What we could verify
We ran the same first-pass checks we apply to any unknown platform: official register searches and a sweep of major regulator warning lists. One check returned a verified, first-hand result: the UK's FCA published a warning about "Clear Save (Clearsave)" on 14 October 2020, stating: "This firm is not authorised by us and is targeting people in the UK. You will not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)."That is the FCA's wording, on its own website — the single most load-bearing fact on this page.
Beyond that: Clearsave presents as based in St Vincent and the Grenadines — a company registry, not a financial-services licensing regime for forex/CFDs — and we found no licence claim from any recognised regulator to check against a register. It does not appear in our database of researched brokers. Third-party sites describe the platform as possibly no longer active; we have not confirmed its current status.
Legal entity and licence check
- Find the exact legal entity name in the site footer, terms and conditions or client agreement — a trading name alone is not enough.
- Find the claimed regulator and licence number. No regulator named anywhere is itself an answer.
- Go to that regulator's official register directly (type the domain yourself) and search the licence number.
- Confirm the returned legal name matches the entity on the client agreement exactly — near-miss names are a clone-firm pattern.
- Search the FCA warning list and your local regulator's alerts for the name and domain.
Our licence verification walkthrough covers each step with examples of what genuine register entries look like.
Website claims worth testing
- Operating-history claims vs domain age — long history fronted by a young domain is a mismatch worth explaining.
- Named awards, partners or 'as seen in' logos that don't link to anything verifiable.
- Contact details: a real registered address and a phone line that answers beats a contact form alone.
- Any promised or implied returns — regulated firms do not promise gains.
Warning signs specific to withdrawal problems
The most common complaint pattern with unverifiable platforms is not the deposit — it is the exit: sudden "taxes", "release fees" or "account upgrades" required before a withdrawal is processed. No legitimate broker charges a fee to release your own money beyond normal, disclosed payment costs. The red-flags page lists the full pattern set we track.
Before you deposit
Run the free pre-deposit broker check, and if you want a researched alternative, our comparison table covers brokers whose licences we have checked against official registers — with the evidence status shown on each profile. Already dealing with a withdrawal problem? Report it and document everything.