Was AVRO trading illegally or fraudulently for the last 2+ years? Was it like a Ponzi Scheme?

wakeupalarm

Are other energy company directors doing the same.  There has been over 90 energy supply companies since liberation of the market in 2012.  90 x £3m = £270M.  Some are larger companies some smaller, some have 2 directors others may have 12.  All paid for ultimately by bill payers.  Maybe some of the papers should start looking into other company accounts.

oliverbrown

Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10024511/How-Avro-Energy-propped-advanced-customer-fees-went-bust-gas-prices-spiked.html

ihatetrump

The writing was probably on the wall more than 2 years ago.

AVRO was in June 2019 by definition of the Companies Act 2006  a 'Large Company'. 

The responsibilities of being a Large Company are onerous - including its' reporting requirements. Just google 'UK Large Company Reporting requirements' - it's mind numbing.

AVRO was never going to be able to meet those requirements in a month of Sundays - not with the structure it had.

Government Departments/Regulators/OFGEM should have been all over AVRO like a rash - but no, what did they do? NOWT

Now the tabloids have the story, hopefully their sleuths will start to dig very deep.

oliverbrown

ihatetrump said:

Government Departments/Regulators/OFGEM should have been all over AVRO like a rash - but no, what did they do? NOWT

And ultimately these bodies should be the ones held to account. People will always try to make a quick buck, it's up to regulators and government to make sure companies are not run recklessly to the detriment of consumers. They failed monumentally. 

egyptiancotton

Quote from a Daily Mail comment:

"Time for reckless directors to be held fully accountable rather than hide behind limited liability."

Couldn't agree more. 

ihatetrump

Jake Brown and Andrew Brown transferred their shares in AVRO Energy in August 2019 to AVRO Group. The Browns own AVRO Group.

It gets interesting here though because AVRO Group also owns AVRO Data & Technology , which then has ownership and control of Dyball Holdings - which may then also have control over Dyball Associates (unclear of  full ownership here because of no recent PSC filings and the old game of shifting year ends to avoid full disclosure).

AVRO GROUP has a filing deadline of its' 2020 accounts due on Tuesday September 28th 2021 - don't hold your breath on that one though.

Can't help but feel there's a whole slew of s*** to come out yet.

inspectorperez

@ihatethetrump - your analysis makes interesting reading which raises more questions than answers.

It's difficult to imagine a young former amateur footballer masterminding such an elaborate set up. I wonder if there is a shadow director influencing things in the background? Or did they receive "expert" advice? Did the auditors also provide consultancy services?

Suspect there's an awful lot going to come out about this case now that the tabloids have got hold of the "story". Maybe ICAEW/ACCA bodies will sit up and take notice also.

BobT36

This really does stink to high heaven, especially the swilling of money around between companies. What's the point of denaitonalisation, cheaper prices, competition and all that, when all it does is result in a load of small middlemen companies that are intentionally ran at a loss for as long as possible on advance payments, attracting new users with referral links & cheap energy (like a ponzi). Clearly these companies are doing nothing other than funnel money out of our pockets and into the director's via dodgy channels as has been happening here, and they get away with it!

And we don't even really get cheap energy because look what's happened now, and the entire taxpayer base bears the cost!
As usual these directors pocket the profit when time are good (while also dodgily siphoning extra money out), then do a runner without even notifying the customers (not even a bloody e-mail!) when times go bad, leaving us to pay the cost. As always both of our pockets are being dipped into. We pay in the first instance, then again. All for their benefit. 

How the heck have they got away with this for so long? No disrespect but if a dude on a MSE forum can uncover so much like this, what have the powers at be, being doing? Smells like as with everything in rip-off Britain, the market was intentionally set up this way. Now those two directors, I wonder who their mates are..

Why would a collection of companies like that be legitimately needed? What do these companies do? Anything actually useful other than the odd blog or "marketing services"? Or are they all essentially just fronts for siphoning cash from firms where it's normally not legal to do so..

Nice house they must have, if you look at the ones on that street!
https://www.google.com/maps/@52.5254274,-1.3756287,3a,75y,81.67h,87.72t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1scLq7vMjYP6HwgpvEPPBIsg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Meanwhile I'm still renting while switching around to companies like their to try and save every penny, then ending up paying the price anyway. Fuming.

ihatetrump

@BobT36 your comment:

No disrespect but if a dude on a MSE forum can uncover so much like this, what have the powers at be, being doing? Smells like as with everything in rip-off Britain, the market was intentionally set up this way.

This dude happens to be a Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) of 40 years standing (and proud of it). Grey hair does have it's advantages! There's something about good old fashioned training that teaches you to smell a rat!

inspectorperez

ihatetrump said:

@BobT36 your comment:

No disrespect but if a dude on a MSE forum can uncover so much like this, what have the powers at be, being doing? Smells like as with everything in rip-off Britain, the market was intentionally set up this way.

This dude happens to be a Chartered Accountant (ICAEW) of 40 years standing (and proud of it). Grey hair does have it's advantages! There's something about good old fashioned training that teaches you to smell a rat!

Same club and same hymn sheet I think (although no evidence of remaining hair)