Recruitment firm wound up in High Court

A WARWICKSHIRE recruitment firm has been wound up in the High Court after the Insolvency Service said there was no evidence it had conducted a “legitimate business”.

Right Step Internet Recruitment was incorporated in April this year and registered at three different addresses in Leamington Spa during its brief lifespan.

It was ordered into liquidation in the public interest following a petition presented by Business Secretary Vince Cable in August.

According to Company Investigations, part of the Insolvency Service, Right Step made unsolicited contact with organisations, typically in the healthcare or education field, which had placed jobs adverts with legitimate publications.

It said Right Step would improperly obtain payment from these advertisers which mistakenly believed they were dealing with those genuinely acting on their behalf.

The Service added: “There is no evidence of Right Step having conducted a legitimate business.

“Those affected by the company’s unscrupulous activities were…..misled into thinking they were confirming the details of an existing advertisement they had already placed with a reputable publisher, rather than placing an advertisement on Rightstep’s website, in order for the company to obtain what purported to be contracts.

“These ‘contracts’ were then followed up with threats of legal proceedings to enforce payment.”

The Service said the grounds for winding it up were false and misleading statements and objectionable trading practices, the failure to maintain and/or deliver adequate accounting records and a lack of transparency.

Right Step, which was closed on August 4, had raised £13,670 by its activities and was one of several similar such recruitment companies against which action had been taken, the Insolvency Service added.

These firms included Crystal Recruitment and A2B Recruit, both of Solihull, DTM Recruitment of Leamington Spa, and Internet Recruitment and Working Solutions Direct, both registered to the same address in Southam, near Rugby.

Right Step could not be contacted for comment.