The former boss of a company that invited people to make false holiday sickness claims has been banned from running another business for five years.

Nigel Stirk, originally from Preston but now living in Tenerife, was a director of Allsure Ltd trading as Chase Alexander, a claims farmer which sought out RTA and sickness claims to pass on to solicitor firms.

An audit carried out by the claims management regulator found the company’s sales agents had made false or unsubstantiated claims to potential clients, coached individuals about what to say and made misleading statements in every call.

holiday sickness

Stirk was a director of a claims farmer which sought out sickness claims to pass on to solicitor firms

Source: iStock

The script provided to staff contained misleading statements and those receiving calls were told they were owed a refund even if they did not meet the criteria to make a holiday sickness claim.

The Insolvency Service, which announced Stirk’s ban today, said that false claims could have been made as a result of these actions, and solicitors who took on referred claims could potentially be in breach of their own regulations. The conduct was serious enough to cancel Allsure’s authorisation to provide regulated claims management services in August 2017. The company subsequently entered liquidation, owing more than £130,000.

An investigation into Stirk’s conduct found he had not ensured the company was compliant with the rules and had failed to check it met statutory obligations. The Insolvency Service issued proceedings to disqualify Stirk as a company director.

Stirk, 45, will be banned for five years, during which time cannot, directly or indirectly, become involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company.

Following the decision, Neil North, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: ‘As director of Allsure Ltd, Nigel Stirk caused the company to breach regulations by allowing staff to make false or unsubstantiated claims to prospective claimants and use call scripts that were misleading.

‘This resulted in false or potentially fraudulent claims being referred to solicitors, risking criminal prosecution for clients and solicitors.’