Police probe hoax winding up order

Date published: 05 July 2008


A leading estate agent has called in police to investigate a hoaxer who claimed the company had gone into liquidation.

Ryder and Dutton has a dozen offices across parts of Greater Manchester, including Heywood and Middleton.

The company took the action after a hoaxer carried out a threat to email hundreds of local businesses claiming a compulsory winding-up petition against Ryder & Dutton had been presented and advertised in the London Gazette.

Ryder & Dutton received several threatening emails and a list of fax numbers of local businesses and institutions the hoaxer planned to target with copies of an alleged notice of the winding-up petition.

The hoaxer said the emails would go out last Saturday. This week it became clear that the threat had been carried out after Ryder & Dutton received calls from companies named on the list.

North Ainley Halliwell, the legal firm which represents Ryder & Dutton, was on the list and received a copy of the hoax notice.

John Ainley, senior partner, said: “The notice appeared to have been sent from a firm of lawyers, but I became suspicious when there was no trace of it in the Law Society register.

“It quickly became clear the notice was completely fictitious.

“We checked notices advertised in the London Gazette on Friday and found a notice for a different company which referred to solicitors at the same address as that on the fictitious notice — but the name of the solicitor and name of the firm were slightly distorted.

“Clearly, the person concerned copied the advert word for word, but changed the name of the company to Ryder & Dutton and altered the names of the solicitor and firm.

“The notice is purely malicious and it is business as usual at Ryder & Dutton. We have called in police at a high level to investigate.”

Mr Ainley added: “Naturally, Ryder & Dutton is very concerned about the possible impact this could have on the business, particularly in the present financial climate.”

A spokesman for Ryder and Dutton said: “There is absolutely no truth whatsoever in the winding-up allegations.

“It is purely a vindictive and totally unfounded attack on our good name, our staff and clients.”

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