DERBYSHIRE, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance has welcomed a High Court ruling closing down companies that operated a misleading charity collection.
Three connected firms were shut down in the public interest by the High Court in London following an investigation by Company Investigations of the Insolvency Service.
The investigation found the three companies, primarily operating in the Midlands, made misleading representations that the proceeds raised from the onward sale of unwanted clothing would be donated to local air ambulance charities. The reality was this did not happen. Due to the failure of all three companies to maintain adequate accounting records, it is not known what became of any proceeds generated through the sale of clothing items collected by the companies. No evidence of donations made to any Air Ambulance Charity was found.
The investigation also found the companies operated in a similar manner, attempting to pass themselves off as authorised collection agents by making charity bag drops in residential areas, with attached leaflets bearing similarities to the logos of official air ambulance charities. At no time throughout their trading histories were they ever authorised by any air ambulance service to act as charity fund raisers.
