Month: September 2018

TBL (UK) Ltd (TBL) was incorporated in March 2016 and traded as UK Business Locator, a derivative of its business directory: www.ukbusinesslocator.com.

However, TBL shared a common director and continued similar business to that previously carried out by a linked company, Movette Ltd (Movette), which was wound up on 28 July 2017 on the grounds that it operated against the public interest.

The Insolvency Service investigated the company’s affairs following complaints from customers. But the investigation was severely limited due to a lack of co-operation from TBL’s director who failed to produce business documents.

On 20 August 2018, the High Court sitting in Manchester heard the petition presented on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Industrial Strategy.

The investigation established, and in winding up the company the Court accepted, that:

• the company had been abandoned by its director despite customers being sold annual advertising space in the online directory it purported to operate
• customers received little or no commercial benefit to the advertising space that they purchased from TBL on an annual basis
• TBL failed to make clear to customers that they were agreeing to a 12-month rolling contract which automatically renewed with customers stating these terms were not explained to them
• TBL improperly sought payment from members of the public where they had not agreed to purchase services from the company and used inappropriate and objectionable methods of debt collection
• TBL had continued the objectionable business model previously carried on by Movette by continuing to target the customers of Movette

Having seen all the relevant evidence filed by the Secretary of State and in the absence of evidence submitted by the company, which was not present or represented at the hearing, District Judge Obodai wound-up the company, in the public interest.

Commenting, David Hope, Chief Investigator with the Insolvency Service, said:

This company engaged in behaviour designed to extract money from advertisers under false pretences. Organisations contacted were duped into booking advertisements they had no need of placing, and which were of little or no commercial benefit to them.

The Insolvency Service will take action to shut down such rogue businesses.
Additionally, the business community should take steps to verify the credentials of any third party that contacts them claiming to be continuing the services previously provided by Movette Ltd and/or TBL (UK) Ltd.

Notes to editors

TBL (UK) Ltd – company registration number (10084021) – was incorporated on 24 March 2016. The company’s registered office is at Unit 77 Cariocca Business Park, 2 Sawley Road, Manchester, M40 8BB.

The petition to wind-up TBL (UK) Ltd was presented under s124A of the Insolvency Act 1986 on 5 July 2018. The company was wound up on 20 August 2018 and the Official Receiver, Public Interest Unit (North) has been appointed as liquidator.

Movette Ltd – company registration number 08705982 – was incorporated on 25 September 2013. The company’s registered office is at 86 Stonemere Drive, Radcliffe, Manchester M26 1QX and it traded from 23 New Mount Street, Manchester M4 4DE.

The petition to wind-up Movette Ltd was presented under s124A of the Insolvency Act 1986 on 12 May 2017. The Official Receiver was appointed as provisional liquidator of the company on 18 May 2017. The company was wound up on 28 July 2017 and the Official Receiver has been appointed as liquidator.

UK Business Locator Ltd – company registration number 08010418 was incorporated on 28 March 2012 under the name Marston & Law Ltd. It changed its name to UK Business Locator Ltd on 11 October 2012. The company’s registered office was Unit 77 Cariocca Business park, 2 Sawley Road, Manchester, M40 8BB. The company was dissolved on 24 May 2016.

Company Investigations, part of the Insolvency Service, uses powers under the Companies Act 1985 to conduct confidential fact-finding investigations into the activities of live limited companies in the UK on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Further information about live company investigations is available here

The Insolvency Service, an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), administers the insolvency regime, and aims to deliver and promote a range of investigation and enforcement activities both civil and criminal in nature, to support fair and open markets. We do this by effectively enforcing the statutory company and insolvency regimes, maintaining public confidence in those regimes and reducing the harm caused to victims of fraudulent activity and to the business community, including dealing with the disqualification of directors in corporate failures.

BEIS’ mission is to build a dynamic and competitive UK economy that works for all, in particular by creating the conditions for business success and promoting an open global economy. The Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions team contributes to this aim by taking action to deter fraud and to regulate the market. They investigate and prosecute a range of offences, primarily relating to personal or company insolvencies.
The agency also authorises and regulates the insolvency profession, assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees, provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

By virtue of the appointment of the Official Receiver all public enquiries concerning the affairs of the company should be made to: The Official Receiver, Public Interest Unit, 2nd Floor, 3 Piccadilly Place, London Road, Manchester, M1 3BN. Tel: 0161 234 8531 Email: piu.north@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk

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DVLA has revealed a list of some of the items found in untaxed cars that were clamped and impounded in the last 12 months. As well as everyday items, some unusual artefacts came to light.

The list includes:

• 3 jockey helmets
• off-road quad bike
• an acoustic guitar complete with accessories, stand and carry-case
• half a corner sofa
• bathroom toilet with seat
• fishing rods complete with tackle
• ‘Beavis & Butthead’ trading cards
• full drum kit complete with Cort ‘Groove Engine GE15B’ amplifier set
• a quantity of men’s torso mannequins
• a highly collectible Louis Wain book of illustrated cats from the 1920s
• full set of golf clubs

Any personal belongings found in impounded vehicles are catalogued and stored for a period of time in case they are claimed, before being made available for sale.
DVLA’s Head of Enforcement Tim Burton said:

Having your car clamped is expensive and inconvenient – and as this list of items shows, you could end up losing more than just the car!

DVLA operates a range of measures to make vehicle tax easy to pay and hard to avoid. While the vast majority of motorists do the right thing and tax their cars correctly, it is right that we take action against those that break the law and fail to tax their car. It’s never been easier to tax your car – it’s just a few clicks to do it online and you can do it 24 hours a day. You can also spread payments across the year by Direct Debit, so there really is no excuse.

The law is clear and so are the consequences – tax it or lose it.

Motorists can check when the tax on a vehicle is due using DVLA’s online service – all they need is the vehicle’s registration number.

Notes to editors

A full inventory of the items ‘bagged and tagged’ includes the items detailed on the list.

All of the items detailed in the inventory can be traced back to a specific site where the vehicle was impounded. The items detailed in the list may be logged in the inventory as ‘assorted items’ or ‘misc’ but we can confirm that all were found in untaxed vehicles that were clamped and impounded.
DVLA writes to the keepers of all vehicles to remind them when their tax is due. That’s why it’s so important for motorists to let DVLA know if they’ve changed address.

Wheelclamping is one of a range of enforcement measures used by DVLA against untaxed vehicles. Where an untaxed vehicle is clamped the motorist will have to pay a release fee of £100 and – if they cannot show that the vehicle has been taxed – a surety fee of £160. The surety fee is refunded if the motorist is able to show that the vehicle has been taxed within 15 days of the vehicle’s release. If the release fee has not been paid within 24 hours then DVLA will impound the vehicle. The release fee will then rise to £200 and there will be a storage charge of £21 per day. Again, a surety fee of £160 must be paid if the motorist cannot show that the vehicle has been taxed.

If a vehicle is declared off the road (SORN) it must be kept off the road, on private land.

Any personal belongings found in impounded vehicles are stored for a period of time in case they are claimed, before being made available for sale.

Further information on taxing a vehicle, including how to do this online, can be found on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax

Bagged and tagged items found in clamped vehicles
(CSV, 20.3KB)

New UK aid funded technology, including radar detectors, will help trace ammunition in the equivalent of more than 16,000 football pitches. Remote controlled machines, such as the Mine Wolf, will also help clear cluster bombs more rapidly.

Manufactured in Newcastle, the eight-tonne Mine Wolf is a remote-controlled mine-clearing machine used in high risk areas. It can clear up to 12,000 square metres a day.

Our support will also help train all-female demining teams, often in areas where many of the men have died in conflict. Hundreds of women from impoverished communities are being empowered through skills training in landmine clearance, vehicle mechanics and paramedic first aid to protect their communities.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said:

The crippling legacy of fear, mutilation and devastation, which landmines leave, must be wiped out for good.

UK expertise and innovation are helping to shield vulnerable people from these barbaric relics and liberating land contaminated by these devices. This will allow the poorest people to grow crops, walk their children to school without fear and ultimately give them back control over their lives.

The British public should feel immense pride in their critical contribution, at a time when unprecedented numbers of innocent people are dying as a result of these brutal indiscriminate killers.

This demining work will protect more than 820,000 people from the threat of barbaric relics across war-ravaged communities in Asia and Africa.

Working in partnership with local authorities, governments and through world-class UK organisations such as The HALO Trust and Mines Advisory Group (MAG), our support will train local men and women to identify and remove these deadly objects. These projects will boost local employment, recruiting men and women from communities where alternative job opportunities are severely limited.

UK support will also help educate a further 280,000 men, women and children about the dangers of landmines, an essential lifeline to safeguard entire communities from mutilation or death.

Chief Executive of the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) Jane Cocking said:

Global deaths and injuries from landmines have hit a ten-year high. Today, one person every hour is killed by a landmine and almost half are children.

These new funds will help us to rid some of the world’s most conflict-affected countries of landmines, cluster munitions and other unexploded weapons at a crucial time, impacting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

As well as saving lives, this support will ensure vast areas of land can be returned to communities, improving lives and ensuring safe access to housing, education and medical facilities.

James Cowan, CEO, The HALO Trust:

The HALO Trust was founded exactly 30 years ago to free the world from the scourge of landmines for good. Today’s announcement from DFID moves us closer to that day and it should be a source of immense pride that UK aid is playing a key role in its realisation.

Mine clearance is the very first step in creating stability, development and ultimately self-reliance for people whose lives continue to be blighted by conflicts long after they end. Thanks to British taxpayers, these people will now be able to live, learn and cultivate in safety.

This latest support is part of a UK commitment made at an event with HRH Prince Harry in April 2017 of £100 million support to make 150 square kilometres of land safe again over a three year period, benefiting at least 800,000 people.

This latest partnership with The HALO Trust, MAG, Norwegian People’s Aid and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining is part of the £100 million commitment made last year and will support demining efforts across nine countries including;

Angola:

Over twenty years after Princess Diana’s iconic walk through a landmine littered field, Angola still remains one of the most heavily contaminated countries in the world. Towns remain isolated due to mine threats and people are unable to return to their homes or farm land. UK support will enable communities to build houses on safe land, provide safe passage to schools and allow land to be used productively for farming.

Laos:

Laos remains plagued by high levels of unexploded ordnance and has some of the highest landmine casualty rates in the world. More than 40 years since the Vietnam conflict ended, contamination prevents communities from fully utilising their land which they depend upon to feed their children and earn a living. UK support will help make land safe for cultivation and hand back control to these often marginalized communities.

South Sudan:

South Sudan’s crippling civil conflict has led to widespread contamination, with mines and brutal cluster bombs, blocking access to fertile land that many rely on to make a living. UK support will help ensure all hazardous areas in Terekeka State will be cleared of mines by the end of 2020. If successful it will be the first state to achieve this status. Thanks to UK taxpayers’ contributions, land will be returned to impoverished local communities allowing them to farm again and feed their families.

Notes to Editors

Photos and B roll footage of the latest technology being used to clear mines, female deminers, and general footage of wider demining work can be found here

This £46 million support from the Global Mine Action Programme 2 is a new allocation from the existing £100 million announced last year. It will be delivered through The HALO Trust, MAG, Norwegian People’s Aid and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining. Through DFID’s support, HALO & MAG will lead mine clearance, mine risk education and capacity development in Angola, Cambodia, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Burma, South Sudan, Laos, Lebanon and Vietnam.

DFID funding to HALO and MAG will provide support to National Mine Action Authorities (NMAAs) to help affected countries better manage their own response to contaminated land. This will ensure they have the skills and knowledge to regulate, coordinate and manage mine action more effectively, with minimal outside financial support. As well as building self-sufficiency, the projects will centre on local employment, recruiting staff from affected communities where alternative employment opportunities are limited.

Of the £100 million announced last year to tackle landmines across the globe, £95 million has already been committed to projects including:

• An extension of the Global Mine Action Programme, which was delivered by The Halo Trust, MAG, Norwegian People’s Aid and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining in Burma, Cambodia, South Sudan, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Laos, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.‎
• A programme in Afghanistan led by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS).‎
• A programme in Iraq and another in Sudan both delivered by UNMAS.
• A programme in Yemen delivered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

In addition to this, through UK Aid Match, the UK Government matched pound for pound £214,000 of public donations to MAG’s demining ‘Walk Without Fear’ appeal. This doubled the impact and helped return land to almost 8,000 people in Angola.