“Every month I send €800 to help my son with his university costs and general maintenance. It has been over a week, and the money hasn’t arrived yet,” says Nara Baracho, a Brazilian migrant who works at an industrial laundry in Switzerland.
Nara is one of thousands of customers across Europe who, this week, were taken by surprise by the suspension of services of Small World (LCC), a money transfer company operating since 2005 with offices and presence in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the US.
“I have used them for over 13 years and it is regrettable that they left so many people without their money. Earlier in the week I tried to contact Small World by email and received a message saying that my message had been blocked,” explains Baracho providing a screenshot of the message received as proof.
A popular money transfer service among migrants, until recently Small World LCC offered money transfer services to over 180 worldwide destinations. In 2018, the company generated revenues in excess of £110m.
On Thursday, June 14th, however, a “Suspension of Services” disclaimer was posted on the Small World website, informing customers of recent changes and that the company had stopped accepting any new customers or agents, as well as sending money abroad.
“We want to tell you about some important changes at Small World.
From now, Small World has stopped accepting any new customers or agents, accepting funds or making payments for existing customers through all channels, including any of its agents, branches, web sites or mobile applications.
If you ask us to make a payment, we may not be able to make that payment. Where we have already sent the funds to a bank or other third party that we use to deliver the funds to the person you are trying to pay, it is possible that the bank or third party has paid the funds to your recipient or will do so in the usual timeframes.”
Customers going to physical branches in England, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland also encountered similar messages affixed to Small World LCC closed doors. The announcement was not 100% true: throughout June 14th, Small World LCC still had the send money button fully active, hours after the company started to inform customers of service suspension, even if most of the site was already with limited access.
For Marbel Luz Carrillo, a Colombian who lives in Barcelona, Spain, that timeframe has long passed. The worker used Small World LCC on Saturday, June 8th to send funds to help relatives to make home repairs – a week later, Marbel is still awaiting any response regarding whether her family will receive the money sent.
“I have been here in Spain for 24 years, and on many other occasions I have sent money through this company (Small World LCC) without any issues. I am surprised that this is happening because, in my opinion, they were one of the best companies for sending money abroad,” says Luz Carrillo, expressing disappointment. She is currently without work and has used funds from her severance pay to help her family back home.
“I will continue to insist that Small World LCC return the money sent to me or make the payment in my country (Colombia). If not, I will file a complaint for scam with the competent authorities here in Barcelona,” says Mabel.
Another victim of Small World LCC this week is auto paint technician Adilson Mamede. Last week, he used a branch located in London to send £210 to Brazil to help with the purchase of tickets for family members to visit him. On Wednesday, after many days without the transaction being completed, Adilson visited the same location and was informed that the delay was due to technical issues with Small World LCC’s database and that the money would be available shortly at the intended destination. After 48 hours passed without any updates from the money transfer company, he returned to the branch, but this time, it was closed with several posters announcing the end of activities. He never got his money back.
Jennifer Cortegana, a student who lives in Peru, has been waiting for funds sent by her father, a transportation worker based in Spain, since June 7th.
“The money is intended to pay for my university and health bills. He used Small World LCC before and had no problems. Now they don’t respond to any form of contact. Their offices are closed and they do not respond to calls or emails,” worries Jennifer.
A Brazilian model who preferred to stay anonymous used Small World LCC for the first time last week in Italy, where she lives. The money sent to help her family in Brazil has never arrived, either. “I made the deposit via Small World on June 8th and was informed that it would be in the beneficiary’s account the next business day. The store is now closed, and the money has not been sent to my family,” says the freelancer professional, who managed to contact Small World LCC customer service but was informed that “there were some technical errors in the system, and there would be no date for returning to normal activities.”
Customers affected by Small World LCC payment delays are now getting together to try to recover their cash. Groups have been created on social media platforms such as Facebook and Telegram. The goal is to sue the company collectively for breach of contract.
Euronewsweek has reached out to Small World LLC using its telephone number available for customer service, as well as individual branches in the United Kingdom, Spain, Switzerland, and Italy. Calls are being forwarded to voicemail, but no feedback or return calls are being carried out. Calls to the Small World LCC headquarters in Blackfriars, London, are being answered with a recorded message informing customers that the company is no longer accepting new registrations or making money transfers, and giving callers an email that is being answered with an automated message informing people how to track the status of their transactions.
The suspected collapse of Small World comes a few months after the company was fined £139,500 by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom for breaching competition rules alongside two other transfer firms. In that case, the British regulator found Small World, Hafiz Bros and LCC Trans-Sending coordinated on certain exchange rates offered to customers in Glasgow for converting pounds to Pakistan Rupees when transferring money.
Euronewsweek also reached out to Equistone Partners, one of Europe’s leading mid-market private equity firms, which invested in Small World Financial Services back in 2018 – but we had no reply from its UK office.
