Thomas Patrick Arif was from Orpington, southeast London Directors of two connected companies, Cover Utility Team Ltd and Digital Team UK Limited. companies sold insurance for House Device.
The Cover Utility team entered into voluntary liquidation of creditors in March 2021 and the company’s bankruptcy triggered an investigation by the Insolvency Service into Tomas Arif’s conduct.
Investigators revealed that the cover utility team had been previously investigated and fined £160,000 by information After receiving complaints to the Commissioner’s Office (ICO) that two companies linked to Tomas Arif have targeted elderly and vulnerable people.
In 6 months, Tomas Arif built the company right now Under 77,000 unwanted calls to people registered with Telephone Preference Service to avoid nuisance calls.
it was a violation of Privacy and Electronic Communications RegulationsAnd Tomas Arif also failed to pay the fee and register with the ICO as Personal Data Controller information in violation of data protection rules,
Investigators also revealed that customers were often abused, complaining that they did not take out various home appliance policies but were charged, while some customers did not own the equipment that was allegedly insured. it was done.
On 25 July 2022, for the Secretary of State BusinessEnergy and Industrial Strategy accepted a 7-year disqualification undertaking from Tomas Arif after he did not dispute that he allowed the covered utility team to violate privacy and electronic communications regulations as well as data protection regulations.
With effect from August 17, 2022, Tomas Arif is prohibited from being involved in the promotion, formation or management of any company, directly or indirectly, without the permission of the court.
Elizabeth Pigne, principal investigator for the bankruptcy service, said:
Tomas Arif’s demeanor fell far below a director’s expectation. Not only did they ignore rules designed to protect against unwanted calls, but they also ruthlessly targeted the elderly and vulnerable for often buying insurance they didn’t need.
Thanks to working jointly with ICO, we have removed Tomas Arif from the corporate sector for a long time. His 7-year ban should serve as a stern warning to other rogue directors that we will use our powers to the fullest to stop reckless and harmful behavior.
ICO spokesperson said:
Unwanted calls are a nuisance at best and can cause real trouble in the worst cases. Complaints regarding mis-selling of white goods insurance are some of the most frequent we receive, and we encourage people to let them know when they will get insurance.
information People help us track down criminals and take action to prevent them from calling further, as well as deter others from doing the same. We work jointly with other regulators, including the Insolvency Service, to take appropriate regulatory action against the companies and individuals behind these scams.
The case was brought in as a result of an operation set up specifically to look into White Goods Insurance and companies targeting vulnerable individuals. Their companies were found to have made 77,000 violent marketing calls in violation of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations.