Sham recruitment company wound down
Leamington Spa-based Rightstepinternetrecruitment has been ordered into liquidation in the High Court on grounds of public interest.
The sham recruitment business was ordered to close following an investigation by Company Investigations (CI) of the Insolvency Service, the agency said.
CI said the company made "unsolicited contact" with organisations, typically in the healthcare or education field, which had recently placed an advertisement for a job vacancy.
It then proceeded to "improperly obtain payment from those organisations who mistakenly believed they were dealing with those genuinely involved in acting on their behalf", said the CI. An investigation report added that "there is no evidence of Rightstepinternetrecruitment having conducted a legitimate business".
Those affected by the company's activities were typically health service, education providers and charities including a children’s hospice.
Company Investigations supervisor, Chris Mayhew, said: "The action we have taken against this and several similar recruitment companies sends a clear message that the service is determined to clamp down on unscrupulous companies and to ensure those who run companies in this way do not get away with it."
The company was closed down on 4 August 2011 as a result of the service's actions, by which time it had raised about £13,670 through its activities.
