WIREDGOV

Stanley Kraftsow, director of Craftmatic UK Limited which sold adjustable beds, chairs and scooters, has been disqualified from being a director for five years, following an investigation by the Insolvency Service.

Mr Kraftsow, 72, gave an undertaking to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on 29 May 2012 not to act as a director or in any way manage or control limited companies until 2017.

Craftmatic UK Ltd, which mainly sold its products to the elderly, had previously featured on several BBC 1 Watchdog investigations and had been the subject of complaints about its selling tactics.

The investigation also found that less than four weeks before Craftmatic UK Limited - based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire - went into liquidation Mr Kraftsow caused the company to repay a debt of £175,676 to his own trust fund, and on the day that it ceased trading, caused it to repay a debt of £200,000 that had been guaranteed by another company connected to him.

Commenting on the disqualification, Claire Entwistle, Director of Company Investigations North said:

“The undertaking signed by Stanley Kraftsow sends a clear message to other company directors that if they run a business in a way that is detrimental to either its customers or its creditors, they will be investigated by the Insolvency Service and as a result removed from the business environment.”

Notes to Editors

1. Craftmatic UK Limited was incorporated on 10 November 1993 and operated from Head Office premises in Abingdon, Oxfordshire and a call centre in Reading. It sold adjustable beds, chairs and scooter products to mainly elderly customers throughout the UK. 2. Over a number of years numerous complaints were made about the company to Trading Standards offices and the company featured on BBC1 Watchdog investigations. In 2009 a BBC1 Rogue Traders investigation claimed that the company was using bullying and pressure-selling techniques. 3. By April 2010 the company was unable to pay all its debts as due and was insolvent. Despite this position Stanley Kraftsow caused the company to repay debts totalling £175,676 to his own trust fund and he caused it to repay a debt of £200,000 that had been guaranteed by another company connected to him. 4. The company ceased trading on 7 May 2010 and went into liquidation on 17 May 2010, with losses of more than £2.9m. 5. On 29 May 2012 Stanley Kraftsow signed a Director Disqualification Undertaking banning him from being a director of a company for a period of five years. The undertaking was accepted by the Secretary of State on 30 May 2012 and the period of disqualification will commence on 20 June 2012. 6. Disqualification undertakings were introduced in April 2001, they are an administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings. Without specific permission of a court, a person with a Company Director Disqualification, including Undertakings, cannot:- act as a director of a company; take part, directly or indirectly, in the promotion, formation or management of a company; be a liquidator or administrator of a company; or be a receiver or manager of a company’s property. Further information on director disqualifications and restrictions can be found at http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/directordisqualificationandrestrictions/whatisdisqualification.htm 7. The Insolvency Service administers the insolvency regime, investigating all compulsory liquidations and individual insolvencies (bankruptcies) through the Official Receiver to establish why they became insolvent. The Service also authorises and regulates the insolvency profession; deals with disqualification of directors in corporate failures; assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees; provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds; and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice. Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service is available from http://www.bis.gov.uk/insolvency 8. Media enquiries should be directed to: Kathryn Montague, Media Relations Manager on 020 7674 6910 or Ade Daramy on 0207596 6187

Contacts:

Ade Daramy
Phone: 020 7596 6187
ade.daramy@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk