Brent James Hartley (39), John Steven Williams (55), Rebecca Elizabeth Hartley (36) and Carole Ann Williams (53), the directors of Homecall + Limited - which provided emergency insurance cover for boilers, plumbing, electrics, vermin or roofing - gave undertakings to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills not to promote, manage, or be directors of a limited company.
The company was wound-up by the Court on 10 May 2011 owing creditors and shareholders £8.3m, following a petition by a finance company owed £800,000.
Mr Williams and Mr Hartley, who were both banned for 13 years until 2025 did not dispute that they caused Homecall + Ltd to breach an Intermediary Trading Agreement which resulted in a loss to a finance company of £7,311,022.
Mrs Hartley and Mrs Williams, the wives of Mr Hartley and Mr Williams, who were also directors of the same company, were banned for four years each. They did not dispute that they failed to adequately acquaint themselves with the trading of Homecall + Limited and in doing so allowed Homecall + Limited to breach an ITA with a finance provider resulting in a liability arising of £7,311,022.
The investigation showed that:
- Between February 2009 and April 2010 loans of £16,829,651 were advanced to Homecall + Limited on trust by a finance company under an ITA for the specific purpose of purchasing insurance policies;
- The money was not used for the specified purpose under the ITA;
- Mr Hartley and Mr Williams each received at least £1,246,000 of the money advanced to Homecall + Limited;
- Mrs Hartley and Mrs Williams, whilst formally appointed directors of Homecall + Ltd, took no active role in the management of the company thereby abrogating their responsibilities.
Commenting on the disqualification, Official Receiver Ken Beasley said:
“Mr Hartley and Mr Williams caused significant loss to a finance company by causing Homecall + Limited to breach its funding agreement and benefiting from the money themselves. In doing so their conduct fell far below that expected of directors of a limited company.
“In failing to take an active role in the company’s affairs Mrs Hartley and Mrs Williams, as formally appointed directors, failed to discharge their responsibilities to the company and its creditors.
“The Insolvency Service has strong enforcement powers and we will not hesitate to use them to remove dishonest or reckless directors from the business environment as has been demonstrated in this case.”
