Motorcycle magazine firm wound up for misleading customers

A LIVERPOOL-based company publishing a motorcycle magazine has been wound up in the High Court for misleading advertisers.

Always Enjoyable and Living Creative, which produced a magazine on behalf of the Federation of British Police Motor Clubs under their previous names Mode Design and Branding and Mode Design and Printing, sold advertising space in Overdrive.

The magazine is affiliated to the FBPMC and was supposed to publish on a quarterly basis.

However, the Insolvency Service’s evidence showed that Always Enjoyable had recklessly misled customers and used high pressure sales techniques in order to achieve advertising sales.

In particular, the company misled customers to believe that it was affiliated with the police and/or the emergency services; misled customers and potential customers into believing that someone within their business had previously agreed to advertise with the company in order to agree a sale and, misled customers as to circulation, readership and regional aspect of the distribution of the Overdrive publication.

The Court also heard that there was little or no commercial benefit to the advertisers.

Investigation supervisor with the Insolvency Service, Alex Deane, said: “This company took substantial sums of money from businesses for services which were of little or no commercial benefit and through misleading sales practices.

“Those responsible should be aware that the Insolvency Service can and will take firm action against companies which operate in this manner.”

The director of Living Creative is Gurmeet Singh Ghumbir.