One To Watch Out For
I was looking through the Daily Mirror online and came across a couple of interesting facts I thought would be a good idea to share with you. I wouldn't want anyone to fall foul of these two company's whether you are the actual customer or a potential franchisee.
Bosses From Key Edge Franchise Banned
Four bosses of the disastrous Key Edge plumbing and locksmith franchise business have been banned from being directors for a total of 22 years.
We wrote about this lot and it's good to see justice finally catch up with the people behind this sham.
Chris Mayhew of Company Investigations for The Insolvency Service said: "The disqualification periods secured in this case should offer the public reassurance. The Service will not tolerate dishonest or reckless directors.
"We have strong enforcement powers and where we find serious failings, such as the misrepresentations made to induce investment in the Key Edge franchise, we will use those powers to remove the directors from the business environment, as these directors discovered".
Among the faults found at the company were:
*Deliberate non-disclosure and misrepresentations made to prospective franchisees with exaggerated claims of non-existent national accounts;
*The businesses were unsustainable and relied on fresh franchise fees for operating capital;
*The company did not deal with 50% of complaints from locksmith franchisees and 35% of complaints from plumbing franchisees; *The directors did not keep adequate company records; *Key Edge Limited's credit card account was used for cash withdrawals and personal expenditure, in particular, £38,145. Bennellick and Christopher Davison, both from Exeter, have been banned from being directors for six years each, Jeremy Darvill of Tiverton and James Savage of Cullomton, Devon, for five years each.
Key Edge Franchise Shut Down
VICTIMS of Key Edge were fleeced of £2.7million by this bent franchise operation.
Around 250 people across the UK invested in the plumbing and locksmith franchises touted by the group of companies.
Now the operation has been shut down after the Companies Investigation Branch of the Insolvency Service found Key Edge made "false and misleading statements about the level of training, support and potential earnings".
It also found the government's Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme of £150,000 to finance a national 24-hour call centre was misused.
Key Edge Ltd, Key Edge Plumbing Ltd and Key Edge Group Ltd were put into compulsory liquidation by the High Court. They were run by Devon pair Julian Bennellick, 41, and Christopher Davison, who's 43 today. We're sending him a pint of blood. Isn't that what every leech wants?
Dodgy Locksmith Jailed For Four Years
A dodgy emergency locksmith, exposed on BBC TV show Rogue Traders, was jailed for four years yesterday for cheating customers out of hundreds of pounds.
Mark Makowski, 40, from Broxbourne, Herts, charged up to four times more than the prices quoted. He would also stretch out jobs and drill through locks unnecessarily.
The judge at the Old Bailey called him "a fully dishonest man".
Categories: Uncategorized, Blog
