East Lancashire defunct insurer’s directors are banned (From Lancashire Telegraph)

East Lancashire defunct insurer’s directors are banned

9:08am Friday 21st September 2012 in News

FOUR bosses of an East Lancashire emergency home insurance company have been banned from being directors.

Homecall + Ltd, which was based in Furthergate, Blackburn, and Liverpool Road, Burnley, was wound up last year owing creditors and shareholders £8.3million.

It came following a petition by a finance company owed £800,000.

Following an investigation by the Official Receiver’s Public Interest Unit (North), Brent James Hartley, 39, John Steven Williams, 55, Rebecca Elizabeth Hartley, 36, and Carole Ann Williams, 53, have all been disqualified from being directors.

The firm provided emergency insurance cover for boilers, plumbing, electrics, vermin or roofing.

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 (ITA) 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, and were banned for four years each.

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 business.”