A Manchester firm that employed dubious marketing techniques to press-gang SMEs into handing over cash with the promise they would would feature in educational booklets sent to schools has been wound up by the regional High Court.
Safety Guide Ltd started trading in 2016 and targeted small businesses, having purchased contact details from data brokers, before making unsolicited marketing calls.
Following complaints, however, investigators from the Insolvency Service carried out confidential enquiries into the company’s practices and established that staff made misleading claims to persuade customers to sponsor its educational booklets, which focused on knife-crime and bullying.
Tactics included misleading customers by stating that they had previously entered into a verbal contract to provide sponsorship and that the booklets were already printed with the customer’s name included.
Investigators found that no previous agreement had been sought and the booklets were printed in bulk with the sponsor’s name and details added only after they had paid Safety Guide. Some of the schools who received the booklets also questioned their educational value.
The company gave the impression in calls that it was a not-for-profit organisation and claimed to be offering booklets as part of a time-limited campaign. This suggested to potential sponsors that Safety Guide was working closely with schools and education authorities, which was not the case.
Through these inappropriate practices, the book publisher secured just over £2.5m by February 2019. However, investigators found Safety Guide’s accounting records to be inadequate and were unable to verify outgoings, including payment for sub-contract labour of more than £900,000.
Additionally, payments of a similar amount were made to employees but not accounted for through the company’s payroll system and PAYE records.
District Judge Bever, sitting at The High Court in Manchester, wound the company up on the grounds that Safety Guide traded with a lack of commercial probity, engaged in misleading and aggressive sales practices, and failed to maintain, preserve or deliver up adequate accounting records.
Insolvency Service chief investigator David Hope said: “This company acted with a lack of integrity and used dubious tactics to elicit significant funds from small businesses.
“Thankfully the court recognised the severity of the misconduct and now that the company has been wound-up, the Official Receiver can undertake further enquiries into Safety Guide’s practices, including those of the directors.”
A separate company, called the Safety Guide Foundation, appears to be still in operation, however. On the organisation’s website it boasts endorsements from the likes of boxing promoter Barry Hearn, former boxer George Groves, snooker champion Steve Davis and ex-Arsenal and England goalkeeper David Seaman.
UPDATE: The Safety Guide Foundation has now been renamed The Prevent Foundation. Matthew Ralphs, previously a director of Safety Guide Ltd and Safety Guide Foundation, has resigned as director and been replaced by Robin Reid.
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