Phillip Pass (59), from Chorley, Lancashire, incorporated Young Forever Limited in June 2018 and the company sold vitamins and healthcare supplements.
The Insolvency Service, however, conducted confidential investigations into the health supplements company after receiving complaints about Young Forever’s trading practices.
Investigators found that the company was cold calling vulnerable or elderly members of the public using call centres based in India. Victims said sales staff would call repeatedly and made claims they were linked to the government or the NHS.
Young Forever also applied excessive mark ups of over 1000% and failed to keep suitable accounting records of the business.
Following the winding up of the company in February 2019, the Official Receiver conducted further investigations into the conduct of Phillip Pass as director of Young Forever.
Enquiries uncovered that while Phillip Pass incorporated the company, he allowed all sales activities to be controlled by an overseas call centre, claiming he had no knowledge of what they were doing.
Bank statements showed that in just over a year between June 2018 and September 2019, Young Forever made sales worth more than £147,000.
On 7 December 2012, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Phillip Pass, after he did not dispute that he had caused Young Forever to trade with a lack of commercial probity and use improper sales techniques.
Effective from 28 December 2020, Philip Pass is banned for 9 years from directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company.
Rob Clarke, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:
Phillip Pass’s company took advantage of elderly and vulnerable people with their excessive cold calls and illegitimate orders. Phillip Pass claimed he did not have a day to day role but this was not a suitable defence as company directors are ultimately responsible for ensuring their business is operated with commercial honesty and decency.
Nine years is a substantial disqualification and this ban means Phillip Pass has now been removed from being in control of any other businesses for a lengthy period.
Notes to editors
Phillip Pass is from Brinscall in Chorley and his date of birth is May 1964.
Young Forever Limited (Company number: 11438575) was incorporated on 28 June 2018 with a serviced office address of Office 4, 219 Kensington High Street, London, W8 6BD. The company was wound up on 19 December 2019.
Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings. Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of restrictions.
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