Three linked companies, two registered in England and one in Scotland, which each sold monitored burglar alarms to members of the public were last week wound up in the High Court after an investigation by Company Investigations of the Insolvency Service.
The court heard that all three companies were linked to SAS Fire & Security Systems Limited (โSAS Fireโ), a company wound up in March 2011 following a previous investigation by Company Investigations.<br><br>The court also heard that Homeguard Fire & Security Limited (โHomeguardโ), Central Intelligence Security Solutions Limited (โCIS Solutionsโ) and Skynet Security Systems Limited (โSkynetโ) were formed in November 2010 to continue the alarm sales business previously carried on by SAS Fire .The business of SAS Fire was, in effect, transferred to Homeguard, CIS Solutions and Skynet in January 2011 and these companies then promoted the sale of burglar and fire alarms on a regional basis with Homeguard operating in Northern England, CIS Solutions in Southern England and Skynet in Scotland.<br><br>The investigation showed that all three companies operated in an identical manner to SAS Fire, were under the control of former managers employed by SAS Fire and used the former assets, trading premises and employees of SAS Fire. The companies promoted alarm systems on the basis that they were subject to continuous, remote monitoring and that a โrapid responseโ service would be provided in the event of an alarm activation.<br><br>Investigation also found the companies marketed their alarms exclusively via a series of unsolicited telephone calls which claimed the alarm systems were available at a cost of £1. During subsequent, lengthy home visits by sales agents, which typically took place within 24 hours of the initial phone calls, customers were encouraged to agree the purchase of a monitoring and response package costing up to £6,000 for a contract of up to 15 years, to obtain the alarm system at that promoted price of £1..<br><br>Customers were pressed to make an immediate purchase decision at the time of the sales agentโs visit and the alarm system was typically installed in their home with 48 hours, thereby ceasing the customers statutory right to cancel the contract within seven days.<br><br>Evidence suggests that during a seven week period across January and February 2011 the companies generated sales in excess of £860,000.<br><br>In winding up the companies the Courts accepted that their activities were a continuation of the unlawful sales practices used by SAS Fire and, that the trading activities of the companies were contrary to the public interest.<br><br>All public enquiries concerning the affairs of Homeguard Fire & Security Ltd and Central Intelligence Security Solutions Ltd should be made to: The Official Receiver, Public Interest Unit, 2nd Floor, 3 Piccadilly Place, London Road, Manchester M1 3BN. Tel: 0161 234 8531. Email: piu.north@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk<br>
