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Contractor Banned After Disposing Of Assets Prior To Bankruptcy
A warning to any business owners that think they can spend, spend, spend prior to bankruptcy to avoid paying creditors has been sent by the Insolvency...
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8-Year Ban For Director Of Nuisance Window Calling Company
The director of a cold-calling company that made millions of nuisance windows, conservatories and ‘window scrappage’ sales calls has been banned for eight years after failing to pay ICO fines.
Duncan Paul was the director of CRDNN Limited which bombarded people with automated cold calls in 2018. His firm was also guilty of ‘selling’ boilers and debt management whilst at times claiming to falsely to be working with Scottish and UK government energy saving schemes.
CRDNN Limited made millions of calls within a four-month with more than 63 million connecting. In one case, calls made to a Network Rail control centre near Fort William clogged up the line, creating potential safety problems.
Paul’s co-director Stephen Foote was also banned as a company director for eight years in 2023.
Liquidation
The firm, based in Clydebank, Dunbartonshire, was fined the maximum £500,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office in 2020 but went into liquidation without paying the fine.
Mike Smith, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, says: “Duncan Paul’s company plagued homes and businesses with nuisance cold-calls, disrupting the lives of millions of people. The calls were persistent, totally unsolicited and to add to people’s frustration, they received further calls when they attempted to opt-out of receiving them.
”Paul and Foote were the directors of this firm and we have taken robust action to prevent them each from running or managing any company for eight years.”
ICO
The Information Commissioner’s Office received almost 3,000 complaints via its online reporting tool. A further 411 complaints were received via the online reporting tool of the Telephone Preference Service. CRDNN provided no evidence that recipients had given their consent to receive the calls.
Trevor Callaghan, the ICO’s director of enforcement and Investigations, says: “The directors of CRDNN knowingly operated their business with a complete disregard for not only the law but also public safety. They harassed millions of people, causing disruption, annoyance and distress and recklessly affected important services potentially putting the wider public in danger. That’s why their conduct called for the maximum fine possible under the law.
”The ICO is committed to building strong partnerships with other agencies, including the Insolvency Service, to ensure our work has long term, tangible impact. Disrupting the activities of these rogue companies and their directors ensures they can’t easily resurface under a different name and continue to cause further harm to people.”
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade accepted a disqualification undertaking from Paul and his ban started on Thursday 2 May 2024.
Picture: CRDNN was fined £500,000 for contravening regulation 19 and 24 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 relating to the use of automated calling systems. When a call is connected, it is patched through to a call centre operative – with modern systems now connecting to a an AI enabled robot voice.
Article written by Cathryn Ellis
15th May 2024