GAS SUPERSTORE LEICESTER GOES BUST TAKING EVERYONE'S MONEY THEN THE SAME (MD) DIRECTOR THEN SETS UP NEW COMPANY!

It would appear the Director of Gas Superstore knew the company was about to go bust

so he set up a New Limited company on the 21st March 2017 called The Fireplace (Leicester) Limited registered number 10682373 which can be found on Companies House website to the same address as the Gas Superstore which then went bust on the 25th April 2017.

it would appear that the company was trading insolvently taking peoples hard earned money knowing they were about to go bust leaving everyone out of pocket while the Director sets up a New company behind the scenes to carry on trading washing his hands of any responsibility of the old company.

Surely he can't be allowed to get away with this?

Perfectly legal.

Car dealers do this every day:

They get a bunch of scraps,

sell them to poor bestards and shut the company down when they get too many ccj.

They then reopen next day,

same place,

same business,

same employees

and same directors.

The wonders of a limited company...

This may be helpful

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/somethings-gone-wrong-with-a-purchase/if-a-company-stops-trading-or-goes-out-of-business/

Perfectly legal.

Car dealers do this every day: They get a bunch of scraps, sell them to poor bestards and shut the company down when they get too many ccj.

They then reopen next day, same place, same business, same employees and same directors.

The wonders of a limited company...

Except if it is blatantly obvious the director intended to do it, he can be struck off from running a business, or be in association with it.

Not legal to carry on taking customers money knowing they were due to go bust

hence why they formed another company in advance weeks before!

They appear to have broke the law by continuing to trade insolvently

taking customers money

knowing they wouldn't be able to supply the goods

they definitely need to be taken to the cleaners on this one!

Directors of companies have responsibilities and liabilities to meet

especially when they go bust owing in this case millions to suppliers and customers

the law needs to ensure that they can't be allowed to do this again.

This company claimed to be turning over 12 million

with the vast majority of sales through their website where customers paid in full upfront for goods

so for them to have cash flow problems says they had serious financial problems as they were using customers & suppliers money to keep them afloat and must have been making no profit at all.

Apparently the MD and only Director Paul Fenn was setting up another business also

and holiday home in Marbella

no wonder there was no money left in the company!

Except if it is blatantly obvious the director intended to do it, he can be struck off from running a business, or be in association with it.

Definitely needs to be stuck off with such devious underhanded activities

it's one thing going bust

but shocking to think this Director knew he was going bust

and set up a new company in advance

and carried on taking customers money for goods he knew he would never be able to supply!

And to to think they said they were a family business the public could trust what a joke!

The Leicester Mercury NewsPaper questioned the Director on setting up his new company before he went bust and his answer is a corker

by saying setting

the New company up was an "unrelated idea"

yeah right we believe you thousands wouldn't NOT!

More like in his mind the "Right Idea" as he knew he was going bust and taking loads of people money with him! Disgusting!

The Leicester Mercury article says

"Mr Fenn said a new business he incorporated on March 21

– a month before Gas Superstore stopped trading

– called The Fire Place (Leicester) Ltd was an "unrelated idea" and was not trading.

According to Companies House, its registered address is the Gas Superstore shop in Hinckley Road.

The law is very weak in this area.

It's not so easy to take a director to the cleaners as many would think.

A quick search on the internet would reveal a lot of similar stories with very poor outcomes.

Sometimes the directors are banned from holding a position for a few years,

but they don't really care because they can use someone else to act as directors and carry on regardless.

More stringent regulations are needed.

For example,

companies shouldn't be allowed to be closed unless all debts are paid

and if debts cannot be paid a full bankrupt investigation should be carried out.

In the mean time directors should not be allowed to open new companies.

This won't solve the problem entirely, but it would be a start.

Also, holding several directorships with dormant companies should be monitored very closely.

I know directors who open few companies with similar names and use each one to pile up debts that will never be paid.

I understand why many builders merchant now require a personal liability guarantee before giving credit and they check the land registry and companies house to see if the director is a homeowner or holds several directorships with different companies.

We have seen a few people here asking for help about personal liability guarantee.

I'm not saying that they deliberately run up debts with no intention to repay them, but on many occasions customers have paid for the job and the money gone somewhere else instead of being used to pay for material.

problem is CH and other bodies dont enforce as strictly or as speedily as is needed to dissuade people from behaving like this.

If his new enterprise was shut down within a month of the old one as a penalty for trading whilst insolvent this phoenixing would diminish by a massive amount.

the landlords of the business premises could do more as well but they mostly dont care who payes the rent and dont worry until they try and collect it from the wrong entity 6 months later and find they are in the same boat.

I agree more has to be done to stop Directors like the Gas Superstore in Leicester getting away with taking consumers and their suppliers money all because they couldn't run their business properly in the first place as they were living beyond their means.

But it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know when you are pulling loads of money out of the company to build yourself a fancy Villa in Marbella that funds will eventually run out and the money used was customers & suppliers money shocking to think this can be allowed to happen in this day and age.

I am quite sure once this company is fully investigated and it is found money was being taken from the company to pay for building a private villa in Marbella for the owner/director of the company which brought undue financial pressure on the company that he will be taken to task by the relevant organisations.

And worst still if the company has run out of cash then its no surprise as company money was being used for personal gain.

Even if it goes that far, his villa in Marbella is safe.

Never heard of a repo in Spain for UK debts.

The case should get done and dusted in UK, then transferred to Spain (10 years wait), then Spanish court should find him guilty (unlikely), appeal (another 7/10 years), guilty again? (probably not).

Costs???

Who pays them?

All of this for how much?

If we're talking hundreds of pounds it is possible, but a couple of three thousand, surely not worth it.

In the mean time the marbella's villa can change ownership and all is lost anyway.

You can't win with these guys, they're protected by the legal system.

Apparently Gas superstore went bust owing over a million pounds to its suppliers so sounds like a pretty big deal no doubt the New villa has marble floors throughout, gold handle doors , taps etc all paid for by its victims! Sorry customers & suppliers money!

Carl2017 firstly sorry, but it sounds as if it is personal, what have you lost?

Complain about a limited company: https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-a-limited-company

Reporting fraud about a company to Companies House: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reporting-fraud-about-a-company-to-companies-house

Director Conduct Reporting Service: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/director-conduct-report-service

Carl2017 firstly sorry, but it sounds as if it is personal, what have you lost?

I have lost the best part of £5,000 as I was renovating my property and decided to buy a number of fireplaces & kitchen products from the Gas Superstore

they gave me a date for delivery then told me some of the items were out of stock made me wait a further 4 weeks then went bust!

I like so many others am out of pocket bigtime

I also made the purchase through their store on debit card

have now lodged a claim

but it doesn't look promising

I don't have the funds to go out right now to buy it all over again unless I can get my money back

. I thought they were a reputable company

family based

they said trading for 49 years

just shows you can't trust them no matter what they say.

Absolutely gutted!

Thanks for the info stu007

Carl2017 It should be relatively simple to do a debit card Chargeback, however some

banks are totally clueless of what a debit card Chargeback is!

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-do-i-use-chargeback

According to their fillings they have only been trading under Gas Superstore limited

for 20 years (10 Mar 1997), but could have been a sole trader prior to that date.

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/03330542

Thanks ASI Industires for the info