Call centre conmen guilty of fraudulent trading in Swansea

 Swansea Trading Standards have successfully prosecuted Geoffrey Anthony Richards of Pen Y Groes, Llanelli and Nathan John Davies of Ammanford following their appearance in Swansea Crown Court on Friday 8 January.The pair ran a company called Nationwide Review Service Ltd, which traded initially from Ammanford, and moved to Swansea in November 2013. The company cold called consumers telling them they were entitled to a refund on their “packaged bank account” fees but did not provide the service.

During the investigation, Swansea Council’s Trading Standards looked into cases of more than 100 consumers nationwide who had paid upfront fees ranging from £69 to £594 for services they did not receive. These included a lady from Dunvant who paid £299 to the company and which prompted the initial investigation.

In court, Mr Richards pleaded guilty to a charge of fraudulent trading and a charge of trading whilst bankrupt. Mr Davies pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading.

Mr Richards received a nine-month sentence for the fraudulent trading charge and a further three months sentence for trading whilst bankrupt, both suspended for 18 months. Davies received a six-month sentence, also suspended for 18 months.

In addition, the defendants were ordered to pay £5,000 council costs and a total of £3,352 between them to compensate 13 consumers who had been unable to recover the fees paid to the company.

Richards was also ordered to complete 200 hours unpaid work and Davies 150 hours.

Mark Child, Cabinet Member for Wellbeing and Healthy City, said: “The seriousness of these offences lies in the harm they cause the victims, not just financial, but also the worry and the practical implications of protecting their financial details when they’ve been scammed”.

The company did not have authorisation to trade as a claims management company and used false and misleading tactics to persuade consumers to part with money.

Cllr Child added: “Disreputable call centres should be warned that regulatory actions can, and will, be taken to protect local consumers, and all those who deal with businesses who have such a cynical disregard for the law and consumers.”