Hi guys,
Over the past few years some people have questioned my decision NOT TO SELL extended warranties on The Cable Connection's range of TV's, Amplifiers / HiFi etc - this is a perfect example of why I never recommend them:
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/warranty-providers-murky-past-revealed/story-e6frf7kx-1226419937685
From SMH:
THE man behind the busted United
Warranties business - reported to be the largest extended warranty
provider in Australia - has served time in prison, been disqualified
from running a company by ASIC and registered a string of companies
under different names and birth places.
An investigation by the Sunday Herald Sun has exposed
United Warranties owner Werner "Vern" Rickman as a big-spending
entrepreneur who was jailed in the mid-1990s for running a stolen
vehicle chop shop and was fined by ASIC a few years later for managing a
company while disqualified.
The paper has also learnt that a
senior Myer manager who signed off on the United Warranties deal while
at the department store went to work for the failed company in December
on a reported salary of $350,000 before leaving after a few months.
The Sunday Herald Sun
found Rickman in his home town of Archies Creek, but the embattled
entrepreneur failed to break his silence despite ASIC now probing his
business interests.
"I have been advised not to speak to the media until an announcement is made on Monday," he said.
Company
and property searches show on April 16, as United Warranties struggled
to stay afloat, the mortgages on several property titles in Archies
Creek held by Rickman's wife, Deborah, were paid in full.
ASIC
records show Rickman - who has registered companies as both Vern and
Werner under the birthplace of Wonthaggi and Germany - has a stake in 12
companies, many carrying the United title.
In 1996 he spent nine
months in jail for his role in a stolen truck and heavy-vehicle racket
in which he received stolen trucks, semi-trailers and forklifts,
stripped them for parts and sold them.
In 1999 Rickman pleaded guilty to serving as a director and manager of a company despite being banned by ASIC from doing so.
The
paper understands he was born Werner Stadelbauer - a name his
daughters, who are also associated with his business interests, carry.
But he changed his name after a family dispute.
Tens of thousands
of people with extended warranties on electrical goods bought at major
retailers including Myer and Big W have been left in limbo following the
apparent closure of the company.
A growing list of customers and
sub-contractors are emerging claiming they are owed goods or money,
while former employees say they are owned wages and entitlements.
daggej@heraldsun.com.au
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