Directors of Keighley debt advice firm banned for total of 12 years

Two directors of Smart Credit & Debit Limited, a debt advice firm in Keighley, have been disqualified from acting as directors for six years eachh for failing to maintain proper accounting records or to account for substantial cash withdrawals from the company.

The disqualifications followed an investigation by The Insolvency Service’s Company Investigation Team in Leeds.

James Smith, and Richard Wilson both of Keighley, West Yorkshire have given undertakings to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) not to promote, manage or be directors of a limited company until 2019. Their disqualifications commenced on 30 January and 31 January respectively.

Mr Smith and Mr Wilson were engaged in running a company that was supposed to assist some of the most financially vulnerable people in society. However, they took advantage of and took money from people, while failing to provide the services they were paid for. The directors also failed to provide verifiable or plausible explanations for significant sums of cash withdrawn from the company’s bank account.

The investigation showed that the accounting records maintained by the company failed to account for substantial cash withdrawals totaling £117,717, which occurred over the 10-month period that the company traded for.

The company was placed into creditors¹ voluntary liquidation on 25 May 2011 owing £92,528 to creditors of which £62,415 was to trade and expense creditors.

Clive Tranter, Head of the Company Investigation North East team based in Leeds says these directors displayed a lack of trust in their dealings with the financially vulnerable, their own clients and other companies that they that provided with services:

“Directors of companies must ensure that, they maintain sufficient accounting records that show and explain the company¹s transactions as required by law. These directors failed to do so. The Insolvency Service will take action against directors who fail to meet these obligations.”