Minister acts to shut firm in anti-drugs book rip-off
BUSINESS Secretary Greg Clark has taken legal action to shut down a company exposed by The Mail on Sunday for ripping off firms that thought they were sponsoring an anti-drugs charity.
DATA Northern Limited, based in Stockport, coldcalled small businesses giving the impression they were a charity connected to the police.
In 2013 I reported that this company was a commercial enterprise, not a charity, and that it was closely linked to a similar profitmaking venture called TIB (North) Limited that asked businesses to pay for booklets warning teenagers against sexually transmitted infections.
In 2017, I warned again that DATA Northern was not a charity. This was after a reader who was asked to pay ‘one ninety-nine’ for drug awareness booklets to be sent to a local school found himself billed for £199 for just 30 cheap booklets.
TIB (North) Limited was closed down by the High Court in 2014. Now DATA Northern has been placed in provisional liquidation following an investigation by the Insolvency Service. The Official Receiver has taken control of the company and its assets ahead of a full court hearing in February.