Monday 11th March, 2013

A director of Wayment Flooring Specialists (WFS) Limited, has been banned from being a director for 11 years by Medway County Court for presenting false invoices to its financing company for work that had not been done.

The company which provided a floor laying service for office refurbishments, new builds and retail outlets got into financial difficulties in 2009, and started raising ‘forward’ invoices, claiming for work it had not yet completed and was therefore not entitled to claim for.

HM Revenue & Customs petitioned to wind up WFS, shortly after this the company ceased trading. The invoice financing company issued a demand letter to WFS for £772,669, which included £582,475 raised through false invoicing and outstanding charges of £190,193.49. The company went into compulsory liquidation with losses of more than £1.3m.

Commenting on the disqualification, Andrew Stanley, Official Receiver for Medway Official Receiver’s office said: "Directors who utilise an invoice financing company as an involuntary bank and source of cash flow, show total disregard for suppliers and the business community generally."

He added: "The disqualification order made in this case 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 removed from the business environment for a long time."