part as I have not checked any primary evidence on that.) Could you point me to that follow-up article? Or to any printed retraction of the original story? Or to aby printed letter from you correcting the errors and omissions in the original story? If there were none of the above “once the editorial team … had … investigate[d]”, why not?
Note that “aby” three lines from the end of my previous post should read “any”.
Yes Jools, I think there is every chance that there will be a follow up story.
I invite the troll responsible for creating any websites that have posted lies about Highland Titles to add their names and contact details to them so that their wild claims can be tested in a court of law. Any taker? You will find that the troll hunkers down at this point and wraps more fluff nervously around their IP address. Liars are not brave…
Mr Bevis,
If you would like to hop on a flight and come to Australia. I would love to test the claims made by the websites of your critics in a Court of Law. My QC is very keen to test their claims in the court room.
From what I have read on their websites one of the problems, among the many,they have with you and your business is that it operates using misleading and deceptive advertising as you prey on people’s ignorance to make a buck. Do you really think you would have sold one plot without the Lord,Laird & Lady hook.
It is illegal for any business to operate in this way in Australia.
Your sales people also encourage misleading and deceptive conduct in number of news article I have read ie upgrades on flights & better seats at restaraunts etc. This may seem minor to you and just sales jargon but you can not encourage people to behave or act in this way in Australia.
You also encourage your customers to misrepresent themselves in a public domain ie websites and Facebook pages with people calling themselves the “Lord of Glencoe” and “Laird”, using “Lord of Glencoe” with advertising for their business.
A layman who visits a website does not know the difference between the real and the fake. This is also illegal conduct in Australia.
Mr Bevis, please take up my offer a the top of this post. My only suggestion is that you bring your money with you as the trip will be expensive.
We have seen what you do to critics that you have identified. They are vilified using a mixture of half-truth and outright lies with supporting comments supplied by a whole tranche of sock-puppets. Funny how the cloned websites of the Earl of Bradford and Scotstitles originate in – guess where? – yes, Alderney. What a coincidence!
Regarding Highland Titles so-called Charity status, let me just cite from your former “GO Green” section of the Highland Titles website as it used to appear:
“We are proud to be a not-for-profit organisation, and the company pays no dividends or annual bonuses to any investors/owners.”
As you say the truth will out.
I do not clone web sites. I am no sock puppet. If I post a comment I do so in my own name because I am telling the simple truth. Your wild accusations are being made using a fake name. As always, they are simply puff and lies.
The only party being “vilified using a mixture of half-truth and outright lies with supporting comments supplied by a whole tranche of sock-puppets” is my business, Highland Titles. You should be ashamed of yourself stooping to such base tactics to try to discredit an organisation intent on doing some good.
It would appear it is you who is in fact the liar Mr Bevis. Your company, Highland Titles has just been caught red handed using cloned websites containing false content and faked comments by the Advertising Standards Authority.
Your denials, all of them, are therefore suspect. You should be ashamed of yourself stooping to such base tactics to fill your pockets with money conned out of trusting good hearted people.
Unfortunately for you, having consulted with Hotscot who build and maintain our web site, I find that the old web site still exists, mothballed on Hotscot’s server. The page you allude to is at http://highlandtitles.hotscot.net/green.asp
The text is: We are proud that our Company pays no dividends or annual bonuses to any investors/owners. Instead, the profits that the company makes is used for three main purposes; tree planting, land maintenance and improvement, and land acquisition.
Any more lies?
Peter, Peter. You persist in spinning and obfuscation. Yes, you had two changes of text, before you canned the “Go Green” section – we don’t all have your poor memory:
“We are proud to be a not-for-profit organisation, and the company pays no dividends or annual bonuses to any investors/owners.”
became
“We are proud to be a Limited Company, and the company pays no dividends or annual bonuses to any investors/owners.”
and then
“We are proud that our Company pays no dividends or annual bonuses to any investors/owners.”
before scrapping the whole thing in an upgrade.
It is as usual, you who are misrepresenting the facts so as to perpetuate your scam.
Well Mr Sockpuppet, you can puff and lie all you like. Let me explain to anybody who wants to read this thread what your strategy is.
Unable to prove any of your wild assertions, you now focus on an irrelevant detail, which you are naturally unable to prove and you are irritated that I can disprove it. This is like the trickery of a magician who leads the audience’s eye from the real trick by using a glamorous assistant or waving his hands about.
So let us return to the meat and potatoes. Highland Titles purchased a small estate in 2007 with a view to creating the first of many Nature Reserves. The land was damaged by centuries of farming, but still, with care it could be saved. We recruited local helpers. We sold thousands of souvenir plots to willing supporters to fund the venture. We created roads and footpaths, planted trees, put up birdboxes, etc etc. This process continues. Every one of our customers who visits the land either on their own or with one of our local volunteers can see that for themselves. In a few months, management of the Nature Reserve passes to a membership charity that will manage the estate and Highland Titles will purchase more land to restore and conserve.
Naturally you do not support that vision. You probably spend your spare time hacking, or vandalising phone boxes or playing knock and run with your neighbours. Of course I don’t actually know what you do with your life, because you hide behind a sockpuppet. But people know who I am. They know what I do because I am proud of the difference I am making. I love Scotland and I am proud to be Scottish.
You are not Scottish Mr Bevis and never will be how ever hard you try.
If you truly loved Scotland you would not be selling useless plots, fake titles and causing all this controversy and upset.
Mr Bevis, are you claiming that neither Highland Titles Ltd, nor Lochaber Highland Estates, nor Lochaber Highland Estates (CI) Ltd have ever claimed to be not-for-profit companies?
Just to be clear, is it the case that none of the aforementioned companies has ever used the phrase not-for-profit on any website or other publication?
You have given a link to a version of the Highland Titles “we are green” page, but seem to have forgotten to say between which dates this is an accurate representation, could you please supply the relevant dates through which the following paragraph remained unchanged?
“We are proud that our Company pays no dividends or annual bonuses to any investors/owners. Instead, the profits that the company makes is used for three main purposes; tree planting, land maintenance and improvement, and land acquisition”
Thank you.
Good morning Mr Henderson. Is that your real name? Are you, perhaps Piet B S Jerver or is he you.
Have we ever claimed to be not-for-profit on a web site? I doubt it, though one of our “ambassadors” may have used the phrase during an interview. People sometimes do say the wrong thing with a camera in their face. The phrase might have appeared on our original Lochaber Highland Estates web site, but I think it most improbable that it would have ever appeared on the old Highland Titles web site. I have been shown several examples of fabricated content which has been created by a troll and which purports to reflect our web site content but which in fact only represents somebody’s skill with a graphics package. This is, I think, just such a case.
As you may already know, we originally set up the business in Alderney in 2006 as a not-for-profit, but before long a change in the law persuaded us that we should become a regular business which could pay dividends to the shareholders. We have never actually paid any dividends and do not plan to. We were persuaded that to run as a straightforward business in Alderney and a Charity in Scotland gave us more profit to apply to our good works because of the additional costs of accountancy and audit in Alderney
Our objective is to maximise profit that can be applied to Scottish conservation. We view accountancy costs and taxation as unwelcome overheads. We seek to minimise them and all other costs.
What you and any future reader needs to understand is that one or two people consider abhorrent the sale of Scottish land to foreigners. Likewise, they view with dismay that ordinary people might be able to adopt a title and display arms, when they have not been born into the right sort of families and did not go to the right sort of schools. Such people will stop at nothing to undermine the way that I have chosen to raise money for a good cause. Forgery is the least of their crimes.
On the other side of the coin we have a Facebook following of over 100,000 – three times that of Private Eye. More even than Visit Scotland. We encourage hundreds of people every year to visit Scotland; possibly thousands. We have huge support in the Glencoe area with many local volunteers. We are holding a big gathering at Glencoe House next May – not something we could do without help from our local supporters. And this is only the first of our projects.
So to the one or two people who don’t like us I have this message. We do not care. To the thousands who like us and approve of what we are doing I say “thank you”. “With your help we are doing exactly what we promised”
Good Evening Mr Bevis,
Thank you for your reply, though rather worryingly I feel it leaves a lot to be desired. Phrases such as “I doubt it” and “may have used” are failing to inspire confidence that you are being completely truthful. I would consider it the kind of vague woolly response of someone who is trying to hide something.
You say you have been shown “several examples of fabricated content” but fail to point out where or what this evidence is, I find that rather telling. Some might think that failing to do so could be because if you did, and it could be proved that the evidence presented was actually correct, you might leave yourself open to possible action. Otherwise why not just say where it is and point out how it has been adulterated?
I have no axe to grind and asked a straightforward question, which was met with a vague response, and an accusation about someone fabricating evidence but without indicating where or what that evidence is. I am currently inclined to believe you are not being entirely truthful in this matter.
Well Mr Henderson, or whatever your real name is, everyone can see you grinding your axe.
Not really a very satisfactory reply from a company director Mr Bevis is it?
Making accusations instead of providing satisfactory answers, oh dear!!
I think my suspicions are indeed now confirmed, and you are being less than truthful.
John, that’s what Bevis does when he is caught out and doesn’t want to give a straight answer, accuses people of being trolls in order to avoid giving a proper answer!
John, changing your name to Uncle Rob and insulting me does not show you in a good light. Your hectoring style indicates a weakness either in intellect or argument. Perhaps both. My answers may be judged by other readers. Your opinion is of no concern or consequence.
Peter, accusing me of changing my name is rather pathetic don’t you think? Feel entirely free to enquire with the administrators of this website to see if my ip address matches that of anyone else.
There is little weakness in my argument, there is however very worrying weakness in your non committal reply to my simple request.
I made a simple request for information which you have not given a satisfactory reply to. Yes that is correct, your answers will be judged by other readers, your opinion is of no concern or consequence either.
I refer you to your post of 28th November in the name Uncle Rob, which does not contain a single true statement. Are you capable of teling the truth? I doubt it. You cannot even give your name. Posting as an anagram of my name indicates a certain childishness. Why would I waste my time discussing my business with you? I have to be truthful and accurate with my statements because my name and address are there for all to see. Naturally you, for whatever reason, simply wish to spread lies to catch the gullible and the unwary. You must lead a very empty life.
As admin to this blog I can confirm that John Henderson is not using multiple names on this blog. His IP address is only used for the name John Henderson.
Your faith is touching “Admin”. If you check my posts, I think you will find at least three IP addresses. Home, Office and a friend. If I had wanted to, I could have posted as different people at each location. So, you might be right, but you could be wrong.
Trolls operate by creating fake identities so as to boost their credibility. Readers then imagine that several posters all share the same opinion. Despite using two IPs, I will remain sceptical.
Mr Bevis,What is “hectoring”?I have never heard of it before. Is it being heckled by a man called Hector?
Where, exactly, is the property? Can it be visited? If this is a legitimate offering then there should be no objection to an in-person inspection prior to making a payment.
Hi David
The land forms part of a Nature Reserve. We encourage people to visit. No purchase is required; the land is open to all. If you feel moved to purchase a souvenir plot after your visit that would be nice. The land is a few miles south of Glencoe, between Oban and Fort William in the western highlands.
http://www.highlandtitles.com/your-plot/visit-your-estate/
Visiting your Highland Estate
“Take only photographs, leave only footprints”
As a new Scottish landowner, we welcome you to visit your land whenever you wish. The land is yours to use however you wish. We would encourage you to plant a tree (preferably native Scottish) and perhaps place a commemorative plaque. You may wish to scatter the ashes of a loved one or simply have your photograph taken.
Feel free to visit with your friends and stay a while. In summer, the riverbank is the perfect spot for a picnic and from the top of the hill the views are breathtaking. If you have purchased a 100 sq.ft. or larger plot feel free to camp anywhere on the Estate, but please follow the country code and leave no litter.
Please also remember that the river fishing is private (although you may fish in Loch Linnhe), and it is illegal to pick wild flowers.
Now Mr Bevis of Highland Titles Glencoe Estates will be telling us that it was a completely different Peter Bevis who’s telephone preference service website was ruled as being misleading by the Advertising Standards Authority for, “leading users to infer it was a Government service”.
http://tinyurl.com/b4xjum7
Mr Bevis of Highland Titles Glencoe Estates said above ….
“I am proud of what I do and have a reputation for honesty and integrity that is valuable to me and to the business that I run”
Ooops … honesty? …. integrity? Is inferring to be a Government service an indication of honesty and integrity?
I think we must be using different definitions of those words!
So was it you who registered this domain to Lochaber Highland Estates? Because Lochaber Highland Estates did not. And you would have to wonder who would do such a thing. We are always open to motivated trolls attempting to link us to dubious business practices. When a domain is registered, it can be registered to anybody. If the journalist had spoken to us first we could have prevented them publishing an inaccurate story. As with the recent Private Eye Ash tree story, journalists never like the facts to get in the way of a good story.
The reality is that Highland Titles Limited is running a very simple business in an open and honest way. One or two people delight in trying to undermine the work we are doing. Most people, 99.999999% of people, are supportive. We have noted stories that say we do not actually sell land, that we do not actually build tracks and footpaths, that we do not plant trees, that the Scottish Woodland Alliance does not exist, that we are not launching a charity, The list of supposed crimes are as endless as the inventiveness of one or two very ignorant people who oppose us selling land to foreigners, encouraging them to use the title Laird of Glencoe and display our trademarked “arms”.
The alternatives are stark. Stand around with an empty bowl, begging, like the Glencoe Heritage Trust, or apply for handouts from the taxpayer like the Woodland Trust. We believe that a third way is to run our enterprise as a business. Give the customer what they want and use the profits to achieve our conservation ends. If that does not appeal, then our customers will give their hard earned cash to some other cause. So far, the plan is working just fine and I am pleased to use the pages of Bletherskite to say so. We look forward to another nice chat with Roger in Glasgow after Christmas.
I don’t understand the anger. I bought one of those star names for my grandson. I bought plots in the rain Forrest for another one or two. Do I think I actually own a star or rainforest? No. It was just a neat fun gift and I plan to give a title to my granddaughter for fun. We are descended from several lines of scots and since I can’t reclaim any of the castles this will be the next best thing
P Bevis states:
“Highland Titles sells souvenir plots of land. The name is therefore entirely appropriate.
Title is a legal term for a bundle of rights in a piece of property in which a party may own either a legal interest or an equitable interest.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_(property)”
Do you inform people that by purchasing this souvenier plot they may use the title of Laird or Lady? If so, your claim that your use of the term “title” refers to a land grant is disengenuous. See also http://www.lyon-court.com/lordlyon/776.html
Do you file the deed for the buyer with the Register of Sasines?
Yes, it interesting that an elderly lawyer with a part-time government sinecure should use his web site to express his personal opinions, rather than stick to his job. David Sellar has nothing whatsoever to do with lairdships. He sells rather overpriced coats of arms as a way to offset his burden on the taxpayer. I note his contribution to etymology. Like most people, I am underwhelmed. http://tinyurl.com/clcwwfy
I have no dog in this fight. Heck, I don’t even pretend to know all the issues at stake here.
I do know, however, if you go to the Way Back Machine (http://archive.org/web/web.php), you can see what web sites looked like in the past.
The following entry is from 26 June 2010:
http://web.archive.org/web/20100626215219/http://www.highlandtitles.com/green.asp
And it clearly says:
“We are proud to be a not-for-profit organisation, and the company pays no dividends or annual bonuses to any investors/owners. Instead, any profit that the company makes is used for three main purposes; tree planting, land maintenance and improvement, and land acquisition.”
Well thank goodness for the Way Back Machine. I don’t remember the web site saying that, but I am not sure what relevance it has. We have a small IT department that reviews the web site from time to time and routinely makes minor updates. Most web sites change from time to time and it would have been entirely proper for the text on our web site to change to reflect change. When this text was written it was accurate. When it was updated the new text was accurate. Between times, as stated earlier the law in Alderney changed (actually 30th June 2011), so we were advised to prepare to create a Scottish charity, which will be run with all the rigour, but all the financial overheads appropriate to charitable status.
So, I would like to place this into the large box labelled “smoke and mirrors”. It is absolutely not relevant. We have never felt the need to advertise ourselves as being a charity, indeed we are proud that we are operating as a business.
No Mr Bevis, I believe you quite deliberately presented your company as being not-for-profit to fool members of the public into thinking it was a charity until the matter was reported to the Guernsey Tax Office in 2012, and the statement removed from your web site as a result.
“thank goodness for the Way Back Machine” … why then have you blocked access to archived copies of your websites on the Way Back Machine by use of robots.txt file entries? Is it that you don’t want anybody to discover any more of your past lies perhaps?
I have now taken the time to read the article which heads this collection of posts. The items that leap out are that the tin in the photo is nothing to do with us. This tin is very much at the bottom of the novelty end of the market. Gag gift in a tin. We do believe that we offer a superior product, in part because it is our only product. Gift Republic, who sell this tin, offer a wide range of “fun” gifts. Also, the various attempts at naming us are incorrect. Until recently we were Lochaber Highland Estates (CI) Limited and we are now Highland Titles Limited. We do not sell titles. We sell land. However we do encourage our customers to then adopt our trademarked title, Laird of Glencoe to show that they support our conservation objectives.
Of course anyone can call themselves Laird without purchasing a plot from us, or indeed from anyone. But not Laird of Glencoe. That is our intellectual property and we could protect its use. Even the Lord Lyon (the last one anyway, Robin Blair) accepted that anyone has this right. Certainly the bestowing of laird titles is not in his remit. He is quoted on a government web site as instructing his council to tell the court ” Lyon, himself, accepted that citizens could in general call themselves by any name they pleased, including the use of territorial designations” http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/2009CSIH61.html This is a right in Scotland and surely is the same in any civilised coutry in the world.
Lord Lyon’s role, if indeed he has one, is to make sure that heraldry is restricted to the great and good. We cannot share in that vision in the 21st century. We believe that anyone who wishes to adopt a title and display arms to demonstrate their love of Scotland should be able to do so. In 2013 we intend to continue our efforts towards that ultimate goal.
Peter,this was more than ably dealt with by Inchtalla in ScotsTitles, when it was raised by an individual who called herself Calluna.
What is the same here, is the plucking of one small section of the report to back your argument while ignoring the greater part that does not suit your purposes. This is of course one of Highland Titles’ favourite tricks.
To follow Inchtalla, I’ll quote the relevant parts you ignore further elsewhere in the report:
“…the substantive issue in all three cases was arguably distinct and more akin to an application for “Official recognition” of change of name, which is a recognised procedure before Lyon and which, by agreement of all concerned, was an application involving his ministerial function.”
and (to continue the section you cite)
“Lyon, himself, accepted that citizens could in general call themselves by any name they pleased, including the use of territorial designations, (albeit Lyon retains express jurisdiction under the Act of 2000 to prevent subscription by inappropriate territorial references). It is, however, an entirely different matter when it comes to the Official recognition by him of names of armigerous persons.”
and
“… for it to be appropriate to include a territorial designation in his records and Registers, there should be a substantial “nexus” or connection, past or present, between the applicant or his predecessors and the lands in question. This, however, was not the position where the ownership consisted of a recent acquisition of the bare superiority or dominium directum of the lands and, indeed, a territorial designation in such circumstances could prove highly misleading. As counsel for Lyon pointed out such a designation might, for instance, conflict with the right of the owner of the dominium utile of the lands so to describe himself. We confess that, for our part, we found such reasoning on the face of it persuasive, not least because of its foundation in plain common sense…”
Furthermore, it has to be remembered that the decisions of Lyon are reached in individual cases and are not binding on either him or his successors so far as future applications are concerned.
Thus, the only true thing in your post is that you have trademarked the term, “Laird of Glencoe” (entirely inappropriately as your plots are NOT in Glencoe! and are of inconsequential size), just as you trademarked the term “Laird of Sketraw” in an attempt to get back at your critic, John Duncan of Sketraw.
Yada, Yada, Yada. I don’t think I can be bothered to read your post. To adopt an anagram of my name is in poor taste. I know you are embarrassed to “come out”, but an anonymous post has no value.
Peter Bevis said (above): “If I post a comment I do so in my own name because I am telling the simple truth.”
Yet the Admins tell us that “Peter Bevis has the same IP address as John Duncan.” with a link to a clone of the Earl of Bradford’s website which had been doctored to attack John Duncan of Sketraw (now taken down).
This si in line with other cloned sites such as http://www.scotstitles.com which were doctored to attack other opponents of 1 sq ft “lairdship” schemes and the articles were changed to appear to support them.
As you rightly said, Peter, “The truth will always prevail. It is always there. Lies and spin will be shown, ultimately, to be just that.”
Now all your bluff and bluster is shown to be just that and your claims to “honesty and integrity” are put in doubt.
I cannot address you by name, as you are too nervous to give it. Everyone in the office shares the same IP address and a distaste for the endless drip, drip, drip of the lies that you and one or two other anonymous non-entities post on the internet.
I have asked my colleagues not to respond as it simply stokes up the fires. It is perhaps about time to take my own advice.
We shall be in Glencoe on the 15th May at the wonderful Glencoe House. If anybody has any doubts about the work that we do, I invite you to come. I should like to have the pleasure of looking somebody in the eye as I call them a liar.
So, anybody who doesn’t like us, come out from your anonymous web sites like the nasty scots-titles and worse. Come and meet us. If you dare not, then I invite you to go away and find something useful to do.
I know I shouldn’t post again, I have been hogging the limelight, but I have now read the first post; by the charming Roger Moffatt himself. ” the Lyon Court will be on you like stink on a monkey” . And this written nearly two years ago. No Roger. I think you might be wrong there!
And “These titles have to be petitioned for through the Lyon Court.” No Roger. As the Lyon himself says. Anyone can call themselves Laird of Dunroaming if they wish. Mind you he may not be prepared to flog them a Coat of Arms. But at a couple of grand, not many people want them anyway.
I think our blog is being abused, have just spent an interesting hour going through all the comments and checking IP addresses and locations.
I will let you all draw your own conclusions:
Emma Farquarson – her IP location is Guernsey as well as Jake. Both are very pro Highland Titles
IanA, John McCabe and Emily Farquarson all have the same IP address.
Peter Bevis has the same IP address as John Duncan. In the comment by ‘John Duncan’ it links to the cloned site: http://www.faketitles.in.titles.htm
Clearly somebody in the Highland Titles office has posted on your site last year. Our policy is that staff should not post about Highland Titles.
We do not employ a John Duncan, so clearly somebody has posted once in a fake name.
Although a link is given, it does not appear to be a genuine link.
Thanks Peter.
Sorry the cloned site is the url under John Duncan’s name. It’s http://www.scotstitles.com, this was a cloned site of http://www.scots-titles.com
Although the site has been taken down you can still locate the images. Here’s one of the actual John Duncan from that url that has been doctored.
http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ41xOAEOWSo6U11GeroTxFhpeD1siYNYKQrg9YBIdnIP9pE4Rvs_qBW9HzTg
and also:
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQFGIRsQG6xUCRXm8zDtodgBIQUhtRJXQViOdVNwfpjsQt0JPaORLSxeDzB
The fake scotstitles site has been put back up: do not be misled by this clone which is registered in Alderney (just like Highland Titles and Lochaber Highland Estates) whose purpose is two-fold: to attack the admins of the true site (www.scots-title.com) and to promote the sale of 1 sq ft “lairdships”, which the real site opposes.
In an attempt to remain impartial in this discussion we offered Peter Bevis of Scottish Highland Titles the opportunity to respond to specific criticisms raised in the comments section of this blog. He has declined this offer and is now intending to report this article to the Advertising Standards Authority.
We welcome the ruling of the ASA.
Until then this article is once again open to comments. We will, as I said, remain impartial. There was nothing malicious in our article, we thought it was a very interesting discussion.
Can I ask that people comment under their real names.
Having asked the Committee for Advertising Practice for their advice on whether our blog was breaking ASA guidelines we had this response:
Dear Rodger,
Thanks for submitting your query to Copy Advice. I’m afraid this appears to be editorial rather than advertising and is therefore outside of our remit.
Kind regards,
James.
James Wilkinson Green
Copy Advice Executive
Committee of Advertising Practice
Mid City Place, 71 High Holborn
London WC1V 6QT
So it would appear that there is nothing in this blog that constitutes false advertising.
I’m glad I found this website. Was considering buying one of these micro-plots for the laugh of making my good women a ‘Lady’ but decided to do some further research after almost clicking ‘buy’ on one of the websites you have discussed on this site. Given the controversy surrounding the issue and the potential distress this may cause the good people of the north I’ve opted not to do so and wish you well with the preservation of your proud culture. Instead perhaps I’ll dig around in my Irish roots to try and find a genuine connection but given that my family surname in literal Gaelic is defined as ‘bog dweller’ I think this highly unlikely. Take care and thank you.
Having just received one of these for Christmas (and having a very interesting Google search afterwards), I thought I’d drop in the details of what I received.
The same old tin and tri-fold “booklet” with tiny disclaimers at the bottom. The interesting things: this is featured as a gift by seller Gift Republic (and they have various other Name…, Dedicate…, Adopt… tins available), with their company name and logo all over the thing, in association with the Dunans Charitable Trust (with the assigned charity number below, but linked to a defunct domain)
https://www.oscr.org.uk/search-charity-register/charity-extract/?charitynumber=sc038431
I believe I was scammed. 1st time & I feel like an idiot. Highland Titles. And I thought my hard earned money was going to conservation:(
It seems there have been four complaints against Highland Titles / Lochaber Highland Estates upheld by the the Advertising Standards Authority since September 2012.
http://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications.aspx?SearchTerms=Lochaber%20Highland%20Estates#2
Perhaps people are waking up to the fact that there is no relationship between owning land in Scotland and any title. It certainly appears that this company is producing misleading information on a regular basis.
This is a very interesting article from Scottish solicitors Halliday Campbell WS in Edinburgh. It covers several topics including souvenir plot ownership, laird lord and lady titles, coats of arms etc. It does appear that souvenir plots are indeed not owned by the buyer and never can be in Scots law. I do recognise the quotes from the “title sellers” to be from Highland Titles’s website from last year, though it has probably been changed a bit since. Anyway, it is a very good and enlightening read, enjoy.
http://www.hallidaycampbell.com/2012/06/who-owns-souvenir-plot.html
I have read all of the comments regarding Kincavel and I have formed some quite profound opinios,both of the subject and some of the writers.
I M truely amazed that so many people have a lot of time their hands to be able to write such eloquent rubbish.
Additionally,I am astounded and equally sorry that those who have commented unfavourably appear to have mislaid common sense and missed the point. This is a point of fun in our otherwise mundane lives,is it going to hurt anyone or pave the way for an invasion of scotland?I sincerely think not but it worries me that so many poor souls have time to get steamed up about trivia when it is in FUN!and nothing else. If a few more of us were to find hunour in our lives the world would be a much happier place. Try smiling for a change instead of being nasty.Try to remember its a bit of fun and God knows we can use some these days
yours aye
Clive (laird of nothing)
I’m confused, Kincavel is only mentioned on one other place on this page, well two now I’ve mentioned it LOL, and not in a bad way anywhere.
It’s all very well saying that people write rubbish but if you don’t point out what that rubbish is and your opinion of why you think it rubbish, your comment would seem a tad pointless. What rubbish are you referring to exactly please, I can’t see much comment on Kincavel here?
Your life might be mundane Clive, mine and lots of others are certainly not thanks!
I think those who have commented unfavourably might very well have hit the nail right on the head, and uncovered a long standing scam.
Show me one single seller of souvenir plots in Scotland who has always clearly pointed out in plain language that only a personal right to the land is “bought” and not any real ownership.
I could go on … and on … and on … and on .. but all will be glad to hear I won’t … at the moment …. hoorraaayyy!
If souvenir land plot sellers had been honest I might just have regarded it as a bit of fun. But the level of lies and deceit employed by some of these people to sell their products is entirely unacceptable, I can quite understand why people get upset and comment unfavourably when they find out the truth.
If you’d like to know which particular lies and deceit just let me know and we can start going through some, but it could be a long project! Hey, we could start with some of the comments left by Peter Bevis of Highland Titles, might be a few naughty wee porky pies in there LOL.
For those who say ‘ach its just a bit of harmless fun, no one would ever take it seriously’ maybe you should look at this:
http://glencoewoodestate.com/index.html
I find the mocking tone of some of the below comments distressing.
Dr. Bevis deserves to be a household name for his pioneering work in Homeopathic Conservation.
For those unfamiliar with the process, a large amount of the active ingredient “money” is collected at Highland Titles’ Alderney laboratory which is then diluted with a proprietary inert solvent “hogwash”** and succussed (a standard Homeopathic technique where mannequins of Inchtalla and Sketraw are repeatedly and precisely hit over the head with a special horsehair tool while whistling the refrain from Abba’s Fernando). After a number of cycles of dilution and succussion the final therapeutic dilution is administered to the “Nature Reserve” in Duror.
As any qualified homeopath will tell you, the greater the dilution the greater the potency. Thus it is that keen observers expect Highland Titles to outconserve their more traditional peers by leaps and bounds. Conservation partner the Scottish Woodland Alliance reports that thanks to the efforts of a volunteer chain gang of Telephone Preference scam victims, fully 7000 acres of Highland Titles’ 224 acre estate have now been planted with magnificent Diamond Jubilee Eagle Sanctuaries.
** now with added eagles
OMG Andrew you are right, I’ve just seen Highland Titles described thus:
“A company called Highland Titles, said to be the world’s leading innovator in land preservation”
Nearly fell of my chair! Now one would have to wonder who actually said that in the first place?
I get first guess … emmm Highland Titles anybody?
Tsk tsk Andrew, Highland Titles might well I fear be instructing their solicitors to send you a very stern letter demanding a retraction and apology for your scandalous assertion of the area of land they still retain at Keil Hill.
224 or was it 228? acres is what they started out with is it not, but they have been selling off quarter, half, and full acre plots for years, and have sold possibly tens of thousands of plots ranging in size from 1000 to 1 square foot. Not so big now is it?
On another note,I hear the Spectacled Cormorants (Phalacrocorax perspicillatus) have returned to Keil Hill this year in profuse numbers, and will be putting on a display of acrobatics in conjunction with the recently arrived Malagasy Crowned Eagles (Stephanoaetus mahery), and escorted by the 2000 or so permanently resident Imperial Woodpeckers (Campephilus imperialis), at around 10:30am on Friday April 5th.
Scam!
It seems Highland Titles have been caught with their underpants round about their ankles. Apparently they have been found out using misleading advertising, and reported to the Advertising Standards Authority yet again, as reported in Private Eye magazine,
They have it would appear been using cloned copies of newspaper websites containing faked up articles and comments, linked to from their own website!
http://lochaberhighlandestate.blogspot.com/2013/05/highland-titles-in-fake-newspaper.html
Looking down this thread I find a comment by Peter Bevis of Highland Titles ….
Peter Bevis says:
December 4, 2012 at 12:25 pm
I do not clone web sites. I am no sock puppet.
Errrrrr … ooopps! Must have been those wicked fairies at the bottom of the garden what done it then eh!
I got a titled square foot of Scottish land for the fun of it and the darling scroll I have framed in my office. Of course I live in California, am an American (Yank, actually Yankette.) So even if the title was real, I can’t use it unless Congress passes a law allowing me. It is in our Constitution we can’t use/accept titles unless Congress approves it. Don’t think they would waste their time allowing me. If they did, people here would think I was nuts to use a title. It is pretentious. But many of us have pets that have titles. I have a cat named Lady Jane Gray. So I really just bought a cute scroll that no one cares about but me because I get to have my blood name on it with a title in front, (my dad was adopted) and I’m happy. I just wish my fifty bucks would have gone to plant a tree as well. What’s the harm?
By the way, I meant no insult to those properly titled in the U.K. by mentioning that Americans give titled names to their pets. We do, but it is a sign of affection or maybe transferring one’s hidden desire to be King, Duke, Prince, Princess, Lady, Earl, etc. I have never heard anyone naming their pet Lord, as it would be perceived as insulting to the real Lord up there. But every other title it seems is used. We Californians, especially we native Californians, have a title for “cool men originally meant for surfers” called “Dude”. I noticed Prince Harry stole that title and called his brother Dude instead of Duke when toasting him at his wedding. Cute. Hope this land sale conflicts are resolved. Scotland is a most beautiful country.
Now the promised Highland Titles charity has failed to appear, despite the assurances given by Mr Bevis on this very thread! You would have to wonder if their application to set up a charity was refused.
http://lochaberhighlandestate.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-highland-titles-scam-charitywhat.html
Remember the quotations below from Mr Bevis? Seems they were yet another pack of lies & deceit.
“In a few months, management of the Nature Reserve passes to a membership charity that will manage the estate”
“Yes, of course the charity number will be published. The charity is being formed by our solicitor, Colin Liddell, a Specialist in Charity Law with the firm J & H Mitchell WS of Pitlochry”
“In 2013, The Highland Titles Nature Reserve moves into the control of a Scottish charity run by a membership of thousands. The lies and spin perpetrated by two or three small minded bigots will not change that fact.”
just curious, after reading such nonsense as fake titles and honors, i hate to see such happen fer it tis a creeping in subtle disgrace, i was however wondering though serious how a direct descendant of Kng Duncan as i can buy a small tract of land in Scottland preferably in the duncan, dundee areas.. could anyone tell me.. feel free call u.s me here 724-888-0643 G’ra paul
i have a title from highland titles and i can assure you they are very real. my real name is now lord mike blank. and its very cool
I was wondering if there is a way to check to see if I am actually descended from a titled family. My family came to the US a few generations past. Supposedly, they were quite wealthy and important in Scotland, and were here as well, for a time. Our Great Depression changed the status of much of the family before it was over, and our ancestral home in Alabama was sold many years ago. Is there an archive somewhere one might be able to look up such information?
yes – first of all you need to trace back to your ‘gateway ancestor’ this is the person who left Scotland – once you have them then this is the official site for records in Scotland. https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
check our resources section for more info on tracing ancestry
🙂
I did this just for fun for my husband.. But now I would like a refund how would I do this.. I knew it wasn’t true but it was just something for him since he just found out his mother was Scottish.. What do I need to do? thanks sharon.hard64@gmail.com
I was given a “plot” package as a gift which included the latitude and longitude of my square foot of land from Lochaber Highland Estates. I live in New England (US) and traveled to find it. I was expecting to find a square foot in a conservation area as advertised in the package literature. Alas, no such place existed and my geolocation landed me on the side of a road nowhere near conserved land.
I don’t care about legal title, rather I was happy to support conservation efforts. That said, now that I’ve seen the scam/smoke and mirrors tactics of this scheme I laugh at the ingenuity and want to punch this Bevis guy at the same time. Clever.
And shame on you if it’s true.
Did you not check a map before you went there? Surely that would show you the spot whee your land is.
Our country has had enough of having our way of life and it’s traditions mocked, run down, disgraced and disrespected.
We are a very old society and do not hold to the impertinence of those either with in our own ranks or the new world.
When something is not funny to someone or a people, then it’s not funny.
We have had enough of the fowl rape of our societal values, way of life and traditions over the last three hundred years.
This whole thing is a mockery and a disgrace.
It should absolutely be stopped and these fools taken to task and affronted in front of their people for the insult.
The law, Scottish Law, must sew any legal loop holes that can ever enable this kind of behavior, now and in the future be it for profit or any other reason.
There’s no other country in the world that would allow such nonsense.
This is not funny. This is not a laugh. This is our heritage.
If we don’t impress upon the world how serious and dear we hold our own culture, then no one else will.
I think my favourite part of this bah humbug lambasting rant is when you reference ‘Wikipedia’ for further credibility on the definition of titles.
Lots of people do stupid things with internet purchased Titles or Doctorates. I bought a plot from
Highland Titles. I don’t use it much since I am an American. However, I care a great deal about
Preservation. I have never been to Scotland and will not pretend to understand the politics, so regardless if the title has any validity to me is irrelevant. The point is it hangs on my wall and reflects the fact that I give a damn about this planet and do what I can. The world could use more lords like this in my opinion. So thanks for the title. It’s motivated me and helped
The Earth by planting trees writing published books etc. 🤘🌏 ✌
So just to be clear, the fact that you were lead to believed that buying the the plot would give a unique, legal right to the title of Lord had no influence on your purchase?
Because that is not the reality here at all, so if it was just a matter of doing it to do your part towards helping the earth, then why not help by saving America portion of the planet first, would make sense since you are American.
The bottom line to this whole debate is about, shady, unethical and possibly illegal business practices which should never be tolerated…PERIOD!
Scotland essentially birthed the modern world. But what birthed Scotland? Where do Tartans and Clans come from?
All of these thing are the gifts of man’s mind. They are as legitimate as they are trusted by those who use and believe in them. I would refer you to d’Anconia’s money speech, as a good example of this concept.
Highland Titles offers some reality and fantasy mixed together, and promotes wonderful Scotland and its incredible heritage. If they are scam artists—they scam in the best way possible—as the artist scams you into seeing life as it could, should and ought to be.
Yours truly,
Laird Sean Gordon Dunross, of the actual Gordons, ByDand!
My husband and I have traced our family histories back through Scotland. I am an Erwin of Bonshaw. My father’s family came from Scotland to Canada by way of Ireland; my mother’s side is pure English, so my history is rich in the Bristish Isles. Since the COVID19 crisis has shut down the world, we are unable to celebrate our 50th Anniversary with family and friends . [We had hoped to renew our vows, and worn our tartans for the event] . I was looking for something to replace the celebration when I discovered this company on Facebook, and started to investigate.
Having read the ENTIRE list of comments and can completely understand the position of the Scottish people who are against this, let me say this:
We in the “New World” do not have an ingrained sense of tradition and history that you have. We are, in my opinion, envious that your history is so rich, so intense, and so long. Knowing that my family history can be traced back to Robert the Bruce makes me want to become part of that tapestry; to be connected. I fully realize that this is not REAL, but if it gives me a sense of connection that’s enough. I admire the extensive and significant culture of Scotland and do not consider wanting a part of it to be a mockery. And I completely agree with “Lord G.Bounds” . If it shows that I care about the Planet and my background that’s all that I ask.
I was hoping to purchase a plot of land from Highland titles for my grandad as a reminder of my grandma. She passed away in 2016. They both used to spend a few weeks up in Scotland every year and their favourite place was Glencoe.
I was looking through ideas and found this advertised, I was really pleased that I had found something that could allow him to visit Glencoe more often and have a special place to go and have a title for the fun of it. However, reading these comments has made me unsure of purchasing. I was wondering if someone could give me clarification that this is a scam and if so are there any genuine places to purchase something similar.
Thanks
Emily
Some one wrote “I suspect there are a few old Gs who are quite rattled by folks being able to own land in Scotland and be gifted an honorary title.”
“Those so called blue-bloods and those whose ancestors were the original “Lords” firmly “lorded it” over the masses/commoners with iron hands and whips. The fun fact (irony) is that centuries later the descendants of the paupers are defending the titles of their lords and masters…. who would have thought!”
Get your title if you wish, shame the oppression of the past.
The Highland Titles ownership registry likely has a few recent inclusions
‘Laird Xi Xingping of John O’Groats’
‘Laird Donald Trump of Glencrannog’
‘Liard Robert Mugabe of Glencairn’
Tossers cannot resist. LOL
Take the game away from Bevis by having official forestry sites offer such ‘ time limited ‘ ownerships with recognition only by the forestry services and the local council/shire….. people will support it for fun because it’s a lark and it works. Real money to real causes !
I read about these people and the service they provide and one thing struck me immediately. Anyone who “owns” this land – and actually tries to visit it, would probably be arrested for trespassing. There was a case where a husband and wife actually took a trip to Scotland and tried to locate their 1 foot of land. To get to it (so they claim), they had to pass through several private properties which drew attention from the actual property owners and law enforcement. So this is not only a scam, but could get someone in legal trouble if they actually tried to follow through with it and visit the property.
“My ancestor was rich so I get to have everyone call me by a special title. No, you can’t use that title, only I can use it!” Do you really not see the absurdity of peerage in the modern day? You mock the people buying titles but they’re not the ones taking this seriously, it’s you who should be mocked.
Why buy a title in today’s day? If I can “identify” as whatever gender I like, whatever race I like, and more then I am pretty sure I can “identify” a whatever title I like.
I think I will now “identify” as High-Lord-President-Crown-Prince-Chief-Barking-Beagle.
Omg, this if funny as all get out. this has been going on almost 10 years! I still see these ad’s today so obviously it is not illegal or it would have been shut down. However, we all know it is not real either. The Foresty service should take a clue and offer some certificate at these prices so people would get more out of it. Hope to visit Scotland and Ireland some day.
Since the last person could identify as High-Lord-President-Crown-Prince-Chief-Barking-Beagle, I will go with Overlord of Mars and beat Elon Musk to it.
In 2020 it is still going. Advertised on Facebook. If it is all on the up and up, why is the company registered in Estonia???
So, who are these people and why are they saying that Highland Titles is a fine business?
sorry, I forgot the link:
https://lairdtitles.com/laird-title-packages/highlandtitles/
Happy 10th Anniversary of this article! and it’s still going.
I was given this as a fun joke. Given I can trace my chinese family lineage back to the Tang dynasty…it was a jolly good joke to help protect Scottish forests so you don’t end up with more Trump golf course. Why are you being so pompous and unsporting about such a good cause for Climate Justice and Sustainability of our planet? Furthermore since I had this gift for over a decade, I note this is now a funny way to rouse thr Lairds of Gelncairn of the world to support Scottish Independence! It seems to me this weird injoke to conserve nature, is doing more for the Long term wrllbeing of Scotland than the so-called gate keepers of Scottish Clans nobility! Where is your noblesse oblige if you are wasting time challenging this instead of protecting Scotland from more environmental destruction and more Tasteless Trump golf courses ?