News

Nuisance call firm linked to web of call centre woes

Published

8 years ago

January 24, 2018

Ammanford call centre boss: Richard Jones

A WEST WALES based company has been fined for making nuisance calls just a week after another was punished for the same offence. This has taken place as a Herald investigation has revealed that many companies working in the telesales industry in west Wales are connected by common directors or shareholders.

Miss-sold Products UK had a call centre in Ammanford where they employed up to 15 call centre agents. Those agents made 75 million nuisance calls in just four months – between November 2015 and March 2016 – most of which were from an automated dialler.

Now the company, which had its registered office in a terraced house in Milford Haven at the time, has been fined £350,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). That is a registered address shared by several other call centre type companies.

Last week Port Talbot-based Barrington Claims Ltd was also fined – this time £250,000 – after making more than 15 million automated PPI calls, between February and May 2016. That company, which is not connected to Miss-Sold, had failed to ensure automated marketing calls were sent to individuals who had consented to receive marketing.

Miss-Sold Products UK Ltd was a Payment Protection Insurance reclaims specialist. Charging customers they sold to an upfront fee, promising they would get more back later once their PPI claims would be settled. The company had previously been known as Penguin Claims Limited until November 2015.

The current director of the company is listed as Douglas Andrew Albury. His address is given as 83 Dulcie Street, Manchester. However a quick check found that this was as copy shop offering mail redirection services. Albury over recent years has been linked to over 37 limited companies. They include several other call centre based business still trading in Ammanford and Carmarthen – his contact address differs depending on which company his is connected with – but his date of birth and middle name show it is the same man. Companies House shows he also has a west Wales address in Neath.

Companies he controls include Your Money Rights Ltd, which is currently trading, and another, Business Advice Bureau UK Ltd, was struck off the register at Companies House as recently as Wednesday (Jan 17).

MILLIONS IN DEPOSITS LOST

Other now dissolved firms that he has been involved with in locally include Scarlet Protect Limited – a reincarnation of a Carmarthenshire based PPI firm which ripped the general public off for millions of pounds.

Albury was also a director of its forerunner, Scarlet Marketing Services Limited – again a PPI reclaim firm – which employed, according to a former member of staff, around 60 call centre staff in offices at King Street Carmarthen. That company was put into voluntary liquidation on December 8, 2016, with almost £5.7m of debts, including over £70k in unpaid fines, £88k owing to HMRC and over £5,000,000 in deposits owing to members of the public.

Your Money Rights Ltd – also known as U Legal – is another firm he was listed as a director of. That firm is still trading

Miss-sold Products UK Ltd made its latest, mostly automated, marketing calls between November 16, 2015, and March 7, 2016. The calls contained recorded messages, primarily promoting PPI compensation claims, but the company did not have the recipients’ consent for making marketing calls, which is against the law.

It also broke the law, the ICO ruled, by failing to identify the organisation making the calls, while it used so-called ‘added value’ numbers that generate revenue when an individual calls the number, which is then apportioned and passed to associated companies and the network carrier.

OVER 100 COMPLAINTS

The ICO received 146 complaints from the public about Miss-sold Products. Some people were called on multiple occasions. Others said they were unable to opt out of receiving the calls. Some expressed further distress as they were concerned that calls late at night may have been from family members or those to whom they provided care.

Albury as director of Miss-sold – which had its registered office at 10A North Road, Milford Haven before it was moved in 2017 to Darlington, County Durham – had applied to strike the firm off the Companies House register but the ICO has blocked the move pending enforcement action.

10A North Road is not an official address, but number 10 is owned by local businessman Adrian Jenkins who was also an officer of the now defunct Business Advice Bureau UK Ltd

A further company of which Albury was a director recently moved its registered office from that Darlington address to the Dulcie Street address in Manchester. Another key player in Miss-Sold was Richard Jones – he has resigned his directorship but is still actively involved in other call centre related businesses in Carmarthenshire.

This is to allow all options to be considered for recovery of the penalty, and for the actions of the director in running the company to be fully scrutinised.

ICO Enforcement Group Manager Andy Curry said: “This company blatantly ignored the laws on telephone marketing, making a huge volume of intrusive calls over a short period of time and without any apparent attempt to ensure they had the consent of the people they were harassing.

“The ICO will come down hard on rogue operators who want to treat the law and the UK public with contempt. We hope the Government will bring forward plans to introduce personal liability for directors as a matter of urgency, to stop them from escaping punishment after profiting from nuisance calls and texts.

“In the absence of a change in the law, the ICO will continue to face challenges in the recovery of penalties, and rogue directors will think they can get away with causing nuisance to members of the public.”

News

Amber weather warning as ‘danger to life’ rain set to hit Pembrokeshire

Published

2 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Dyfed-Powys Police and council teams prepare as Monday deluge expected

COMMUNITIES across Pembrokeshire are being urged to brace for severe weather after the Met Office issued an amber “danger to life” warning for heavy rain, covering the county from 4:00am to 9:00pm on Monday (Dec 15).

Up to 80mm of rain is expected widely, with 100mm possible on higher ground in north Pembrokeshire and the Preseli foothills. With rivers already running high following weeks of persistent wet weather, Natural Resources Wales says there is a heightened risk of flooding in low-lying areas, including parts of Haverfordwest, Remington Bridge, Merlin’s Bridge, Tenby, Neyland and along the Western Cleddau.

Travel disruption likely

The Met Office warns that fast-flowing or deep floodwater could pose a danger to life, with road flooding likely on key Pembrokeshire routes such as the A40, A487 and A478. Bus and rail services may face disruption.

Dyfed-Powys Police said officers would be monitoring known flood hotspots throughout Monday and urged drivers to avoid non-essential travel during the worst of the downpours.

A police spokesperson said: “Please plan ahead. Do not risk driving through floodwater. Conditions may change very quickly.”

Yellow warnings already in place

A yellow rain warning is active for southwest Wales from midnight tonight (Sun 14 Dec). A separate yellow warning for mid and north Wales began this afternoon.

Pembrokeshire County Council said its highways and emergency planning teams are on standby, with extra staff monitoring river gauges and drainage across the county. Sandbags are available where required.

Residents urged to prepare

Natural Resources Wales is advising residents in flood-prone areas to take precautions today, including:

Checking local flood alerts
Moving valuables upstairs where possible
Securing outdoor items against strong winds
Checking on vulnerable neighbours

The Herald understands that emergency services expect the heaviest rainfall between 6:00am and 3:00pm on Monday, with further unsettled weather forecast later in the week.

More updates to follow

This is a developing story. The Pembrokeshire Herald will bring live updates as information comes in from the Met Office, NRW, PCC and emergency services.

Health

Major investment confirmed for GP services in Wales

Published

2 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Government unveils £41m boost, but practices warn pressures remain acute

MORE than £41m in extra funding will go into general practice in Wales this year following a new agreement between the Welsh Government, NHS Wales and GP leaders. Ministers say the deal provides stability at a time of rising demand — but the settlement comes against a backdrop of sustained pressures, recruitment challenges and concerns over patient access.

The package includes a 4% uplift to the General Medical Services (GMS) contract for 2025-26, in line with independent DDRB pay recommendations, and a guaranteed 5.8% recurrent uplift from 2026-27. The Welsh Government says the multi-year commitment will allow practices to plan ahead, modernise systems and strengthen community-based services.

Health Secretary Jeremy Miles said the investment showed an “unwavering commitment” to general practice, adding: “The 4% pay uplift ensures fair recognition for GPs and practice staff who work tirelessly to deliver care for communities across our country. Multi-year funding gives practices the confidence to invest in the transformation primary care needs.”

However, the announcement comes at a time when many Welsh practices continue to report severe workforce pressures, rising demand, and longstanding challenges in recruiting new partners. GP numbers have fallen over the past decade, with some practices handing back contracts or operating list closures because of unsustainable workloads. Patient satisfaction with access has also declined, according to the latest Welsh GP Patient Survey.

What the deal includes

The settlement for 2025-26 comprises £37.9m of new investment and £4m in re-invested capacity funding, with the key elements including:

A 1.77% uplift in expenses, intended to help practices manage inflationary pressures in energy, staffing and running costs.
A recurrent £20m stabilisation fund to support practices facing immediate operational pressures and to prepare for wider reform under the incoming Sustainable Farming Scheme model for health.
An increased partnership premium, aimed at retaining experienced GPs and encouraging new partners into a model that some say has become less attractive due to financial and regulatory risk.
A full review of the GMS allocation formula — the first in more than 20 years — which determines how funding is distributed between practices. Some rural and deprived communities have long argued the current system does not reflect the complexity of local health needs.

Wider context

General practice remains the foundation of the NHS, accounting for around 90% of patient contacts, yet it receives a proportionally small share of the overall health budget compared with hospital services. Both the Welsh NHS Confederation and GPC Wales have repeatedly warned that without sustained investment, primary care risks being unable to meet increasing demand from ageing populations and rising chronic illness.

The Welsh Government’s own “community-by-design” programme relies on shifting more care closer to home, reducing pressure on emergency departments and supporting earlier intervention. For that to be achieved, GP leaders say investment needs to be matched with workforce expansion, improved digital systems, and clear strategies to retain experienced clinicians.

Working groups will now be set up to examine access standards, diabetes prevention and new service models.

Mr Miles said he was pleased that GPs would be “actively contributing to creating innovative care models that enhance access, improve outcomes and deliver care locally.”

GP representatives broadly welcomed the deal but have stressed that it is only one step in addressing the scale of challenge across primary care.

Community

Narbelles WI support Food Bank with festive donation

Published

3 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Tom Sinclair

Group marks December meeting with charity collection and Christmas celebrations

NARBELLES WI rounded off the year with a festive December meeting featuring a bring-and-share buffet, party games and a Secret Santa gift exchange.

Members also used the occasion to support families in need across the county, collecting food items and presenting a £120 cheque to Ann Watling from Pembrokeshire Food Bank. The donation represents the proceeds of the group’s bucket collection during Narberth Civic Week 2024.

A spokesperson for the WI said the group was delighted to finish the year “with fun, friendship and a chance to give something back to the community.”

(Photo: Narbelles WI members presenting the cheque to Ann Watling, Pembrokeshire Food Bank.)