“Vampires of Debt” took £7 million from clients
A debt management firm run by couple Aidan and Christine Whitehurst has become under investigation. It has been reported that the couple took £7 million from their financially vulnerable customers who had sought advice from the firm. The Whitehurst couple spent much of the money on lavish holidays and expensive cars, and have now been banned from the UK financial services industry for life by the sector’s regulator.
The couple from Stockport have been nicknamed the “vampires of debt” for the way they conducted their business. Their firm, ‘First Step’ was founded in 2007, and promised to help hard-pressed families bring their debts under control with easy monthly payments.
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has discovered that by 2014, £7 million had gone missing from the client’s funds. Furthermore, these four thousand people who had hoped to get help from the couple and ‘First Step’, now have little chance of seeing any of their money returned as it is not covered by a relevant compensation scheme.
While the customers are struggling to pay off overdrafts and credit cards, their advisers are spending lavish money abroad. Adrian, 55, and his wife, Christine, 54, enjoyed game drives in Kenya watching lions and giraffes, as well as spending thousands of pounds on luxury hotels and top-of-the range vehicles.
The Whitehurst’s firm started receiving complaints from customers back in November 2009, but despite interference by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) the couple made little effort to improve their practices. It wasn’t until 2013 when ‘First Step’ finally lost its license.
From 1 December 2009 to 18 October 2013, the missing funds from client accounts had ballooned. FCA has reported that Mr Whitehurst, together with Mrs Whitehurst, misappropriated more than £2.75m of client money. The couple were using the client money to fund a luxury lifestyle.
The regulator further described the couple as “reckless and dishonest”, as they continued to spend their client’s money while making little effort to pay their creditors.
Mark Steward, FCA executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said: “The Whitehursts were trusted by their customers, who were extremely vulnerable, to help them with their debt problems. They abused this trust, living a luxury lifestyle at the expense of people who could not afford to lose their money.
James Salmon from CPA says “The victims here worked hard to try and bring their debts under control and put in place a repayment plan. Not only have they been defrauded but also their long suffering creditors who should have been repaid from these ill gotten gains!”
The FCA has said it will pass its findings to the City of London police.
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